The Surging Mass is the brainchild of Northern Colorado based musician Jason R. Their latest album “3.5” is full of throbbing synths and vivid atmospherics that take you on a journey that’s meditative, colorful and incredibly thought provoking.

I sat down with Jason R to talk about their earliest musical memories, creating songs and the making of “3.5”. You can check out the album and a lot more of The Surging Mass here.

What was the first music that really made an impact on you as a child and what artist did you enjoy the most?

As I recall the first album that really got me into music was NIN – Pretty Hate Machine. The sounds, the progressions, the rhythms, the movement… it really grabbed me.  I loved other albums before that, but none drew me in like that one.  Artist wise, NIN and early Ministry albums were a driving force for me in my mid teens. Then I got into Smashing Pumpkins and Radiohead and bands in that vein for a while. But then… MTV’s Amp came along.  That is when my mind exploded.  The album and the show, back when they showed music videos… That’s when I was introduced to Aphex Twin, Photek, The Future Sound of London, DJ Shadow, Kool Keith… to name a few. Then Aphex Twin lead to Autechre, Boards of Canada, Squarepusher, Luke Vibert, etc.  BoC – Music Has the Right To Children is probably the album that pushed me into making my own music.

When did you first start playing instruments and writing your own songs? 

2001.  I had gotten severely ill with spinal meningitis and nearly died.  I ended up with some major issue with my memory for a while and had to quit my job. I ended up rather bored in my apartment and had a great friend who was DJing and had started messing with making music himself, so that lead me to venture into the local Guitar Center. I ended up buying a Roland MC-303 groovebox and I was hooked.  That same friend let me borrow his stand-alone cd recorder and I ended up recording tons of tracks straight out of the MC-303 to the recorder.

How did The Surging Mass begin and how did you shape the experimental sounds you create? 

In 2019 I had a project for work that had me hours from home and living in our travel trailer on the western slope of Colorado. I was alone most evenings for that 7 month stint.  I had some Elektron boxes and brought them along for something to do in my free time. I think the time alone in that beautiful country had me both happy and sad at the same time and that really had an effect on the music I was making at the time. Then I got the urge to put some music on Instagram and needed a name for the project. And that is when The Surging Mass was born.  As for my sound, I blame that on my lack of musical knowledge and my experimental mindset.  I’ve been into the same type of sounds for a long time and have been working on getting the sounds I love out of my head since 2001.  I feel I am finally at the point where I can create a sound I am really wanting at any given time at will. That is a blessing and a curse as I do feel that it can lead to less experimentation.

 Your latest album “3.5”” is nothing short of stellar. What was the writing and recording process like? Any particular gear you used that really helped shape specific parts of the record?

Thank you! I truly appreciate that.  I’ll start with the gear as it totally shaped the recording process.  Everything on the album is produced with an Elektron Monomachine mk2, Roland SH-101 and MC-202, with the exception of the effects used.  I recorded every track into Ableton Live via a Zoom H6 recorder and recorded only the stereo 2-track mix. Nothing fancy. All tracks were performed live.

If you could do a score for any film director who would it be and what would the film be about?

Brett Whitcomb. He is a documentary film maker who has made some outstanding documentaries. It would be something nostalgic with a futuristic twist. Not sure on the exact topic, but I’d love to do that!

What’s next for you? Any new recordings/shows etc etc?

I am currently working on some ideas for another TSM album, as well as working on some other music under another moniker.  No shows in the works as of now. I do miss doing shows, but it is not in the cards currently.