The Laconic, Marc Pelath, is a musician and data scientist based in Chicago. He plays the Touch Guitars U8 Deluxe, bass guitar and synths. 'Integrals', his first album, is an attempt to revive a half-dead genre of music that can be called instrumental songs. These are songs without words, not solos played over chord changes. They have melody and harmony and structure and generally avoid technical displays. Marc grew up in Michigan City, IN, taking piano lessons, playing a Micromoog without any concept of subtractive synthesis, and eventually switching to bass guitar, then the Chapman Stick, then the Warr guitar.
By Kamil Bobin
Discovered via Musosoup
Hello The Laconic. What strengths do you have that you believe make you a great musician?
A respect for melody, an intuition for voice leading, a basic love of learning, and just plain obsession. Certainly not technical ability with any instrument.
Who inspired you to make music?
When I was around 10 or 11, my uncle made me a cassette tape with Yes’s 90125 on one side, and Steely Dan’s Gaucho on the other side. Around the same age, my older brother bought Genesis’s Abacab. These became, and still are, three of my favorite albums, and two of them directly influence my style, which is a sort of pop-prog. In particular, Trevor Rabin, Chis Squire, and Tony Banks are my main inspirations both as songwriters and as instrumentalists, and I increasingly model myself after Donald Fagen — someone who does most of the writing, and some of the playing, but takes all the responsibility.
Your latest release is 'Integrals'. Can you share with us the background of its creation and did any unusual things happen during its creation?
After a few decades of not really committing to anything musically, I started taking regular lessons in touch guitar with Markus Reuter. I had dreamed of making an album since before I was even a teenager, and I half-consciously started moving toward that end, learning to use a DAW, recording covers of songs, then experimenting with simple compositions, with Markus’s guidance. In July 2021, I told him “I’m ready”, and he said “you need a plan”. I decided to write a song every month, with the song related to that month in some way, like moods or time signatures. And that’s mostly what happened. In January 2022, I had eight songs, and Markus mixed the album in February.
The most unusual thing about the creation of Integrals was that it happened at all. I’m pushing 50, and I have a full-time job. I’ve never really been in a band. I’m average at best as an instrumentalist. But I wrote all tracks, and with one exception, played all instruments. And I love listening to it, which is the one thing that matters.
Can you shortly describe each of the tracks that are on the album?
“Anthem” is a patriotic song for a country that doesn’t exist yet. “Sietch” is infused with the spirit of Dune… somehow. “Tensor” is what I think 80’s King Crimson would sound like if they were more interested in fun. “Solstice” is about cold, and clear night skies, and the sound of falling snow. “DBS” is a bit like early Porcupine Tree. “Strider” is the most sonically complex piece, and is ultimately inspired by Soweto music. “Implant” is a bit of glitchy, heavy-metal-arpeggiated fun in 5/4, and finally “Integral” is at heart an homage to Chris Squire.
How do you stay up-to-date with the latest musical trends?
I don’t. If I do appear to be up-to-date in any way, it’s accidental. The exception to the rule is gear and software. I don’t have to have the latest gear, necessarily, but I do need to know about it. And I do have to have the latest versions of Ableton Live and essential plug-ins.
What makes you different from others?
Obviously, I am a late bloomer. But more importantly, I aim to create instrumental songs—not songs that amount to lengthy solos played over chord changes, but rather songs that do not have words, because they do not need words. And I aim to do it in a style that is on one hand progressive or post-progressive and eclectic, but on the other hand accessible and poppy.
What’s an average day like for you?
Before I leave for work, I’ll make small edits to whatever I’m working on, based on notes from the night before. I’ll work a full day as a data scientist, and then when I get home, I’ll use whatever time is left before dinner to make more edits or even record or compose a little. Dinner with the family, a couple of episodes of The Office or equivalent, some Xbox with my daughter, then back in the office/studio for an hour or two. Before I go to sleep, I’ll listen to the demos and make critical notes.
Please discuss how you interact with and respond to fans.
I’m always around on the obvious social media, and responsive to email. I’m introverted, but fairly chatty in messages and emails. And I love to talk music—it’s one thing I don’t shut up about. I don’t perform live, so for the time being fans can have their fill of interaction, if what they want are emails.
What advice would you have for someone wanting to follow in your footsteps?
Get a good teacher and mentor, and be fearless. If I hadn’t had instruction by Markus, or someone of equal caliber, and if I hadn’t regularly pushed aside my fears and acted anyway, none of this would have happened. Bowie said something to the effect that you always try to move out to deeper waters, never growing too comfortable with where you are now. That resonated with me when I heard it recently, and then looking back, I saw that that was something I had been doing right.
One more thing: if you have a partner, you need to get them on board. This would have been impossible without my wife Diana’s enthusiastic support.
What are your plans for the future?
I’m currently finishing recording of my next album, Amor Fati. This will be much more ambitious than Integrals. The compositions are more ambitious, ranging in length from two to eighteen minutes, and in style from spaghetti western to Latin fusion to synth-heavy, all while being undeniably “proggy”, and even catchy. The scale is more ambitious: except for the “miniature” pieces, every song has multiple guest musicians, all of whom exceed me. The mixing and even the CD design will be more ambitious, using an engineer and a graphic designer respectively.
Once Amor Fati is released, I plan to spend the year getting to know the piles of gear I have accumulated, learning sound design, practicing touch guitar, and improvising. But probably what will happen is that I’ll accidentally start writing the third album instead.