Derek Almstead has played, engineered, or toured with just about every band you would call "Elephant 6." He came to the collective through Of Montreal, joining Kevin Barnes in the band's formative years and served as bass player (as well as drummer, mixer, engineer and various other roles) all the way through 2002's Aldhil's Arboretum. Since leaving Of Montreal, he's focused more energy toward mixing and mastering numerous albums in his studio, as well as playing with Elf Power, Circulatory System (whose second album he's currently mastering), the Instruments, the 63 Crayons, Summer Hymns, Great Lakes, the Visitations, the Sunshine Fix, Pipes You See, Pipes You Don't, and many, many others. Derek has also been an on-again, off-again member of Marshmallow Coast, the solo project of Andy Gonzales (who has also left Of Montreal). His status in the band has just become a lot more permanent. Say it in Slang is the new album from the band which now calls itself M Coast.

1) What exactly is M Coast? Who's on the album, and how does this differ from Marshmallow Coast?

M Coast is basically an evolution of Marshmallow Coast. Andy Gonzales and Sara Kirkpatrick are still involved, I've returned, my wife Emily Growden has joined, and we have a drummer for our someday live configuration named Carlton Owens. What really makes M Coast different from Marshmallow Coast is the introduction of my songs, and two new voices, mine and Emily's. Andy and I had been working on the new Marshmallow Coast record and my new solo project at the same time. I was already playing drums and bass on both projects, and Andy was going to be in my band and vice-versa. I was confronted with being in seven bands! It dawned on me that we should consolidate the project into something new. Voila, six bands! We somehow convinced Emily to sing on a few tunes, and the whole thing just came together.

2) At what stage is the M Coast album? (And are you still looking for a label?)

The album is mixed, I'm waiting a little bit to master it, and the artwork is in the trial stages. We sent the record to Misra for a first crack, but have yet to hear anything back, so we're trying to compile a list of labels to send it to. Actually, I think Pickled Egg is in.

3) Can we expect the new Circulatory System album in 2006? How far along is it now?

I really think so. It is incredibly difficult to say "done" with this stuff; there is just such a standard to it. We have several mixes at this point but there is definitely some back and forth (to put it mildly) to go.

4) When mastering another band's album, what do you consider your role in the relationship? That is, how do you work with them?

One of the funny things about fulfilling all these different roles in the album creation process is that people tend to get really confused about what hat they're wearing at any given time in the process. It's amazing how much people think about the final product even when they're in the middle of a guitar take! Obviously, this is more of an inherent stress the more DIY the project. There's this John Cage rule I've really taken to heart where he says something to the effect of "don't create and analyze at the same time." Being on all sides of the equation really challenges you to compartmentalize your viewpoints, one of the reasons I'm waiting to master the M Coast stuff; I need a little perspective. So when I master another band's record, I'm a mastering engineer, period! What a break, right! It's one of the reasons I love doing it for other people. Generally, I get a few CD's in the mail and then send a few CD's back a few days later! Sometimes there are revisions, sometimes not. Sometimes people like to sit in, either out of curiosity or concern, which is fine too. Generally people can be as involved or uninvolved as they desire. The bulk of artists I've dealt with are just ready to be done at that point; it's nice to give them a final feeling of excitement when they get back something bigger than they sent away.

5) What kind of mastering equipment do you use in your studio?

I do all digital. Wavelab, Waves mastering tools. My ears. I can rent gear sometimes. One of the reasons mastering is so expensive at other places is because of the gear they have to maintain--much of which gets left out of all digital projects--and worse yet, the "gear mentality" which prevails still even in the face of the DIY movement. If you go to the $1000-plus place you'll hear the difference, but our end result will be comparable; the bill won't be! After I've mastered my 200th record I'll raise my rates a little, buy a few fun things, but mainly I like offering cheaper alternative.

6) Can you talk a little bit about Of Montreal? I'm curious how you initially became involved with the band, and what you think of their new direction.

Kevin and I met shortly after I moved to Athens through these girls that we both knew in a band called Spackle. I sat in with their band on bass playing a Bikini Kill and a Minor Threat cover at a house party; Kevin saw it and asked me to play. We got together a few times, and then he ended up joining Elf Power briefly, playing his songs with them. A few months later we ran into each other at a convenience store and he asked if I knew how to play drums. I lied and said I did, and ran home to take a few lessons from my co-worker Carlton (M Coast drummer). So we got together with this guy Joel Evans on bass, Bryan Poole on guitar and me on drums and started rehearsing. A week before our first show Joel quit and Bryan moved to bass. So that was it for a few years. Bryan was more into Elf Power at the time, so the project at first was really just Kevin and I. It was fun to learn all this recording stuff, to do a lot of playing. It was my first real exposure and I was just into the idea of doing something musically. I always looked at it as kind of a music school, because the songs were challenging and I got to do a lot of varied things. As it went on Kevin got more into the theatrics, which I could care less for, and over time became really sick of. So here I am in all these bands doing so much stuff and one day I just realize that I'm at odds with the leader of one of the groups' vision. I've always considered myself a facilitator in other people's bands, I'm good at it. So it was just time to be done. Eight years is a long time to be in a band, the longest for me. They've really taken off since I left, and that makes sense; everybody's into the vision and they've worked hard on a well-laid foundation. I'm proud to have been a part of it.

M Coast has launched a MySpace page with new tracks from the upcoming Say it in Slang. As soon as a label and release date are announced, we'll let you know.

Contact Derek if you're interested in hiring him to master your record.