Almost three years after tragedy, Turing Machine’s singular algorithms skronk on.
“Slave To The Algorithm” (download):
The complex math rock/angular indie/krautrock mix as embarked upon by New York’s Turing Machine since 1998 came to an abruptly tragic end in November 2009. On the eighth of that month, 34-year-old drummer Gerhardt “Jerry” Fuchs was killed in a freak elevator-shaft accident in a building where he was attending a fundraiser. Understandably, surviving members Justin Chearno (guitar) and Scott DeSimon (bass) put the band to rest after losing an integral piece of their musical puzzle and close friend. So, it was to everyone’s surprise when, earlier this year, Turing Machine announced its return with a new album, What Is The Meaning Of What (Temporary Residence Ltd.). Although, whether What Is The Meaning Of What is a new album, closure artifact, vault clearing, tribute to a gone-but-not-forgotten friend or a combination of all of the above is about as clear as whether the band is actually a band.
“Actually, we haven’t had that discussion,” says Chearno about Turing Machine’s status.
“Good point,” laughs DeSimon. “We’re going to put this out, play a little bit and see if anyone is interested.”
“The truth is Turing Machine is and was me, Scott and Jerry,” affirms Chearno. “We’re going to have some fun and go from there. We haven’t really thought about writing new material under the Turing Machine name.”
However, after almost three years after Fuchs’ death and eight years after their last album, Zwei, new material has reared its head. Although, it’s not technically new material.
“The whole thing started off in February 2008 with a long weekend worth of demos we recorded at a cabin in the Catskills,” says DeSimon. “We were having a hard time getting some playing momentum going, so we figured we’d go and write songs in a way we had never done before. So, we set up and played from Friday night until Sunday night. We listened back, selecting stuff we liked, but never got around to building the ideas into complete songs. And then Jerry passed away.”
“Each track (on the album) has parts from the original recording,” says Chearno. “Some are more fully realized than others. Something like ‘Yeah, C’mon!,’ that’s us doing a one-take improv and really the only time we played that song.”
Both admit that listening back to the 16 hours of recordings, Fuchs’ drum tracks and the between-song banter was heart-wrenching. But it’s the hurdle they had to endure in order to have Turing Machine’s fourth album feature Fuchs. They also had their friend’s off-kilter sense of humor live on with the album’s title.
“That’s an old inside joke,” says Chearno. “One of the reasons it took us 12 years to put out three records is that there were many times we’d set up to practice, then look at each other and say, ‘Do you want to go get a beer?’ Then we’d hang out and talk for four hours.”
“In many ways, our friendship got in the way of the band,” says DeSimon, to peals of laughter.
“Jerry would do a lot to get a rise out of people,” says Chearno. “‘What is the meaning of what’ is a classic Jerry saying he would use to keep winding you up and pushing your buttons.”
—Kevin Stewart-Panko
