Gom Jabbar is an unapologetic musical calamity from around the world. Expect poetic lyrics that run deep, with themes ranging from the personal to the cosmic. Instrumentations range from tastefully acoustic and jazzy to contemporary electronic.
In this interview spotlight, I chat with Gom Jabbar about the latest music, adapting during a pandemic, technology and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Where are you from and how do You describe your style of music?
Born in 1978 in Bulgaria, behind the Iron Curtain, I came to Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 2000 to attend graduate school at LSU. I continued to live here after getting a Master’s in Creative Writing and a PhD in Colonial Literature.
The closest single genre that could describe my music is Singer-Songwriter, but with a ton of asterisks. I rarely stay in one genre for the whole duration of a song, I love throwing in both acoustic world instruments and modern synths. When it comes to vocals, I rap and whistle on a whim. Think of a late-career Sting crossed with both Frank Zappa and Eminem, then impersonated by a Bukowski-drenched version of Tom Waits. Yes?
I suppose another fairly accurate umbrella term for my work would be Experimental World Music. But really, these days I prefer to not describe my style of music with genre names or comparisons to other artists. My favorite epithets from listener comments: unorthodox, disheveled, intelligent, artful, and of course, original. To the extent that anyone could be original in music, of course. We all sit on the shoulders of giants, no-one more so than I.
How did you get here? As in, what inspired or motivated you to take on this journey through music and the music biz?
First, I make music because it brings me immediate joy. This has been true as far back as I can remember. Even in my tumultuous youth, I never set out to impress anyone or make money through it. Sure, it was nice when someone did get impressed and entertained, but that wasn’t ever the goal or the point. I journey through music because that’s the only way I know how to live my life, and now it’s also the only way I can think of to raise my two children.
As for the music biz, I’ve shunned it systematically, and I’m sure I don’t have to explain why. I’ve never wanted to be a mainstream success story and always thought of myself as a poet / composer, a roaming bard perhaps? What changed in recent years is that I was sitting on so much new material that I decided to try to circulate it more widely online, and maybe find an audience of musically like-minded individuals out there. Basically, I decided to look for some company.
How does your latest project compare/contrast with your previous release(s)? Were you setting out to accomplish anything specific, follow a specific theme, or explore different styles of creation?
“The Movies” is a highlight within the broader context of Gom Jabbar songs about parenting. I had this idea to take a really warm and really rich acoustic guitar sound and juxtapose it with gruff vocals that verge on the jaded for most of the song. But with a pay-off, I hope!
People find the unusual melodic progression in the verses “gothic” and reminiscent of medieval ballads, but I think that’s just my classical influence showing a little bit. And anyway I feel it’s the lyrics and the story they tell that are center-stage here. For this song, the chorus came first, and it’s a play on the cliché that we live in a small world, as well as a play on a set of stereotypical expectations about growing up that we have thanks to Hollywood movies.
Name the biggest challenge you faced as a creative during these unprecedented? How did you adapt? How have you kept the creative fires burning during all this?
As it happened for many other closeted musicians, I think, the Covid-19 quarantines were a catalyst. I have never before been as musically prolific as in this past year and a half. I don’t have to venture far from home to find my muses—they are really close, often closer than my piano. And since I’ve always been digital and technically inclined, I love churning out the peripheral stuff as well: cover designs, music videos, promo materials. The biggest challenge by far is not the music creation, it’s in trying to be heard in an ocean of online content and a sea of amazing talent that toils in obscurity.
What was the last song you listened to?
Today I found that the incredibly talented singer-songwriter Bas Kooman released an EP, so I’ve been streaming that on Spotify, as well as added the title track to my “Rare Finds” playlist. Bas is an accomplished Dutch guitarist and lyricist, particularly adept at setting the words of poets to music. Discovering artists like him has been by far the most rewarding aspect of promoting my own music online. I find that I rarely listen to “classics” and “evergreens” anymore. Why bother when there’s so much undiscovered and uncelebrated brilliance out there waiting to be heard?
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? 8-tracks? Cassettes? CDs? MP3s? Streaming platforms?
I prefer high-quality streaming, but usually I can only get that from my own collection. I wish the big online platforms would catch up with the times. We live in an age of 4K video streaming on multiple devices, but we are supposed to be OK with 192 kbps MP3s from the cloud? Ridiculous!
Where is the best place to connect with you and follow your journey?
The lab / tandoori oven is on SoundCloud, and it also happens to be the platform that allows for the most interactive and social experience. If you’re a visual person, you can skip ahead to YouTube/c/gomjabbar. And if you want to support me most effectively, I would have to say Spotify.
I really appreciate Your time. Anything else before we sign off?
There is one more thing, actually: the name. I feel that my first interview in this millennium will not be complete if I don’t share with your readership that the name “Gom Jabbar” is highly significant. The reference to an early scene in Frank Herbert’s Dune novel, which just recently saw another big screen adaptation, is a key to understanding why I do what I do, and it is a thick red line that runs through music that at first glance may appear random. There is in fact zero chaos or accident involved—every little noise is quite deliberate and painstakingly crafted. And also, there be layers!
