[indiessance]
The new CLAPS EP is slated for January; this will be your first release through the Guilt Ridden Pop label. I have been listening to the A-side track Fold – which carries on the minimal wave, electronic music movement. You must be excited about the new synthpop track – what kind of response have you been getting from fans? And could you give us some background on Fold? Also, could you tell us more about the whole EP? You informed me that additional mixes will be included for fans like me – more bang for our bucks. :)
[Jed]
We've been sitting on a lot of our songs and are excited to finally have them recorded. We've gotten a pretty good response, most people seem pretty excited about it.
[Patrick]
Fold was one of the first songs we wrote, its changed a lot over the last six months and I'm happy to see where it finally ended up. It was one of the songs we always had liked and had fun playing but we never felt it was where it was meant to be. When we were recording it, it finally came together and clicked. The EP is called New Science. It has three tracks, Fold, Fireworks and Gruzzles. We think all three have their own characteristics that represent us, to some extent. We also are including a couple of remixes. At this point, we are still working out them out, but we have a couple of talented people who have said they are interested.
[Sara]
It's also cool that a lot of fans are people who really don't listen to this type of music, and some fans are like major minimal synth lovers. We get compared to a large kinda weird variety of bands because of this..
[indiessance]
I just learned about Veronica Vasicka, the founder of the Minimal Wave label, and the work she has been doing for the genre since she started the label in 2005. Being based in New York, I imagine she cultivates some interest in order to draw more fans. Are there any radio stations, record stores, fan clubs, etc. in the band's home city of Minneapolis that are devoted to, or supportive of, minimal wave? How did you get involved with the genre? Did you basically get hooked on New Order and such, to then take that enthusiasm a step further – because just being a fan was not enough? :)
[Jed]
In Minneapolis, there isn't a direct club or store for minimal wave. There are only a handful of people who are interested in the genre, that we know of. I guess, our band got into the genre with more popular bands like New Order, early Depeche Mode, early OMD, and John Foxx. From there, I don't know, speaking for myself, I got into more obscure minimal synth stuff. I found the minimal synth site and I listen to a lot of the bands on there and from other sources.
[Sara]
I probably got hooked on synth pop from living with you two...
[Patrick]
We do have more influences beyond that, but minimal synth is a huge one. In a lot of ways, growing up we were into punk music to an extent, which years ago lead me to post-punk music and I suppose I've always seen synth music as a sibling of post-punk.
[Jed]
People can say its happier stuff, but its still inspired by the same ideas and still comes from punk rock.
[indiessance]
On your MySpace profile, you cite Joy Division/New Order as a musical influence. The hit Love Will Tear Us Apart makes it evident that punk rock influenced and energized the post-punk genre. Along with the jangly guitar and punkish drums, the listener can hear the texture of the emergence of synthpop. Can you talk about bands that have helped shape CLAPS' sound? I also see OMD, John Foxx and Suicide on the list. Can you talk about your favorite songs and/or band members of your musical influences – who else might you add to that list? What other people in the scene have been a help – any particular producers, etc.?
[Jed]
For me, I pull a lot of influence form obscure minimal synth bands. Most I've found online. That and synth music from the late 70's until 1983. Other than that, I've listened to punk rock since I was kid. And well, maybe some video game stuff, like Megaman.
[Sara]
If I'm thinking about anything when writing its probably OMD and newer stuff like Grizzly Bear, Lil Wayne and Beach House. Its a mix of older and newer stuff.
[Patrick]
I got really into pop music in the last year. The CD player in my car broke and half of the time all I have is mainstream radio. I'd love to say that doesn't really influence me. But it made me rethink a lot of what I was writing. It made me appreciate hooks. So much pop music today is not focused and not very substantive, where good pop has some merit to it. I love songs that stick with you for more than one reason. More than just a concept or a catchy line, but some instrumentally or something more than that sticks in your head. I can't necessarily name that thing...it's hard to explain. But on top of that, I love synth pop and post punk music.
[Jed]
When we were looking for someone to record with we decided to work with Ryan Olcott. He's produced some other electronic acts and has done other electronic music himself. Working with him has been really helpful in directing our sound and has been a good asset for bouncing ideas off of. That and Guilt Ridden Pop has been good for us.
CLAPS Links:
MySpace
Guilt Ridden Pop
Fold on YouTube
New Science
1.
Fold
03:20
2.
Gruzzles
03:08
3.
Fireworks
03:52
4.
Fold (Chic Portier Remix)
03:37
5.
Fold (Busy Signals Remix)
04:10
6.
Fold (Soviet Panda Remix)
06:12
