Myles Kennedy and Devin Townsend team up for a UK and Ireland tour this month - beginning in Glasgow on 24 November and ending in Dublin on 6 December. And ahead of the tour, they got together with MusicRadar to talk about their mutual admiration and their approach to songwriting.
Myles is performing on these dates with his regular solo band, while Devin will be doing a solo acoustic set.
Devin: “Having the opportunity to strip back to a single guitar, an echo unit and my voice is fun. If the composition is sound unto itself, then in theory it should work regardless how it’s delivered.”
Myles: “Like Devin says, a good song will transcend. You can just play it on piano or an acoustic guitar, and it shouldn’t be difficult to reimagine in that sense. If you have the right chord progression and melody, it shouldn’t be hard. It’s all about the marriage of melody, what’s going on harmonically underneath and, of course, the lyrics. If it works stripped down, I don’t think it should be difficult, just go with it.”
Devin: “A lot of how I write in general is just me and a guitar. I often use echo to imply orchestration. For years I’ve used echo with a huge amount of feedback, something like 80 or 90 per cent repeat with a 420-millisecond delay. As a result of that, when you’re playing, you will hear how the section you are working on interacts with the past. Harmonically, the collisions that occur in the echoes is where I find a lot of the orchestral ideas.”
Myles: “That’s precisely what I love about Devin! There’s the magic. You take the twists and turns, and it’s the unpredictability that I love. You have a certain sense of humour in your performances, and in your songs at times, but what’s beautiful is that you can back it up with this genius level of talent. You can do this country thing and then go into this crazy heavy middle section that has blastbeats, or whatever the kids call it. That’s what makes me go ‘This is awesome!’ because I really didn’t expect it.”
Devin: “It’s funny, because I first heard of Myles when somebody directed me to a performance of him playing acoustic and singing. I remember thinking how rare it was to find a musician who could effortlessly project everything so well. His voice and ability to articulate through the guitar is special. It’s hard to put into words, but it’s the kind of thing that makes me feel: that guy is a legitimately natural musician and I believe him!”
Myles: “I discovered Devin’s Lightwork record and I was totally floored! For a long time, it was my go-to. It was a perfect combination, where it spoke to me but I also felt like I could learn things.”
Devin: “I was listening to Myles’ new album [The Art Of Letting Go] recently, and there’s an effortlessness to your songwriting, vocals and guitar work that resonates with who you are as a human being. There’s a connection there that’s exceptionally rare. The thing that I found so alluring about it is how real and true it is. That’s what I’m looking for when I’m participating with music. Is this person coming from a place of authenticity? In Myles’ case, yes! His stuff is shockingly connected. I’m in awe of it because I don’t sense that in my own music – so much of it comes from force of will and just effort...”
Myles: “Well, I gotta tell you that I fooled you royally because I’ve worked very hard to pull it off like that. But the goal has always been to make it sound effortless or at least more natural.”
Devin: “When I hear each part in your songs, I’m sat there thinking ‘That’s exactly how it should go!’ The way the pre-chorus works into the chorus is always perfect. You must have some musical Feng Shui going on there! It’s like the obstructions don’t exist. When I get into the flow, it’s the opposite. I struggle with linear passages – as in making each section flow and make sense. Instead, I have 17 different ideas and put them into the dryer. By the end it’s this weird amalgamation of it all. I have to be careful in the state of flow, because it very rarely leads to logic.”
