Interview: Edith Backlund

[indiessance]
As artistic mediums, songwriting and acting are clearly very different. And few singer-songwriters can claim that they had appeared in a movie production. You are listed among the cast of the movie Lilla Jönssonligan och Stjärnkuppen.

There may be a difference between how your creative mind is inspired by music when you sit down to write a song, compared to how acting inspires you when you sit down to absorb a character in a movie script. How do the two artistic mediums inspire you in different ways? Has your work as an actor influenced your songwriting? Have any particular movies inspired you to write music?

[edith backlund]

First off I have to say that I am not a professional actress. I made a choice a few years back between theatre and music and chose the latter. But acting is something I have always been interested in and I was even voted Best Actress at Liberty High School where I spent a year as a foreign exchange student. I guess acting has taught me to feel more comfortable being on stage and interacting with a crowd. It has taught me that forgetting the words isn’t the end of the world, anything can be improvised. I have to say I have never written a song based on a movie. I am more of a news-gal. I find inspiration in watching the news. Sometimes it feels like my whole life is a movie though and I get inspired just by living.

[indiessance]
Your MySpace page states that you write songs about women with seduction in their eyes and daggers in their purses. About fallen war-heroes and her fear of dying. To me this imagery is cinematic—it definately pops. What other strong imagery inspires your songwriting? Do you have a dagger in your purse at the moment?

[edith backlund]
Haha! No dagger and not even a purse. Like I said earlier, I find inspiration in watching the news. One strong imagery that inspired me was the combination of newsflashes from when the US invaded Iraq. I had some friends who had enrolled in the US Army and it really made me think about how fragile every life is. And I wrote a lot of songs and lyrics based on those images.

[indiessance]
Your lyrical expression also reveals that you are a person who is open and honest about your feelings. And 'Skinny' could be considered painfully honest. Can songwriting, at times, become a musical catharsis for you?

[edith backlund]
Absolutely. That really shines through on my CD from 2006 Merely Daydreams where some of the lyrics where actual diary cut-outs. I was at an emotional low-point at that time and I felt like I had to tell the whole world about it, put it all out there and get the filth out of me. Today I am a much happier person and my songwriting today tends to concern other people and their emotions. Skinny is about my 17-year old me. I had to look through old diaries to find her and that’s what I do when I want to put myself in the emotional state of my old me again. I do that because my old me knew how to write a sad song. And I love sad songs.

[indiessance]
All of your latest tracks, including the A-side True Believer, reveal your lyrical talent. In your opinion, how important are lyrics to a song? Have you written lyrics for other artists?

[edith backlund]
I think that a song can't be great with crappy lyrics. The melody can be out of this world but if the lyrics suck, the song sucks. But great words can save a bad melody. I have not yet written any lyrics for other artists. That, however, is something I can definitely see myself doing in the future.

[indiessance]
Listening to the band's tracks, I can hear layers of acoustic guitar and piano, orchestral elements, vocal tracks, sound effects, etc. Your band has built a strong baroque-pop sound in the studio. Are there any particular sound engineers or producers who have helped develop your sound? How has your experience in the recording studio helped you develop as a musician?

[edith backlund]
Funny you should say that because the only people playing instruments on the tracks are me and Pär Wiksten. Oh, and of course: Pär’s daughter Elsa helped out with some vicious handclapping and toyclicking! The studio was Pär’s apartment in Stockholm. We didn’t have a huge budget... actually we almost didn’t have a budget, so we couldn’t bring the band into a studio. The result: me and Pär had to do everything ourselves. It took a long time but the result was worth it!

[indiessance]
The last I read, your band's latest project Death by Honey was scheduled to be released this month. You co-wrote the album with Pär Wiksten, who has been with the Wannadies since 1988. Regarding potential hit songs, I think the musical chemistry is there between you and Pär. Has he helped you grow as an artist? How do the two songwriting styles compliment eachother?

[edith backlund]
Pär and the Wannadies where the soundtrack of my youth. So it was quite strange to meet him in person. We met as songwriters and clicked as people, had some coffee and wrote True Believer on the first day. Pär has been everywhere and done everything and he still manages to stay grounded while I tend to want to float off. When I do, he brings me back to the ground again. I think that's important if you want to last as an artist, to keep a clear head. In songwriting me and Pär are very much alike. It’s like we have our own musical language.

---

The A-side on Edith Backlund's latest album, Death by Honey, is easy to resolve, but a potential B-side has more than one possible choice. And compositional diversity has brought this songstress up to the next level through hook injected choruses and thoughtful lyrics.

Beginning with balladic introspection into the apparent force field of vanity emitted by any household mirror, Skinny builds up to a baroque-pop romp accentuated by a powered up instrumental bridge fuelled by the chorus. Such a formula compliments Backlund's style.

mirror, mirror on my wall
ruthless to your victim
suiting you is all I know
a slave to my reflection

Instead of a politician or a journalist, Backlund chose to become a songwriter. As a singer/songwriter I can be as ego-centric as I please, Edith Backlund told Sony/ATV.

In 2006, Backlund played the character Linda in the Swedish movie Lilla Jönssonligan och Stjärnkuppen.

In November 2008, the track Suburban Bliss, from Edith's latest album, was featured on an episode of the TV drama One Tree Hill. Check out the YouTube video below. And, if you like that song, please pump some bucks into PayPal and buy it. While you're at it, might as well grab the cell phone and order a triple-cheese bacon pizza from the local parlour.

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Edith Backlund Tour Dates

• Home Page: Edith Backlund.SE
• FaceBook: Edith Backlund: Songs
• MySpace: Edith Backlund: Songs
• YouTube: Edith Backlund as Linda in Lilla Jönssonligan och Stjärnkuppen
• YouTube: Edith Backlund: Suburban Bliss
• YouTube: Edith Backlund: Much to Cry About
• YouTube: Edith Backlund: Rosie
• YouTube: Edith Backlund: True Believer
• YouTube: Edith Backlund: Waste Another Day
• YouTube: Edith Backlund: Waste Another Day
• SV.Wikipedia: Edith Backlund
• YouTube: Wannadies: You and Me Song

Jane Vain & the Dark Matter

Jamie Fooks - singer-songwriter for Jane Vain & the Dark Matter - wrote Ships Bound to Sink for her latest album Love Is Where the Smoke Is. In the song, her voice resonates with the same velvety tone as Chan Marshall. Who is probably one of the biggest influences, revealed Fooks in a ChartAttack interview.

Don't Mind Us seeped out of feelings of isolation while Fooks lived alone in a basement apartment in an industrial area.

I'm So Afraid is an emotional appeal to the invisible audience she once endeavored to impress, having since learned how to impress tangible audiences.

"I used to apologize all the time for being nervous onstage....but I was being told I shouldn’t do it – that it draws attention to the fact that I am nervous." - Jamie Fooks, Fast Forward Weekly

Her musical catharsis has gained an attentive following as her fan base continues to grow.

Fooks informed Calgary Herald that Ships Bound To Sink is about dealing with someone who thought they were better than me, but were also romantically interested in me. I didn't want anything to do with them. It's hard telling someone who thinks they're better than you that they're not good enough for you.

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profile @ myspace

mp3 @ box.net (c'mon baby say bang bang - jane vain & the dark matter)

video @ youtube
video @ youtube (oh captain - jane vain & the dark matter)

stream @ cbcradio3.com

blog aggregator @ elbo.ws
blog aggregator @ hypem.com

interview @ canada.com
interview @ chartattack.com

review @ beatroute.ca
review @ belletristicimpressions.blogspot.com
review @ ffwdweekly.com
review @ glossmag.ca
review @ mog.com
review @ urbanmixer.com

label @ rectanglerecords.com

images @ flickr.com

The Knife

For popular bands, one track can spark that initial music media buzz. For the Swedish brother-sister duo, The Knife, that song was Heartbeats. José González - another Swedish artist - then stripped the song down to a indie-folk chassis, revealing its essential beauty, which can be heard on his debut album Veneer.

The Knife's latest album, Silent Shout, takes the creative synergy of the two musical architects to the next floor. The fourth track, We Share Our Mother's Health, sounds like Earth's electronic music paradigm is pitch shifting. While Karin Dreijer Andersson's voice is shifted downward - well into masculinity - in the last verse, as she sings:

Say you like it
Say you need it
When you don't...

On a planet with a population of misshapen humanoids, the song's vibe would sweep across the landscape like the compression wave of a sonic plague.

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video @ youtube (heartbeats, the knife)
profile @ myspace
mp3 @ kollegedaily.typepad.com (we share our mother's health, the knife)
video @ youtube (handy man - the knife)
video @ youtube (like a pen - the knife)
video @ youtube (neverland - the knife)
video @ youtube (rock classics - the knife)
video @ youtube (heartbeats[cover] - jose gonzalez)
video @ youtube (heartbeats[cover] dabin, daniela andrade)
video @ youtube (heartbeats cover, audiotree)
video @ youtube (heartbeats cover, ellie goulding [acoustic])
video @ youtube (heartbeats cover, count [acoustic])
video @ youtube (heartbeats cover, charlie simpson [acoustic])
video @ youtube (heartbeats cover, anna scouten [banjo])
video @ youtube (heartbeats cover, alex cornell [acoustic])
video @ youtube (heartbeats cover, lustina [a capella])
video @ youtube (heartbeats cover, broken boat [acoustic])
video @ youtube (heartbeats cover, jhameel [acoustic])
video @ youtube (heartbeats cover, signe & hvetter [acoustic])
video @ youtube (heartbeats cover, les babettes [acoustic/a capella])

stream @ klicktrack.com

feed @ hypem.com

discography @ amazon.com

interview @ krugermagazine.com
interview @ myvillage.co.uk

reviews @ metacritic.com

home page @ theknife.se
home page @ theknife.net
home page @ silentshout.co.uk

label @ rabidrecords.com

encyclopedia @ wikipedia

Dear Euphoria

Stockholm-based singer-songwriter Elina Johansson named her project Dear Euphoria(derived from a affectionate nickname from her past).

Elina Johansson has been compared to Tori Amos for coalescing balladic piano with falsetto, and to Björk for her Scandanavian-tinged vocals. But the comparisons list does not stop there—a fact that indicates the versatile strength of her musical talent.

For Everything Of Worth is Elina Johansson's limited self-released 2005 debut album. This year, that album was remastered, renamed Dear Euphoria and re-released in October by Stereo Test Kit—including four new songs. Then, early next year, fans should be on the lookout for DE's next album.

For Dear Euphoria's latest release, Sven Johansson contributed guitars, percussion and vocals, while Stefan Stenberg plays double bass.

Elina Johansson prefers an unrefined tone to her recordings because of how overproduced recordings can remove the sonic patina that characterizes genuineness. In an interview with Absolut Music(blog), she explained, Money buys you time, freedom and opportunities but not passion...

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• merch @ cdbaby.com heal my violence
• profile @ myspace
• review @ dagensskiva.com
• feed @ hypem.com

Chasing Dorotea

The Swedish band, Chasing Dorotea, released its debut album in 2002 on Summersound Records(which later merged with Labrador Records). Band-leader singer-songwriter Christopher Sander, wrote a new-old song titled Champagne, which represents a joint effort with Elin Almered and Janina Frank. Sander weaves a tapestry of mixed metaphors and haunting electronic elements.

but little sister don't go jumpin off a bridge
fill your hole with poetry, and close the wound with a stitch

The Anchor Song - from Chasing Dorotea's 2002 debut album—illustrates the bond between a loving couple through innocent metaphors, sung by Sander and Swedish actress Tuva Novotny side-by-side. The completely unassuming sweetness of the song charms to the marrow.

there is an ocean in your eyes
deeper than the dark-blue sea

A few more titles from the coming CD's growing discography are Old Man & the Ladybug, Homka FM and Compassion.

Christopher Sander's songwriting has been compared to the style of Mark Kozelek. Dorotea in the band's name is a dyslexic version of the name Teodora(or Theodora).

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• Video: YouTube [Anchor Song]
• Merch: Labrador [Chasing Dorotea]
• Encyclopedia: Wiki SV [Chasing Dorotea]
• Discography: Discogs [Chasing Dorotea]
• Stream: last.fm [Chasing Dorotea]
• Social: Reddit [Chasing Dorotea]
• Review: One Chord To Another [Chasing Dorotea]
• Review: It's a Trap [Chasing Dorotea]
• Review: IndiePop SpinZone [Chasing Dorotea]
• Merch: Amazon [Chasing Dorotea]

Aaron Acosta

In an exclusive interview, Aaron Acosta talks about technical aspects of sound design, soundscapes, career ambitions and mentors.

[indiessance]
Your previous album is titled Frequency, Amplitude & Time. How do these three terms relate to sound design? How does each affect how we interpret our surroundings in a unique way?

[aaron acosta]
These are the elements that comprise our interpretation of sound. Pitch is how we perceive frequency, amplitude and volume; all sound events happen in time or a duration. I try to manipulate these elements to change the perception of the sound event. For instance, in the CD, songs like Water Study Song, I take a short sound event, like water dripping, and manipulate the frequency, amplitude and time of the event. So hearing a sound that was originally 3 seconds expanded to 60 seconds, increasing and decreasing the pitch. This allows the listener to discover interesting aspects of the sound.

[indiessance]
According to the Wikipedia, sound design can be understood as the manipulation of audio elements to achieve a desired effect. Is such a desired effect typically a specific emotional response? When you are developing sounds in a track, are you targeting emotions and imagery?

[aaron acosta]
I originally did my musical works by accident really. I was trying to get my sound design chops up for film and theatre. I concentrated on things that were evocative of imagery, but open to interpretation. The kind of sound that has a space saved for an image. I like to think of it like some of the listening exercises we had in my classes in college. Being in a dark room and listening to compositions like this, you explore imagery that is half yours and half the composers. I love hearing about the imagery that people who are more creative than I am come up with when they listen to my sounds. I like the idea of using sounds that free people from having to think about tunes or traditional composition. Because this is unconstrained by an obvious song structure, it allows the listener to create emotions and imagery freely.

[indiessance]
Are there any movies that you would have liked to design the soundscapes for? Are there any movies or novels that helped inspire sound designs? Do you first have a story in mind before you sit down to begin working on each design?

[aaron acosta]
So many great movies! I love the Tim Burton films. I really like animation. For a sound designer and composer, you have free range in a way. You are unconstrained by reality, and get to participate in creating reality for the project. Lots of fun. City of Lost Children is one of my favourites. I would do the sound for that just for fun. I love the imagery, it is very inspiring. I love horror movies. As a genre, horror has sound that directly effects the audience. As far as reading, I am not into novels as much as books. I read really heavy stuff, recently, I have been reading several Taoist works and some books on quantum physics. I don't pretend to understand it, but it does give me inspiration. I kind of say, what would this concept I don't understand sound like? That is where a lot of my work starts. Sometimes I try to communicate an experience of an environment, like Carlsbad and Cave from Wave were inspired by Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. I wanted to convey how I felt in that space. Others are about street corners, a snowy field, the ocean.

[indiessance]
These days, popular video games can outsell blockbuster movies. The Halo 3 soundtrack contains a total of 32 tracks - a nice sized project for a sound designer. And that entire soundtrack is filled with great epic soundscapes. Are video game projects just as desirable to you as movie soundtrack projects?

[aaron acosta]
For me video games are a little bit more desirable than film! I play video games and love the idea of a being immersed in the story, landscape and emotions of the piece. Video games give you goals that create vested interest in the story and the survival of your character. The time you spend on these games in many cases is the same amount of time you would spend reading a novel, but with a good game you get to experience and participate in the novel. You get wrapped up in the mythology of the world that the designers have created. This is very fertile ground for any sound designer and composer. Games I like to play are the Final Fantasy series, Fatal Frame, Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Siren. Sound plays a major part in these. Of course with modern technology, these experiences are every bit as satisfying as a major motion picture, in fact I feel more so.

[indiessance]
Brian Eno is known as the father of ambient music, but he was also a record producer, music theorist, etc. What other hats might you be wearing in the future?

[aaron acosta]
Right now, I have been giving a lot of thought to installation art. Taking something else from the Eno play book. I would love the opportunity to use my lighting design and set design skills to create a sound design installation that will allow the audience to experience my projects fully. Right now, I have to get off my ass and develop some drawings so I can beg for money and studio space to do that. Something I have never done, but have a great interest in. I would also love to collaborate in such projects. I am also getting my bachelors of education, so in the future, teaching is something I would love to do.

[indiessance]
Have you worked with anyone who has helped shape or develop your sound? Have any particular sound designers influenced your work?

[aaron acosta]
So many. In my degree at the College of Santa Fe, I got to work with great teachers that shaped not only the way I work, but the way I look at life. David Dunn and Steven Miller from the contemporary music program at the College of Santa Fe opened me up to electro acoustic music. I could not have developed my first works without them. David Stout at the College of Santa Fe film department was always there for me and developed what I think film sound could and should be. I also find his art installations inspiring. Jim Lyden, and Clark Duncan from the theatre department at CSF allowed me to explore sound design in theatre, and make a ton of mistakes. And in general, I think every director i work with, every project I collaborate on shapes my work and how I see the world a little bit. That's why I love this work. Every project is a chance to change your perception, and learn about people.

[indiessance]
You also compose electroacoustic tracks - a genre that does not have a clear cut definition. What elements do you use in such compositions that might characterize them as electroacoustic?

[aaron acosta]
Well, I learned that there were two major camps, the Pierre Schaeffer, Musique concrète camp that takes recorded environmental sounds and juxtaposes them to come up with a composition, and the German Electronic Music that involves purely electronic synthesis of sounds. Modern electroacoustic music is a mix of both of these. I think people who work in this type of music are driven more by sound and our reaction to it. This means you do not feel constrained by song structure, 12 tone equal temperament, or standard music notation. Elecroacoustic music uses electronics to create and/or manipulate sounds in a purely evocative way. Right now the CBC is playing a piece about circuit bending. It is another example of finding sounds and compositions in unusual places. Right now, I think electroacoustic can either be a term that excludes popular music, but is slowly starting to infect it.

[indiessance]
The 60x60 project organizes an annual event - a concert featuring 60 tracks by 60 electroacoustic artists. You have been contributing compositions to 60x60 since the project's inception in 2003. How has 60x60 affected the development of your craft?

[aaron acosta]
60x60 is such a great idea. It is amazing to think of the cross section that participate in it. I also love the time limit! It forces you to choose your words carefully. Every year since 2003, I think, this year i have nothing I can submit, but then something strikes me and i am able to create something. I have also been getting inspiration from the shorter pieces to expand upon them and create longer ones. I cant say how much i love the idea of the project. Listening to the cds is like spending 60 seconds in another composers head. It is a great opportunity. Recently, collaborations with video and dance artist is exactly what i love. I love the idea of other artists work being influenced by mine and would like to see more of it in the future. I love to see other's interpretation of their experience of my work.

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cd @ cdbaby (wave - aaron acosta)
cd @ cdbaby (frequency, amplitude and time - aaron acosta)

profile @ myspace
home page @ aaronacosta

samples: wave
mp3 @ aaronacosta (carlsbad)
mp3 @ aaronacosta (deception)
mp3 @ aaronacosta (far)
mp3 @ aaronacosta (wave134)

samples: frequency, amplitude & time
mp3 @ aaronacosta (traffic)
mp3 @ aaronacosta (fire study song)
mp3 @ aaronacosta (beat 61203)
mp3 @ aaronacosta (ddd3)
mp3 @ aaronacosta (medical)
mp3 @ aaronacosta (earth study song)
mp3 @ aaronacosta (nebulous)

review @ smother.net

Basia Bulat

The true vocal quality of London-based baroque-pop singer-songwriter Basia Bulat is a cross between Leslie Feist, and Chan Marshall having a chamber-pop moment.

The A-side on her debut album Oh, My Darling is I Was a Daughter.

In the triple-meter track Little Waltz, out of heartfelt regret, the singer expresses her plea through a euphemism: stay for a while while our leaves are still green, please The singer's romance is prefigured by imagery of a dance floor, and love by the dance itself. Slowly twirling within a genre of pop dressed in orchestral satin, Little Waltz is an A-side. Also, the track was used in a Volkswagon Eos commercial.

Basia Bulat plays acoustic guitar and autoharp; she fleshes out her sound with a half-dozen musicians who provide ukulele, violin, viola, cello, piano and percussion. The band's sound can be described as a fusion of folk and baroque pop.

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• encyclopedia @ wikipedia Basia Bulat
• merch @ discogs
• merch @ amazon
• merch @ itunes
• merch @ musicbrainz
• home page @ basiabulat
• encyclopedia @ wikipedia Oh My Darling
• profile @ myspace
• video @ youtube (little waltz - basia bulat)
• stream @ radio3
• feed @ hypem
• discography @ amazon
• article @ nowtoronto
• review @ pitchforkmedia
• review @ Review: SixEyes
• review @ musicomh
• review @ no depression
• review @ rfb
• review @ contactmusic
• wiki @ wikiwand
• wiki @ dbpedia
• stream @ spotify
• images @ flickr

David Broderick

In an exclusive interview, David Broderick talks about his new EP 'Miles from the Highway' and the Denton, Texas music scene.

[indiessance]
In Denton, Texas, the University of North Texas houses the largest music school in the nation. Add to that a metro population exceeding 7.5 million, and you have the perfect environment for a music culture to thrive in. How did the Denton music scene help you develop your craft? Are there plenty of venues that you like to perform at there?

[david broderick]
I had been coming to Denton for years to go to various shows. I lived in a town right in the middle of the metroplex so Dallas and Fort Worth were roughly equal distances, but Denton always drew the coolest bands. I think one of the biggest influences Denton has provided is its huge jazz scene, and the high population of musicians in general. The town has to cater to that so in return there are a lot of places to play; Hailey's, Andy's, J & J's, Rubber Gloves, Dan's Silverleaf, The Secret Headquarters which actually just closed down. As a musician you can pretty much always find a place to play, and if you cant then you can always get on 35 and head to Dallas, Fort Worth, OKC, or Austin.

[indiessance]
You informed me that Midlake, Robert Gomez, Baptist Generals and Fishboy all come from Denton - and that list goes on. Are there any other up-and-coming Dentonites that we should know about? Which Denton bands do you like the most?

[david broderick]
There is this great band I checked out a few weeks ago called Mom. They're one of the most interesting, beautiful things I've ever heard from the area. Grab their CD if you can find it anywhere. I'd say Midlake has been my biggest influence from a Denton band. I see them every time I get a chance, and I actually just got back from having coffee with the keyboard player. I've really enjoyed everything they have done from the time I was in 8th or 9th grade. They're incredible.

[indiessance]
'Points off the Center' - the A-side from your new EP 'Miles from the Highway' - has a Latin vibe with shuffle rhythm and percussion. Are there any particular Latin music genres or artists that inspire you?

[david broderick]
I like a lot of bossa nova jazz stuff, but I'm not particularly into any latin artists. I think I'm just attracted to some of those rhythms and qualities because they have a strong beat to them and you don't hear it too much in most modern music coming out. It's really catchy and has an interesting, almost dance quality.

[indiessance]
The phrase 'miles from the highway' can be found in the lyrics to 'Points off the Center'; the lyrics sound tight. Do you feel that good lyrics are important to a song?

[david broderick]
I definitely think that lyrics can make or break a song, and that's definitely the area that I'm most self conscious about. I try to write in as few words what I would like to say and in a non-direct fashion. Whenever I try to say too much I end up ruining what I started with. I focus on melodies a lot too. A strong melody that gets stuck in your head is a good melody. A unique melody that you find yourself singing without becoming obnoxious is a great melody.

[indiessance]
How does the title of your EP tie into the meaning of 'Points off the Center'? What is the meaning of the song?

[david broderick]
Both the title and lyric refer to just getting away from things. I was just ready for a change in my surroundings. It's kind of ironic because where I'm living now, I can see highway 35 from around the corner. The album as a whole is about seeing something new, but 'Points off the Center' is actually about going back to how things were when most everything new ends up being the same.

[indiessance]
A song titled '7/4 Shoreline' by Broken Social Scene is played in non-standard 7/4 time. I seem to hear a non-standard time signature in 'Give a Hand' from your new EP. Mainly, I'm referring to the drumbeat that comes in with the Roswellian news flash. Is the drummer playing a non-standard beat?

[david broderick]
Actually that song is standard 6/8 time, but it has a bit of a "gallop" to it which might give it an odd feel. The section after the second verse is played very loosely though. I think it opens that area up a lot into a melodic dream-like state which suits the song well and adds to the dynamics of the song before such a rigid and dissonant crescendo.

[indiessance]
One year ago, more than 50 eyewitnesses - including several airline employees - saw an unidentifiable flying object above O'Hare Airport. For 60 years, Americans have been reporting this unexplainable phenomenon. 'Give a Hand' has a news flash track that sounds like an early Roswell report. Could you describe what 'Give a Hand' is about? How do you feel about the UFO phenomenon?

[david broderick]
'Give a Hand' is the opening song on the EP and I think serves two purposes. On one end it gives you some insight to the main character of the album, but it also is me sort of telling myself that putting myself in a new area isn't necessarily going to be an amazing new experience. I think it's kind of best stated with the lines "There's nothing in the woods you can't find in the city where you're from." I can say I'm not particularly interested in UFO phenomenon, although there is a ridiculous website about how Earth was colonized by aliens and Jesus was one of the aliens. I have fun browsing through that place.

[indiessance]
Are there any particular producers or engineers who have helped develop or shape your sound?

[david broderick]
I recorded, mixed and mastered this album on my own so I would definitely say that I have some influences as far as that whole aspect goes. My brother had a home studio off of his bedroom and he was always messing around in there. I read an interview with Brian Deck, this chicago guy who has done a lot of big records, and I really like his style and way of seeing things as far as mixing goes. I like listening to lots of records and seeing what kinds of sounds they use, and tones. The new Animal Collective is great; I'm still absorbing both Midlake albums. I don't know.. It's really such an overwhelming thing to take on and just a really big learning experience. I've learned a lot about how I play and how I write.

[indiessance]
What are some of the extra musical instruments you use to flesh out your tracks, and help define your sound? Any particular effects or synths that you like to use?

[david broderick]
On this record I have used a lot of flute samples. I think they have this warm, rustic quality that exaggerates the whole "living in the woods" vibe. I also messed around with a lot of different overdriven synth sounds, and organs. For the most part everything else was pretty standard. A lot of tape delay was used, and played around with trying to get a lot of "warbling" sounds on some of the leads.

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profile @ rippletunes.com

Gospel Gossip

In an exclusive interview, Sarah and Ollie of Minnesota-based Gospel Gossip talk about songwriting inspiration, studio recording and the music industry.

[indiesssance]
Shadows are Bent and Lucky Lemmings are two strong tracks to represent A-side and B-side, respectively. Gospel Gossip has an original sound that overshadows comparisons to other bands.

Creative blocks can be frustrating; depressing at times. Are there any particular bands that stir up creative juices - or sweep out the cobwebs - as a muse? Are there any bands that stand out as a primary source of inspiration for your songwriting?

[sarah]
I don't know. It's too easy to run too far in the direction of "inspiration." I'm most blocked when I become too attached to the superficial qualities of a band or sound, like lyrics or melody or structure. Those things are hypnotic but with respect [to] songs themselves, meaningless. Being inspired is about inhaling a feeling and breathing it back out. I wrote the start of Lucky Lemmings after lying on my floor listening to Heroin [by The Velvet Underground] repeatedly for three hours. But that doesn't mean they sound alike or are about the same thing. That said, there still are albums that we collectively love. Psychocandy, Daydream Nation, and Horses are a few of those.

[ollie]
We're big Talking Heads fans too. True Stories was an inspiring movie for all of us. Speaking of...

[indiessance]
Which novels or movies inspire you? Any particular authors?

[sarah]
Ollie and I just saw I'm Not There by Todd Hayes, and it's pretty incredible. There are a lot of references to Ingmar Bergman's Persona, which makes sense, and that's also another one of my favorites. I would put Jean-Luc Godard and David Lynch on the top of my fail-proof filmmaker list. Authors... Virginia Woolf will never cease to amaze me, and T.S. Eliot, but then again he's a poet. William S. Burroughs is pretty great for a trip.

[ollie]
All the late-60's counter culture films are very influential for us as well.

[indiessance]
Are there any producers or sound engineers who have helped to shape or develop your sound?

[sarah]
Neil Weir, he's a Minneapolis guy, mixed our album. He understood where we were coming from and is unique in the way that he's not so crazy about digital post-production effects, as so many producers these days seem to be. He went ahead and used analog effects, like tape delay, to really hone out our sound.

[ollie]
Yeah, it was this Roland RE -150 Space Echo that he bought in Northfield (of all places). It was a big box with a bunch of VU meters, looked like it was from the early 80's. We used it on all the songs as a post-production effect. The ambient jangling sound on Shadows Are Bent is a good example. We also titled two songs after the effect. But yeah, it really saved us because we got into a terrible situation with the guy we tracked with, and it turned out to be difficult to expand our sound when we went to Neil. So there's a lot of tension between experimentation and cookie-cutter engineering.

[indiessance]
I noticed that you are scheduled to play at First Avenue on December 13th, a venue that has been a rock-it launch pad for Twin Cities-based bands for decades - the CBGB of Minneapolis. The show is a CD release party for your latest project. Are you excited about the gig? Has that show put a buzz in the group's busy hive?

[sarah]
We're playing 7th Street Entry, not First Avenue proper, but still it's fabulous. It's our favorite venue in Minneapolis; the sound is incredible, and the atmosphere perfect. It's just a small black black room.

[ollie]
The Entry's just as historically important. The Replacements and Husker Du played there often. Prince got his start there. A bunch of great national bands play there too. First Ave. is too scary to play. We haven't done it yet, but it's huge. It looks exactly the way [it] does in Purple Rain.

[indiessance]
In your message, you noted 'shoegaze' and 'New Order' as general tags for comparison. There are places where I have caught a The Cure vibe, e.g. 1:37 into the 'Lucky Lemmings' MP3 - mostly from the slight dissonant tremble in Sarah's vocal, but also from the layers of electric guitar. Speaking of which, how are you able to emulate such layering live - with a three-piece band?

[sarah]
We just added a synth player, actually, and she's helped a bit to fill things out, although I wouldn't say that sparseness in sound was ever an issue to begin with. We did do some overdubbing on the album, but even on Lucky Lemmings I don't think there are ever any more than two guitars going at once. When we're live I use a digital delay pedal, which can really help to take the sound and explode it.

[ollie]
The great thing about that song is that it's always different when we play it. That also worried us when we were recording it. We thought it was going to be really difficult and untrue to the way we play it live. But I'm happy; it's my favorite on the album. And yes, there are a bunch of references in the song. I don't think we had the Cure in mind. The drums in the middle of the song are a rip off of Age of Consent [by New Order]. Same with the fills I do toward the end: those are taken from Patti Smith's Free Money. Anyway, we're not embarrassed about our influences, but we also don't make our music live through them. They're kind of like terse, offhanded comments, allusions, things to allow our music to go somewhere else.

[indiessance]
In addition to the Twin Cities music scene, are there any cities with scenes that you really liked? Which is your favorite city to perform in, outside of Minneapolis?

[sarah]
We've only been on tour once, and it wasn't much, just some house shows and art collectives up the west coast. In Chico we were going to play this place called the Crux Collective, and Justin was following our van on his motorcycle and ended up getting stranded somewhere around San Fransisco, I think. We panicked, but someone at the collective stepped up to fill in on bass. That was I think one of the worst and most honest shows we've ever played.

[ollie]
Seattle and Vancouver were fun... really great music Cities. I remember a death metal band opened for us in L.A.

[indiessance]
Enough times, in music reviews, the reader encounters an avalanche of sonic comparisons - this can be misleading, even confusing. Have you come across any sonic comparisons to GG that might make you scratch your head?

[sarah]
We haven't really been reviewed yet. Although once some drunken guy said we sounded like U2. That was off-putting.

[ollie]
I could see where that guy was coming from. The weirdest one I've heard yet was today: someone on a message board said we were a shitty version of the Beatles or something. I think we've got more balls than the Beatles because we can make louder music with fewer genitalia.

[indiessance]
It is clear that your band's sound has jelled. It can take years for a band to get that tight. How did GG first come together? How long has the band been in its current configuration of Sarah, Justin and Ollie?

[sarah]
I had been writing songs for a while when I met Ollie at Carleton. We'd drink whiskey and played in my dorm laundry room from time to time. A few months of that got old, so we brought Justin in. He and Ollie played in a hardcore band called Rainbow Magical. We'd been playing together for a little less than a year when we recorded the album, so now I guess we've been together for almost a year and half. And now we have a new member, Deanna, as I mentioned.

[indiessance]
There are many new bands out there that are in the process of building a fan base. Such bands rely on file sharing as a means of exposing even more listeners to their music. But - as well as a blessing - file sharing has proven to be a curse.

Based on your experiences in an indie band, how do you feel about the current state of the music industry, with the pervasive manifestation of illegal file sharing, and major labels shifting into survival mode? What steps has GG taken in order to survive as a band in this crazy music industry environment?

[sarah]
Some bands understand that art and expression aren't about ownership, and those are the bands that will survive, or at least matter. It's obvious that the music industry is floundering, but it's also obvious that the major labels are still making money. Britney Spears is paid over $700,000 every month and she sees only pennies from album sales. Greed fuels corporate industry, and the music business is no exception. It hasn't yet been able to reconcile with itself that perhaps music isn't just another commercial commodity to be bought and sold, as they've been treating it to be for so many decades. They can't stop file sharing because people don't think they need to pay money for music anymore. They can use lawsuits to frighten people but not to make them buy worthless albums. If they need to make millions they need to find a way apart from selling music, because (hopefully) they're never again going to convince the populace that a compact disc is worth $15.

[indiessance]
If I were to take a guess, it sounds as if your tracks were laid out with an 8-track recorder on 1/2" media. What make-model of recorder did you actually use? Any other equipment you might like to mention? e.g. guitar pedals.

[sarah]
Everything was actually tracked digitally with Protools. Maybe the analog echo and reverb techniques that I already mentioned are what are giving you that feel. My delay pedal is a Boss DD-6. It's priceless. I use a Metal Muff for distortion, and that's it. A lot of the best sounds come out of twisting the guitar around, bending the bridge, and so on. Justin uses a DD-3 and a Boss Bass Overdrive.

[indiessance]
I doubt that your band will ever receive a scathing review. Have the critics been writing nice things so far?

[sarah]
You're the first. Set the bar high.

---

profile @ myspace.com

mp3 @ rabbitsliketrumpets.typepad.com (shadows are bent - gospel gossip)
mp3 @ rabbitsliketrumpets.typepad.com (lucky lemmings - gospel gossip)
mp3 @ rabbitsliketrumpets.typepad.com (wind - gospel gossip)

blog aggregator @ hypem.com

interview @ carleton.edu

images @ flickr.com

Bloc Party

London-based indie-rock Bloc Party is fronted by singer-songwriter Kele Okereke.

Their latest full-album, A Weekend In The City is a multifaceted social statement:

Hunting For Witches expresses the sociopolitical manifestation of islamophobia - via terrorism, government intervention and media saturation; a song inspired by the 2005 London bombings.

The Morrissey-esque Uniform laments the socioeconomic influence of the spirit of commerce on young consumers.

Where is Home? relates the sociogenic problem of hate crimes from a black-British perspective - inspired by the killing of family-friend Christopher Alaneme.

The song title SRXT represents the anti-depressant Seroxat with vowels extracted to avoid litigation. The song is a sociopsychological allegory from a despondent viewpoint; Tube-related sound effects correspond to a listener meditating on the issue while sitting on a train with eyes closed and headphones on.

The lead track Song for Clay is a tribute to the novel Less Than Zero, particularly the story's protagonist, Clay. A line from the lyrics, people are afraid to merge on the freeway, corresponds with the first sentence of the novel: People are afraid to merge on freeways in Los Angeles.

---

profile @ myspace
mp3 @ sixeyesmedia (we were lovers - bloc party)
mp3 @ rednicko (hunting for witches - bloc party)
mp3 @ rednicko (song for clay - bloc party)
mp3 @ nialler9 (where is home - bloc party)
mp3 @ xs4all (the prayer - bloc party)
mp3 @ musicforants (waiting for the 7.18 - bloc party)
mp3 @ box (sunday - bloc party)
feed @ hypem
video @ youtube (song for clay - bloc party)
video @ youtube (waiting for witches - bloc party)
video @ youtube (i still remember - bloc party)
video @ youtube (srxt - bloc party)
video @ youtube (sunday - bloc party)
video @ youtube (the prayer - bloc party)
video @ youtube (uniform - bloc party)
video @ youtube (commentary song for clay - bloc party)
video @ youtube (sunday - bloc party)
video @ youtube (srxt - bloc party)
video @ youtube (interview with nme - bloc party)
review @ metacritic
interview @ bullz-eye
home page @ blocparty
label @ wichita-recordings
lyrics @ blocparty
encyclopedia @ wikipedia

The Blakes

Two Times by Seattle-based The Blakes was "written in seven minutes," according to guitarist/vocalist Garnet Keim. The raw vitality of the vocals is the dynamo behind the A-side track's breakout potential. It is that type of easily identifiable genuineness that chiseled the Ramones deep into the granite of rock history. The vocals also disclose a Bon Scott influence.

"One of our most popular songs Don't Bother Me has two chords - we learned it's not the chord or the structure, it's the vibe," stated bassist/vocalist Snow Keim. He informed KEXP Seattle that their songwriting does not target specific genres: "We're not trying to write particular types of songs - we just write." Any resulting similarities are basically byproducts of their influences. Their inspiration is fueled by the hits of "cool bands," like The Rolling Stones.

Material for their albums is developed by stacking up lots of demo tracks, and then picking and choosing the best sounding tracks from the pile to be fleshed out further.

profile @ myspace
mp3 @ prewarblues (two times - the blakes)
mp3 @ sxsw (don't bother me - the blakes)
mp3 @ lightintheattic (pistol grip - the blakes)
feed @ hypem
video @ youtube (two times - the blakes)
video @ youtube (don't bother me - the blakes)
video @ youtube (commit - the blakes)
video @ youtube (modern man - the blakes)
video @ youtube (linkwalk - the blakes)
video @ youtube (vampire - the blakes)
video @ youtube (magoo - the blakes)
video @ youtube (lie next to me - the blakes)
video @ youtube (pistol grip - the blakes)
video @ youtube (picture - the blakes)
video @ youtube (streets - the blakes)
review @ spin
review @ threeimaginarygirls
review @ ocweekly
review @ thewigfitsallheads
interview @ washington.edu/kexp
discography @ amazon
label @ lightintheattic

Bat for Lashes

The 2006 album Fur and Gold by Brighton-based Bat for Lashes made the shortlist for the 2007 Mercury Prize, causing a 185% spike in album sales.

In Trophy, singer/songwriter Natasha Khan's Björk-textured vocals sing:

creatures of mercy
shoot shoot shoot
shoot them down
set me free

On Horse and I Khan's nursery-rhyme harpsichord-synth graces an album that allowed her to quit her nursery-school job. While her Bruce Springstein cover I'm on Fire features real harpsichord and finger-picked viola.

The enchanting fairytale verse/chorus of Bats Mouth is fleshed out with piano and strings, then upstaged by a long magnificent bridge buildup that firmly establishes the title. Lyrics are dense with imagery of dark forests and constellations.

For certain songs, Khan told Wikinews that she may "gather images and take photographs and make notes and make collages and start looking to photographers and filmmakers to give me a more grounded sense of the place that I'm writing about..."

profile @ myspace
video @ youtube (horse and i - bat for lashes)
video @ youtube (interview on flasher.com)
video @ youtube (interview on the culture show)
video @ youtube (moon on moon - bat for lashes)
video @ youtube (the stick)
video @ youtube (trophy - bat for lashes)
video @ youtube (what's a girl to do? - bat for lashes)
review @ metacritic
interview @ wikinews
interview @ imposemagazine
home page @ batforlashes
encyclopedia @ wikipedia

Down the Tiny Steps

Jonnie, songwriter for Down the Tiny Steps, recently put out a demo track titled Catapult, and there is a video of the performance at The Boat Tavern located in Cellardyke. He informed me, "It's one of my older tracks to be honest, but that is a new recording/version of it. Closer to the way we play it live." The new version has been tagged "demo", representing a step toward the next recording of Catapult, which will be "a bit more snappy."

I asked Jonnie for the meaning of the album title Death by Telegraph Stop. He informed me that the title "means a few things but its certainly open to interpretation." In a newsletter sent to record company subscribers last month, he described how the title was inspired - in a sense - by "coming across an old, rusty telegraph pole in the middle of the woods."


Since Glasgow - the dear green place - was established a long time ago, it is safe to assume that the city has had a band scene since the 6th century. There, you will find the folk-rock experiment Down the Tiny Steps, postulated by their latest album Death by Telegraph Stop. This may be the first band to ever use a digital staccato scottish brogue rhythm in Summer is for Going Places. How they finessed this gum bumping experimentation is an example of the group's inventive intelligence.

summer's for going places
winter's for watching film
in this state of constant travel
there's no time for standing still

Perhaps Summer  was inspired by the constant motion of a touring band - country hopping from stage to brightly-lit stage. To revel in the warmth of can lights and applause.

player @ myspace
video @ youtube (summer is for going places)
video @ youtube (dial tone)
profile @ myspace
home page @ downthetinysteps
label @ fence records

British Sea Power

Brighton-based indie-rock band British Sea Power released their 5-track Krankenhaus? in downloadable form last month, with the hardcopy arriving in less than a week. Their next full-album Do You Like Rock Music? is scheduled for release in early 2008. Atom and Down on the Ground will then appear on the 2008 full album as well.

Lead-singer-songwriter Yan explained the meaning of Atom in a press release: It's kind of about how over analysis leads to more questions than answers, whether with relationships or quantum theory. He shared with The Tripwire a list of bands he used to listen to: The Pixies, Julian Cope, The Smiths, New Order, Joy Division...

Apologies To Insect Life from their first full-album The Decline of British Sea Power echoes the familiar spastic scraping electric guitar heard in songs by the Pixies.

Sea Power is more often compared to 70s-era Joy Division, while the former has a sound dominated by electric guitars, rather than by keyboard.

Yan's brother Hamilton contributes about one-third of the songs. He described to The Tripwire how the band had better equipment in the studio to lay out tracks with. There were lots of nice machines. Proper ones... Sea Power also had engineering help to polish their sound.

---

• Profile: MySpace [British Sea Power]
• PlayList: YouTube [British Sea Power]
• Merch: Home Page [Krankenhaus?]
• Review: Pitchfork [Krankenhaus?]
• Stream: Spotify [Krankenhaus?]
• Blog: Coke Machine Glow [Do You Like Rock Music?]
• Merch: Record Shop X [Krankenhaus?]
• Magazine: CMJ [Remember Me]
• Merch: Rough Trade [The Decline of British Sea Power]
• Encyclopedia: Wikipedia [The Decline of British Sea Power]
• Discography: Discogs [British Sea Power]
• Discography: Discogs [The Decline of British Sea Power]
• Review: AllMusic [The Decline of British Sea Power]

Au Revoir Simone

The "triple keyboard action" of Brooklyn-based lo-fi Au Revoir Simone's 11-track The Bird of Music is the follow-up to their 8-track 2006 debut that was released on the London-based indie label Moshi Moshi Records.

Simone is currently touring Europe with French electronic duo Air - slated to play at venues in London, Paris(Zenith), Milan, Madrid and Lisbon.

Dreamy synth layers in the lead track of Simone's 2006 mini-album Verses of Comfort, Assurance & Salvation could be heard in an episode of Grey's Anatomy. In which dulcet tones of keyboards and vocal harmonies define their sound, which has been tagged "simple, elegant, and ethereal" by Pitchfork's Brian Howe.

What Kimya Dawson is to the anti-folk movement, perhaps Simone - with their Casio-casual aesthetic - is to a potential "anti-synthpop" movement - a lyrically and sonically unpretentious genre. As in Sad Song, the second track off their latest album.

play me a sad song 'cause that's what I want to hear
I want you to make me cry
I want to remember the places that we left
lost to the mists of time

profile @ myspace
mp3 @ fileden (sad song - au revoir simone)
mp3 @ sxsw (fallen snow - au revoir simone)
mp3 @ aurevoirsimone (through the backyards - au revoir simone)
mp3 @ notontheguestlist (stay golden - au revoir simone)
feed @ hypem
video @ youtube (fallen snow - au revoir simone)
video @ youtube (haunted house - au revoir simone)
video @ youtube (night majestic - au revoir simone)
video @ youtube (sad song - au revoir simone)
video @ youtube (stay golden - au revoir simone)
video @ youtube (through the backyards - au revoir simone)
video @ youtube (with david lynch)
review @ pitchforkmedia
review @ pitchforkmedia (verses of comfort, assurance & salvation)
review @ stylusmagazine
review @ lunapark6
interview @ youtube (interview by boomtown)
interview @ imposemagazine
interview @ vice
interview @ gothamist
interview @ lunapark6
home page @ aurevoirsimone
label @ moshimoshimusic
encyclopedia @ wikipedia