Breakaway is one man with one mic and many layers spread on top an electronic landscape of both minimalistic construction and complex interplay that compliment each other in very interesting ways. Building up structures and then breaking them down, Joe Kujawa pulls you into his world and then buries you underneath a blanket sown together with ones and zeros. His music is moody and operatic darkwave with nuances of freak folk being discerned through the static. Carried by a haunting falsetto and repetition that swells to crescendo, his songs elicit attention and your emotional response. Witness it for yourself Saturday at Broken World Records during Mid West Music Fest.
The Interview Part:
I knew that being a dude with a guitar just wasn’t going to cut it. In my head I hear symphonies, ya know?
Well, we go way back, huh? I knew you since you were a snot-nosed youngster loitering around the arcade I worked at in high school. We had some good little chats back in those days, but enough of my nostalgia. Back then, you were drumming in a metal band called Sick Trik. Did your time in Sick Trik lay the foundation for what became a lifetime love of making music?
Yeah, when I was a freshman in high school in 2001 I drummed in a metal band called “Sick Trik” (with no ‘c’ in the Trick). In a lot of ways, that was the beginning of understanding how powerful playing music was for me. Though, a couple years before that I had started noodling around with recording music on my little Radioshack recorder. I became fascinated with recording and would make scattered tapes of random song scraps and sounds. During the same time as Sick Trik, I was starting to learn about punk and that there were punks releasing records in Winona. I knew that I wanted to play and record music. Sick Trik was a super important and empowering experience for me because it helped propel me to keep trying new things musically.
Later on, you drummed in some Winona hardcore punk bands and then ended up playing a super positive brand of folk punk-ish solo stuff under the monicker Froseph. I remember being really surprised how well the angsty local punk scene reacted to it. After all that time playing instruments, what drove you to electronic music and what you’re doing now and is there still punk in there somewhere?
Yeah, then when I was a junior in high school I was in a funny pirate punk trio called “Shiver Me Timber” (RIP Isaac) and then onto a hardcore band called “Infidel Castro”. This was also the time I started being referred to by the punks as “Froseph” and started writing solo songs with a guitar. Some of it was positive, but a lot of it just sounded positive but was actually really bleak and angry. The punks were receptive to it because we were punks and they were punk songs and there was a DIY spirit to it all. It was an environment that fostered challenging what “punk” could mean. Even though it didn’t sound like a punk band it still felt like a punk approach. After releasing some audio zines (which were what the first Froseph albums were) and playing out as Froseph in Winona and moving to the Northwest for a bit of time I started taking the show on the road playing lots of house shows around the country. Though the recordings had all kinds of layers to them (drums, different instruments, varying vocal layering) I played live shows with only an acoustic guitar and my voice. I didn’t know how to include all those other sounds in a live setting. After years of recording and producing with the programs Garageband and Logic Pro I was introduced to the program Ableton Live which is geared specifically toward making electronic music in a live setting. Now I can design any kinds of loops, launch as few or as many of them in and out as I want and sing with that! I’m no longer limited to just a guitar anymore it’s literally endless! I wanted to challenge myself with other formats and not let myself get bored.
Punk showed me one way that music could be radical. There was free food and zines at the shows for all the freaks and weirdos it was finally a place that made sense and felt bigger than myself. After a while the music started to fade for me. As I was finding less and less explicitly radical messages in punk I was learning about other kinds of shows that the kids would find each other at and become radicalized together. I’ve still never made it to Europe but hearing about huge raves with thousands of kids made me suspect that these kinds of shows would happen more and more in the US. I was inspired by the musician Filastine who takes a very horizontal approach to making electronic music. Having been part of some incredibly inspiring radical marching bands and incorporating things like sounds from street confrontations in the electronic music he makes these days has helped me further understand that there could be a punk approach to music that wasn’t actually punk music. I was drawn to how confrontational it was and that you could also have a dance party to it. I also liked how it wasn’t necessarily confined to some specific space like a venue but could also be mobile. It helped me recognize music as a weapon. Another huge factor for my turning to electronic music was when I saw Zola Jesus perform at the 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis in 2011. It totally changed everything for me. I had no idea what to expect it resonated so hard I almost just shattered. It felt so familiar and intuitive. It felt like punk music that was being played by some frustrated kid in their bedroom by themselves just like me though it didn’t sound like punk music. It had that same DIY spirit I knew. It was slow, dark, thick and minimal. To me it was so large and uncompromising and confident. Her voice ruthlessly commanded the room in a way I had never experienced. I wanted to figure out how to pierce people like that and I knew that being a dude with a guitar just wasn’t going to cut it. In my head I hear symphonies, ya know? My music had to give justice to how cinematic my brain works. Making electronic music has helped unearth some of that and now that I can pull that off in a live setting I’m hoping to bring audiences a similar feeling I used to have when I was a fifteen-year old kid in a mosh pit at the punk show. I want it to be confrontational and fully enveloping and not just some random background music that isn’t saying anything. For these reasons, I still feel a real connection to punk with the music I make today. And logistically speaking, I record it all myself, design the artwork, print the shirts. It still feels like DIY punk to me.
Ok, so we’ve determined that you can still be punk no matter what the genre calls for musically or aesthetically…it’s an idea and an approach…but of the genres that you’ve dabbled in…is there one you’d say has a better smelling fanbase?
A better smelling fanbase? Do you mean better smelling like their body odors or like they have a better sense of smell? I actually have a pretty bad sense of smell so I don’t know if I’m very qualified to answer this on either of those accounts. I know it’s very 2010 or whatever but I’m going to go with the genre Witch House on this. It smells like magic. There are as many genres as there are smells in the world it’s hard to keep up. I like the smells of many of the genres I’ve dabbled in I suppose.
I have to say, you’ve got a falsetto that’s higher than Tiny Tim on 4/20. That’s high praise by the way. When did you discover you could do that?
When I began recording music I’d have many many layers going on with different instruments and sounds. As far back as 2006 when I released Twinkle Pig #4 Audio Zine (the 2nd Froseph album) there were background vocals that are in falsetto acting as an instrument like a string section or something. I used to sing primarily with a chest voice but would have these falsetto background things happening too. Eventually I wanted to just focus on the falsetto since it was actually quite a bit less straining to me than my more abrasive chest voice. Really, I’ve never thought too much about any of it. I just play music a lot and have taught myself all kind of things that weren’t necessarily intentional. Some people wonder if I’ve ever had any training. I haven’t. I try to trust my intuition and not force anything. For now, my voice wants to stretch to these really high places so I need to listen to my body and respect that.
Is that singer guy from The Darkness an influence for you at all or no?
Haha, not at all. I could never really get into them. I think it’s tied with my hatred of butt rock in general.
Nine Inch Nails, Kraftwerk, or Owl City?
Hmm, good one. My first reaction was Nine Inch Nails but really maybe it’s Kraftwerk. I have a fond memory of being extremely dehydrated and confused one time while Kraftwerk was on and it was perfectly nauseating. I loved them as soon as I first heard them. I’m going to go with Kraftwerk on this but it’s more for nostalgic reasons. Though I think I like the music of Nine Inch Nails a little bit more. I have lot of admiration for Trent Reznor but don’t really know as much about him as I probably should. As I’m writing this I looked up Owl City on YouTube because I had never heard of them and I can’t say I’m very into this. Sorry (fans of) Owl City.
Who are you most looking forward to seeing at this year’s MWMF?
DJ Abilities. I used to listen to the Eyedea & Abilities album “First Born” a whole lot when I was in 8th and 9th grade especially. I’ve seen DJ Abilities a couple times and it’s always just blown me away. I have a lot of respect for him and Rhymesayers Entertainment. I’m also pumped to see The Miami Dolphins I think they’re really great. Excited to finally see Loud Nerves. I really like the music of LOTT. I always enjoy Paul Fonfara and somehow have still never seen Teenage Moods or Toki Wright and the Big Cats which I’m also looking forward to.
Can you tell us a little bit about what we can expect for Saturday’s show at Mid West Music Fest 2015?
The music could be described as some variation of Darkwave, Witch House, and/or Trip Hop. Expect to hear a haunting blend of thick and minimal beats and melodies overlaid with high falsetto, almost operatic vocals. Many of the songs performed at the festival will be on the new Breakaway album coming out this fall called “Unsettle”.
Upcoming Local Gigs:
Who: Breakaway
When: Saturday, April 25 at 9:30pm
Where: Mid West Music Fest @ Broken World Records (front room)
How much: www.midwestmusicfest.org/tickets
Header photo credit: Jon Behm