P&P Spotlight: Ditner & Iffer (The Parallels) (EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW)

The Parallels, a lo-fi indie group consisting of Joshua Deitner (Ditner) and Chris Bump (Iffer), have seen several chapters to their individual and collective artistic journeys. This year and next year, the duo are revisiting their roots for the next few projects they plan to put out, while expanding their creative horizons in a special collaborative EP, Negative Space. Recently, P&P had the privilege of chatting with both Ditner and Iffer about their work thus far, both as solo artists and The Parallels. We fell in love with their refreshing perspective, as we learned about their impressive contributions to the ambient music.

YOU'LL LOVE DITNER & IFFER IF YOU LISTEN TO: Radiohead, Sigur Ros, Modest Mouse, The Flaming Lips, The National

Image credit: Meager Morsels Music, graphic created by Karly Ramnani

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Ditner, a composer and multi-instrumentalist, maintains a signature sound while experimenting with elements form all over the spectrum. Within the span of less than a year, his releases have included the existential, hard-hitting Future Is Fine, a collection of calmer yearnings in Cast In Stone, Colored In Rose, the intensely longing and conversational Imaginary Conversations, and most recently, the memorably chaotic marriage of rock and classical music in Vision Release.

How do you keep such impressive variety in the solo music you release? What have been your favorite techniques and instruments to play around with so far?

DITNER: Everything I’ve done so far has been an experiment. I’m a firm believer in establishing limits on project resources, to stimulate creativity and to ensure progress. So I usually define what I want an album to look like before I get started – which instruments or mics I’ll use (especially which ones I won’t use!), and sometimes even the compositional forms. If I allow myself to second-guess which piano or guitar pedal or synth I’m going to use, I’ll end up down the rabbit hole and I might not ever get out. I used a ribbon mic on everything on Cast In Stone, Colored In Rose – vocals, horns, strings, amps, everything except the spot drum mics. I love the dark character of it, but on Imaginary Conversations I found a tube condenser that was more flattering for my voice. I’ll keep trying new things, and sometimes I’ll land on an unusual or unpopular choice, as long as I can somehow justify it, just to see how it ages. I write most often on the piano, but when I stretch myself to translate those voicings to other instruments for a recording, I come across some interesting sounds. I’d like to dig deeper that way in the future.

How did you develop the unique songwriting style you have? Do real-life events or fictional stories inspire you?

DITNER: Both. I find meaning in the details of life-cycles of yeast and bacteria, and sometimes a small detail from classic literature strikes me as particularly moving. I wonder about alternate timelines, or parallel universes, or the butterfly effect. There’s a Norwegian indie film called The Worst Person In The World – I watched it late one night earlier this year, and a paraphrased minute of monologue turned into Imaginary Conversations.

Ditner; Image credit: Meager Morsels Music

What themes have you enjoyed exploring the most in “Vision Release”? What inspired you to choose these specific themes?

DITNER: Lyrically, to me there’s just one theme – Vision Release Syndrome (aka Charles Bonnet Syndrome). The ideas of what I might see if I would ever experience this phenomenon were terribly frightening. Would it be as uncontrollable as what we see in dreams, or in our end-of-life highlight reel? The textural concept was one that has excited me for a while – it’s kind of what I thought Cast In Stone, Colored In Rose would have been. All acoustic, orchestral instruments, played live in the studio with all the breaths, bow scratches and other imperfections included. The scariest thing at the time was leaving my voice completely dry and unedited, too. That was an important piece of the experiment for me.

In what ways do you think “Vision Release” builds on your previous solo releases?

DITNER: Is it a step in a structure? Or is it iteration? It’s another set of decorated bits of time, that’s for sure.

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Iffer simultaneously showcases his rich, gravelly alto vocals and an unmatched falsetto in everything he puts out. This impressive range complements his skill on the guitar, particularly with regard to crisp lines and riffs. Iffer also has a knack for heavy and introspective lyricism, which shines through in his latest solo single, "Confusing Two Movies." This track precedes an upcoming LP, which Iffer hopes will be equal parts modern EDM and dark alternative.

How did 80’s music impact the creative direction of “Confusing Two Movies”?

IFFER: I was more likely inspired by bands that are inspired by 80’s music. Bands like Big Black Delta, The Black and White Years, and M83. With a little texture, mood and vocal influence from The National.

What inspired the themes and concepts of “Confusing Two Movies”? What movies (or types of movies) do you imagine them to be?

IFFER: It’s centered around the concept of being wrong, but convinced beyond reason that you’re right. Sort of wasting away in ignorance. I think it’s a heavy and timely theme. Reducing it to something as benign as confusing the details of a couple old movies or which actors played in them, but feeling sure of it, makes for a palatable listen.

Iffer; Image credit: Meager Morsels Music

What can fans expect out of the upcoming LP? Will “Confusing Two Movies” be on it? If so, how do you feel as though it ties into the rest of the tracklist?

IFFER: The direction of “Confusing Two Movies” will likely be the overarching mood of the LP, and likely make the cut. The goal is to put out something cohesive but remains interesting throughout. It will be a mix of moody electronica, guitar driven gaze, and angular melodies.

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In The Parallels, Iffer contributes guitar, vocals, and lyrics, and Ditner offers his drumming abilities as well as any extras. In the 2000s, they remained active in the Southwest Illinois music scene, before taking over Shangai, China in the next decade. Their vast spectrum of geographical and stylistic environments has certainly impacted the evolution of their artistry. The band recently re-released At Big Bend, originally a 2006 eight-track project, including the acoustic deep cut "Lockjaw" that has yet to make its live debut. Over the next few months, they plan to follow up At Big Bend with more similar re-releases. In addition to that, they're keeping the brand new material coming, with the Negative Space EP as one example.

How did you guys meet?

DITNER: We met after my family moved in across the street from his in Warner Robins, GA. I think I was 15 and Chris was 13 or 14. I didn’t have any friends in the state, and when I wasn’t playing guitar in my room I was skateboarding in front of the house. Chris eventually met me in the street and we started talking about guitars and skateboards. It was the most romantic of fairytales; we were inseparable from then on.

IFFER: We met in such an organic and human way at perfectly impressionable ages, that’s why I think we’ve stuck together after all these years. We helped shape our current selves, to an extent.

What first inspired each of y’all to pursue music, both individually and as a duo?

DITNER: I started piano lessons when I was 6, and I think I just assumed I would play music – that assumption lasted until the end of my college years. I had been in bands as a younger teenager, but when Chris and I met and started playing together, I felt like it was magical – just one of those rare creative partnerships that works perfectly. I’ve done other projects during years when we weren’t in the same city, but I’ve never been able to recreate the magical energy of The Parallels.

IFFER: A trip to Chicago to visit an Uncle when I was 11 or 12. It was my first time traveling on my own. Getting on a flight, solo, and seeing a proper big city for the first time put me in a really transformative state. My Uncle brought me along to his band’s rehearsal in this dingy waterlogged practice space, which frankly felt dangerous to be in, I was hooked. Josh was and will always be my musical sherpa.

I like how you guys use rhyming stage names, and for collaborative projects, “Ditner & Iffer” truly sounds like a band name. What inspired you guys to coordinate your artist names the way you do?

DITNER: That wasn’t on purpose. They each have separate personal meanings, and it didn’t occur in my mind for the longest time that they rhyme, but it’s fine. For me, Ditner is how some of my family pronounce my last name; and it’s also an old alternative spelling of the name. A lot of my lyrical output has to do with not knowing who or what I am, and to me, this was the most fitting (even though the name doesn’t seem flashy or catchy!). Also, I wanted something that was uniquely me but I didn’t want to just use my real name.

IFFER: Iffer was a family nickname from childhood. It felt like a fitting and endearing name for a project that’s ultimately geared around random aging vulnerabilities.

The Parallels; Image credit: Meager Morsels Music

The sound of “Negative Space” is simultaneously ambient and alternative rock music, and it’s super cool! What made you guys want to pursue this type of a project, especially when you both have a wide range of previous projects you’ve worked on?

DITNER: Chris wrote all of The Parallels’ material, and I was always a huge fan of it – and I think I relate to it very deeply, as if the concepts and lyrics are my own. When I finally began writing for Ditner, I realized that my writing is so different from what I perhaps expected, and I became very interested in bringing some of that “Chris” magic back into my creative life, and seeing how we could write together – especially long-distance.

IFFER: Negative Space allowed me to approach writing and production from a different perspective. I have always been an equally huge fan of Josh’s music and playing. I think he interprets his influences incredibly well. And I was just pleased as punch to work on something together again. We both kept an open mind and were fully on board to let it sound like whatever felt right.

Why do you feel the title “Negative Space” and the simple cover art fits this project best?

DITNER: “Negative Space” was actually the initial songwriting prompt, and the stated project concept. I think that before we even started writing, we had agreed on the title, as well as this particular artwork.

IFFER: We were purposefully challenging ourselves a little. The distance, the concept of “Negative Space”, the predetermined artwork; it was all meant to shake things up and hopefully create something that would be a bit of a departure from past projects.

In what ways do you guys like to capture the concept of minimalism into your work - both in “Negative Space,” and in past or upcoming individual releases? (I definitely felt the minimalist theme in “Negative Space”!)

DITNER: I’m in conflict with minimalism; some of my favorite music is shoegaze, or experimental minimalist electronica, or whatever. At the same time, I’m excited by through-composition, dense harmonies, and musical easter eggs… I suppose I’m minimalist at times when I’m able to work it all in together – using hemiolas, polyrhythms, and overlapping harmonic sequences that are minimalist on their own.

IFFER: For me, minimalism is a musical trait by default. Unlike Josh, I’m not a ridiculously talented multi-instrumentalist. I rely heavily on a couple of tricks and feel right at home with just a few things going on sonically.

You guys have both lived, and experienced the music scene, of several cities around the world. How do you both feel as though the places you have lived in impact your current sound and perspective?

DITNER: I think the musical experiences I’ve had in different places were certainly also a function of the times. I played in a pop-punk band in Ohio as a young teenager (late 90’s). Then when Chris and I started playing in Middle Georgia I was discovering Radiohead, Elbow, Interpol, and things like that for the first time. It was later in St. Louis, then even more in Shanghai, where the actual people in those places introduced me to new sounds – indie folk, synth sleaze, Japanese surf punk, etc. You can find anything on the internet these days, but nothing is more meaningful than human interaction, i.e. seeing a band playing something new, right in front of you. I think being part of an eclectic music scene in any medium-large city will change anyone for the better.

IFFER: From a songwriter perspective, it’s absolutely something I can always tap into. Those experiences are all so incredibly personal and some even make up my most vivid and cherished memories.

What inspired the decision to release 2006’s “At Big Bend”? From my understanding this will be the first of many such nostalgic releases for you guys - what inspired y’all to start doing this?

DITNER: I’m still not entirely sure if Chris wants to release this… It is a grungy DIY home recording (and from the earlier days of digital recording). But I was always amazed at how creative and unique Chris’ voice, lyrics and guitar playing are. And looking back, that’s some of the most creative and energetic drumming that I’ve ever done. That, combined with my general sense of anxiety about my many years’ worth of material, waiting to die on a hard drive sometime after I die, is my motivation.

IFFER: I was uneasy about it… It’s a slightly embarrassing spotlight on my early stages of musical development. But it’s equally a snapshot of two guys having an absolute blast and experiencing immersive, pure joy. I think that’s well worth putting out in the world.

What do y’all hope longtime Parallels fans get out of “At Big Bend”?

DITNER: I don’t care. I’m doing it for me. Um, I suppose it’ll be an interesting window into the early era. The next record (recorded at a nicer studio in 2006) has a few of the same songs, but dressed up a little prettier, so it’ll be a fun little comparison once everything’s out.

IFFER: Luckily, longtime Parallels fans don’t exist, so no worries… “At Big Bend” and the eventual followup “Higher Learning”, are sort of an exercise in self-gratification, denying insecurities, and just releasing a fun bygone time lapse.

Tell us more about “Lockjaw” and its creative inspiration! Why has this track not been performed live yet? Do you guys plan to anytime soon?

DITNER: I think Lockjaw started as a more purely acoustic tune that Chris had. It was the only song on this record that wasn’t recorded at the big house – Lockjaw was done instead in my apartment bedroom, maybe a couple of months after the other songs were done, and we had moved out of the house. And since we couldn’t record drums on the spot, we dug a bit deeper and ended up with these sounds – the percussion bits, the analog alarm clock, and my electric guitar.

IFFER: At the time, I was mainlining a lot of Interpol and Modest Mouse. It was an outlier track, but fun to make. Unfortunately, this release will likely be the only bit of sunlight the track gets.

What genres of music and artists have influenced your sound the most?

DITNER: Radiohead, and anything that Thom and Jonny have ever done, never cease to inspire me to think deeper about modulating harmonic sequences, deceptive rhythmic concepts, and unusual textural layers. Sigur Ros is the benchmark for me for conveying unspeakably deep emotion. My drum and bass playing has never been the same since Interpol’s first record. The Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev, The Polyphonic Spree, The National, and loads of others have helped me find the license to be who I am lyrically and vocally. When I think about painting a picture through a composition I wonder how I can channel the impressionism of Debussy, Scriabin, and Ginastera. When it comes to jazz, I find Monk’s eccentric melody writing an immense inspiration for rulebreaking.

IFFER: Radiohead is very much a shared love for Josh and me. Psych Rock was actually an early influence. I tried ripping off Billy Corgan for way too long. Desert Rock shortly followed. Josh Homme particularly embodied a heavy attitude and ability to write and arrange that continually blew my mind. Again, Interpol and Modest Mouse were big ones, also Spoon and The Shins, especially around the time of Big Bend. Lyrically, I’ve been really inspired by Nate Lacy from Mimicking Birds. His ability to seemingly detach and hyper focus his words on things bigger than himself, is really amazing.

This is the P&P classic question! From either “Cover Me” or “Gesticulate,” could both of you guys tell me your favorite lyric, what went through y’alls heads when you wrote it, and how you personally connect to it?

DITNER: “I swallow the brine, tough pills and wine, I want to be found but you won’t find me,” from "Cover Me." This is a dissociated, nihilistic line for me, I guess just like the rest of the song. It was written from the perspective of someone who believes they’ve done everything they can, and now there’s nothing left to do but wait on the human whim of another to deliver joy, happiness, or realization.

IFFER: “All knowing revealer, of the sharpest blade, on an empty plate,” from "Gesticulate." It describes uselessness, which is a scary feeling. Lyrically expressing the anxiety of meaninglessly pulsating in some vague negative space complements the overall anticipatory feeling of the track.

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Ditner and Iffer explore new pockets of indie pop and ambient pop music with every release, and they consistently tap into a wide, daring range of subject matter. Just like both individual members, The Parallels have spent years perfecting their artistry, growing an ever-evolving image, and discovering their musical identity. Their discography, packed to the brim with unique gems, might be just what your playlist needs right now. If you feel inspired to dive into their world, we've curated this one to help you get started!