Above: Noah Lennox AKA Panda Bear

It’s easy to get lost in synths, samples and layering, but Noah Lennox, AKA Panda Bear, is absorbed by an emotive approach and response. This affecting voice is particularly visible on his new record Panda Bear Meets The Grim Reaper, which although deals with sensitive subject matter at times, also enthuses on a higher plane.

The accompaniment of visual artistry isn’t foreign to Lennox, who as a co-founding member of Animal Collective, is both resourceful and hands-on when exerting his creative license. Although he isn’t one for social media, like the band integrated a weekly radio broadcast with the release of their album Centipede Hz, Lennox enlisted the talents of Danny Perez, Marco Papiro, Patakk and Hugo Oliveira, and more, to create an interactive album preview website. Much like the videos for Boys Latin and Mr Noah, the website utilised graphics, photographs and illustrations to fuse darker undertones with a honeyed coating, and vice versa.

It’s this attention to detail and though provoking execution that takes Lennox’s music to another level, becoming an experience.

With 2007’s critically acclaimed Person Pitch, and 2011’s mellow Tomboy, his unique take on auditory perceptions is what sets him apart as a soloist, and in this field. The concept of death on this record is more of re-birth rather than mourning, or perhaps it’s ironically a mourning of a past self, past ideals, an old way of thinking.

Clementine Zawadzki: What sparked the title Panda Bear Meets The Grim Reaper?
Noah Lennox: I liked that it was kind of a nod to a bunch of dub records from Jamaica in the 70s (they featured one producer meeting another producer in the title as a way of signifying a collaboration). But, also the title is meant to reflect the relationship of dark and light present in the songs.

CZ: What do you love about 70s dub duo albums?
NL: I love the atmosphere of dub and the deep wet environment of the production.

CZ: Is it true some songs on the album were inspired by PlayStation2 games? If yes, which songs and why?
NL: I’ve enjoyed video games since I was very young. The most obvious inspiration was the ‘Shadow of the Colossus’ title, as there’s a PlayStation2 game with the same name. The levels in the game are conquests of giant monsters and the process is often puzzle-like. I hoped that the inference of the game might reflect the theme within the songs of conquering the darker sides of our characters.

CZ: Is there something empowering by addressing a topic as dark as The Grim Reaper? Or in taking ownership or confronting something that is generally feared?
NL: I hoped so. On a couple of levels I hoped the songs would function as a way of making the indigestible digestible.

CZ: Are the themes explored on the album ideas you could have only brought to fruition at this point in your life? Have your views on life changed much since the release of Tomboy in 2011?
NL: I would argue that views on life are constantly in flux for everyone (so long as they’re paying attention). The biggest change for me the past couple of years or so has been really trying to embrace how small and inconsequential my existence is. I mean that in the most positive way. The songs reflect my thought process in trying to fully understand that idea.

CZ: In what ways is the instrumentation different on this album? In comparison to Tomboy, the layering sounds less damp and drenched. Rather than mellowing the senses, this album awakens them
NL: I wanted the sound to feel more distinct and dynamic. I hoped that submerging less would allow for more abrasive moments among the more sugary stuff. Also, I felt most of the songs were reliant on the thrust of the drum breaks and the rhythms so dulling that in any way seemed to mute the power of the music.

CZ: I read that you started working on this album while you were also working on Animal Collective’s Centipede Hz. What effect did that have (if any) on this album?
NL: I’d like to think that work on my own and work within the group is part of the same creative wave. So I’d expect that things I liked about the last Animal Collective album made they’re way into Panda Bear Meets The Grim Reaper. There’s energy to some of the songs on Centipede Hz that I think made its way into some of these songs as well.

CZ: To what do you attribute the intimacy of your songs? Although the lyrics are quite cryptic, and the music layered, it still feels relatable and doesn’t ostracise the listener
NL: It’s hard to say and I’m sure not everyone feels like the songs are relatable (particularly with regards to the levels of repetition). But, it’s always my ambition that the fun and enjoyment I take making and crafting the songs translates to those listening.

CZ: What influences the way you write? Why do you like leaving songs up for interpretation?
NL: I like that someone can attach elements of their experience and thought to the music because I feel like that assists the power of the songs and tailors them in a sense to the listener. At the same time, I spend a lot of time figuring out the messages within the music, so if it comes across as nonsense I’ve done a bad job.

CZ: What lyricists and /or authors do you like?
NL: I’m kind of a literary dunce, but I always liked the directness and frankness of Emily Dickinson’s poems. I like Ariel Pink’s lyrics a lot and Dave’s from Animal Collective as well. There’s many ways to communicate so I don’t like to concentrate too hard on just one way, if you know what I mean.

CZ: How do you fit into the “wolf”, “bear” and “eagle” template of Mr. Noah?
NL: I figured the wolf connected to my competitive and scrappy nature and both of those get ugly sometimes. The bear I equated to my laziness and desire to stay home and keep still. The eagle I figured was my aloofness and obsession with planning and geometry.

CZ: What’s the strangest sample sound used on the album?
NL: The one the first comes to mind is a field recording of wolves howling on Mr Noah. It hovers around the song, but I gather it feels a bit tortured at times. There are a couple really corny reggae drum samples, but they’re often fused to other things so they lose their original character for the most part.

CZ: The album is personal, but on a wider scale. In your opinion, what is the most human emotion and why? Although from the outset the album’s context may seem ‘grim’, I feel it demonstrates wonder, and how we are always questioning and looking for meaning
NL: Love and fear must surely be the most primal sensations. I’d argue (and perhaps not coincidentally) that they are the two most vital emotions as far as survival is concerned. I always mean to be reaching for something when writing, because I feel there’s something inherently exciting about that. It doesn’t ensure success, but playing it safe (creatively speaking) seems like death to me.

CZ: Was it therapeutic/healing at all to delve into personal struggles or experiences and find a point of relativity in questioning the bigger picture?
NL: I don’t know that therapeutic is the right word, but I think it’s safe to say that making the record was a very positive experience for me. Talking about struggle is of course the first step towards resolving it.

CZ: In Tropic Of Cancer, you speak of disease itself as trying to find a means to survive in this world. Was it difficult to look from another perspective, or take another angle, when dealing with a subject matter close to your heart, or was it cathartic?
NL: I couldn’t say it felt difficult at the time of writing the song, but perhaps it’s something I’ve slowly had burning. Trying to see everything as players on the same team has helped me over the years.

CZ: Panda Bear Meets The Grim Reaper feels like a chapter from Sequential Circuits to Acid Wash. How do you know when to put down the tools and say an album is complete?
NL: An album and a song feel finished when there’s no strong instinct to change or modify. I can’t say I had a game plan for the sequence or the story of the album, but we recorded far more songs than would reasonably fit on an album, so that made crafting the story (via the sequence) a lot easier.

CZ: You’ve previously mentioned that the essence of choirs is powerful, particularly singing separate parts in unison. Are your solo efforts in a way a metaphor for this? Was this album in particular an exploration of self and exploring those other voices?
NL: I might argue that playing within the group is more the corollary for choir singing. Making stuff on my own feels far more singular and less surprising (to me). At the same time, it’s always important to me that other people are involved with the music, and I was extremely lucky to have a group of really fantastic collaborators. Without the work of Pete Kember, Danny Perez, Chris Freeman, Marco Papiro, and Hugo Oliveira (among others) the album simply wouldn’t be the same. Those guys all brought out things in the music that I felt were a little hidden and I liked that. In particular, Danny’s video work is a major part of the performances and the way the songs feel live, so representing that flavor of the songs in other places felt really important.

CZ: What was it like to work with Pete Kember again, but this time, in a different environment?
NL: It’s great working with Pete. We have similar ideas of where the song should go, but often have different ways of getting there. I’m wary of repeating anything, but felt like working with Pete from the beginning, and in a proper studio (my first time on solo music) would yield fresh results.

Panda Bear Meets The Grim Reaper is out now via Domino Record Co. Follow Panda Bear on Facebook and Twitter. Panda Bear plays tomorrow, Wednesday 4^th March at Electric Brixton, Town Hall Parade, London SW2 1RJ