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The ever-shifting Zak Olsen returned under his solo moniker Traffik Island this year on the psychedelic horror-inspired soundtrack Ghost Notes (Library of The Occult). The new release is a burning scrapbook of eerie ambiences that brew together warped organs, sinister synths, and offbeat psych-folk explorations that create a feeling of unease that shimmer with an enviable autumn light. We caught up with Olsen who dives further into the strange sounds of his new release, how it compares to previous Traffik Island records, and life out in the country.
First tell me what you've been up to lately? What have you been listening to, reading, watching, or spending a lot of time doing?
Zak Olsen: Lately I've been playing acoustic guitar and listening to a lot of acoustic music. I'm reading John Fahey's autobiography and Apocalypse Culture by Adam Parfrey. When I'm not playing instruments, I'm fixing up or messing around with broken music gear, growing mushrooms, cutting wood or playing backgammon with Ash. The only show I watch is Redbar.
Before I ask you about your new album Ghost Notes, what can you share about your friendship and musical companionship with Howard Eynon? How exactly did you meet and begin collaborating with him?
We first met in a cosmic sense when I heard his album So What If I'm Standing In Apricot Jam—it somehow sounded familiar and I felt like I knew the guy already. Our friend Jamie [Wdziekonski] ended up tracking him down and asked him to play a show in our living room. It turned out he was very open to the idea and we've been collaborating in a variety of ways ever since.
What has it also been like working with Gordon Koang and his brother Paul Biel over the last few years?
We only did one album with Gordon called Community. We recorded it at Button Pusher studio entirely live. Gordan would come in, sit down and play us our individual parts. We'd learn them and start to play until he felt it was right and then he'd stop us all and say, "okay we're ready." We'd never do more than two takes. In fact, I stopped a take at one point and his cousin Paul [Biel] looked at me in a way where I instantly knew to never do that ever again. It was a reminder that the energy of the music is most important.
A couple years ago, you moved out of Melbourne to live in the countryside in Wattle Bank, a small dairy farm area. What's that been like and how has it been making music out there?
It's been good for us. I'm probably writing less songs but I'm still always playing instruments. I don't want to force it—just making stuff up as I go along and if something tickles my ear and sticks around long enough it might end up in a song one day. I've also just learned a bunch of basic skills living out here from having to be more resourceful.
What are your views on Melbourne? Do you relate to anything there still when you go into the city?
I prefer to live out of the city near nature and the water but the city's good for being around people and making things happen. Obviously Melbourne has changed a lot in the last five years—I don't think anyone can relate to it as much anymore, but we make do and that's when new things are created. I don't intend on moving back anytime soon though, the pros outweigh the cons.
Diving into Ghost Notes now, what made you want to do a horror film-inspired soundtrack album? How exactly did it all come together?
I was approached by the label [Library of The Occult] and asked to do a record. . I liked the idea of having a specific concept to work towards. It went through a few phases before landing on Ghost Notes. Initially, I was planning for it to be a full acoustic-folk-horror-pagan type thing but ran out of chi after one song ["Winds"].
How would you describe working on this new album compared to previous Traffik Island albums?
This one was closer to Peanut Butter Traffik Jam in terms of recording it. I took over the lounge room at home and tracked it all over a few months then spilled wine all over my laptop and gave up on the project. Months later, I got a new one and continued to record and that time off gave me fresh ears and I think I improved it. I don't plan on making one like this again for a while though. I'm going to stick to recording with other people for a bit. Or if I do one by myself, I'll limit it to what I can do with one track. Overdubs are the devil. I also mixed this one which I never do. It's not really my wheelhouse, but I'm comfortable in getting a balanced mix and it seems to work if I don't overthink it.
Did working on this new record cross paths with Orb's latest LP?
There was a tiny overlap. In fact, one of the songs on Ghost Notes, "No Reflection," was an old ORB idea that I rehashed. I'd never get my wires crossed between the projects really.
The tracks "Fried Fifer" and "Pandaemonium" definitely have a frenetic Giallo quality to them. Were there any film scores you were inspired by while recording?
I've barely listened to Giallo at all to be honest. I listened to a lot of Serge Gainsbourg and that Vampiros Lesbos soundtrack while making this. I had that French sound in mind while recording a lot of the backing tracks, having the bass and drums and percussion quite loud. Also things like Popul Vuh, Cluster and that 101 Strings album, Astro-Sounds From Beyond The Year 2000. I've got a record called Sound Effects No. 13 — Death and Horror by the BBC which I've been carrying around for over ten years that finally came in handy. It was a blast to indulge in the fantasy.
"Psychedelic Freakout" sounded like it could've been on Sweat Kollecta's Peanut Butter Traffik Jam. What's the story behind that song?
I really wanted a song that had that drum fill at the start. It's a kind of "Ghost Note" I suppose. I also wanted to get that really dry, direct rude synth sound onto a track. Most of these songs sort of write themselves as I'm recording them. I'll record the spark of an idea and then get out of the way. In this case I just did that drum beat first and then improved some bass over it etc., etc.
Is there any song from the record that means the most to you (and why) or you're most proud of?
I like the song "The Void" the most. It was basically an improvised piece and has the right atmosphere. I originally wanted to try and have little to no drums on the record and this song catches that idea. I also think it's the spookiest.
What were the inspirations behind the cover art?
I had nothing to do with that at all—the label suggested UK artist Jordan Warren do it. He sent a draft of that cover a few weeks later and it was a no-brainer. Looks great.
Do you plan to play shows around Ghost Notes?
Not at this point. I'm really looking to get the live band back together 'cause I've got a new batch of band songs—going to be a bit noisier and heady I think—but we might sneak in a bit of Ghost Notes and there.
How do you feel looking back on your catalog? Do you still like or relate to your past releases?
I don't look back at it too often. People buy my records off Bandcamp so they slowly drip out every week. Every now and then I'll pull one out I've forgotten about. I don't dislike anything but I do think some albums could have been better, but I thought that at the time anyway.
I still very much enjoy listening to the All Aboard 7" and A Shrug of The Shoulders LP, especially the tune "Looking Around." What are your thoughts on those releases now?
Yeah I'm happy with those releases. Shrug was a funny time. We'd made it during lockdowns and then released it when I moved out to the country. We didn't tour it or anything so I have about 500 copies in the shed right now, plus hundreds of the other albums too. Gonna be lugging those around for a while.
I also really enjoyed The Frowning Clouds archival release Gospel Sounds & More from the Church of Scientology. What are your thoughts on those songs and what was your favorite memory being in that band?
Those songs were all outtakes from Whereabouts. In hindsight, I would've swapped some out but now they're both out so I suppose it doesn't matter. Impossible to mention only one favorite memory from being in The Clouds. We were brats which was insanely fun for us, but probably incredibly annoying for everyone else. That period was a really fruitful one for us. We'd found our second wind in the band which is always a fun place to be. There were lots of songs coming, everything felt fresh again, but we'd been playing for a while so we knew how to sound good together.
Aside from this new album, what's it like also having a new Orb album out this year?
The ORB album took a while to get over the line. We had a few hurdles along the way but we're happy with how it came out. Tim [Dunn] at Button Pusher gave us a 3D sound we'd never had before. We were planning to tour it this year, but an injury prevented that. Next year is the plan.
What are some future plans for you? Can fans still expect another Peanut Butter-style Traffik Island LP or early lost Hierophants album in the near future?
Ghost Notes is probably the closest I'll get to another Peanut Butter for a little bit. As I said, I don't really want to record everything by myself like this anymore unless I'm just messing around on the 4-track for demos and experimenting. I have a bunch of songs and ideas from some band stuff, but I try to just enjoy playing my instrument and be in the moment with it. Working on some Traf & Daff stuff at the moment and have been recording all sorts of things at Button Pusher, The Patersons did one there recently. I'm not sure about the early Hierophants one. I wish that stuff came out at the time, I'm not sure why it didn't?
Thank you for your time. Any advice or last words you'd like to share with our readers?
Thanks for the interview. My advice is listen to more music from the 1940s and before.
Ghost Notes is out now on Library of The Occult.