JU L IA N C ASA B L A N C AS + TH E VO I DZ , ZO LA JE S US, TH E G R OW L E R S, T WI N P EAKS , LI P H E M RA, TO P S , B UN N Y M I C HAEL, BI G UP S , H O 99O 9, P U R O I NSTI NC T & M O RE I SS UE O 3
We are running headfirst into the wild, past the once chased horizon. Our passion is uncompromising, our drive steady. Our landscape transforms with each bold artist chiseling her mark on our culture, and we, in turn, have evolved, serving as both platform and compass. We have crafted a community of imagination and insight. We have become a universe of gripping artistry, colored fresh by honesty and innovation. And we will live on – as the charm of escape and the revelations rooted in reality.
[ E D I TO R ’ S L E T T E R ] We here at Alt Citizen have been working tirelessly on this charmed issue. The camaraderie of our community and the solidarity of the artists in this space have been truly invigorating and inspiring. The little world we’ve created is quickly becoming a destination for new and established artists to leave their impressions and an even more fun locale for its natives to explore. Everyone featured in this issue, from our team to the artists we’ve showcased, are all deserving of your attention for the intensity of both their work and insight. With this issue, we hope to introduce you to something new to love, along with fresh perspectives and ideas to add to your cultural arsenal. We told you to mosey around with our last issue, but we suggest you keep this one somewhere safe.
[ CO N T R I B U TO R S ] EDITOR IN CHIEF NASA HADIZADEH PHOTO EDITOR CHERYL GEORGETTE ARENT DESIGNER KIRSTEN PINCKET MANAGING EDITOR JUSTIN DAVIS WRITERS NICOLE WOSZCZYNA EVA BANDUROWSKI TIMOTHY WHITE SHEA GARNER SANDY CHUNG KIM PROSCHKA ASHLEY OPHEIM NINA LJETI PHOTOGRAPHERS CHERYL GEORGETTE ARENT WALTER WLODARCZYK TOD SEELIE ROBERT DUME JENNY REGAN CLAIRE MILBRATH VIVIANA LEVRINO ONLINE CONTRIBUTORS DANIELLE O’NEIL MELISSA D’AGNESE TREVOR SENSOR ERIC LYONS WALLACE MORGAN MICHAEL SUAVE SPECIAL THANKS KUSH MALIK
[ CONTENTS ]
LIPHEMRA P. 8 THE GROWLERS P. 14
JULIAN CASABLANCAS + THE VOIDZ P. 42 PURO INSTINCT P. 60
RAP GAME P. 86 BIG UPS P. 88
H09909 P. 64
SHOWS WE WENT TO P. 92
CRUST PUNK P. 70
HOROSCOPE P. 100
THE SOFT COOL GRAVITY P. 32
TOPS P. 72
WANT IN? P. 104
BUNNY MICHAEL P. 36
TWIN PEAKS P. 80
ZOLA JESUS P. 20 VIVIANA LEVRINO P. 28
PUBLISHED BY ALT CITIZEN, LLC | © 2015 ALT CITIZEN
LIPHEMRA MU S I C I A N / LO S A N G E L E S I N T E RV I E W BY S H E A GA R N E R P H OTO G R A P H E D BY C H E RY L G E O R G E T T E A R E N T
INTERVIEW: LIPHEMRA
Overcoming the crippling pain and hopelessness associated with heartbreak can be daunting for anyone, let alone an artist isolated amongst the overwhelming urban sprawl of modern Los Angeles. But Liphemra, an electronic producer raised in the city’s growing DIY scene, harnesses that unrelenting sense of despair and turns it into her creative output. While most of her work has appeared on one-off cassettes, demos, and mixtapes, Liphemra is hard at work on an upcoming EP, set for release early next year. Having just released her latest single, “magazines,” an ominous, forward-moving synth track sporting warbly, Kría Brekkan-like vocals, the bleeding heart sat down with us to talk about LA, jazz music, and dream collaborators. Where do you find inspiration from your surroundings in Los Angeles? Where is your place to sit and write lyrics? I like to write and make music in a quiet space like my bedroom. Often times though I find myself going up Mulholland Dr. at night and looking over at the city by myself, or going to the beach, just to be alone so I can think and focus in on how I’m feeling and what I need to say, and the things I need to sort out in my brain. In silence I can figure out who I am. Would you consider yourself an extrovert or introvert? Why? Both. When I’m working on music I need to be alone or with my bandmates. When I made my mixtape I barely went out for a few months. When I have creative impulses and I’m in a routine where every day new ideas come to me, I need to be by my computer and ready to take advantage of those moments. Going out can be distracting and tiring, especially at times when I need all my energy to write. When the songs are done and I feel good about what I made that day, I like going out. Who is your dream collaborator and tour companion? Flying Lotus, Thom Yorke, Geoff Barrow, Mad Lib, Bjork, James Blake. Your music has a harmonic dreamy quality to it. Are there any artists that inspire your musical dreamscape?
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INTERVIEW: LIPHEMRA
So many. Mostly my inspiration comes from jazz music. Oh that’s interesting. Which jazz musicians in particular? Elvin Jones is my favorite jazz drummer and the way he plays has always inspired me. He’s emotive, firey, and aggressive in many ways. I also have grown up listening to a lot of Miles Davis and John Coltrane... Wayne Shorter is another favorite. What advice would you give to your fellow musicians? Just make whatever you want. Never compromise your art because of what other people think. If they don’t get you now, they will... trust me.
“JUST MAKE WHATEVER YOU WANT. NEVER COMPROMISE YOUR ART BECAUSE OF WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK. IF THEY DON’T GET YOU NOW, THEY WILL... TRUST ME.”
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THE GROWLERS
BAND / ORANGE COUNTY STO RY BY N A S A H A D I Z A D E H P H OTO G R A P H E D BY C H E RY L G E O R G E T T E A R E N T
STORY: THE GROWLERS
The Growlers, a gypsy-inspired quintet led by singer Brooks Nielsen and guitarist Matt Taylor, is one of the most recognized ambassadors of surfrock and all things West Coast. Their latest album, Chinese Fountain, is the band’s fifth studio album, and the most polished to date. In addition to their trademark sound – strained gravelly vocals, guitar twang, warm organ tones, and reverb – Chinese Fountain flirts with both dance music and the virtues of crisper mixing, culminating in an impressive sonic evolution for the band. But don’t worry – that much-loved hangover grit is still there; it’s just taken the time to brush its teeth and put on some pants. Known for its rowdy, female-heavy audience, the Growlers’ Beach Goth festival just celebrated its third year in Santa Ana, and though I was unable to make my way out west to catch the psychedelic debauchery, I got to see the Growlers at their sold out show at Bowery Ballroom back in September. That night, which opened with an elaborate chinese dragon show, had a curious, child-like energy permeating through the space as the band serenaded the crowd with a collage of sounds – from surf to psych to garage, even incorporating elements of disco. From what I can tell from their music and live show, Nielsen genuinely understands people – specifically, how they work and how to work them. With a mastery of simple yet cutting lyrics, the Growlers spin poetic tales detailing the plight of a mischievous hopeless romantic. At Bowery Ballroom, frenzied fans pushed to the front to better experience Nielsen’s storytelling spell, following his every word and move as he shuffled and sang onstage. In a fit of wild energy, he swung his mic, only to have it disengage into the crowd and nail someone in the head. He felt horrible about the mishap, and when he got the mic back, he dedicated the next song to his “swollen angel,” which made the crowd collectively swoon. After heading home, I couldn’t help but feel intrigued by the experience. This beach goth vibe encapsulates something special, and I wanted to understand it further, possibly discover the hidden meaning behind the band’s deceptively down-to-earth lyrics. So with the help of my buddy Nathan at Riot Act, I was able to score some phone time with Nielsen while the Growlers were on their US tour. When I got on the phone with him, he was immediately playful, telling me how he’s a “happy boy in Portland right now.” PAGE 14
STORY: THE GROWLERS
STORY: THE GROWLERS
I first asked him why they named the album “Chinese Fountain,” and he replied, “My father used to own a fountain company. They have a special place in my heart.” It would seem that beneath the gruff exterior, there was a youthful sense of wonder. I continued on to tell him that, to me, the new album feels dreamy and bursting with emotion, and I asked him if he would consider himself a moody person. He admitted, almost unexpectedly, that most of the time he tends to act like an old man. “I just suck everything up, I’m pretty straight forward. I save those feelings for when I’m writing songs,” he said, with a laugh. He explained to me how he didn’t have any music idols growing up, and instead was crazy about Kung Fu and Bruce Lee. In fact, he said he “didn’t really get into music until I was like 18.” This is another surprise, given his knack for storytelling, confessions, and thoughtful observations. I told him one of my favorite tracks on the new record is “Love Test” – specifically the lyrics “All of the girls in LA look like they’re fading away / A woman should be strong with thick legs and strong arms.” “That song is about being in the shadows of Orange County,” Nielsen said. “I think LA is one of the greatest cities in the world. But New York has some of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen.” I asked him if he’d ever consider moving to NYC. “The band has played with the idea. Most of them are single right now,” he said. Then, with a laugh, he adds, “They keep telling me to ditch my girlfriend so we can move there. But we’re gone half of the year and can pretty much make it work anywhere.” We went on to discuss what it means to be an entrepreneurial spirit, and when I asked if there was one book he’d recommend everyone check out, he said it would be The Fountainhead, “even though most people hate it.” I asked if he’d ever be interested in pursuing something creative outside of singing and songwriting, and he told me about wanting to build a house, fix up his car, and eventually do the “dad thing.” Simple, honest, everyday things. Finally piecing together Nielsen’s grounded, lighthearted nature, I understood why I’m such a big fan of the Growlers. They keep their creative spirit authentic and alive, and it couldn’t be more obvious that they are in it for the love of it – of poetry, melody, and killer parties.
ZOLA JESUS MU S I C I A N / LO S A N G E L E S
I N T E R V I E W B Y J U S T I N D AV I S P H OTO G R A P H E D BY C H E RY L G E O R G E T T E A R E N T ST Y L E D BY J E N N I H E N S L E R M U A PA I G E C A M P B E L L
INTERVIEW: ZOLA JESUS
Nika Roza Danilova, otherwise known as Zola Jesus, is audacious, and her dark, avant-garde take on pop finds glory in everything, whether it’s the deer carcass her hunter-father brought home one day or the nothingness that lingers in the aftermath of a failed relationship. This is how she thrives as an artist – observing the world from its cracks, crevices, and holes, and then filling each void with beauty. Gothic might be the first and easiest identifier that comes to mind, but that is far too reductive (as she will attest), and though she has roots in punk music, reckless defiance doesn’t suit her either. Danilova doesn’t simply dip into the spirit of rebellion or the macabre for their own sakes, but rather uses these dark, powerful materials and moods as tools to challenge herself and her audience. Her sonic landscapes, stage visuals, and personal aesthetic – “gothic” as they may be – ultimately serve to create an enveloping, otherworldly adventure, one that seeks both intricacy and an intimacy. Her music, more specifically, capitalizes on nuance and the element of the unexpected: from breathy pop atmospherics and pulsing beats to introspective lyrics and her own commanding, classically-trained voice. Opera, punk, and pop may seem inherently disparate, but a restless artist and experimenter like Danilova is able to tap into these easily-missed opportunities and forge a futuristic sound that’s all her own, and which couldn’t be more apparent than on her sixth studio album, Taiga. It probably comes as no surprise to learn that Danilova willingly isolated herself on the island of Vashon in Washington state to work on Taiga. Without the external noise of city life, the opinions of others, and the standards set forth by the gatekeepers of radioplay, she was able to craft her strongest, most diverse collection of songs to date. As such, she has received much hard-earned praise and attention from the media (ourselves included), but for Alt Citizen she represents more than just talent – she embodies the heart and soul of what it takes to be a modern-day muse.
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INTERVIEW: ZOLA JESUS
Let’s talk about the new album. I find it super interesting that you left for Vashon Island in Washington to work on this project. Can you tell us about your experience there? It was great, it’s exactly what I needed [laughs]. I was living in Los Angeles, and that’s where I wrote my last album. The process of writing in LA is so strange because you’re constantly fighting through the noise in the city, and there’s so much going on around you. It’s so hard to just focus and find quiet. So moving to Vashon was the complete opposite: it was completely filled with quiet and isolation and everything I wanted. It’s honestly where I felt more at ease, you know – I don’t really feel at ease in the city. It was almost like returning to my roots, and in returning to my roots, I was able to tap into the core of who I am.
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INTERVIEW: ZOLA JESUS
What else did you do to keep busy, given all of that space and time? Nothing really. Go on hikes. Basically explore [laughs]. For me, constant evolution is key to both artistic growth and success. Can you tell us what brought on this sonic transformation for you and your record? Really it was just taking myself out of the equation. Removing myself from the world, in a sense, and moving to Vashon and feeling like there was no pressure at all. I just had this freedom to experiment and try things and keep digging deeper and deeper, trying to find the kernel of what I’ve been trying to say or communicate. And there was just no stress. It was so nice. I could make things and be proud of them but keep working and fully realize the idea. I think some musicians – and I’m a victim of this – have a problem where they have an idea and they can’t realize it, or they get stuck and just give up… and that is 90% of my process [laughs]. Except for this I was like, You know what? There’s no pressure. I’m just gonna keep going with this idea until it becomes something – it might become something different, but that’s okay. A lot of the songs did become different – maybe more so than people were expecting – but I just let it happen naturally. You have such a unique style and presence. Can you tell us some artists who have inspired you and your work? Oh man, where do you start? That’s such a big question. I can name one thing in each medium even. I guess in terms of art I would say Richard Serra. In terms of architecture, right now it’s Frank Lloyd Wright, but when I made Conatus it was Zaha Hadid. Film: Tarkovsky... oh man, there are so many, but really Tarkovsky and his broad strokes and his big painterly frames. It’s just so deeply cinematic. And he inspires me on a music level as well, because you just want to score his tableaus [laughs]. The stage design at your show is intense. It sort of creates this little world unto itself. Can you tell us about the inspiration behind it? I really wanted to have hired stage production for this tour because I felt like Taiga deserved it. PAGE 23
INTERVIEW: ZOLA JESUS
I wanted a light sculpture on stage – something that was really big and felt environmental and architectural. So I found this lightning designer named Sarah Landau, who’s very talented, and she found stage designer Carl Robertshaw, and together we created this environment for the tour. It was really exciting to see it come to fruition. I read that you were involved with the score for Only Lovers Left Alive. What was it like working with Jim Jarmusch and his band SQÜRL? Well, I worked with Jozef Van Wissem and Jim Jarmusch, but mostly with Jozef, who did most of the score. But it was wonderful. Jim is one of those people that is such a visionary and is so steadfast in his ideas. He’s not going to compromise his art, and that’s something I really admire and respect. And the people he chooses to work with are similar in that way. Like Van Wissem – he’s a lute player in 2014 [laughs] and still doing incredible things. And Tilda Swinton, who is also really similar. What advice would you give young women who are interested in exploring their own creativity? I would say don’t question yourself. Don’t question anything: don’t question if what you’re doing is cool, don’t question if what you’re doing is relevant or if it’s this or that or if your friends are gonna like it. Do the thing that feels natural and follow that and don’t look back. Because the minute you start to question things, everything disintegrates and falls apart. You just gotta really hold that creativity sacred.
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VIVIANA LEVRINO P H O T O G R A P H E R / I T A LY
Viviana Levrino’s series of photos, titled “High Lands,” operates with an eye for escapism: they venture into the unknown in pursuit of growth, well-being, and insight. Her landscape compositions, packed with strategic stretches of empty space, invite the viewer in by virtue of their sheer openness; and while there is usually a small detail or object serving as the heart of these images – made that much larger by its contrast to the vastness surrounding – you can practically imagine yourself in the photograph, buried beneath the immensity of ethereal worlds. Not to mention Levrino’s shrewd use of hazy filters and askew focus make these moments all the more hypnotizing. It is our pleasure to present to you some of Levrino’s most enticing and welcoming works. Get lost in the mindful expanse, and learn both what’s out there and what’s inside.
THE SOFT COOL G R AV I T Y A POEM BY ASHLEY OPHEIM
with only three visible stars above me in the sky of cities the one I love is still dreaming I like to think love is at home in itself and that it goes on and on forever bending into a myriad of infinite dimensions that love is like the language of all universes and that when the earth is propelling us forward in space and time the shifting of its belly towards the light of the sun is an act of surrender to ease into and maybe it’s obvious yes but it’s not easy to say or to feel the cosmos blinking just under your skin requiring quiet under a car wash sign a wet bough lush with autumn and aluminum bed sheet and a rusted lock exhausted of having things belong to us that betray that perpetuate a self that is always changing shape so carry us world carry me soft carry me gentle I am all knees and elbows for you bending I am all thumbs and tongue for you in the morning in this city this pending home this pendulum of potential this era of discontent I am bending in the soft cool gravity I am nobody at this time of day not even loneliness can grip me there is a century inside of me for a moment I become my vision I become a siren inaudible I become my hands and I am our fears compiled I am again becoming full of aloneness but better at it and devoid of gravity without an emergency I am being given a river of irreplaceable time being given the wind and these words so that I can dream my self unfolding from this pattern just so I can take shape again can feel the color return to become awake to become a universe to have shadows extend from me to be weighted down by a being that is trusting in the soft cool gravity
BUNNY MICHAEL A R T I S T / B R O O K LY N
I N T E RV I E W BY N I CO L E WO S Z C Z Y N A P H OTO G R A P H E D BY C H E RY L G E O R G E T T E A R E N T MUA SAMANTHA JOZIC B U N N Y M I C H A E L W E A R S N AT U R E S L U T
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INTERVIEW: BUNNY MICHAEL
Artists like Bunny Michael are rare gems. With lyrics, music, and accompanying videos coming directly from her otherworldly heart and soul, all of her creations are beautiful and authentic. And each is an experience, rather than something to passively listen to or watch. Her recent video for “A.F.D. (angel f*cking dream),” for example, will compel you to rethink your stance on what’s considered real or normal in modern society. And it’s really fun to watch. Not all artists have the strength to convey such large and affecting ideas, so Bunny truly shines as she communicates her inspiring perspectives on life, art, and humanity, and she makes music that’s unlike most things you’ve heard. Recently, we caught up with the futuristic art goddess, and got some insight on her unique vision. Your name, “Bunny Michael,” seems to always be associated with the term “art rapper,” which seems fitting. Is that how you would personally define yourself? Or, rather, do you define yourself in a particular way? I didn’t start calling myself an “art rapper” – I actually think it’s kind of a redundant statement, as if rap isn’t already “art.” But I think people are describing a certain conceptualism about my lyrics. Language is tricky. Actually it’s just really limiting. How can you determine your identity with words someone else created? If I had to choose though I would say “Surrealist Lyricist.” You’re definitely one of the most self-assured artists we’ve come across. Have you always been so confident? I’m blessed to have learned that just being myself was okay. I struggled for a long time because I was so attached to my ego: I compared myself to everyone, I judged, I criticized myself. I think it’s really hard for artists because we don’t grow up in a world that values free expression. We value competition. And so it’s easy to get lost and feel like you have to be “on top” all the time or in control. What’s the point of reaching your goals as an artist (i.e., money, recognition, success, fame) if you’re miserable, if you’re mean to people, or think you are better than anyone else? You’re not. We are all equal and we can learn and be inspired by everyone. So basically I stopped taking myself so seriously. And now I just wanna have fun. All the time.
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INTERVIEW: BUNNY MICHAEL
And the realms of spirituality, sexuality, and dimensions beyond what we consciously perceive are both fascinating and relevant in today’s chaotic world. When did you first become interested in these kinds of ideas? These “ideas” in my opinion are not actually ideas at all – they are who we are. Right now I am living in a dream. It’s a beautiful dream but this isn’t really my home. In my heart I feel a stillness beyond thought that is me. Words cannot describe this feeling. But I think we all feel it to some degree. And it’s growing. Within us. My friends and I speak about this. Something waiting. Something that has been sleeping for far too long now. Something that is waking up. To be lucid in this dream is why I feel I am here. I speak a lot about sexuality (i.e., Nature Slut) because I see it as a gateway to this beyond realm. Again, it’s so hard to put into words because language is so limiting. Like meditation, we have not tapped in to the power of orgasm because we have shamed sex for generations. We have been told it’s something dirty or sinful when it is actually natural and beautiful, and it’s power is still unknown.
“HOW CAN YOU DETERMINE YOUR IDENTITY WITH WORDS SOMEONE ELSE CREATED?”
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Dear Artist
You are the master.
You are the creator.
You are the curator of your world. What is my world?
Anything you want it to be. Who is the Artist? All of humanity.
Why do I feel lost?
Because you are infinitely powerful.
And your mind cannot comprehend infinite. Therefore you do not “feel” lost.
You “think” lost. Stop thinking lost. Why is there suffering? Because of illusion.
You have created it.
Therefore you can change it. Who is God? I am.
Who are you?
The one within you. – Bunny Michael
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JULIAN CASABLANCAS + THE VOIDZ
B A N D / N E W YO R K C I T Y I N T E RV I E W BY N A S A H A D I Z A D E H P H OTO G R A P H E D BY C H E RY L G E O R G E T T E A R E N T
INTERVIEW: JULIAN CASABLANCAS + THE VOIDZ
Julian Casablancas has been innovating music worldwide ever since the Strokes’ critically-acclaimed, breakout album Is This It. While his individual popularity can be attributed to many things, the way Casablancas soundtracked our lives with frank, self-assured songs about frustration, love, and city life is something that has always stuck. In this way, we’ve come to recognize his voice as conversational, matter-of-fact, and even romantic. Departing from the more “conventional” rock ‘n’ roll tropes that made the Strokes iconic, Casablancas has delved further into sonic experimentation, artistic nuance, and the eccentricities of world music. His hair is still shaggy and his style still bleeds effortless, New York cool, but together with his new band – made up of Jeremy “Beardo” Gritter (guitar), Amir Yaghmai (guitar), Jacob “Jake” Bercovici (bass guitar, synthesizers), Alex Carapetis (drums, percussion), and Jeff Kite (keys) – Julian Casablancas and the Voidz have created an aggressive yet accessible attack on apathy with their debut album, Tyranny. Casablancas’ lyrics, as you might expect, dabble in poetics and abstractions that are darker than anything we’ve heard before. They plead for us to hold up a mirror to ourselves, our communities, our generation – but never once does the message feel too disconnected or ethereal. Instead, Tryanny is a noisey triumph that strategically melds together a myriad of genres and techniques, including Arabic quarter tone scales, metal, modern classical, and hardcore punk – all in an effort to dissect the rabbit hole of personal politics and the role of the individual in society. Their collective investigation of morality, selfishness, and public ignorance has coalesced into a hypnotizingly lyrical call to arms, making Tyranny the clear culmination of a muse hard at work. Needing to know more, we sat down with Julian Casablancas and the Voidz to discuss their first headlining tour, their diverse influences, and the beautiful yet undefinable power of music.
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INTERVIEW: JULIAN CASABLANCAS + THE VOIDZ
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INTERVIEW: JULIAN CASABLANCAS + THE VOIDZ
So, this is the band’s first headlining tour. How’s it going? Beardo: It’s been awesome. The record, we’ve learned how to perfect it because of tour, and it’s our first real tour as a band. The one thing we get from that is unity: playing together every night and tightening up the set and figuring out set lists and just crafting the band, the Voidz. So we’ve been doing that and I feel like we’ve gotten to a nice level performing the music. All in all, it’s been a lot of fun. The crowds have been really good. Canada was really awesome – every city was great. Jake: I think that the first couple months of shows, we were in our infancy stage, and then we graduated to toddlers, and now we’re finally getting some pubes. Our voices are changing, there’s hair growing in places where they weren’t before [laughs]. Sweet. I had a fun time at the Hammerstein show, all the new stuff sounds great! And having Blood Orange cover the Stroke’s “You Only Live Once” was awesome. Can you tell us how that came about? Julian: I’m always torn, to lie, and just kinda go, Yeah, we threw it together last second. Make it seem like, you know, we’re more talented [laughs]. It’s kind of the combination of … it’s got a long history. Would you like the long version or the short version? Up to you. Julian: I’ll take that as you want the short version [laughs]. All right. Since the beginning of doing that song, I’ve always had weird second thoughts about it. I think it’s cool and it turned out great, but I originally wrote it four half steps higher, and I felt like when I heard the original demo that it had more of a Prince-y kind of vibe. So anyway, with some of the Strokes’ songs that we play – when I’m not with the Strokes – I try to only do a song if there’s a specific thing I’ve always wanted to change, you know? So, we kinda did that, we messed around. We played with this band Continue, and we came on stage. And it was like, Do you wanna sing a song? Maybe I’ll sing one of the choruses. It kinda happened on stage – I don’t know where we were, DC or something – and I had an epiphany that the vocals in the demo version of PAGE 46
INTERVIEW: JULIAN CASABLANCAS + THE VOIDZ
“You Only Live Once” and the album version don’t overlap. You can almost do a call and response thing. So I had that epiphany and I was like, oh man. But Continue had their last night, so we couldn’t do it with them. And I was trying to think of who we were playing with, and I realized – Dev! Also, the song is four half steps higher, which is a little high for me. I kinda have to do it fake Prince style, since it’s almost too high for my range. But that’s kind of how Dev sings, so it was the perfect idea – I just didn’t know if he’d go for it or not. So I texted him and I was like, Man, I have this idea. No pressure, but I think it’s maybe the best idea ever [laughs]. So I sent it to him. And it feels weirdly almost like a Blood Orange song when we were doing it. So, it just seemed to work out. All the stars aligned. But the only time we ever practiced it was at sound check, so it was quasi thrown together. Let’s talk about Tyranny! I watched the teaser “Can I VHS you” where Julian refers to this project as a protest album. I was wondering if you could share some truths people should understand about the world we live in before they dive into this project. What do we need to know in order to get the album’s full effect here and now, and not years later? Jake: I don’t think we’re trying to repeat anything. I think, generally, we’re more interested in pushing the boundaries of what is considered safe language in music – not lyrically, but the overall voice of the band. It’s probably the most unifying aspect of it, because stylistically we’re so all over of the place in terms of our interests and influences. What unites us is the desire to not repeat things you’ve heard before on the radio. Beardo: Lyrically, Julian had a lot of input for that. Musically, we kind of vibed off of his initial lyrical idea of what this record was going to be. But also I think we all come from different parts, we’re all so different, you know? Which is cool. Any band that forms in the world – either they suck when they get together and they never get it together and they never become a real band, or they do and gel. I know personally me and Julian and a lot of us have a lot of the same beliefs. Julian: For me, I think if you want to break it down, no matter what you believe in, what causes you support or whatever, all along the spectrum – it almost doesn’t matter. I think the problem is, the way it’s manifested now, PAGE 47
INTERVIEW: JULIAN CASABLANCAS + THE VOIDZ
is just money in politics, and as long as there’s money in politics, you can’t do anything. Not one single thing, because you’re combatting these forces of money and power. If a company is polluting a water source, or if it’s racism on a police force, it doesn’t matter what it is – it seems like you’re not going to have the clout to pass any kind of law or get any kind of support unless money’s out of politics in general. That’s the main thing. And also media, too, with transparency. It’s all connected right now. The mainstream media – people just assume it’s objective, which is so off. But it’s always been like that: we’ve always had people with the most power or money making the rules and controlling the information that gets out. It’s always been like that. I guess the only bummer is that we were raised in an era where we thought we were past all of that, somehow. It’s a bummer realization. The good thing is that, with our constitution and democracy, if everyone is on the same page, you can get laws passed. If everyone feels strongly enough, it can happen. But if and only when everyone is very passionate. If everyone is outraged, and not just one sector, then something can happen. But that’s very hard in this day and age where money controls everything. So, it seems very unlikely to be honest, with governments and militaries and companies that would fight to the death to not give up even an inch of that kind of power… I don’t know why my answers are so damn long [laughs]. Short story long. I’ll stop talking. Jake: I think that very generally and abstractly it’s a protest record against comfort zones, whether musically or lyrically. I don’t think we’ve veered into a territory that’s comfortable. What are some albums, films, or books that you’ve been deeply affected by? What works of art have you encountered in life that have made a lasting impression on you? Julian: The Odyssey by Homer. Every line is almost a powerful quote, and every paragraph is almost a poem that wraps up and completes itself, and every chapter is almost a little story in and of itself, and the whole book, as the title suggests, is this massive, epic journey. It’s just something that works on all of those levels: on the biggest scale down to the smallest detail, it’s all just deep and rich and perfect. I think that’s something that inspired me – an ideal to strive for, where you don’t have to throw away any moments.
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INTERVIEW: JULIAN CASABLANCAS + THE VOIDZ
Beardo: I’m not such a good books guy, but I’m a listener and a visual person. If it was something that I could say I always imagined music being for me, it’d be Jackson Pollock: totally just throwing down and that’s what you get. For books, Effortless Mastery by Kenny Werner, which is a book about thinking music and not necessarily touching your instrument, but just breathing the air and learning how to be a better musician inside. Maybe those two things, and punk rock [laughs]. Jeff: Ratatouille, Back to the Future, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Goonies, Apocalypse Now, Godfather I and II – those are some lasting movies for me. Books: 100 Years of Solitude, The Sun Also Rises, those are two that I’ve read multiple times. Albums: oh boy, Pink Floyd’s Animals. Amir: Music: there’s an album of old Turkish songs – ’70s kind of Turkish funk songs – that years ago this LA musician Flying Lotus passed on to me, and I then I gave it to Jake and it made its way through the band. It’s a bunch of different bands, but the sound of it and the way that they take American funk music and blend it with their traditional Turkish music is amazing and inspiring. One of my favorite live shows that I’ve ever seen is Cornelius, when he came to LA a few years ago. He’s so cool: the blending of styles he pulls off and the stage show and his band. I really liked Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, too [laughs]. Jake: Most influential records as a young musician man were probably Stevie Wonder’s Innervisions and A Tribe Called Quest’s People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm. That’s what made me want to start making music, those two records. Books: I guess my favorite authors are Joan Barth and William Gaddis. My favorite movie in recent years is A Prophet. Terrifying. As musicians who have been making music for many years, I’m curious to know if you have any personal theories as to why music is so important to human beings, and why we feel so connected to artists. Beardo: I would say, for me, instinctively, it’s in every human, animal, and living being to hear sound and move to it. It’s a rhythm thing, a thing that you feel. It’s rudimentary. I think any one person, when you’re a kid even, will tap their foot or dance around. I think the first instinct is to move to sound. PAGE 49
INTERVIEW: JULIAN CASABLANCAS + THE VOIDZ
The universe is all sound. Jake: It’s the most primal technology, even predating fire. It’s just the most primordial version of communication. Harnessed with technology and culture and language, it becomes very powerful. I think it speaks to something much more than just something to dance to in your apartment. It’s a connection to something very old and very futuristic. Beardo: Maybe something in the way when the wind blows, the trees make a noise. Or in modern times, when a train goes by. There’s a rhythm to that, if you listen to that deep enough. Maybe that’s where it all came from, the sounds we heard in nature. And we try to make those sounds. Replication. Like when a baby sees someone do something and does it. Amir: I think music is important to people because it’s similar to meditation almost. You hear a song and you make associations in your mind and emotions come up, and it’s different for every person, but it draws something from inside you. It’s essential, and therapeutic. Jeff: It’s intangible and intoxicating, too. It might be unfair to say this, but I think it’s true of all art. I mean, somebody might look at a painting and get completely lost, but there’s something about music where it’s far more like you surrender yourself to it, and it has its way with you. It has a very unique power. Julian: I guess I have a pretty unromantic answer to that too [laughs]. Music is basically based on the human voice, I think. Human voices are attracted to voices in general, to help us decipher language. Which is something we’ve strongly evolved with – like in the way you enjoy fire, or cold water, or other natural things. I think there are tones in the voice – it’s basically an octave and a fifth, and other overtones, too – so being able to do music is just being able to dissect that. Our scales and all of that are based on the voice. Rhythms, too. They happen in nature. And we’re forced to recognize patterns, whether it’s waves crashing or the soothing sound of rain. It’s not as magical, I think, when you break it down. But when you can harness that emotional power, almost like a magician or something, people are in awe somehow. Just being able to control people’s emotions is, for lack of a better word, charming. Like how someone can make you smile for being funny or handsome or whatever it is. PAGE 53
INTERVIEW: JULIAN CASABLANCAS + THE VOIDZ
People are drawn to that. The one magic thing in music that is much harder to define – maybe if you were omni-brained, it would be less sexy – but for me what remains mystical is what makes certain melodies much more powerful than others. That’s a lot more complex and a lot more mysterious to me. So there’s still magic in it, somewhere at least [laughs]. One of my favorite tracks on the album is “Dare I Care” for both its message and sound. I’m curious whether you channeled this sort of Arabic feel in the song naturally or if it was something you consciously worked toward. Jeff: That’s my favorite, too, actually. Amir: Together, we listen to a lot of music from different regions: India, North Africa… Beardo: Jake brought a lot of that stuff in. He has a lot of world music. He got me into that, because before that I wasn’t listening to that style of music. When we walked into day one of recording, I realized I had to really listen to it and figure it out because I could tell we were going in that direction and it was like, well, I better get familiar with this. Julian: It was a culmination of things. We have these Turkish songs we hold in high regard, and obviously they have those Middle Eastern type scales. I think we did this jam once, in Omaha, a long time ago, and called it “Arabic Jam.” That’s kind of how it started. But there’s this one Turkish song that has a Middle Eastern scale but also this really glorious, Western mega chorus, too. I was cognizant of that, and trying to copy the power of that song, but originally it sort of happened by accident. Loving the use of the VHS aesthetic in your album art and videos. What about it made it feel like the right vibe for this project? Julian: Lately that’s been Jeremy’s thing. He’s been the one filming everything. He has a VHS camera, so he would go around and ask people, “Can I VHS you?” [laughs] I’d say that it’s mostly Jeremy, but I think as band we all embrace anything cool anyone is doing. We get behind it. PAGE 54
INTERVIEW: JULIAN CASABLANCAS + THE VOIDZ
Beardo: Yeah, I shot all of it, pretty much. Aesthetically I was thinking I wanted it to look gritty. I brought all of these weird cameras with me to New York, thinking I’m just gonna do this so we can remember this experience. Warren had this idea of doing a documentary. And for our first video, Julian and I were talking about budgets, and then I was just like, why don’t we just do one that’s like if we were 18 years old and had no money, no budgets, no nothing? Just do it from the heart – an underdog video. I always feel like bands should have that first video be personal, with the band. Aesthetically in my mind I always knew, when I went to edit the thing, that I wanted it to be scary and very dark. Digging the hole was my first shot idea for “Where No Eagles Fly,” and when we went out to the middle of the woods and it was dark we were like, what are we doing? Shooting a video I guess [laughs]. Anyway, essentially the first teasers were just ideas – me filming with VHS cameras and these guys filming some stuff and then Warren just put it all together. Amir: Warren Fu, who is the guy who does all of the graphics. Beardo: He’s an insane video editor, director, graphic designer. Jake: He’s been with us from the beginning. Jeff: He goes back with Julian, also, with the Strokes’ stuff. Beardo: With the stuff on the stage too, all the cameras with the weird things being played – there’s all these weird video scopes going on, and I brought those in from a company called Critter & Guitari. They make these weird instruments that I play on the Voidz stuff. And on the monitors you will see on stage tonight, there are boxes plugged into our instruments and they move to our instruments and make colors from the tones. It’s not like I have a laptop running. It’s all very rudimentary, digital-analog. Aesthetically, Julian was open to anything, so I just kept feeding the monster [laughs]. Even the lighting, just keeping the lighting the way it is. Julian wanted it dark, but when we played a show in LA, man, it was too dark. So he said we’d get a lighting designer and to talk to him, and I said I think it should look like My Blood Valentine or something, like underlit. Aesthetically, every detail matters. We are very aware of every detail, and we strive to make every piece of the live presentation very cool. PAGE 56
INTERVIEW: JULIAN CASABLANCAS + THE VOIDZ
What advice do you have for the younger generation? Jake: Don’t be a DJ [laughs]. Jeff: Work twice as hard. Jake: Work when you don’t feel like working. Beardo: When you’re not practicing, someone else is. Jeff: If you want to do music, don’t wait for inspiration, because it won’t wait for you. Julian: Someone asked me a similar question recently, and I think I was saying something like, since I’m old enough to be giving out that kind of advice, maybe respect your elders [laughs]. But people older than me probably have better advice. I don’t know. If what you want to do is be the best at something or just really good at it, I think there are certain rules to follow: work hard, and do things a certain way. But sometimes I wonder if those people who are really great at things are even happy. I just can’t tell. Is that a path to happiness? Honestly, it’s a question I haven’t really figured out myself, so I’m not one to give advice on it. It’s tricky [laughs]
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PURO INSTINCT B A N D / LO S A N G E L E S
Have you ever woken up from a dream, found yourself disoriented by a massive headache, and wished you could return right to the point where you left off? Puro Instinct’s music feels just like that: between daze and consciousness, sleep and waking. Their electronic expertise is hypnotizing, with swirling synth lines and pop melodies that hook you in. After earning heaps of praise for their debut album Headbangers in Ecstasy (which featured a collaboration with none other than Ariel Pink), the LA sister-duo, made up of Piper and Skylar, is now working on their next musical dreamscape. And judging from their track “6 of Swords,” this upcoming journey will take us to a mystical, Studio 45-esque headspace. Older sister Piper provides us with a pretty accurate description of what their live performance would look like if it were a painting (hint: there’s glitter involved). That little bit of insight was straightforward, but it turns out talking to the girls can leave you just as confused as listening to their music. Like, what is a “skeche leche?”
I N T E RV I E W BY K I M P R O S C H K A P H OTO G R A P H E D BY C H E RY L G E O R G E T T E A R E N T MUA SAMANTHA JOZIC
INTERVIEW: PURO INSTINCT
What is it like being in a band with your sister? Is sibling harmony a real thing? It’s great! I can’t really speak for other sibling bands out there, but it’s really nice to have someone I can push around when things don’t go my way in the band setting. Heard there is a new album in the works! Tell us about it! How will it be different from Headbangers in Ecstacy? A lot about this record is different than Headbangers, technically speaking and otherwise. We didn’t have conveniences like a budget, studio, or engineer with this one like we had with Headbangers, so we had to learn a few tricks along the way to make it happen and I would say we’re better off for it, if only because we learned a lot about our strengths and limitations as songwriters and producers. Sonically it’s pretty all over the place, with a lot of inspiration drawn from early LA mysticism, John Keats, love, having a good time while having a bad time, etc. We also were lucky enough to work with Franco Falsini (Sensation’s Fix), Ariel Pink, Richard Sax Ross, Courtney Garvin, Ale Cohen (Pharaohs), and Nicky Sparkles on various tracks, and the whole thing was mixed by Sam Mehran. You’ve recently performed in Brooklyn at one of Glasslands last shows. How is the experience as a band different in NYC vs LA? Way more bad hair days in NYC... and less naps. Would you ever consider leaving LA? If so, what other city could you see yourself vibing in? Germany would be chill... Sky and I have also talked about living in the Netherlands... on the water... alone. I think we’d be happy anywhere with a nice coast and a couple of cats and not a lot of humans harshing our zone. You guys are frequent collaborators with Ariel Pink. What is it like working with him? PAGE 60
INTERVIEW: PURO INSTINCT
It’s sick! Usually just roll a few spliffs and jam til we get tired... Sometimes we’ll take a break to grab food and watch him chase chili-cheese burgers with soda while he gives us advice on boys and business and making bucks. What wisdom has he passed on to you? “You Can’t Stop the Press!” Read that you have a pretty impressive album collection. Name five albums you couldn’t live without. [laughs] That’s a messed up question to ask a vinyl hoarder. Actually though, I sold a lot of my records a couple of years ago so we could buy a laptop to make more music with, but… 1. Woo – Whichever Way You Are Going, You Are Going Wrong 2. Giorgio Moroder – Einzelganger 3. Baffo Banfi – The Sound of Southern Sunsets 4. Moodymann – Silent Introduction 5. Rexy – Running Out of Time 6. Everything Longmont Potion Castle has ever released If you could describe your sound and energy on stage as a painting, what would it look like? Probably a sloppy, glitter-splattered rendition of Botticelli’s “Birth of Venus,” but Venus is me and Sky and the cherubs are wailing on synths and guitars and stuff and maybe one of them is Franco Falsini, depending on the night. What life advice would you share with the young ones? Stay hydrated, diversify your bonds, hold onto your love, never trust a “skeche leche.”
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HO99O9 B A N D / LO S A N G E L E S
Ho99o9 (pronounced “Horror”) are a thunderous, rap/thrashcore band out of New Jersey. Known for their DIY shows, put on everywhere from empty warehouses to cramped basements, Ho99o9 will quickly become your favorite new band of 2015. Recently relocated to Cali, their first EP, Mutant Freax, has us bouncing off walls, much like the audiences at their shows. Their video for the track “Bone Collector” encapsulates the band pretty well: it’s just two cool dudes playing wild shows and getting reckless. The O.G.M. and Eaddy have something special here with their band Ho99o9. This past summer, they played a 30-minute set at New York’s Afropunk Fest that really caught our attention. Ho99o9 seems to be the natural evolution of a music scene in New York City that mixes thrashcore, skateboarding, hip-hop, punk, and fashion. If you like Death Grips, this band is definitely for you. With a style, attitude, and sound all their own, we’re hoping to see a lot more of them. But in the meantime, we spoke with the boys in order to get some inside info that’ll hold us over.
I N T E RV I E W BY T I MOT H Y W H I T E P H OTO G R A P H E D BY C H E RY L G E O R G E T T E A R E N T
INTERVIEW: HO9909
You guys recently moved to Los Angeles. What’s it like being a NJ band in LA? OGM: It’s cool. Better weather. We went from pizza to tacos. Eaddy: And I get to wear my sunflower dress more often. So now that you dudes have gone from the “pizza grind” to that “taco life,” have you noticed any sort of subtle differences between playing or going to shows in Cali as opposed to NJ/NY? OGM: It’s not that different as far as the scenes and the shows go. Just awesome to see it elsewhere. Right now, it’s winter back home, with snow and cold weather. We’re here in 60/70 degree weather eating tacos on the strip in the middle of “winter.”
INTERVIEW: HO9909
Ho99o9 has used a lot of great samples, especially the “What a Rush!” from Legion of Doom. Have you ever considered sampling Gravediggaz? I feel like you could absolutely murder “1-800-Suicide.” OGM:We’ve heard that from a few fans as well (in reference to the Gravediggaz). I’ll look into it. Probably won’t use it cuz everyone expects us to. Eaddy: Rest in Peace Poetic. You guys have a really eclectic, surreal, and beautiful yet terrifying quality to your art. Are there any artists, musicians, or filmmakers that you have drawn from for inspiration? Or is Ho99o9 the result of just living life? OGM: Yeah, living and killing roaches (literally), Quentin Tarantino, Rob Zombie, and Sophia Castello. Ho99o9 is known to put on a wild live show. What would you tell a potential fan to expect if they were thinking of seeing you play live? OGM: Expect nothing. Expect everything. Eaddy: Micheal Jackson’s moonwalk. Ho99o9 doesn’t make it safe for anyone to stand idle at your shows. Do you guys like messing with the photo pit? OGM: Our sound and lyrics set the mood. We get high off that energy and bounce off what they give us. Eaddy: It’s all in the moment. Whatever feels like the right thing to do at the time I’ll do it. Are there any bands out right now that you would kill to play a show with? OGM: I wanna play with the band Nick Cannon had in the Drumline movie or with a Rick James Hologram. Eaddy: Parliament.
CRUST PUNK [ A POEM & PHOTOGRAPH BY NINA LJETI ]
O holy being of waste I caress you down there as you Rub my face You stink Your voice breeds like flies in garbage In my mind over and over I reject soap and water
TOPS BAND / MONTREAL
I N T E RV I E W BY A S H L E Y O P H E I M P H O T O G R A P H E D B Y C L A I R E M I L B R AT H
STORY: TOPS
The first “The record thing came I notice morewhen and more entering into focus, TOPS’and studio nowisthat the it’s twoout vintage I can really hardsee it for cover books what guitarist it is, how David it fits Carriere into world,” is using Jane as aresponds mouse pad: when The I ask Last her Tycoon if her perspective by F. Scott Fitzgerald on the album and has The changed Man Whosince Dieditsbyrelease. D. H. Lawrence. “We’re working on new songs now, and they’re quite different already, I feel like we were able to may It conclude be because some of I am ourathoughts writer that on Ipop am music drawnthat to the we’ve books, been but developing there is a this whole pattern thattime, has and become now all apparent the goals to and me since preoccupations I’ve begun areobserving different, TOPS which is sweet.”the lens of writing an article about them: they are an incredibly rethrough sourceful band. When I ask Jane about her songwriting process she tells me about her notebooks album Their and how Picture she likes You Staring to doodle was funny, released darkon and Arbutus gross things. Records “Iin write earlya lot. I get melodies September and recorded stuck in amy small head, former I fantasize storageabout roomfragments off the side of of songs the becoming complete,” Montreal-based Arbutus sheoffice. adds. “Often I’ll play parts of a song and sing and then write for a while silently, go back and forth between the two. We practice songstime “The with Ithe getband to spend beforemaking there are music lyrics, with so David, I’ll jot stuff Riley,down. and Madeline Oftentimes is the most lyricsimportant keep changing, thing tothey me,” aren’t Janesettled Penny until says. the “The vocals mostare important recorded.” thing about TOPS is our ability to create sensations in other people through our I met Jane songs and shows in 2008. andShe to had communicate just movedfeelings.” to Montreal from Edmonton (where three of the four TOPS members are from) and was playing in a band with Davidstudio Their and Sean is located Nicholas in an Savage old jute called factory, the Silly acrossKissers. the street The from Silly a Hasidic Kissers were to the primary school Montreal for boys, weird atoppop a bakery scene (which what the fills Grateful the stairwell Dead with wereato wonthe San Francisco derful, sugary scent) acid scene. and right A sort-of next door resident to the band infamous to Lab Synthèse, Lab Synthèse, their which songs werewhere was fun, catchy Arbutus and Records danceable got its —start. a quality A hotspot that isfor still young, present restless, in theircreative music today inLab minds, songs Synthèse like “Blind was aFaze” multi-purpose and “Superstition loft spaceFuture.” and venue where many successful Montreal musicians and bands played their first shows. Following the rise of certain Montreal bands and artists you’ve likely heard of, many The Arbutus peopleoffice, from our withtight-knit its piles of yetcardboard vast community boxes full fled ofthe merchandise city to redefine lined themselves, along one wall, givehas upthe onspirit art orofpursue collaboration their work andmore friendship seriously imbued in a in different it. It is city. The result decorated with of a vast thisarray was aofsort paintings, of socialrecords, fissure in art,the books, Montreal and artifacts community. that This, inof friends juxtaposition the label have withleft thebehind. assaultThis on the presence loft scene of artifacts by local is police, something made it sopermeates that that our community the TOPS studio was confronted as well. with a stark end to something so beautiful that we had experienced and created together, yet at the helm of something Lining the walls new — of TOPS’ something studio else. are That melancholic something relics: elsegoofy is simultaneously vintage photo imagined, booth pictures realized of Jane andand encapsulated David; a Nine on Picture Inch Nails Youmagazine Staring inspread a wayfrom that afeels vintage authentic magazine; and personal, a Miracle particularly Fortress set on list songs from likeAugust “Driverless 25, 2013; Passenger” a psyand “Destination.” chedelic Bataille Solaire album insert; a set list from a past TOPS show circa Tender Opposites; a strange pencil drawing by Airick Woodhead (Doldrums) When that says I ask ‘we’re Jane to getting describe old’ Montreal on it; and sheadescribes magazineit profile as beingona creative Blue Hawaii, oasis. PAGE 72
STORY: TOPS
which Jane explains showed up in the mail at the office one day. It was the bands’ first print profile for their latest album Untogether. “We thought it was cute!” Jane laughs from under some colourful Christmas lights. This is an important quality of being in the presence of Jane and David — there is lots of laughter. I take a seat on their disheveled couch and observe the abundance of gear and road cases that surround me. David explains how pretty much everything in the room had been abandoned or left behind by Sebastian Cowan (founder of Arbutus Records, who is currently living in London) or various musicians and friends to the label. Instead of remaining in the studio unused and collecting dust, TOPS made use of what they could, cleaned up the room, and got to work on Picture You Staring. This is something I admire about the album and TOPS as a band in general — their sheer resourcefulness. They make use of what is available to them, re-claiming things that have been left behind in the absence of others: abstract things like memories and feelings, and physical things like their studio and gear. “Everything I’ve ever done as a musician has been made from my ideas, the ideas of my bandmates, and whatever we can get together to make it happen,” Jane says. “I have nothing, but if I practice playing different instruments, sing, and write songs, I can carry that knowledge with me wherever I go, I can build on it and I won’t lose it. It’s the best bet that I have to express myself, to advance as a human being, and I truly feel that the success of that is based on its authenticity. Mind to mind, body to body, that’s when music is working.”
“MIND TO MIND, BODY TO BODY, THAT’S WHEN MUSIC IS WORKING”
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STORY: TOPS
“The record came more and more into focus, and now that it’s out I can really see it for what it is, how it fits into world,” Jane responds when I ask her if her perspective on the album has changed since its release. “We’re working on new songs now, and they’re quite different already, I feel like we were able to conclude some of our thoughts on pop music that we’ve been developing this whole time, and now all the goals and preoccupations are different, which is sweet.” When I ask Jane about her songwriting process she tells me about her notebooks and how she likes to doodle doodle funny, funny, dark, dark and gross things. “I write a lot. I get melodies stuck in my head, I fantasize about fragments of songs becoming complete,” she adds. “Often I’ll play parts of a song and sing and then write for a while silently, go back and forth between the two. We practice songs with the band before there are lyrics, so I’ll jot stuff down. Oftentimes the lyrics keep changing, they aren’t settled until the vocals are recorded.” I met Jane in 2008. She had just moved to Montreal from Edmonton (where three of the four TOPS members are from) and was playing in a band with David and Sean Nicholas Savage called the Silly Kissers. The Silly Kissers were to the Montreal weird pop scene what the Grateful Dead were to the San Francisco acid scene. A sort-of resident band to Lab Synthèse, their songs were fun, catchy, catchy and and danceable danceable — — aa quality that is still present in their music today in songs like “Blind Faze” and “Superstition Future.” Following the rise of certain Montreal bands and artists you’ve likely heard of, many people from our tight-knit yet vast community fled the city to redefine themselves, give up on art or pursue their work more seriously in a different city. The result of this was a sort of social fissure in the Montreal community. This, in juxtaposition with the assault on the loft scene by local police, made it so that our community was confronted with a stark end to something so beautiful that we had experienced and created together, yet at the helm of something new — something else. That something else is simultaneously imagined, realized, realized and and encapsulated encapsulated on on Picture Picture You You Staring in a way that feels authentic and personal, particularly on songs like “Driverless Passenger” and “Destination.” When I ask Jane to describe Montreal she describes it as being a creative oasis. PAGE 74
STORY: TOPS
“Montreal is a low key place that shelters many types of people, and gives enough space to dream without offering the illusion that they’ll be rewarded for it,” Jane says. “It wasn’t raining but the sky was really inky grey-blue,” Jane says of the first time she heard the final master of the album in Brooklyn. “We all left the studio to listen separately and I walked through McCarren Park park with headphones in. It was May and it felt like everywhere I went the world was revealing beauty to me: there were trees covered in flowers, the kind whose petals fall off if you touch them, there were tree-lined streets covered in moss and new leaves. I ended up on a pier near the studio and the sun was setting, Manhattan was starting to glow and the clouds were swirling around in thick dark blue layers, I’ll never forget that. I have a lot of memories of the way the sky looked when I was making certain songs, ‘Destination’ for example, another inky grey-blue sky.” David pulls pulls out out an anold oldposter posterfrom froma acorner cornerofofthetheroom room of of Michael Michael Jackson Jackwearing son wearing a canary a canary yellow yellow sweater, sweater, an elaborate an elaborate sparkly sparkly brooch, brooch, white paints white and a yellow pants, and a yellow bow-tie. bow-tie. “This“This is theisonly the only thingthing that’sthat’s missing,” missing,” David David says, says, regarding my regarding myinterest interestinintaking takingaavisual visualinventory inventoryof oftheir theirstudio. studio. “He’s “He’s judging you. Every time we were jamming we’d look up and be like he’s not happy” he adds with a laugh. The poster recently fell off the wall and hasn’t yet been put back up. It’s not the only thing that’s missing. I notice the floor to ceiling tropical-themed curtain I am used to seeing in the studio has disappeared. Aside from Jane and and David, David, TOPS TOPSisisalso alsocomposed composedof ofRiley RileyFleck Fleckand andMadeMadelineGlowicky. line Glowicky.“Riley “Rileyisisvery veryopen openand andwarm,” warm,” Jane Jane says. says. “He makes friends easily and has lots of good friendships. He’s really open to other people and doesn’t exert his self over others.” Glowicky, a student of Philosophy and muse to many, is the newest member of TOPS, having Glowicky, a student learned of Philosophy bass to join and themuse bandtoa many, little over is the a year newest ago.member “Madeline of TOPS, is really having social. learned She has bassato really join distinct the bandsense a little of over who ashe year is,”ago. Jane“Madsays. eline is really social. She has a really distinct sense of who she is,” Jane says. “There was always disagreements, in every song,” Jane says when I ask if there were “There wasmany always disagreements disagreements, amongst in every the band song,” in the Jane making says when of theIalbum. ask if “You were there have many to talkdisagreements through a lot of amongst small things the band together, in the making discuss small of the details. album. In thehave “You end, to once talkeveryone through agot lotaofchance small things to steptogether, back, wediscuss found that small everyone details. PAGE 75
STORY: TOPS
“The cameeveryone more andgot more into focus, and nowwe thatfound it’s out really In therecord end, once a chance to step back, thatI can everyone see itthe forsame whatabout it is, how fits to into world,” Jane responds when I ask her if her felt whatithad change. perspective on the album has changed since its release. “We’re working on new songs and they’re quite different already, feel like able Aside from now, the small disagreements, when asked whatI other sortsweofwere obstacles to conclude some ofduring our thoughts on pop that we’ve developing had to be overcome the making of music the album, David been is quick to point this whole time,executing and now all the bad goalsmusic and preoccupations arejam different, out the “people really really well” in the space which below is sweet.” them. “Like Rage Against the Machine funk-rock bands,” he adds, laughing. I ask Janewindow about her process she tells me aboutresting her noteIWhen wander to the andsongwriting observe a sea shell and a tambourine on books and how The she likes doodleoutside. funny, Idark things. “I write the windowsill. sun istosetting can and heargross the kids playing in thea lot. I get melodies stuck in my head, I fantasize aboutsunset-viewing fragments of songs playground across the street. Their studio has an ideal locabecoming adds.field “Often play partsbeing of a song and sing tion. I gazecomplete,” off into theshe empty thatI’ll is currently developed by and the then write for while silently, go backexpansion. and forth between two. and We practice University of aMontreal for a campus The skythe is pink orange. songs the band are lyrics,change. so I’ll jot stuff down. Oftentimes “I feel with like this area isbefore goingthere to irrevocably Obviously within 10 years thegoing lyricsto keep changing, they aren’t settled untilofthe are recorded.” its be completely different,” Jane says thevocals changes. I met Jane inthe 2008. hadinterview just moved to folds Montreal from Edmonton Throughout restShe of the Jane white t-shirts that she(where plans three of the four TOPS members are from) andabout was playing in music a bandshe with to screen-print before heading on tour. I ask her what new is David and Sean Savage called the Silly Kissers. The Silly Kissers excited about andNicholas she unflinchingly mentions local band She-Devils. She is wereanticipating to the Montreal weird pop scene the Grateful Dead were to the also the new Ariel Pink andwhat Peaking Lights albums. San Francisco acid scene. A sort-of resident band to Lab Synthèse, their songs were favorite fun, catchy and danceable — musicians a quality that is stillreally present in their music “My contemporary female all have distinct, haunting today in—songs likePratt, “Blind Faze”Castle, and “Superstition Future.” voices Jessica Jennifer and Angel Olsen. Oh man, I love an arresting female voice,” Jane says. Following the rise of certain Montreal bands and artists you’ve likely heard of, many people fromswitches our tight-knit community fled city to redefine Our conversation over toyet thevast horoscope — Jane is the a Capricorn, David themselves, up Polaris on art orPrize pursue their work morecelebrity seriouslynude in a different an Aquarius give — the awards, the 4chan scandal, city.music The result of this was a sort of social fissure in the Montreal community. and videos. This, in juxtaposition with the assault on the loft scene by local police, made it so that our community was that confronted with athe stark end to so “I wanted to make something encapsulates feelings of something isolation that beautiful we had experienced and created together, the helm of are on thethat record, so it’s just me dancing to a song aloneyet in at a room,” Jane something new — recent something That is simultaneously says of their most musicelse. video forsomething “Outside.”else “I have a long list of imagined, encapsulated Picture Staring in a way that videos withrealized womenand performing their on songs, justYou being themselves, they’ll feels authentic and personal, on songs likecome “Driverless dance and move but it’s the particularly way their personalities throughPassenger” that make and videos “Destination.” the compelling, they’re not doing awe-inspiring stuff or anything. I guess it’s my attempt to assert myself alongside these women, to join them When I askAnd Janealso to describe shebeautiful describesand it asvisual beingout a creative somehow. to makeMontreal something of my oasis. body, PAGE 76
STORY: TOPS
an extension of the music.” When I ask Jane about how she would define beauty she says that she equates beauty to energy. “Beauty can be transmitted from anything but only exists when a person feels it take hold of their senses. It’s the closest thing to magic that I can think of.”
“BEAUTY CAN BE TRANSMITTED FROM ANYTHING BUT ONLY EXISTS WHEN A PERSON FEELS IT TAKE HOLD OF THEIR SENSES. IT’S THE CLOSEST THING TO MAGIC THAT I CAN THINK OF.” David has finished the mix he’s been working on during our conversation, Jane has finished folding t-shirts, my MacBook has 4% battery left, the sun has set. I give Jane and Dave hugs goodbye and wish them well on their American and European tours, knowing I won’t see them again until the new year. I descend the four flights of stairs, inhaling the sweet smell of roasted sugar. I leave with a sense that there is lots to be excited about for TOPS and that they are approaching the future with an openness to the myriad of infinite possibilities. I unlock my bike and head home, biking under the underpass infamous for its dead pigeons. The abandoned building on the corner of Parc and Van Horne is in the process of being demolished. Everything is constantly in a state of flux. There is a sense of peace in the acceptance of that. On Bernard, I stop to admire TOPS’ current window display at local record shop Phonopolis. The floor-to-ceiling tropical curtain that I noticed was missing from their studio is hanging in the window, with a bag of Doritos and a can of pop positioned atop some weird makeshift sculpture. It makes me laugh. Imagery by Fantavious Fritz
PAGE 77
TWIN
BAND / CHICAGO
I N T E R V I E W B Y E VA B A N D U R O W S K I PHOTOGRAPHED BY ROBERT DUME
PEAKS
INTERVIEW: TWIN PEAKS
It has been a supreme pleasure getting to know the Twin Peaks dudes during our brief but multiple encounters at CMJ, as the perpetual haze of alcohol and cigarette smoke surrounded us. I first discovered the band late last summer, when I attended their early show at Mercury Lounge. Hailing from Chicago and not yet 21, Cadien, Clay, Connor, and Jack make up this garage rock/ punk/all-around badass quartet. They recently made waves with their sophomore album Wild Onion, which showcased a sound far beyond their years. But perhaps what attracted me most to the band was how four young guys, as silly as you’d imagine, could get on stage and charm the pants off everyone in the audience. Seemingly unaware (or otherwise apathetic) of their surging popularity, the boys and I spoke about their understated riders on tour, living with their parents, and getting baked at gas stations in middle America. Untainted by the raucous attitude other rockers learn from the road, soft spoken drummer Conor Brodner leveled with me about simple things, like the strangeness of his high school class body. And singer Jack Dolan was perfectly cool and well-mannered, which helped balance out the crazy between the two other frontmen: Cadien and Clay. Caiden, brash with confidence and a penchant for striking up conversation, didn’t lose any of that energy while performing – he lovingly humped his guitar and flashed his bedroom eyes to all the girls up front, while Clay, on the other hand, had a more reserved, Paul McCartney vibe on stage. In the week following CMJ, I listened to Wild Onion almost obsessively. I wanted to understand what was so attractive about their album and why, after having already seen them months prior, I dedicated my Friday night to see them again at Rough Trade. Watching them perform makes me feel the same as when I read a review by Lester Bangs: I feel passion. Twin Peaks and the music they make incite dialogue, whether about their song-writing style, throwback sound, or electricity on stage, and Wild Onion in particular has made a profound impact on the way I understand what I like about music.
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INTERVIEW: TWIN PEAKS
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As a band out of Chicago, would you say that’s your favorite city to play? Do you have a gig you particularly enjoyed? Yes. There used to be this downtown loft called Feeltrip with a 20 foot paper mâché cat head that blew smoke over everybody. That was a goddamn great place to see a band. We heard you guys went to high school with Chance the Rapper. Will there be a collaboration with him in the near future? We don’t make the same music. Maybe we’ll collaborate on a BBQ. What albums are you guys listening to now? All The Kinks, Ne-Hi, Astral Weeks by Van Morrison, Ram by Paul McCartney, Chelsea Girl by Nico is good after the sun goes down. Also Peace of Mind by the Bee Gees is one of my all time favorites. PAGE 82
How would you compare Wild Onion to Sunken? Was the process any different for you? It’s longer. We recorded it in a refrigerator on the 30th floor of the Hancock building. You’d wanna lay down your tracks fast, before the cold got to you. For a producer, we had an old aging cabbage. He kept saying, “This is no good.” He was a real downer. Wild Onion took us 15 years to record. We started when we were five years old. Are there any albums/films that you go back to when looking for inspiration? I think it’s more about looking for new things that inspire us, but Exile on Main St. is like a mothers lullaby. If that’s playing I know I’m doing alright. And what can we expect from the band in the next couple of months? Spiritual guidance. PAGE 83
RAP GAME [ A POEM BY ASHLEY OPHEIM ]
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BIG UPS
B A N D / B R O O K LY N I N T E R V I E W B Y J U S T I N D AV I S P H OTO G R A P H E D BY J E N N Y R E GAN
INTERVIEW: BIG UPS
Brooklyn’s own Big Ups wants more – from today, from you, from themselves. Their music is volatile and ambitious, channeling contemporary frustrations through a brawny combination of heavy distortion, propulsive low end, and vocals that bounce between introspective, spoken word rants and full-on guttural yelps. Their debut album, Eighteen Hours of Static, met with an explosion of critical praise last January, leading them to tour extensively outside of the states. More recently, Big Ups released a 7” split with Washer and returned to performing at various DIY venues in the NYC local circuit. With a little more downtime on their hands, we reached out to frontman Joe Galarraga about some of his artistic inspirations, their writing process, and how to deal with those overwhelming feelings of helplessness. A world tour is a huge ordeal, in both concept and execution. How did you guys prepare for your first world tour? Is there anything you wish someone had told you beforehand? Well, we haven’t really done a world tour yet. But we have toured a lot of Europe. I don’t think I really prepared at all – this year has been full of touring and it all seems kind of surreal still. It blows my mind that we can show up to a warehouse in Berlin and play a show to people who know all of the words to our album. It’s certainly encouraging knowing that what we’re doing means something to other people – I just don’t know how to process it all. We heard you’re working on a spoken word album. Will the subject matter change from what we hear from Big Ups? Whoever told you that misheard – I’m working on an R&B album called Tight as Hell. It’s a concept record about losing all of my money to Greg from LVL UP in a crooked game of dice. Just kidding! No other albums in the works. How do you get in the headspace to create and work on new music? It’s very deliberate. I find that we work really well when we plan ahead and go into our rehearsal space with the idea of working on new songs. The songs take months to get fleshed out, but we click when we all get into a PAGE 88
INTERVIEW: BIG UPS
room together and just go for it. I feel like we are writing new arrangements constantly, whether they be collaborative efforts, or just recording demos at home to bring to rehearsal later. Lyrics are often really difficult to write. I find that some of my better lyrics come when I have a specific goal in mind, such as asserting a specific point or utilizing a certain rhyme scheme. Also, taking in a lot of music keeps the creative juices flowing. It’s good to put on albums and figure out what it is about a certain record that really interests me, whether it be the songwriting, the track sequencing, transitions, or the artistic qualities of the recordings. What movies and albums resonate with you? An album that I always go back to is Meat Puppets II. I heard it for the first time in high school, and I really hadn’t heard anything like it before. I think it inspires me because it reminds me of a time when I was discovering a lot of new ideas and a lot of things about myself. I think this record energizes a creative side of me because of that; it reminds me to examine myself and learn more about me and the world every day. I was really struck by the film Melancholia when I saw it in the theater three years ago. It oozes this pervading darkness and shows the depths of depression. Though I think I tend to have a little bit more of an optimistic disposition, there are times when the imagery and themes of the movie really ring true with me; there is beauty in sadness, society feels doomed, the irrationality of accepting death, etc. The film really bums me out in a way that I really love, and I still can’t quite understand that feeling. Let’s put it this way – I see why melancholy was quite fashionable in the 16th Century. Your lyrics often reference your frustrations with society. What advice would you give young people? I think some of the best advice when it comes to being frustrated about the state of the world, feeling helpless, etc. is to really take command of the things that you can control. That is to say, make the world a little better in your immediate community – whether that be in the form of your workplace, your circle of friends, your neighborhood, whatever. Act in a way that reflects a better world. Listen to other people.
SHOWS WE WENT TO
Big Ups at Death By Audio | Photo by Tod Se e lie
M y k k i B lan co at Wareh ou se Pa rty | Photo by Che ry l Ge orge tte A re n t
Fu t u re P u n x at Death by Audio | Photo by Wa lte r Wloda rczyk
Pe r i o d B omb at Au dio J unkie | Photo by Che ry l Ge orge tte Are n t
B oytoy, She a Stad ium , 10/ 14, Photo: Wa lter Wloda rc zyk Th e Volu ptu ou s Horror of Ka re n Bla c k, Ha llowe e n at SMa ck! P h oto by Wa lte r Wloda rczy k
M y k k i B l a n co at Wareh ou se Pa rty | Photo by Che ry l Ge orge tte A re n t
Th e G rowlers at Bowery B allroom | Photo by Che ry l Ge orge tte A re n t
B oy Toy at Sh ea Stadium | Photo by Wa lte r Wloda rc zy k
A mazo n s at B u shw ick G on e B a se l | Photo by Che ry l Ge orge tte A re n t
Ty Segall at Death by Audio | Photo by Wa lte r Wloda rczy k
Last sh ow at Death by Audio | Photo by Wa lte r Wloda rc zy k
H o99o9 at B asel C astl e | Photo by Che ry l Ge orge tte Are nt
Les Savy Fav at Death by Audio | Photo by Tod Se e lie
HOR OSC OPE BY S A N DY C H U N G
ARIES
TAURUS
In the foreseeable future, all your bananas are going to get super ripe, super fast. You may think it’s unnatural and that someone or something is tampering with your fruit. It’s a sign that inanimate objects are changing faster than you are. So what do you really want in your food and life? Your Song: “Innate” by Laulu
Even-keeled dialogue is so overrated. An underhanded pinch can get the job done all the same. Attention is attention, everyone. Just descend and go into that collective chaos! Your Song: “Hate Street Dialogue (Round Table Knights Edit)” by Rodriguez
GEMINI
CANCER
Everything is wrong with that next person you meet, and you ought to tell them so. You might get a slap or a stinkeye, but that’s when you know it’s lust forever. Forever might or might not be equivalent to five months. Your Song: “Thorns” by Burning Palms
If a bearded man falls in his brown chukka boots during a Brooklyn Bowl live show, does he make a sound? Ah, well, it depends whether he’s newly bespectacled or not. Your Song: “Fallacy” by Henrik José
LEO
VIRGO
Oh, the horror of dating apps (here’s looking at you, Tintin). You can’t seem to escape those poses with drugged tigers and carefully crafted come hither expressions. One day, you’ll meet that someone who greets you with spinach stuck between their teeth. Your Song: “Don’t You Love” by Lil Silva ft. BANKS
It’s winter and you’ve discovered a mosquito bite. Lick it and then lick your elbow. Save a capful of your saliva in your freezer for future makeshift ointment use. You’ll need it come spring when allergies and conventional coworkers are sprung upon you. Your Song: “No Tears” ft. Future by Jeezy
LIBRA
SCORPIO
You’re bright as a star, high as a kite, and love’s a fucking bitch. Your love of midnight food trucks that has you on your knees, that is. Your Song: “Rapt” Karen O
You might feel disoriented, but that’s only because lucidity has arrived on your doorstep in the form of someone else’s Amazon Prime orders. Who knew anyone needed so many bondage chairs and pancake mix in bulk? Your Song: “She Gutta” by Mykki Blanco
SAGITTARIUS
CAPRICORN
Do you hear that? That throbbing pulse is years of kale catching up with you. Quick, inhale some bodega sandwiches and non-artisanal dairy foods now. Your Song: “Colours Of Freedom” by Bearcubs x Tom Misch
Be steady. When you get that feeling, cast off that lint and be the one that no one wants to come to for comfort. If you leave a dusty trail, you can hide in plain sight. Your Song: “Sexual Healing” (Kygo Remix) by Marvin Gaye
AQUARIUS
PISCES
This evening’s constellation patterns are in your favor and there’s a green moon looming. Too bad the city pollution hides them from you and that moon is just your intoxicated, jaywalking self strolling in front of a traffic light. Your Song: “Prism” by Porches
If you’re reading this, that means you’re still on your journey seeking happiness, success, and free samples. Continue seeking the truth, and you’ll find two out of three awaiting you somewhere in the back of a grocery freezer. Your Song: “Tragically Alright” ft. Ariel Pink by Ex Cops
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