The Legendary Pink Dots’ Edward Ka-Spel talks improvisation and keeping the group alive

• Alena Boykova
• THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS: Edward Ka-Spel (from left), the Silverman, Raymond Steeg, and Erik Drost.

Celebrating year 33, the Legendary Pink Dots return from the Netherlands and the UK for a North American tour supporting the group’s most recent album, The Gethsemane Option (Metropolis). This latest entry into a vast body of work is a haunting inward journey colored by twisted spiritual imagery, and channeling an unparalleled legacy of psychedelic and post-industrial mysticism into seven songs that are among the Pink Dots’ finest in years. Throughout songs such as “A Star Is Born,” “Pendulum,” and “A Stretch In Time,” frontman Edward Ka-Spel and Co. craft dark and elegant atmospheres steeped in lingering resonance, and subtle electric and acoustic textures, revealing all sorts of hidden dimensions lying just beneath the surface. For the current tour, Ka-Spel (vocals, keys) leads a lineup that includes longstanding cohorts Phil Knight aka the Silverman (keys), Erik Drost (guitar), and Raymond Steeg (mixes). The group makes its way to Atlanta to play the Earl on Mon., Sept. 30. But before crossing the Atlantic to crisscross the States, Ka-Spel took a few minutes to talk about chance, improvisation, and channeling energy from a higher being, while keeping the Dots alive in 2013.

The new album is titled The Gethsemane Option, which I assume is a reference to the Gethsemane garden where Jesus and his apostles gathered the night before he was put on the cross. Do you think of the album as a moment of peace on the eve of something violent and terrible. Is that what you wanted to convey with this album?

In fact, the conceptual nature of the album came together in an unpremeditated way. It was only after the songs were placed in order that the very strong thematic line became obvious, and the title emerged. It’s often said that none of us write our own material, that we’re merely channeling energy from a higher being. I can believe this at such moments. The cover was an artist friend’s interpretation of the title, and it fits. She just had a few songs to go on when she put it together. So much more in that big wide universe than any of us could ever envisage in our personal philosophies.

The Gethsemane Option by The Legendary Pink Dots

This year marks the LPD’s 33rd anniversary. Jesus was crucified when he was 33 years old. This, coupled with some of the album’s imagery, lyrics, and cover art - which portrays the cosmos, the garden of Eden, and a strange Caucasian Shiva-like character with bloodied hands and a peace sign on his/her chest, wearing a Berka - projects an intense collision of spiritual and religious signals. Can you tell me more about how these themes are used here?

Another odd coincidence which added to the feeling of synchronicity. Ultimately, all is just a frame of mind. The white rabbit appears and I’m bound to follow it through the dark little tunnels across the breathtaking plateau, under the harsh neon light.

The artist who created the cover, Vera Poimenova, used her intuition. She had a few songs to go on and my wife Alena translated the ideas in the songs (roughly), as she was a childhood friend in St. Petersburg, Russia.

It sounds like chance and improvisation played a pretty big role in how the album came together? is this often the case with the Pink Dots’ and your solo solo material?

Improvisation is so vital, even if I’m creating a song by myself, I have to maximize the possibility of chance entering the frame - even if it’s just a case of throwing the window open when recording a vocal. A bit like jamming with spirits, and who knows who shows up when the invitation has been made. The Gethsemane Option is difficult to articulate although that thread is most definitely there. I guess a state of mind, painstakingly recreated through the medium of music as the wider world outside gets a little crazier every second. Happily, my home is an oasis which allows me the luxury of channeling that craziness into something that is hopefully beautiful.

Is there song a song on The Gethsemane Option that brings all of this to a fine point, or resonates with you in a particularly strong way?

No real favorites here, although I feel like I’m truly baring my soul on “The Garden Of Ealing.” It’s one of the two “London” songs on the album - fitting because I moved back two years ago. It still means regular commuting to Holland as the rest of the band is there.

Over the last few years you’ve posted a large part of your catalogue on Bandcamp. Has it helped raise your profile with a younger audience? The boutique packaging with some of the releases has long been an essential part of the Pink Dots experience.

Bandcamp is a serious lifeline in a climate where a band like the Dots is finding it harder and harder to survive. Certainly the site keeps the back catalogue alive and on display, and allows for the odd spontaneous release like an album of lost sessions or special live shows. But sill, nothing beats a slab of vinyl!”

The Legendary Pink Dots play the Earl with Orbit Service on Mon., Sept. 30. $20. 8 p.m. 488 Flat Shoals Ave. 404-522-3950.