Category Archives: #q&a

Interview: Doe Paoro

By amelia | @meeelzz
Feb 9 2012

words by @alancholesterol


Sonia Kreitzer is emerging from a profound personal transformation. At the beginning of 2011, she had been helming a lighthearted neo-soul 9-piece, complete with horn section and backing choir, but had hit a creative logjam. Her solution was an overseas trip that brought her through the political upheavals in Egypt and Athens, landing her in India where she briefly studied at a yoga school, and then into the mountains of Tibet.  She returned in the Spring, her voice reinforced by Tibetan opera methods which she demoed first by blipping them onto a BandCamp site tied to a new moniker: Doe Paoro.

Kreitzer took to recruiting collaborators by posting solo piano-voice renditions of her new material onto Youtube, and she linked up with Adam “Rhodes” Rosenwach who has been serving as co-author and producer. Her cover of Future Islands’ “Little Dreamer” was the first public offering of her fully realized new aesthetic. Her sound preserves the soulful vocals that liken her to Adele, while featuring rigorously introspective lyrics and melancholic accompaniment that delves into the dissonant and atmospheric. She will soon be facing the critical establishment at the South By Southwest festival, but not before dropping her highly anticipated full-length Slow To Love this Valentine’s Day, which she celebrates the night before with a concert at Glasslands alongside Tezeo, N/A and Wyndham Baird.

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Aside from vocal techniques, how have your travels to India and the Himalayas influenced your musical outlook?

One thing I thought about a lot in my travels in both India and my limited time in Egypt (with the prayer calls) was music inspired from a place of devotion and of offering. This concept of the offering touched me; I want my song to come from a pure place. I spent as much time singing in India as I did in silence, meditating.The time I spent thinking about silence and sound is reflected in a newfound sense of spaciousness in the songs.

What does the nom de plume “Doe Paoro” mean and how did it come about?

Doe Paoro is a combination of myths involving women. Myth is the seed of which we create our sense of being, but myth means nothing because we are free to rewrite it. ”Paoro” itself is a misinterpretation of a Maori cosmogony myth in which an English translation incorrectly attributed that word to mean “echo,” but that word doesn’t actually exist in the Maori language.

Doe Paoro is my rewriting of my own mythology and a celebration of our freedom to do that over and over again.

The contrast between Doe Paoro your previous Sonia’s Party & The Everyone’s Invited band material is stark. How has the transition into this more spectral, otherworldy sound been, and has your old audience followed along?

The transition happened naturally as I began to change a lot of aspects of my life and have new experiences. I love the Sonia’s Party music; it’s so young and sweet but when I listen to it now, I feel a sense of distance from it as though I’m listening to another person that is not myself sing.

Something I was never quite honest about with Sonia’s Party was that I find myself most genuinely inspired when I go into the melancholia… so having a party band can be a bit of a problem. I don’t ever want to be scared to reinvent the paradigm; the new sound is just where I’m at. From what I’ve heard from our old fans, most of them are more excited about this project because it hits them in a different place.

You are also an accomplished painter and illustrator, is there any synesthesia at play in your work?

Ah, wish I could say yes. I operate in separate worlds with my visual art and my music.

Your music focuses on struggling with attachments, scenarios you’ve likened to a “choir of ghosts.” But these ghosts provide such heights of beauty and pain, what of Doe Paoro when they are all exorcised?

It’s a really good question. I did feel like Slow to Love, our album coming out on the 14th, was an exorcism of this sense of pained longing and attachment and it’s sort of worrisome to work through it on some fucked up level because thats where the inspiration is.

But it turns out when thats all gone, there is a even more beautiful idea of love that has been moving me lately and that’s this notion of “sacrifice,” which is what I think the focus of my next project will be.

Perhaps you don’t want to share, but which is the illest yoga place in Brooklyn?

Haha, I get around quite a bit but right now my jam is practicing Iyengar at Greenhouse Holistic in Williamsburg and I dig on Body Actualized also.

Thanks Sonia!

Doe Paoro is playing Glasslands on Monday, February 13th with Tezeo // N/A // Wyndham Baird

Get yr tickets HERE

Interview: Yellow Dogs

By amelia | @meeelzz
Jan 2 2012

words by @alancholesterol

In the United States, there is an air of rogue sophistication surrounding the term “underground”, the assuredly intentional property of being too authentic or unpalatable for mainstream popularity. In Iran, former home to post-punk outfit The Yellow Dogs, the term takes on a legal connotation, with the threat of imprisonment and corporal reprimand looming over a music scene unsanctioned by the Ayatollahs’ authority. The emergence of President Ahmadinejad reinvigorated the prohibition of Western-style music, as depicted in the 2009 film No One Knews About Persian Cats, which took a Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. The Yellow Dogs provided soundtrack music, acting and a live performance to the feature that was filmed on location in Tehran, thus a meta-realistically illegal narrative based on true events.

Since relocating to Brooklyn in early 2010, The Yellow Dogs have further developed a sound that recalls the sparse and unhinged grooves of Joy Division as inflected by Persian roots and jazz fusion techniques. After their January 4th show at Glasslands alongside Jump Into The Gospel, Fan-Tan and Genghis Hans, they will begin recording the second EP, slated for a Spring 2012 release, a follow-up to last year’s indie release In The Kennel ($1 download here). I put a few questions to guitarist and vocalist Obash to gain a little more insight into their harrowing story.

Has the prominence of The Yellow Dogs or No One Knows About Persian Cats had any effect on the folks on the music scene back in Tehran?

First of all, I should say that there’s a small community in Iran that likes our kind of music; we are a bunch of weirdos for most of Iranians (guess we are a bunch of weirdos for most of Americans too), but in general the whole film did something for a bit, because before that, the underground music scene was mostly about Metal, Jazz and Fusion or Rap and Hip Hop, but after the movie you could feel a shift in the general taste. Most of the Iranians didn’t have any idea that such bands and lifestyle even existed in Tehran. Until the man with the camera showed up.

Your lyrical sensibility is informed by your history; you reject the authoritarianism of Iran, as well as the neo-colonialism practiced by the US. A large part of Americans, especially younger generations, sympathize with this democratic worldview. Would you consider this reflective of Iran’s cultural and political future?

Not at all, this is my vision, and to be honest we have no clue about Iran’s cultural and political future. At the end we are not politicians, we are a bunch of crazy kids who love playing music and having fun.

One of the things that doesn’t sound underground about The Yellow Dogs at all is the instrumental proficiency. How did you guys go about getting instruments and developing your chops in an outlaw genre? I imagine it’s hard to find electric guitar lessons.

Buying instruments in Iran was a pain in the ass, because most of the instruments that you could find was doubled priced or sometimes even fake and mostly all black market. We learned playing our instruments by ourselves or from some good friends. Covering other bands was helpful too.

Between the dark humor in “Gastronomic Meal” and the defiant optimism of “The Golden Age”, your lyrics portray a world that hangs in the balance between destruction and enlightenment. Has the move to Brooklyn improved your outlook at all, or just reinforced the notion that we’re all done for?

It definitely effected our outlook, especially if you come from one of the most strict governments to land of the free, U.S of A, and we learned that shit may be different but its all shit at the end

You’ve been asked a lot about your Western influences and what sort of American stuff is big in Iran. Which Iranian artists, aside from Yellow Dogs of course, should the US airwaves be expecting, or does the censorship make that impossible?

Although it’s censored and there are restrictions with high internet speed, artists still have a chance to get their music heard.  You should definitely look out for our best friends and “sister band” the Free Keys, as they arrived to BK yesterday and will be calling Brooklyn home.  This Glasslands show will be very exciting because it will be the first time for them to see us play since the two shows we did together back in the DIY illegal space we built together in Iran.  Also be on the look out for the talented street artists and skater brothers ICY and SOT.

You recently tweeted, “Talking with a meth head chick in a gas station in Nebraska can be dangerous”. Care to elaborate?

Haha. She looked amazing from far away but as we got closer we learned to never mess with meth.

Thanks Obash!

Yellow Dogs is playing Glasslands this Wednesday, January 4th with Jump Into The Gospel // Fan-Tan // Gengis Hans

Get yr tickets HERE

Interview: Bermuda Bonnie

By amelia | @meeelzz
Dec 2 2011

Bermuda Bonnie is the neon tinged moniker of Brooklyn via Philly based artist Rebecca Huston. Her music has all the fixings of keyboard spiked indie pop, pumped up and infused with a fascinating pension for storytelling and atmosphere–actually she describes it best on her Facebook page, “Beaches, Synths and whispering about ghosts at Girl Scout camp”. Even better, most of her discography is available over at her Bandcamp so definitely give it a listen!

Was relocating to NYC a difficult decision for you? Was there a certain moment or event that pushed you to make the jump?

Hahaha, there is a really long story I could tell here involving a car with three flat tires and no gas,  a neighbor that liked to walk in on our band practices without pants on clapping and the mysterious death of a cat on Halloween but it probably would only be entertaining for me so….yes, it was difficult to move!

I was co-owner of a pretty nice vintage studio in Philly and I was in a band there that I didn’t want to leave called An American Chinese.  But my sister was new to NYC so I was coming up to visitor her here a bunch.  Then I fell in love and convinced myself that I needed to switch it up!

Bermuda Bonnie seems to encompass more than just the music but  is more of a sort of alter ego with a whole cast of characters and images and background stories. Do you go autobiographical with that or are you more into imagining those story lines?

There is so much truth to it all! I mean, some of the characters are a blend of different people but there is almost nothing in the lyrics that didn’t happen to me. I took it even further when I used a photo of the people I am singing about for the cover to the song Evil….kind of twisted I guess but who cares!

It’s fun to come up with the names. A sort of new one is Reta Feather. She is a blend of people but mainly in the song, Say Something, Reta is my best friend in New York, Pamela Martinez from Teletextile. All the lyrics to the new album are here: http://bermudabonnie.tumblr.com/lyrics

Since your debut a couple of years ago your music has a little more production breadth to it.  Have you acquired new instruments or production assistance etc?

I wish! I probably have just gotten better at it. Recording/mixing that is.  

You’ve got a very distinct vocal style, when did you develop that voice?

Well, I don’t know.I remember decidedly wanting to sing a low-ish tone and sometimes down tuning my guitar. I also tend to record vocals very quietly. So that if you were in the next room you might not even hear me singing. This produces a sort of whispering feel and…I was shy. Also, don’t know if it comes through but I love Eleanor Friedberger sooooo much.

What are some of your aesthetic influences for the project? The visuals and music work so well together, its like spooky and kitschy at the same time.

I love that you think it’s spooky! I want to bring that up more in the music video I am working on for Evil. I do try to be influenced by An American Chinese in that way. Mitch has great mysterious vibes.

Thanks Rebecca!

Bermuda Bonnie is playing Glasslands on Wednesday, December 14th with the NYC debut of Trippple Nipples // Knife City // AIMES

Get yr tickets HERE

Interview: Parenthetical Girls

By amelia | @meeelzz
Nov 22 2011

Being in a ‘band’ can take many forms. The foremost type, the type I mostly tackle anyway, is the one who writes the riffs, the time signatures, weaves their collection of pedals into somthing that makes the audience coo in awe of such technical grooming. But you know, there is another kind of band that often gets misunderstood because the efficacy of its work is not something everyone can perceive–its allure is not quite as tangible as a difficult guitar solo.

Parenthetical Girls is one of the latter. While their pop sensibility is undeniable–even if its anxiety level speaks experimental to you–its pop all the same, and beneath the frantic keys and swelling production its not really all that weird.

So what sets them apart, or what makes the project more of a live wire, is the theatricality of aesthetics working together; the madman production, decadent visuals, and some of the highest quality lyrics to come out of indie pop (seriously). But like I said, there’s a sort of sensory synthesis that has to happen or else you’ll kind of miss the point.

Over the last couple of years, Parenthetical Girls have been releasing an ambitious series of EPs called The Privilege, its latest release in the series  The Privilege IV: Sympathy For Spastics recently saw light via their own Slender Means Society label. Zac Pennington, the man behind all this madness, comes across as an intelligent, artistic, sort of awesomely depraved individual, and luckily for me he is also a very articulate interviewee.

I’ve read that you describe yourself as more of the creative director of Parenthetical Girls, that you solicit other musicians to enable arrangements and make your vision concrete. How did you, in the very beginning, build up that network of artists?  What originally got your foot in the door of the music community?

I’ve moved on to “Artistic Director” of Parenthetical Girls, which has been a pretty lateral promotion, to be honest. To clarify a little bit: I tend to see Parenthetical Girls as a means of realizing certain ideas that I have about pop music in the abstract. I’m much better at framing and codifying my ideas than I am at creating the content to communicate them in a way that satisfies my sensibilities. My eyes much are bigger than my stomach. Over the years, I’ve had the good fortune of working with a lot of gracious people who have had the patience to help nurture and harvest these saplings—namely Jherek Bischoff, Sam Mickens, Jeremy Cooper, Matt Carlson, and Paul Alcott, among others.

Before Parenthetical Girls I spent a lot of time in my early 20s writing about music and producing shows for other musicians, as a means of intimately interacting with the one thing that I really cared about, but thought I was incapable of creating myself. I made quite a few acquaintances and even friends this way. The hardest part has always been willing the thing to stay afloat as collaborators inevitably come and go. It feels like we’ve finally figured out a sensible system. Knock on wood.

Considering your propensity towards the more epic side of pop, the choice to release the series of EP’s seems both counterintuitive and weirdly ideal. Have “The Privilege” EPs been a positive format choice for the project?

I’ve always loved the EP—I think it’s the perfect format. Sensible portions, concise, not too self-serious, not too much fat. The Privilege has been an incredible learning experience for me for a lot of reasons, not the least of which because of the format. It’s forced us to create stronger individual pieces, and not to rely so much on the arc of a full-length record. It’s forced us to write SONGS. It’s allowed us to foster a much greater breadth of styles and tone, and let us experiment with a lot of ideas that might have been discarded had we been trying to create a proper full length. It’s going to be difficult to find our way back.

After you complete a record, is it a challenge to work out the pieces for a tour? Your arrangements are so expansive, are there any tracks you just avoid playing live?

As most of our songs are written as we record them, we rarely put much thought into the logistics of playing them live. Which is a really stupid way of doing things. There are plenty of songs that we avoid, and more that we’ve never even tried to play. Most of Entanglements has been impossible to perform in a satisfying way, even when at the peak of our powers. Fortunately, the songs from Privilege are by their nature a lot more aerodynamic.

A lot of indie music these days is sort of sexless, Parenthetical Girls on the other hand is very much sexually charged, and from a lot of angles–not even necessarily in a vulgar way, although you do that quite well, too. Does the sexuality of the music ever create either misconceptions about the project or resistance?

My mother’s not crazy about it. I’ve been told by a handful of our younger listeners that their parents think of us as a corrupting influence, which is very flattering and also possibly appropriate. But of the common misconceptions people harbor about Parenthetical Girls, I don’t think many are based on sexuality—it’s safe to say that sexuality is at the heart of a good deal of it, just as it’s at the heart of everything, really. People certainly have had misconceptions about me because of it, however. Which I find mostly just awesome.

Is there more comedy or tragedy in your music?

Probably tragedy, if I’m being honest. But I’d say its something like 70/30. We’re not as humorless as appearances might suggest. Seriously.

What is the Privilege?

I fell in love with that word, mostly because it is so many things. It’s a powerful word that is also very elastic. The project started as a song cycle about emotional class warfare (which is phrase that is as gross to type as it is to read, trust me), and then became something different altogether—and yet it’s a word that still has continued to relate to all of the songs in different ways. And even though it had already been used as a title for several things that I love—a film, a pair of albums, a few songs—I felt that if I was going to be putting out five things with the same name stamped across their spines, it had to be a word that I was deeply in love with.

Thanks Zac!

Parenthetical Girls are playing Glasslands on Thursday, December 1st with Gauntlet Hair // Dinowalrus

Get your tickets HERE

Interview: Balam Acab

By amelia | @meeelzz
Nov 10 2011

words by @alancholesterol

In the summer of 2010, Alec Koone’s Myspace page was discovered by Robin Carolan during the genesis of his label Tri-Angle Records, and weeks later the debut EP See Birds emerged, much to the delight of the blogosphere and the world of electronic music. This period was the zenith of the infamous “witch-house” genre’s ascent, and Koone, going by the name Balam Acab, was naturally pigeonholed into that movement by journalists with little regard for detail. True, Tri-Angle’s roster aims for “haunting” and sports the likes of oOoOO and Holy Other, but Koone rejected the witch-house characterization and for good reason.

Perhaps the confusion stems from Balam Acab’s reliance on slow tempos and samples distorted into spectral layers of atmosphere. But in contrast witch-house’s use of club banger material fostering proto-ironic nihilism, Koone’s music is infinitely introspective and earnest. Subtle nods to hip-hop, R&B and dub earned his first full-length Wander/Wonder a “Best New Music” distinction from Pitchfork, but the more we hear from Balam Acab, the more his enigma grows. We had the privilege of asking him some burning questions.

I can’t help but wonder where you source your sounds, which often have a very organic sound. Is there a repository somewhere you grab sounds, aside from the manipulated samples, or are you out there in nature with a mic?

I just find sounds on the internet. I also sample from real music. I guess I probably download most of the real music that I sample from on the internet as well, but I mean that’s not really different than ripping the real music from the physical record or CD it was released on, disregarding audio quality, of course.

There’s a lot in common between your work and that of aleatory composers, even down to the removal of the ego and preconception. By using aquatic sounds as percussion, for instance, there’s more rhythmic irregularity than if you had just used programmed drum sounds. Do you identify at all with the experimental avant garde, chance composers like John Cage etc.? You mentioned a local noise scene in one interview.

My music, especially W / W, is made in the complete opposite way that chance composers made music. It’s all very calculated. I don’t even record myself playing the bass lines or synth parts, I just draw them in. My friends and I used to play a bunch of noise music in high school and we would put on our own shows, so we kinda created our own little noise scene in contrast with our super-conservative, suburban sprawl-y hometown. But we would get banned or kicked off the stage from coffee houses and stuff when we would try to play at open mics.

The noise music we made was pretty much always improvised, so that stuff may have had things in common with chance composition. But pretty much anything that I’ve released as Balam Acab is the opposite of chance composition, even if it may give off the impression of occurring by chance. With W / W, I did want the music to feel natural, almost as if it was spawning from your surroundings, which I guess is kinda similar to what the chance composers wanted with their music. But at the same time I went about doing that in the complete opposite way that chance composers did.

You’ve approached the live performance with some trepidation. Without spoiling any surprises, do you have any plans for adapting to this format? Will the music itself be changed for the presence of an audience?

All the vocals are being performed live by my friend Morgan and myself. All the songs are at least slightly different from the studio versions, and some are very different from the studio versions. I wanted to make the live show a completely new and different experience from listening to the records.

You put out a Tweet not so long ago, putting out a call for rappers to spit over your production. Any bites? Any notable other notable collaborations going on right now?

There are always bites, but I don’t wanna produce for other people just to produce or just to make some money – I have to feel their music and want to produce for them because I like what they’re doing. So nothing notable has been established yet.

Speaking of Twitter, you’ve also mentioned having numerous other projects and monikers, and are a multi-instrumentalist by trade. Is there anything you’ve done in the past that might surprise your fans?

Oh yes, most definitely. I’ve made some incredibly strange music in the past.

Hypothetical: You are trapped in the cave on the Wander / Wonder album cover, which has a power source and outlets. You have your laptop, and a choice of two other music making devices. Which would you choose?

A wonderful female voice and a guitar.

Thanks Alec!

Balam Acab is making his NYC live debut on Thursday, November 17th with TRUST // True Womanhood

Get yr tickets HERE

Interview: Hoop Dreams

By amelia | @meeelzz
Nov 4 2011

Hoop Dreams started gaining some attention in late spring when the sextet released its debut 7″ with Captured Tracks, so by the time CMJ had rolled around they scored a number of really great showcases.

Back in September, the young project played label mates Widowspeak’s album release party, which was the first time I caught them live. With only a couple of singles out and about, sometimes I get nervous for young bands like that when jump into the heavy concert rotation circut, but Hoop Dreams sounds incredibly tight live so I can rest assured.

Based out of Blackburn, VA, Hoop Dreams was introduced to Captured Tracks through hometown buddies Wild Nothing. I mean, they also sound like the label’s quintessential band anyway–post-punk-y vocals and synth/surf backing, sounds about like the right fit.

With their return to Glasslands approaching, this time playing alongside Cloud Nothings, I exchanged a few questions with guitarist/bassist Tommy David, and it really sounds like the project is moving forward. We’re excited to see them again too, I mean any young band that can really fill out a set with six members on stage, including a violinist, is fine by me.

You guys just wrapped up a pretty heavy CMJ schedule–for your set-up what was the biggest challenge to keep your set consistent from venue to venue?

During CMJ drums were the only issue; we were hoping there would be drum backlines at the venues and later realized that most places didn’t have full sets. Otherwise, everything fell into place in terms of how we usually play live shows.

You have like the highest ratio of ‘sports’ references I’ve ever heard in an indie band, where’s that coming from?

Who doesn’t want to be like Mike?

So you’ve already got the 7″ out with Captured Tracks, are you going to ease into the next release with an EP or are you going all out with a full LP?

We are working on the LP for early next year but an EP has sort of materialized in the process, so that may precede the LP. Also, there will likely be a new single floating around in the very near future! Keep yall posted…

As a six-piece I’m sure a lot of collaboration goes into molding a song with that many players, but do you have a principle songwriter at this point or do multiple members contribute to the sort of core of your songwriting?

A lot of trading off goes around between different members. I think democracy is key to keep things fresh. Usually we begin with a set of riffs we like, then form a structure with those that works to our taste. Each person finds their own space as the process goes along…No coup d’état is in the works!

With your label based in Brooklyn, CMJ, and again an upcoming show with us here have you been spending a lot of time going back and forth between Virginia and NY? Do you have a lot of opportunity to play around where you’re based?

We’ve been playing in Blacksburg and NYC a lot, but not many other places. We have opportunities but it doesn’t make much sense to travel a lot without having a full album out. Soon, world : )

Thanks Tommy!

Don’t miss Hoop Dreams at Glasslands on Saturday, November 12th with Cloud Nothings // Plates of Cake // Your Youth

Get yr tickets HERE

Interview: ARMS

By amelia | @meeelzz
Oct 31 2011

I was really looking forward to hitting up ARMS frontman Todd Goldstein for a little Q & A because he’s got one of those projects I’ve just sort of followed over the couple of years and now, with their debut LP Summer Skills completed, it’s great to hear the full band moving forward.

ARMS began as a bedroom project for Goldstein in 2004, writing and recording his own compositions on his own time and alongside his stint in the Harlem Shakes. In 2008 he released the gorgeous Kids Aflame EP, setting the stage with his highly lyrical almost spoken word at times, epic pop songs, and building a proper band behind that release.

With the added man power of the now four-piece, the most recent couple of singles boast a more full-bodied production and weight that comes with the added artistic input. It’s still romantic though, in the sense that Goldstein’s music always conveys strong emotions topped off with flares of idealism–which is an endearing quality no matter how you cut it.

The self-released Summer Skills sees light on November 8th, followed a few days later by an album release party with us at Glasslands on 11/11/11 (I know you won’t forget that date).

I read somewhere that by day you work at the seriously creative company Ghostly International, a label who’s artists seem to be pretty far away from the ARMS sound and influences. It seems like a tight knit community, have you always been versed in that kind of music or did you land the job and have a lot of listening to do?

I worked as the Editorial Director at Ghostly International for three years, up until a year or so ago, actually — I’ve been out of the writing game for a while now. But I was writing about music pretty consistently since I got out of college — reviews, features, press materials, website copy for record labels, all sorts of stuff. At Ghostly, I was the label’s written “voice”, creating all of their written content, which was a fantastic gig.

I love pretty much everything that label puts out, from the more experimental ambient electronic stuff to the dancefloor techno and squelchy hip-hop things. I got into electronic music in 2007 or so, and yeah — I definitely had to do a bit of homework back when I was working for Ghostly, but it was homework I really enjoyed, trawling their back catalogue and schooling myself in the history of electronic music. These days, the majority of what I listen to has some kind of electronic element — I love minimal house and techno, ambient and out-there noisy composers. The Ghostly work definitely helped me get a little more well-versed in that scene, but I was well on my way already when I started over there.

I think there’s a difference between the music you love to listen to and the music that actually informs the art that you create–are there influences in your own music that ever surprise you? or even artists that mean a lot to you but have no real presence?

Songwriting is such a strange, finicky process for me — it’s on my mind constantly, I try to wrap my head around my process, and then something pops out that totally surprises me. As for influences, though, I feel like it’s something I have almost no control over — in the end, I just make the music I’m given to making. The influences are something I’m able to spot in ARMS only after we’ve finished something. Though we’re not a totally electronic band, I like to think we have a focus on texture and mood, imaginary spaces and cinematic emotions that can only be made through electronic means — in that way, all that techno and Eno and Cluster and shoegaze and Sunno)) I love so much get a little sonic nod.

The stuff that surprises me is the music from my adolescence that people hear in ARMS — it always makes me smile to hear that someone catches They Might Be Giants in there, or REM, or Rufus Wainwright. I don’t mean to put them in there… but that stuff is tattooed on my brain. It’s gotta come out somehow.

From what I’ve heard of Summer Skills the production sounds a little heavier, is that a result of really working with the full band or do you have some cool new toys?

My cool new toys are my bandmates. On Kids Aflame, I was working primarily alone as a songwriter and arranger and producer, but on Summer Skills I had three amazing musicians to help pull everything together. Matty’s got a one-of-a-kind voice (his harmonies are one of the best things about the album, I think) and is an incredibly inventive bass player, Tlacael’s one of the most thoughtful, nuanced drummers I’ve ever known, and Dave has a touch with effects and noises that completely blow my mind — his weird fingerprints are all over the album. If the album sounds “heavier”… that’s why.

When I heard your single “Glass Harmonica”, I wasn’t sure what it was in reference to so I looked up what exactly a glass harmonica was and I have to say its more of the more terrifying instruments I’ve ever heard/seen. It’s back story is super eerie, too. Was that the muse for the track?

I’d been wanting to name a song “Glass Harmonica” for a while, and as the lyrics for that song took shape, I realized that was the perfect name. The glass harmonica was invented by Benjamin Franklin — it’s basically an mechanized, playable version of what happens when you run your finger over the edge of a crystal glass. There’s also a legend associated with the glass harmonica in which everyone who mastered the instrument went insane.

It struck me at some point that that was a neat metaphor for a fucked-up relationship… a beautiful, fragile, and difficult-to-play instrument, the mastery of which makes its player lose his mind.

What are you most psyched about with the forthcoming LP? Is there a song or sound or production trick you hope fans really pick up on that you’re really excited about?

Oh man, I’m excited about the whole thing, really. To me, Summer Skills sounds like a completely different band from Kids Aflame (which, I guess, it is). I suppose I’d like people to notice the depth of the whole thing… bigger songs, deeper production, stranger and more implacable emotions and moods.

We recorded the album with Shane Stoneback, who did the Vampire Weekend albums, Cults, Sleigh Bells, and I just think he did a bang-up job. We worked our asses off on this thing, tried to make it as ambitious and emotionally complex and beautiful as we could. I just hope that people catch on to that much.

Thanks Todd!

ARMS is celebrating the release of Summer Skills on Friday, November 11th at Glasslands with Hospitality // Franz Nicolay // The Building

Get yr tickets HERE

Interview: Crooked Fingers

By amelia | @meeelzz
Oct 14 2011

Eric Bachmann is literally all over the place. It seems like every time I go to check in on the guy he’s moved across country, living in China, changing his band, dropping a label, dropping a record…

This year has been particularly full of twists and turns, jumping back into a reunion tour with good old Archers of Loaf and then turning right around to release his sixth LP under Crooked Fingers before hitting the road yet again.

Speaking of the new record, its called Breaks In The Armor, it’s on Merge, and it’s a choice change-of-the-seasons effort. The production this time around takes Bachmann’s vocal snarl factor down a notch, but it really compliments the arrangements and sort of opens up his songwriting a bit.

So in honor of the new record and in anticipation of Crooked Finger’s set at Cameo Gallery, I was excited to ask Eric about the reunion, the record, and all that eclectic music floating around in his head. And let me tell you, its a lot of music, to the extent that it hinders his attention span. But with that, you get the sense he’s seriously doing what he loves to do without using any ridiculous superlatives. It’s the sort of “I like this, it makes me happy” attitude that is really something to be revered.

You basically finished the Archers of Loaf reunion tour in mid-August and you now are turning right around and touring Crooked Fingers through to December–is it difficult to switch those serious gears that quickly? What are you most looking forward to in contrast to the Archers tour?

My brain functions more efficiently when I move forward. When traveling in reverse I can’t go as fast. It cricks my neck and I fear I might hit on something negative that mutilated me when I passed it the first time. I don’t want to do that. There’s no need for double-mutilation and regression tends to be tedious and unrewarding.

In the case of the Archers reunion, however, it is fun to take a quick look back. I enjoy gazing out onto a crowd of smiling people singing and reminiscing about the old days. It is an honor that they get joy out of something I was a part of years ago and it is for this reason that I can do it.

But to be honest, I enjoy writing and recording new songs more, and I enjoy singing with Liz more. And if I am going to be involved in an extremely time-consuming, emotionally-exhausting, creative process like making music then I want to create new things, not re-create old things; especially if the old, creative moment was borne out of being young and that moment has come and gone.

Breaks In The Armor is your first album coming out with Merge in a few years since you went out on your own for a bit with To The Races. As the artist, in what area did you feel the most change while you were that interim? You had been signed for so long, did you have to learn any new tricks with those releases?

I didn’t really notice or feel any great change in terms of the music industry climate. She was going down then, too, I suppose.  And I knew before I did it that I wasn’t a good businessperson.  It is convenient sometimes to not have a carrot held out in front of you to lure you down a path you think you want to go down.

To be sure, the dialogue between my DIY record label mistress and I consisted of her yelling at me all the time about how horrible of a businessperson I was. So, I suppose the most relevant thing that I learned wasn’t specific industry information or tricks. It was that I developed a very clear picture in my mind that I shouldn’t be running a goddamned record label because I’m not good at it.

You recorded this record in Athens with Matt Yelton and Liz Durrett –I know you always have a rotating cast of musicians behind the moniker, is that the group that’s hitting the road with you this time or is it going to be plus and minus a few?

This tour we’re coming out with 4 people:

Matt Nelson-bass guitar, Moog

Jeremy Wheatley-drums

Liz Durrett-guitar, vocals

Eric Bachmann-guitar, piano, vocals

Your Reservoir Songs EPs seem to give a little peak into your personal record collection; the selections you cover seem rooted in the Glen Campbell/ Waylon Jennings crowd with spikes in all kinds of directions. Do you have a particular genre or area of expertise you feel the nerdiest about/ most love towards or are you more all over the place?

I’m all over the place. And I can’t passively listen to music.  When I’m in social situations I don’t like to listen to music. I have to pay attention to it so I’m ignoring whatever it is someone is trying to say to me and that’s rude. I don’t want to be rude. When I do listen to music I go long stretches where all I will focus on is one thing to learn as much as I can out of it.

I listen hard like a focused tiger hunting formidable, yet delicious prey. Last year I spent the majority of my listening time perusing all things Tropicalia. At this time I’m listening to that excellent AfroCubism album that came out about a year ago… I’ve been on it for a while now… no end in sight.

Whether its in vignettes or folklore-eqsue tales, you really are such a storytelling songwriter–as opposed to like impressionistic or abstract. Does that propensity ever translate into fiction writing or storytelling via other catalysts?

I used to write fiction. I never had the courage to let anyone read it. I’ve thrown them all away. I felt like they were not very good. I get asked that a lot. I want to try again when I’m on old man.

Thanks Eric!

Crooked Fingers is coming to Cameo Gallery on Saturday, November 5th with Strand of Oak

Get yr tickets HERE

Interview: Nite Jewel

By amelia | @meeelzz
Oct 11 2011

Nite Jewel is such a well-tailored moniker for LA based synth fetishist Ramona Gonzalez and her dark gem hued disco pop. Not that it’s all in a name, Gonzalez, who counts multi-media artist and a degree in Philosophy among her many accomplishments, is a musician who really exudes cohesion and consistency–characteristics that reflect a real self-cultivated point of view.

Since spearheading the project a few years ago as a solo act, Nite Jewel morphed into a trio, ratcheting up the production with some studio time for their forthcoming record. The Secretly Canadian signed project recently shared the “She’s Always Watching You” 7″ via Yours Truly’s new label Love Letters Ink which physically drops in December. Meanwhile, Nite Jewel is hitting up Glasslands in the post-CMJ zone on Novemeber 2nd, so I exchanged a few questions with Ramona about the genesis of her electronic obsession, the influence of philosophy, and that awesome voice of hers.

When you first got into ‘electronic’ instruments and playing around on a synth, how long after that did you begin to write and record your own work? Did you get into beats and synths with the idea of becoming a recording artist or did you just want to play around at first?

I had been recording for years before that, in particular while in college in NYC, so the idea of becoming a recording artist was already instilled in my mind. Not to mention the fantasy of being a singer that I had had since I was a kid. So when I got my first synth, the idea was to get something that could formally help me write.

I had trouble writing simply on electric pianos or pianos because to me the idea of being a Cat power-type, singer/songwriter artist was dull to execute (I don’t find it dull to listen to, however).  I was too obsessed with music with bigger productions than that.  So I guess the answer is that the synths became an avenue to realize my music in a way that I had not achieved on previous recordings.

“It Goes Through Your Head” sounded like a real turning point for Nite Jewel, especially how your vocals are showcased. In earlier recordings you couldn’t hear it that clearly, are you attained singer? You sound like a serious diva on those singles.

I’m somewhat trained yes, I mean, I started taking voice lessons at age 5 from a woman who used to sing with Bobby McFerrin. When I say I’m “somewhat” trained, I mean I am trained in a very particular style that spawned out of jazz into something more contemporary that incorporates world music, jazz, and pop. But I am not trained in the sense that I took classical voice lessons, singing the highest note possible in stilted italian prose. I couldn’t stand that shit. So stale.

I love divas.  I used to sing along to Janet Jackson’s and Mariah Carey’s records non stop as a kid. I still do, actually.

You studied philosophy in college and you’re a pretty recent graduate. Do you feel like the material you studied in school had more influence on your music when you were still in school or have those ideas and inspirations followed you outside of university walls?

Yes I do. When I wrote some of the songs for “Am I Real?” I was seriously in thick of it. Some of the “Good Evening” tracks too, have a little tinge of that feeling. It never goes away though. That’s the thing about philosophy, once you crack that part of your mind open, you can never go back to being blissfully ignorant. I think the new album certainly carries on in that vein for certain tracks. But with me, I always like to strike a balance between deep philosophizing and carrying on about love.

I read that your next record was recorded with the full band in a proper studio, is that true of  ” She’s Always Watching You” 7″ that’s coming out in December or am I speaking of an entirely different recording? What was the biggest relief for you recording in a studio?

“She’s Always” was recorded in the same studio as the rest of the songs that will be on our next record, for the most part.  The songs were recorded in a lot of different stages in a few different places, including our home studio. It’s polished budget pop. I love recording in a studio with an engineer and producer and a bunch of musicians. I love just being able to write and sing and play keyboard and leave the rest to everyone else. It’s a dream.

Has anyone ever dedicated the song “To Ramona” to you? If not you should make up a story about that.

Bob Dylan. I think that song was meant for me, actually.

Thanks Ramona!

Nite Jewel is playing Glasslands on Wednesday, November 2nd with Warm Ghost // Headless Horseman // Guilty Ghost

Get yr tickets HERE

Interview: Razika

By amelia | @meeelzz
Oct 5 2011

Norway’s Razika is just full of surprises. Go ahead a try to make assumptions straight off their name and geographical location but this all-girl quartet is a far cry from the country’s famous black metal antics. Sure, they’ve got a touch of that Scandinavian wide-eyed sort of sparkle, but that’s probably attributed to the fact that they’re all only 20 years old more than anything else. Of all things this tight knit group of childhood friends melts together classic jangle pop with ska and flares of post-punk all sung in Norwegian and English–not an equation you hear everyday.

The girls recently released their debut Program 91 via the very awesome Smalltown Supersound, scoring reviews on Pitchfork and the like. Razika will be making their US debut at Cameo Gallery next week, and in anticipation I asked them a few questions about the genesis of the band and their disparate musical influences.

Some of your lyrics are in English and some are in Norwegian, do you prefer writing in one over another? Is it difficult to write in English or did you grow up speaking it?

We find it interesting to write in both Norwegian and English, we wouldn’t choose one over another. You express yourself differently in the two languages, which we think is something positive. In Norway you have your first English lesson when you’re six years old, so it’s not exactly difficult, just different.

Who are your influences? I definitely hear a lot of ska weaved into your dream pop how did you get into that sound?

Both new and old bands inspire us. The Specials, The Police and The Smiths on one side and The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys and The Libertines on the other. There are also two bands from our hometown that have had major impact on us, The Aller Værste and Program 81. The first time the four of us listened to their records together we knew what we had to do. Hehe.

Your black metal scene is the first thing that comes to mind when I hear about Norwegian music, but I’ve always wondered if its actually that popular over there. Is black metal a really widespread genre or just a loud minority?

Yes, black metal is popular over here unfortunately… We actually had to shear a rehearsal room with a metal band for a short period…

I’ve read that you guys started this band a number of years ago when you’re all in school–have you always had the same line-up? When you started the band how did you decide who played what instrument?

In the beginning we tried with Embla on bass and Marie Moe on drums, but we found out that it sounded best the other way around. Maria was determined on playing the guitar. We also needed a singer, so we asked Marie to join us. At that time Marie played piano and we only managed to play bad Bob Dylan- and Beatles-covers. She soon switched to guitar and eventually we taught ourselves how to play together.

Do a lot of kids start bands where you’re from or were you one of the only ones?

It was a few other bands, but not many, no. Especially not girls. We were kind of unconventional and people at our school thought we were really weird.

Where did you get the name Razika?

Razika is an african girlname. It was a girl in our school called Razika and we thought it was a really weird and cool name. It became kind of a codeword between the four of us when we saw a cute guy. So instead of saying “check out that cute guy” we would say “razika to the left” so it wouldn’t be so obvious. So when we were looking for a name to the band, Razika was a natural choice.

Thanks guys!

Razika is playing Cameo Gallery Friday, October 15th with Ski Lodge // Lips

Get yr tickets HERE