Interview: Doug Tuttle

The Brief

 
 

Doug Tuttle is a singer-songwriter and former frontman of the psychedelic band MMOSS. His major influences include The Byrds, Fairport Convention, Neil Young & Crazy Horse, and Richard Thompson. Tuttle’s eponymous debut album, released on Trouble in Mind Records in 2013, went on to receive acclaim from publications including Paste Magazine and Pitchfork. It was followed by It Calls On Me in 2015, and Peace Potato in 2017.


Which film would you recommend to our readers?
Mulholland Drive, directed by David Lynch. Since I first saw it sixteen years ago, not a week has gone by where a new plot theory hasn’t popped into my head. Few things have held my attention for this long.

Which song would you recommend to our readers?
‘I Am Not Willing’ by Moby Grape. Just a beautiful song all around: amazing feel, performance, production, and universally relatable lyrics about heartache.

Which television episode would you recommend to our readers?
‘Two Chainz’ from Broad City, directed by Lucia Aniello. One of the few modern TV shows that is as funny and re-watchable as Seinfeld. Totally brilliant, honest, and hilarious.

Perspectives

The following questions relate to our Perspectives column, in which two writers respond to an artwork that they are experiencing for the first time.

Could art end civilisation?
It’s the opposite that concerns me.

Do some art forms capture fleeting moments better than others?
It all comes down to intent and sincerity, regardless of what you're making.

States of the Arts

The following questions relate to our States of the Arts column, for which each article includes four artworks that share an association with a single nation or territory.

Which Brazilian artwork would you recommend to our readers?
The music of Os Mutantes. This band really opened my eyes when I first heard them in my late teens and early twenties.

Which Czech artwork would you recommend to our readers?
Valerie and Her Week of Wonders, a film directed by Jaromil Jireš. A surrealist horror film that is equal parts gorgeous and horrifying.

Which Jamaican artwork would you recommend to our readers?
Heart of the Congos, an album by The Congos. Super catchy and tripped out.

The art of discovery

The following questions relate to Silent Frame’s aim to celebrate the art of discovery.

Where do you go to discover new art, and why?
I wait for it to force its way into my life. I ignore everything until, for whatever reason, I can’t ignore it any longer.

What question would you like to ask other Silent Frame interviewees?
Do these questions make you anxious?


More to discover

Doug Tuttle: You can find Doug Tuttle's Facebook page here, follow him on Twitter @The_Doug_Tuttle, listen to 'Bait the Sun' on Soundcloud, and order Peace Potato on the Trouble in Mind website.

Paula Mejia has interviewed Tuttle for Impose Magazine, as have Geoff Cowart for musicOMH, Tim Scott for Noisey, and Rob Duguay for Vanyaland.

Today's recommendations: Mulholland Drive (trailer), 'I Am Not Willing' (song by Moby Grape), Broad City (Season 3 trailer), 'A Minha Menina' (song by Os Mutantes), Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (trailer), 'Fisherman' (song from Heart of the Congos).


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