Electronic Musician Makes Chaotic Film Debut
Bree Callaughan in Jake Holman's film Mind You.
The year 2010, for Jake Holman – the life force behind the upcoming electronic act Rintoul – sucked. Plain. Simple.
“Apart from death striking my friends every two months,” Jake explains, “the learning environment I was in for music class sent me into depression. What’s the point of learning anything if the teachers don’t encourage you?”
Even outside the classroom, “life as normal people lived it became unattractive; the alcohol made me sick and tasted worse with every mouthful. The parties became noisy, incoherent depictions of the lows of getting wasted, and I got increasingly isolated from those around me by my growing conceptions of it all.”
Retreating to his flat in Orange, NSW, was the worst. “It was a palace, and my mind was chaos. Thoughts going off in all directions, too difficult or impossible to explain, manifesting a cynical, negative edge that was hard to break.”
The Turning Point
Cue 2011. Important changes, such as going on mind-altering medication and switching career paths, were made. And now Jake is “the happiest I’ve been for years,” as he strongly puts it.
Cue 2011. Important changes, such as going on mind-altering medication and switching career paths, were made. And now Jake is “the happiest I’ve been for years,” as he strongly puts it.
“My mind is still the same, chaotic and incoherent, but now I understand it enough to turn it into something which IS coherent. Well, at least enough for people to understand.”
The Interpretation
That something is his debut in film media: Mind You. The film is an aptly-titled ride through the mindscape; exploring aspects of the mind which are impossible to understand, interpreted as film.
“I want to make something which is chaotic, plotless, non-sequitur, like Koyaanisqatsi”, Jake says. “And for music – everyone connects with music – anything I do in Ableton Live 8.” He hints that a track from one of his earlier albums may be a worthy candidate.
“The primary response I want of people when they watch is to be jolted. I want them to feel uncomfortable, and apart from giving them almost nothing to connect to, giving them weird music accentuates the experience.”
“Now I’m still finding film in the media course I’m doing difficult,” Jake explains, “so of course trying to tell a story while figuring out how to work the damn recorder AND edit it could have been a motivation-kill.
“For me it’s all about getting as much random information as possible and turning it into something more random. I know it sounds like a wank, but the only way to retrieve this info is to imitate the manner of the movie: Chaotic. No scripts, no rules, just go along and do something, is the essence.”
The Journey Ahead
On what Jake’s thoughts are for the creative journey ahead: “Of course there are going to be crushing lows trying to convey my idea. There always is, it’s about getting over that and moving on. I’ve done it before. 2010 ain’t here no more. Anything goes.”
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