It’s hard to find a musician more versatile than Devin Townsend. Extreme metal, orchestral arrangements, rock operas, ambient music — it’s all in the repertoire. And we just had to know how he does it, so we hopped in the car and headed to the Palladium in New York City to talk to him.
We went over everything from existentialism and dealing with fears to understanding emotions and accepting childhood trauma. It was quite the ride, and you don’t want to miss it! Check out the AMS Devin Townsend interview video. You might learn something…
Finding the Loophole
Devin Townsend started writing music as a loophole to articulate his emotions. When he was young, the people around him deemed it inappropriate to express your emotions. So rather than act out and argue, Devin turned to music.
Townsend saw music as a loophole to articulate his emotions when he otherwise couldn’t. Once he realized that was the reason he felt compelled to write, he no longer really cared about the process. Just turn on the computer, grab a guitar, and follow the rabbit hole to the bottom.
The goal of songwriting, according to Devin, is to “foster a sense of emotional equilibrium, rather than revel in the trauma.” You want to try and understand your emotions on a deeper level and have some compassion for yourself, rather than just be angry and play the victim — and having compassion for yourself is a big part of it.
According to Devin (despite his disdain for the word “mantra”), “If your inner mantra is ‘I’m a f***ing idiot,’ everything that comes out of you is going to manifest, especially if your other intent is to follow intuition.” You have to learn to have some compassion for your younger self. You’re human, after all!
It might not erase the trauma, but you might be able to accept and come to peace with them. And that’s what songwriting means to Devin Townsend.
The Songwriting Process
You’d think someone with the genre-spanning scope of Devin Townsend would know what kind of music they want to make before sitting down to write. But actually, that’s not the case.
Devin says that he doesn’t typically know where a project is going until later. He told us that he was fortunate enough to have a conversation with someone earlier in his career, and they told him to write whatever he wanted without the perspective of it needing to be released. Basically, write for you, not anyone else.
Taking that sage advice, Devin typically starts his songwriting process by writing endlessly without even thinking about it. If he feels something, it goes down — whether it’s a melody, guitar track, progression, lyrics, etc. From there, he archives the idea based on the genre and feel. He has folders and folders on his computer titled “heavy” and “ambient” to keep all his projects organized.
Then he leaves them be. Devin likes yardwork, so he’ll head out and mow the grass or something. If a melody he wrote sticks in his head and he can’t stop thinking about it, that’s a winner that needs to be explored.
When an idea has sufficiently been stuck in his head, Devin will start the “process of elimination.” He’ll “exercise the compulsion” and leave it up to the subconscious to elaborate on the parts and nail down the basics of a project.
Once the basics are there, he’ll move to the lyrics and melody. Typically, he starts by mumbling the vocals. Then he listens to the mumbles, paying close attention to accents, consonants, vowels, etc., and writes down what he thinks he’s saying. Devin says he’s sometimes shocked to realize what some of his songs are about! It almost becomes an objective analysis of what was happening in his life at the time.
When Devin writes a song, it’s articulated through the process, not obsessing about it. They just kind of flow out, and he follows the flow wherever it may go.
Collaborations and "Serving the Idea"
Devin Townsend has done his fair share of collaborations. But according to him, he never seeks them out. People always come to him to collaborate. And seeing how amazing he is, nobody's shocked. However, Devin does say the key to any collaboration is to set parameters.
Consider what’s most important to you when it comes to the creative process, and let the other person know. Once everyone knows where the lines are, it’s easier to collaborate.
From there, “The collaborative process becomes a process in recognizing the strengths of each person.” Don’t let your ego or insecurities take over. You’re collaborating for a reason, and typically that reason is that the person you’re collaborating with is really good at something. Let them be good at it!
Devin admits there are plenty of things he’s not good at, and he’s been in many collaborative situations where he just says, “that guy is better than me, let him do it.” Then he just backs off, trusts the other person to add their touch to the project. Then he’ll come back later and do his thing.
Collaboration isn’t about proving yourself. It’s about using the strengths (and understanding the weaknesses) of everyone involved to serve the idea.
Nightmare Scenario: You Can Only Have One Effect to Create
When Devin was asked what his nightmare scenario would be, if he could only have one effect in a dark room (perhaps an anechoic chamber…?), which would you choose. Devin didn’t even hesitate: Echo.
Devin Townsend loves echo. He can’t create without it. According to him, it’s less of an effect and more about participating with the tonalities you’ve already played, which is especially helpful if you’re playing on your own. It’s like collaborating with someone without the someone!
Devin got into using echo by listening to bands like Judas Priest, Enya, and Janes Addiction, to name a few. And now, he’s very adamant when he says, “I don’t play if there’s no echo.” It’s an integral part of his creative process.
Devin Townsend: Navigating the Seas of Emotion One Song at a Time
You’ll be hard-pressed to find another musician like Devin Townsend. He’s truly one of a kind! From metal to orchestral, ambient to opera, he really can do it all — and it’s all to understand the emotions that make us human.
A huge thank you to Devin for taking time out of his busy schedule to drop some knowledge and have a fantastically entertaining and thought-provoking conversation with us. Although Devin is going to take a hiatus from music for a little while (for as long as he can stay away from the studio), you can keep up with his latest escapades on his website — and definitely check out his rock opera “The Moth” that took him over 10 years to complete!
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