Something special happened when I ordered a Testface album ( What To Cut ) from Mister Dave Snider a year or so back - I got a very early copy of this brilliant band calling themselves Armored Frog. It's safe to say this Armored Frog "sound" was coming from a similar location / direction as the unique spot Testface dwells - and I was really into what was crawling out of the mildly amplified speakers that rest by my computer screen. Aching instrumentation - saws, sweing machines and things that turn - was followed (and at times led) by equally fragile vocals - I was prepared to seek out the makers of such tunes.. .

Then nearly a year passed, and I still had no idea who this Armored Frog was, any of the song titles or even if this album would see a proper release. Was it real?

Earlier this year, Sleepsound Records was added to the booming online community, and many of my blanks were filled in. Armored Frog is the proper doings of George Ayres and Jake Baker, and the Sleepsound Recording Foundation is kept in motion by Mister George Ayers from his Sleepsound Headquarters in serene Eugene, Oregon. A "do it yourself, but firstly - get it done" label that - only 3 releases in - should be on your scope & focus as one of the more promising nooks for new sounds in the days to come.

And as far as the brief Malkmus portion of these talks - don't let that keep you from the dazzle that is Armored Frog.

Again - we offer a special tune to accompany your browse . Here we present, from the nugget that started it all (and, for now, remains "never in print") - automated. Grab the third track (of 17!) on said album, "song of hope"
- while supplies last - below. (click + right if you wanna keep it.)

+ Eugene seems to have a pretty welcome audience for original, experimental music (I think of Sleepsound & Schapendoes Records), but I take it that it (Eugene) differs somewhat (or greatly?) from Portland, correct? Like, Eugene has this mystique us kids on the East only hear about in stories-so, how is the music "scene" where you are?

George: On the "scene", I think that the "scene" is very difficult to gauge. On the one hand, there are quite a few bands that are doing some really wonderful things right now - and when you think of what a small "city" Eugene is, well, it is a pretty amazing "scene". On the other hand, every band here plays shows to almost empty bars sometimes. I think a couple of things happen with Eugene. The University spawns a lot of great talent, like every member of Testface (except Dave), but then Portland pulls people away. I think people expect things to be suddenly different in Portland, but they never are. You still play some awesome packed shows, and you still play some virtually empty shows. I think that Eugene has something really going for it, with projects like Sleepsound (Schapendoes has moved north). I guess the biggest problem is that the "grass is always greener" - people here think that Portland is going to be so wonderful, or people on the east coast think Eugene has some sort of mystique. Not to downplay Eugene, but I think there can be (and is) fabulous music being made everywhere, it's just a matter of getting it heard.

Which is why Sleepsound started. I didn't want to make another Automated that 50 people in my circle would tell me was "great" but that would be the end of it. So when we started the studio and the label we started making a point of seeing every band we could and you just start to realize how many great bands there are running around. So yeah, I guess that Portland has a lot of great things happening, but with Eugene there is just a lot more intimacy. You can go out to a bar and see some absolutely amazing bands, and frankly, you could be on stage playing with them in a couple of nights.

+ What came first, Sleepsound Records or the track "Sleepsound" from Automated? As well, will Automated be added to the SS catalog, or be solely an Armored Frog collectors' item?

Sleepsound was originally a "sound descriptor," that is, every time someone says, "so what do you sound like?" you can answer with a simple term, instead of "folky, ambient, indie, experimental.. . orchestral whisper rock," or something to that extent. Anyway, so that was just before Automated, and that song was titled that because of the lyric "sleep sound, under ground." And we had kind of fallen in love with the term anyway. So, when we decided that we wanted to form a label, Sleepsound seemed like a logical choice for a name. As far as Automated making its way on to the SS catalog - doubtful. I think records like Automated are best kept as strange collectors' items. I think the music is a great snapshot of Armored Frog at that time-you know, tiny bedroom studios, recording with the Macintosh sound card, one mic, no knowledge of anything, really - I just think it is better where it is at now.

+ The initial release on Sleepsound was / is this marvelous Ghost Cow ep, that is actually 12 wonderful tracks full. Why did you choose to give it the 'ep' tag versus a full album.. . or is there a secret meaning here?

Well, after Automated we went back into the tiny bedroom studio and tried to make more music. But both of us were doing a bunch of other things, so all of the tracks felt (and there are many more than just those 12) kind of disjointed. So when we moved into the log cabin (current home of Sleepsound Studios) we thought that we should do something with the Ghost Cow ideas like an EP (which at the time was going to be 6 - maybe 7 - songs), and we would go back into this nice new, spacious studio and create something that was cohesive, and also something that we felt like we had equal temporal input on. Unfortunately (or fortunately), as we went to mix all of these tracks, many more jumped out as worthy of an album. It was also at this time that we formed Sleepsound Records, and as the Ghost Cow tracks were mixed we started to feel like the Ghost Cow would be a great introductory record for Sleepsound Records. Experiemental, at times minimal and traditional, and a touch of bombast... which is kind of the mission "sound" of Sleepsound. Also, we were excited about finding new ways of packaging. Ghost Cow was printed on an offset and put together by us, a concept which we also explored to a greater degree with the limited initial run of the Testface album - Doctor Won't You Get Us To Dawn.

So anyway, 6 songs became 12, and Sleepsound got their first release. But because it was such a transitional project, and while we really liked the music, it felt more like an EP. So no, no secret meaning, but certainly a nice little collection of tracks that I am glad we put together.

+ You mentioned the offset press & packaging, and I have the early Testface cd as well as the others (they all look quite nice) - is this a "label mission" to try and do your own printing / pressing?

I think in a perfect world we would be dedicated to unique packaging, but not so much DIY. I really like the elements of Ghost Cow and the early run of Doctor, but it is SO labor intensive, so that becomes very difficult. But on the flip-side I can really see doing limited edition EPs or strange singles in very DIY fashion. But for the main runs, I am trying to do more unique work. I think Armored Frog's next album will realize this. We have an image of the way we want packaging, but financial burdens still play into our decisions (which is unfortunate). So, no I don't think doing our own printing is a label mission, just another thing that we are doing to try to set ourselves apart.

+ How about the current state of "digital music" - do you see Sleepsound going the iAlbum route for any future releases? As well, how about just downloading in general - the "stolen" type - any thoughts on that as a label executive!?

Downloading - probably not. I don't really mind the idea, obtaining music cheaply through internet downloads, but I don't think that is the "album," and it goes back to an original sleepsound idea: making products that look/feel/are different. When I download an album, it is very utilitarian - there is no essence to it, no product, no package.. . and I think an album is a package. As for a record exec's take on piracy, I feel like I said above. If someone wants to take my music and listen to it for free - go ahead, it didn't cost me anything, and I may have one more person who would consider themselves a fan.. . so I have no problem with it. The only reason I don't have every song from the sleepsound catalog available for download is because I would like people to consider buying the package, seeing everything that the artists put into the "final product".

+ Maybe next you could dig up some old Pelletgun stuff (pre-Testface) and release it - these kids need that stuff! Do you plan to tour in the near future as Armored Frog - as in, out of Oregon (into the great, wild yonder)?

As for Armored Frog hitting the great, wild yonder, yes, Jake and I were just recollecting that we played our first live show (outside of art openings) just one year ago, and in that time we played with 4 different lineups. Hopefully the current setup will stay for awhile and we can really lock down the Armored Frog live set-I am hoping to have that done this year-but with the Armored Frog "sound" it can be difficult (teaching someone a song where there is no "verse-chorus-verse-chorus" repetition). But yes, we will leave our fair state very soon, hopefully for your side of the country as well as the obligatory stops on the west end.

+ The Armored Frog sound / "sleepsound" is a mixture of many uncommon instruments and "found" sounds. Are you and Jake collectors of odd / unusual music machines and recording devices? I look to your press shot in the field (is that a bow & chainsaw.. .?)

We have some stuff, a couple of little air organs, an old melodian and some neat tape decks, etc.. . but I think the crux of the Armored Frog sound is that we are never satisfied with the "first sound." I mean, we can use a synth to get a cool sound, but then it is tracked through a couple of boxes or through a fm radio transmitter, or through a guitar amp and mic'd in a strange way etc, etc. So the trick is, never let the first sound satisfy you, because anyone can get the first sound. It's what you do with that sound that separates you from the rest.

I think that what also sets us apart with the "sleepsound" sound is that we came to recording as very specific but untrained music lovers. That is, we knew what sounds we wanted, but we had no formal training in accessing those sounds, so we had to invent our own ways to achieve the overall sounds we wanted. This is complicated by the fact that we are a record label that produce and engineer all of the music we release - so by the time that album is done, we know everything that exists on it. There is an intimacy that I don't think you'll find very often, and I think this has helped all of the albums we have released have a "sleepsound" feel.

+ With Sleepsound, Testface and AF share a bit more common ground than the Fast Computers, totally leaving open that the label isn't closed in on one genre. Do you have an open demo policy, or are you even looking for any other artists?

As far as the broad Sleepsound spectrum and demos, yes, we will take any demo (but I won't download, they must be sent via the traditional mail). I think for right now we are trying to stay within the Testface/Armored Frog genre (The Fast Computers were just so wonderful, I had to put out something [ their 4-song ep is titled SP ] ). And though I am not actively looking for artists, I am always interested in starting new projects, so I guess I am open to something absolutely new.

+ Ok, you mentioned it first - so don't blame me for jumping on it. The next Armored Frog album you say.. . could that be this year?

No, I am afraid not this year. But I think early next year could be a good goal. We have two concepts that are driving the next recording, which may even come to fruition in the form of a double disc. The first is an album that is "composed" exclusively of samples drawn from classical music LP's. We have amassed almost a thousand records from thrift stores, estate sales, and the local classical radio station (and on and on). We hope to somehow combine Armored Frog songs with endless numbers of samples from these records (although in many cases I expect the original sound to be impossible to hear due to heavy filtering/effect/etc.). The second part of the album is to be recorded with only instruments that we "created." This can mean a lot of things, but I guess the idea of this is that you would never hear a "straight" intstrument. Of course these ideas are still very much in their infancy, so we'll see how it comes about. But that is our goal for now.

+ Oh lord, this brings to mind The Avalanches and their epic battle to clear samples for their LP Since I Left You. I know the one biggie they couldn't clear was a Rodgers & Hammerstein sample that was to have opened the whole record. Understanding that you plan to make the original sounds "distinct" or "well-hidden," I can understand the direction and cannot wait to hear it!

Yeah, I don't think you will be able to hear anything - these are samples from artists that died over a hundred years ago.

+ On that - what music keeps you two fellas interested musically?

(pause) Sigur Ros (perfect music), Sparklehorse (the feel, the sounds),[Brian] Eno (capturing the ambient), Grandaddy (minus Sumday, I like the rugged synth. I like how close they can get to the lo-fi synth rock that I also aspire to. Some of those Software Slump singles are amazing), Godspeed - and Silver Mount Zion by association (again, like Eno and Sigur Ros, orchestral, but truly doing something unique, spiritualized. There is just something so wonderful about doing entire albums with church choirs. I don't know. They are a band I can't really qualify. Bright Eyes (very much a Jake love: the lyricism; and on the last record, I really liked the dynamic), Radiohead (Radiohead made three records from OK Computer to Amnesiac that are probably some of the most amazingly creative large scale, major label projects ever), most everything Stephen Malkmus touches.. . Iron and Wine (wonderful), the Testface record (Doctor) was amazing to work on.. . those are a few - I am sure I am leaving a lot out.

+ How about this Led Zep cover I hear Armored Frog and Testface are working in unison on - where will this appear, and when?

Well, Jealous Butcher records decided to put this thing together - and Dave (Snider, Testface) knows all of those guys from many years ago - so they asked Testface to do a song. Dave thought it would be cool to team up with Armored Frog, and we set a goal to record the song ("No Quarter") in one day (which of course, turned out to be impossible). 9 hours later, we were starting to see how the song was going to work - and now it is close.. . I suppose sort of. Basically it starts with excerpts from the real "No Quarter" and heavy synths (kind of Frog like), then a LATIN beat (Dave insisted) comes in and the Testface element comes into play. The song progresses, and we hit the chorus with epic drums and guitars and more synths and more and more [and more!]. The solo section is heavily effected noise machines - with the outro being an odd drum machine beat and more samples / synths.. . but really, you'd have to hear it. As for its release - don't expect it too soon!

+ What makes Armored Frog / Sleepsound happy?

Hmmm.. . well, we both really enjoy recording music - but that is obvious. Coffee is lovely and a good steak can be heavenly. Sporting - basketball is our favorite. I really enjoy carpentry, Jake does electronics. A great new album and a couple bottles of wine, and I am sure many more things - too many to list.

Pictured above: automated :|: ghost cow EP :|: weasel on a weathervane