Jeff Kolar

Todd Nief's Show

Jeff edits many of these podcasts…and now it is time for him to speak!

Jeff is a prolific musician and artist — creating in a variety of genres and formats. His works appear as stand-alone albums, as complements to performance art, and on pirate radio stations.

I’ve long been a fan of Jeff’s music, and, in 2020, he released two of my favorite albums of his: Ditch and Scale with Zeena Parkins.

I wanted to talk to Jeff about the differences between creating for “the art world” vs creating as a musician, as well as the role of improvisation in his process. Jeff also has some wild and hilarious stories about the variety of things that can go wrong when making art.

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Show Notes:

• [01:59] Did Jeff inspire the Nathan For You sketch about smoke detectors?
• [18:40] How does creation differ between “making sound art: and “making music”? How does composition change when complimenting a performance vs “making an album”?
• [37:50] The crossover between punk, skate culture, and high art — and Jeff’s background in BMX
• [45:24] Jeff’s record with Zeena Parkins — and the role of improvisation in music and dance.
• [01:07:47] Jeff’s radio project Radius — and using radio as an “art form”
• [01:14:27] How the live performance of “Ditch” resulted in Jeff at the New York City police department at 6am
• [01:24:00] Check out Jeff’s Bandcamp and listen to Radius

Links and Resources Mentioned:

• Nathan Fielder
• Nathan For You “Nathan’s Band”
• Nathan Fielder Trolls Austin Police Department with Fake Thank-You Cards
• “Smoke Detector” by Jeff Kolar
• Circuit bending
• Creation is Crucifixion “Gameboy AKA This is Where Technology and Anarchy Fuck”
• Chiptune
• Jennifer Monson
• Zeena Parkins
• Björk
• Ben Frost
• Dark (TV series)
• Chernobyl
• Chernobyl Soundtrack
• BMX Tabletop
• The High Line
• Brian Eno
• Five Finger Death Punch
• Pantera
• Obituary
• Watain
• “You Coulda Called Him Al” from the Miami New Times