Brooklyn-based We Owe discuss latest single “Time Suck” ahead of new LP ‘Major Inconvenience’ out Dec. 1

Written by Tori Yeasky

We Owe is the solo project of Christopher Pravdica, a renowned bassist and musician, who has collaborated with a myriad of artists and projects over the span of three decades. As a solo artist, he creates electronic music informed by industrial, experimental pop and post-rock, songs that captivate and baffle alike, engaging wittily with sticky subjects, whether personal or social. 

Best Left’s very own managing editor Tori Yeasky got the chance to chat with Pravdica and talk a little about the latest single “Time Suck” as well as the forthcoming LP, Major Inconvenience, out Dec. 1st via Mothland. Keep reading below to get a little insight into what makes We Owe as a project so special, and an inside look into “Time Suck”!

Photo Credit: Phil Puelo

Best Left Magazine: Your new single “Time Suck” comes out on Sept. 27 with the full LP dropping on Dec. 1 – how are you feeling ahead of these releases?

We Owe: I’m feeling super stoked yo! I appreciate your concern. We as a species should ask after each other more often even if the answer will never be the truth. 

What is the significance of your upcoming single, “Time Suck”? What does the title of “Time Suck” mean to you?

We Owe: Well me personally I love to hear my own music which is lucky cause in the process of doing so you hear it a lot. “Time Suck” was very fun to make and I enjoyed hearing it back way too loud over and over. Then what happens is I can’t hear it anymore I need to move on. I’m just ready to make more songs that give me a feeling like this one did. The title is to me the meaning of life. Is there such a thing as free will or is determinism just a way to not feel bad about our shitty decisions?

How would you describe the song in three words or emotions?

We Owe: Effete yet invigorated with no remorse

What were some ideas floating around your head as you were creating “Time Suck”?

We Owe: I play a lot of video games. Actually a big part of my writing process. I’ll write for a few hours and take a gaming break to get the music out of my head. I get pumped up from gaming so I like to take that energy into the music. But to a non gamer I have wasted years of my life which I have loved every second of. 

How does the single fit into the grander scheme of your upcoming LP, 'Major Inconvenience'?

We Owe: It's the ship's mast! The opener. The one most people will hear first. The opener should encapsulate all of the record and your entire life up to that point. I assure you I’ve succeeded. 

Is there a specific sound from the song that you’re most proud of accomplishing, or one that took a lot of time to get right?

We Owe: My technique for song writing is to pile way too many sounds on top of each other then listen back and sculpt the song by chipping away. Often first sounds I make don’t make it to the end but they inform the sounds I put on top of them. Sometimes a sound that informed everything is gone by the end or is in just a short bit. There is one on this track like that and I love it. 

For “Time Suck,” what was your writing process like – both lyrically and sonically?

We Owe: I usually start with a beat. Sometimes a beat idea or just a pulse to react to. This one started with the djembe drum. I did a few djembe tracks then layered a few bass tracks. Fleshed it out with drum samples and synths then I had the basic structure. Come time for vocals and I used some older lyrics of an unreleased song where I was thinking about determinism and free will or lack thereof. Then it reminded me of wasting time and how if there is no free will then there is no such thing as wasting time. Then I smiled and put some words in the microphone. 

Can you talk a little bit about the determination you felt as you were creating “Time Suck”?

We Owe: I wrote this shit at the tail end of lockdown. I had a heightened sense of determination at that point. Zero distractions and no sense of the future. I was not convinced I was gonna be ok. I am now. Or at least for now. 

What are some emotions that you’re hoping your listeners will take away from the song?

We Owe: My imagination does not come with that software. If by chance any of my listeners wind up feeling something like I feel when I hear it I apologize in advance. I just hope people like it and that would be a massive success for me. Letting people hear my own music is a fairly new thing in my life and I am unfamiliar with the concept of how it lands for listeners. Guess I’ll find out. 

How does being Brooklyn-based inform your sound on this single, or the upcoming LP in general? 

We Owe: I’m from Queens and Long Island so Brooklyn feels like home. I have lived the life of a touring musician for some time so I don’t have social roots anymore at home but I love being home and that definitely affects my choices. Sometimes I hear music coming from a car and I think oh I wanna do something like that. 

Be sure to check out “Time Suck” below and keep an eye out for Major Inconvenience out Dec. 1st!