A Q&A with Doctors Of Space

Improvised space rock and experimental electronics…

What’s the title of your latest release, and what does it mean to you?
ØSC – Alotta hella down in Estrela was our 33rd studio album, and the title relates to my studio in the Serra da Estrela mountains in Portugal – that’s where it was recorded. Hella relates to my last name, Heller. We are very proud of the album. As for Doctors of Space – Fusing Your Synapses, this was another long 70-minute sound collage of different pieces of music we recorded over the last five years or so.

What was the hardest part about putting this release together, and why?
For ØSC and Doctors of Space, we have a lot of material as we record many hours when we are in the studio and all the music is improvised, so we take a while to find the best and most interesting pieces to put together for our releases. Making an amazing mix is very important, so we do not rush this process.

Who produced the release – what did they bring to it? If you produced it yourselves what do you enjoy most about producing your own material?
We have never worked with a real producer, so I guess you would say that I am the producer, but no one has ever been credited with producing any of our records. We use a democracy system to decide what people like and I try to take these decisions and make up the album order and possible tracks (for ØSC). For Doctors of Space, I present everything I do to Martin and we decide together.

What do you want the listener to take away from listening to your music?
We want them to be able to disappear into the music and be taken away somewhere to forget the crazy world. Our music is meant to be listened to with no distractions so you can take it all in and have a good trip or journey.

How does a track normally come together? Can you tell us something about the process?
For both bands, we just get in the room and play. We choose a key, maybe a sort of idea (funky, heavy, spacey, slow, fast, etc.) and just play and see what happens. The process is a bit like a lab experiment. Our laboratory is the music studio. A lot can come out in the mixing process as well and you can often be surprised at how good or bad a piece of music was.

What band/artists have influenced you the most since you started this project, and why?
For me, bands like Pink Floyd, Hawkwind, Allman Brothers, Fela Kuti, Ozric Tentacles, Tangerine Dream, and Alien Planetscapes have been big inspirations. We are all fans of bands that do a lot of jamming and improvising. Space rock is my favourite genre of music, so I love many bands that play in this style, both old and new.

What countries would you like to tour? Are there any standout venues you’d like to play in?
I am getting a bit tired of the hassles it has become after Covid and how difficult it is to even get out on the road, but it would be nice to play a few more times in the UK and Italy and Spain, where we have never played. We have played a lot of amazing places, but the Roundhouse in London would be amazing – that is unrealistic for us unless we got really lucky and could open for Ozric Tentacles or Hawkwind.

If you could pick one track for our readers to listen to in order to get a taste of your music, what would you pick, and why?
I would say that is just about impossible as we have such a diverse catalogue of music. ØSC has made more than 40 albums, Doctors of Space 14, and I have about the same with my solo records. ØSC fans really love our album The Black Tomato. As for Doctors of Space, I think our studio album from last year, Wisdom of Clowns, sold out pretty fast, so that was quite good. My most popular solo album is Suite for Orchestra of Marine Mammals – not as experimental and very Klaus Schulze-inspired.

What ambitions do you have for the band/your career?
I think I have achieved a lot in my music career, so if I was done tomorrow, I would be quite satisfied, but I personally just want to keep improving as a musician and push the musical boundaries and keep going where no one has gone before (like Star Trek). There are loads of people I would love to collaborate with like White Hills, Temple Fang, Lisa Belladonna, Richard Pinhas, etc. One never knows.

Finally, as you leave the stage, what are your parting words?
Making music is most importantly about having fun. If you are not having fun, then you need to find something else to do. The music I make in all my band projects is instrumental, and my hope is you are able to disappear into the music and just listen to the sonic soundtrack and put everything else aside. Relax, take a trip, smile. Thanks for giving me this time and please check us out.

Find out more about Doctors of Space at doctorsofspace.bandcamp.com