Name: Troller
Members: Amber Star-Goers (bass, vocals), Adam Jones (synths, rhythms), Justin Star-Goers (guitar, engineering)
Nationality: American
Current release: Troller's Drain is out via Relapse.

If you enjoyed this Troller interview and would like to find out more about the band and their music, visit them on Facebook, and twitter.  



Do you have certain rituals to get you into the right mindset for creating? What role do certain foods or stimulants like coffee, lighting, scents, exercise or reading poetry play?

Amber: We don’t have any set rituals, but we put a lot of stock into creating a comfortable environment for songwriting. Mood lighting and snacks are a must.

What do you start with? How difficult is that first line of text, the first note?

Amber: When it comes to lyrics, everything starts with melody and the words take shape around the melody. More often than not, we’ve already decided on a title or theme for the song, so that steers the initial direction of the lyrics.

My lyrics are always coming from a very personal place, whether it be an experience or a thought process. But they’re always meant to be digested and interpreted by the listener.

When do the lyrics enter the picture? Where do they come from? Do lyrics need to grow together with the music or can they emerge from a place of their own?

Amber: Lyrics emerge once some sort of groundwork has been laid on the instrumentation and general structure of the song.

Sometimes we’ll work on adding synths or other electronics or guitars before jumping into vocals, and sometimes the lyrics form on the page as soon as a structure is established. It’s always a very organic experience.

What makes lyrics good in your opinion? What are your own ambitions and challenges in this regard?

Amber: Honestly, this is a tough question. I connect with music in so many different ways, with lyrics being just a sliver of that connection. But “good” lyrics simply find a way to hook a listener. It could be the melody or the words themselves, but if a listener connects with it I’d say that’s a success.

I try not to think too much about something being “good” when I’m writing as I find that gets in the way of the process. If it feels right when you’re creating it, chances are you’re on the right track.

There are many descriptions of the creative state. How would you describe it for you personally? Is there an element of spirituality to what you do?

Amber: Creativity is 100% a spiritual experience for me. That doesn’t necessarily mean the act of making music has to be some deeply profound thing (although it certainly can be), but it’s a state of mind where I’ve learned to relax and fully trust myself.

Ultimate mindfulness in the moment and a vulnerability to deeply feel whatever it is that I might be feeling so that it can permeate into our songs.

Where does the impulse to create something come from for you? What role do often-quoted sources of inspiration like dreams, other forms of art, personal relationships, politics etc play?

Justin: Nature, life events and oftentimes the tools themselves can lead to inspiration.

We make music because we love to listen to music. We know what we want to hear. Collectively we crave immersive sonic experiences and we love making a new space for others to explore.

Once a piece is finished, how important is it for you to let it lie and evaluate it later on? How much improvement and refinement do you personally allow until you're satisfied with a piece? What does this process look like in practice? 

Justin: Compositionally the best decisions tend to be made in the moment, during the initial writing process. We do tend to let things breathe and revisit at a later date to make sure everything holds up to our standards.

In general we go with things in the moment, capture those ideas and then refine and enhance over time.

What's your take on the role and importance of production, including mixing and mastering for you personally? How involved do you get in this?

Justin: We are very hands on when it comes to mixing and production. I think that with Troller, we often consider this part of the writing process. The mix, the edit, the effects and the timbre are all things we hone in on early in a song’s life.

We take the mastering very seriously, but tend to partner with talented engineers to make sure we have objective and experienced ears on the final product.

After finishing a piece or album and releasing something into the world, there can be a sense of emptiness. Can you relate to this – and how do you return to the state of creativity after experiencing it?

Justin: Often, the more we create, the more we feel inspired to continue the journey. By the time listeners are hearing our album we hope to be well into the next musical creation.

That emptiness is something we are aware of, but between the three of us someone is always dreaming up the next composition, melody or soundscape.

Especially in the digital age, the writing and production process tends towards the infinite. What marks the end of the process? How do you finish a work?

Justin: If it doesn’t turn up well then we aren’t done with the song yet.

If you can sit on your couch and crank up the volume and soak it all in without it bothering you then you’re probably good to go.

Once you've started, how does the work gradually emerge?

Justin: Regardless of the initial idea we all try to contribute toward it. We overdub. We play with reamping and effects. We make sure we’ve given a song the attention it deserves. We collect, consolidate and trim. The song will appear.

If the mood is there then we’re on the right track.

For you to get started, do there need to be concrete ideas – or what some have called a 'visualization' of the finished work? What does the balance between planning and chance look like for you?

Adam: Yea, a big part of developing a song’s identity is softly committing to an idea or a process or a vibe - a ‘visualization.’ It never ends up matching the end result of course.

We throw down a lot of ideas in the studio, many of which don’t make it to the final mix. Figuring out the right balance of expectations and experimentation essentially is the composition. It can be both the most fun and the most difficult part.

Often, while writing, new ideas and alternative roads will open themselves up, pulling and pushing the creator in a different direction. Does this happen to you, too, and how do you deal with it? What do you do with these ideas?

Adam: It happens constantly to us and most other musicians that we know. We usually just record a lot and figure it out as we go.

Fundamentally, making music is just a series of choices, and we haven’t run out of opinions yet.

Many writers have claimed that as soon as they enter into the process, certain aspects of the narrative are out of their hands. Do you like to keep strict control over the process or is there a sense of following things where they lead you?

Adam: Part of being in a band is giving up control and trusting where the group dynamic takes you. We all bring ideas that are precious to us, and each song on the album is heavily shaped by all three members.

If you’re asking whether songs take on their own personalities and start to write themselves - yea, that happens too. Everyone’s hardwired to gravitate towards patterns and archetypes, and we do follow spontaneous ideas / accidents down their paths until we decide whether to scrap it or it becomes part of the song.

Is there a preparation phase for your process? Do you require your tools to be laid out in a particular way, for example, do you need to do 'research' or create 'early versions'?

Adam: We research new production techniques and obscure culture all the time to help us find inspiration. Most electronic musicians and producers probably do this too.

Having controllable lighting and the room arranged well is also a definite must. Everything needs to be comfortable, and our brains need to be stimulated. Habitual for all three of us. We didn’t do this when we started off, but now we do make early versions of songs that evolve or get re-recorded over time.

That’s probably natural for most bands; the more you record, the more comfortable you are writing in the studio and not just the practice space.

Creativity can reach many different corners of our lives. Do you personally feel as though writing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

Adam: I guess the inherent difference between making art and doing a mundane task is the level of care. I can’t explain why I care so deeply about crafting a piece of music just right, other than that I really like good music. It’s definitely a reflection of oneself, so maybe it’s ego? Maybe it’s like Frank from the Last of Us said “This is how we show love”?

Also, I don’t want to disregard the level of care and meaning someone does or could hypothetically put into making a cup of coffee.