LR: So who was it in the band that got engaged on the stage at Coachella 2004 and how’s that going?
Charles: That was him (points to John).
John: Yep, that was me it’s going really great.
LR: How has the popularity of the band changed over the past couple of albums? Do you see bigger budgets and money from the time of You Forgot it in People to the latest self-titled album?
Charles: The popularity has been pretty steady; it wasn’t a huge jump but always gradually climbing. The general reaction to You Forgot it in People was really surprising. People who liked that album generally weren’t disappointed with the latest one so it kept the momentum going, we’ve been really happy with the response.
John: It has grown a bit too. We are playing larger venues and bigger crowds are coming to see us in certain places like the UK for example. There was initially some concern because the record is a little more dense and chaotic, even frenetic in a lot of ways. So in the UK it’s made a bigger impact than You Forgot it in People did. So it feels like we could breathe a sigh of relief, like we’ve earned our stripes.
Charles: Luckily we haven’t got the “hit single” over there (laughs), which is a big relief. John: Yeah we were just talking about this earlier; the difference between albums. The popularity is a little more diverse because people are generally into the entire record instead of just one song or single.
LR: On stage it seems like you guys are so tight and comfortable with each other. Does that feeling translate off stage and into your personal lives? I know there are so many people in the band but do you guys ever just hang out to go get a drink or get together after all the touring?
John: Yeah, we’re all very close on tour. We take turns hanging out in different combinations because the band is so large, and that’s a great thing about Broken Social Scene.
Charles: Sometimes you can see that different parties aren’t gelling and it’s big enough where you can divide it up. It’s a much different dynamic than say a typical four piece band.
LR: After a while I do see a lot of bands come through L.A. and the band dynamic seems distant like they feel trapped with each other. It certainly shows on and off stage when you just have a normal conversation them.
Charles: For us it’s really enjoyable because of the size of our band and it makes it more fun.
John: It also has a lot to do with how this band was formed. Initially, a lot of bands will worry about how things are going to work out, how they’ll be perceived, agendas, and booking. When we started we weren’t even concerned about how we were going to make it out of the city, there was no agenda.
Charles: It was a very sincere beginning; there wasn’t any agenda at all when we stared playing. Things just gradually took hold quite naturally. Every band is going to have their frustrations but that’s life. It’s been a lucky ride for us so far.
LR: And I think people are drawn to that kind of chemistry where there isn’t an agenda. Take a band like Yo La Tengo; they have always come across as relaxed and sincere on and off stage, like a small family. I think most people are drawn to that.
Charles: Right, they were big heroes of mine.
John: There’s a real sense in this band that there‘s an open, fluid membership and that helps as well. We all have other projects and everyone is fond of each other’s projects, you need to have something to kind of satisfy your need for more expression. And that in turn helps you gain perspective on the band and your own music. There’s always this massive movement of creative energy within the band. At it’s peak we’re at about 20 people and it’s great.
Charles: I’ve actually met people for the first time walking onto a stage, “hey it’s nice to meet you”. LR: I think the last time you guys were in town you had the largest combination of Broken Social Scene on an L.A stage, I counted about 16 people and it just sounded huge.
John: Yeah, we’re very fortunate that we have a band that can produce so much energy and we really never stress out about it. The band just works itself out.
Charles: And with that many people it becomes easier because there’s less ego involved. You couldn’t really do it otherwise because of the numbers. There’s just no competition in the band. And there’s a validating freedom where you feel comfortable.
John: It’s also about surrendering you ego, and all of us have strong egos and opinions about how things should sound. When I was younger I use to see these bands and I grew up watching Brendan Canning at clubs. So when I started I really felt honored. I also knew I was really going to have to surrender myself and any control in order to enjoy it. I think it makes you a better player and gives you a better experience.
Charles: No one has any clinging or controlling minds. We have projects to do the clinging (laughter). It’s naturally hard to have a lot of ideas and only let a few of them out.
LR: So when you go back into the studio after a tour how does that band dynamic work? Charles: Well, we never all go into the studio at once.
John: When we did You Forgot it in People we all had our roles and a good sense of what our parts were.
LR: Have you ever tried to actually record all at once?
John: Well, we did try that once. The way we record actually has more to do with someone coming up with a sound and you just invite people in to add something to it or try something different that might work. Kevin, Brendan, and Dave were more responsible for “massaging” the last album. LR: So when exactly do you plan to go back into the studio for the next record?
Charles: We are pretty much done touring in November and then after that it’s time to record again. We have a bunch of songs and sketches but it’s tough because at the same time you don’t know what pile it’s going to end up in. You don’t really want to think about what’s going to happen. You want to just go in and play music and allow it to happen.
LR: Like you might want to save you own songs for your own project.
Charles: Right, but we’re going to have a new record at some point, I’m not sure what the hell it’s going to sound like though.
Chris: Not that we have a system, but it’s kind of a loose version of what a system is. And since that works we don’t mess with the process of recording an album. There’s no definite procedure to follow for us.
LR: Any bands as of late that have totally blown your mind or influenced you?
Charles: Akron Family have completely won my heart, I love that band.
John: Man, there’s so many to list.
LR: Blame it on the internet, especially blogs, they have completely expanded the choice and idea of what’s “good”. It almost makes impossible to keep up sometimes unless you’re in that world. There’s so much to like.
John: There is no limit, the well is never going to run dry. I think we live in a pretty good time to be in music. There’s definitely noy going to be a shortage of great bands.
LR: The internet kind of redefined the magnitude of choices and how to get your music out there.
John: Right, I mean technology is great. Charles and I can just go and record on my computer whenever, on a bus or in any hotel room and lay down ideas. I think the first example of that was in the early nineties when people were saying “fuck it, I’m going to make an album on a 4-track” like Sebadoh and Flying Saucer Attack. There’s so many ways to get your music heard.
Charles: You don’t need the same kind of marketing or promotion anymore, or even a label for that matter.
LR: Before I go is there anyone you want to say hi to?
John: Hi Lisa, I hope I see you before I get to read this, and Greg Davis.
Charles: Marco Landini
-Scott McDonald
LR: Hi, thanks for doing this interview. Have you noticed a big change in the band’s popularity since 2005’s Feels? If so, does it bring forth more pressure for the next album?
Noah: Hello. No problem and thanks very much for talking with us. I have noticed a little bit of a change. The shows we play got a little bigger and more younger people were coming and I was really psyched about that. The last couple of albums though its been a steady increase each time. We get bored or restless pretty quickly so we tend to change what were doing and how we do it a little each album or period and I feel like that upsets some people. But it seems like we get more people excited than bummed each time so I suppose that’s good. I don’t really feel any more pressure than usual but that’s to say that (and I think I can speak for all of us) I always feel pressure from us to do something we feel really good about and something were excited about. I don’t think we feel any obligation to satisfy anyone besides ourselves even though that sounds a little self-centered.
LR: The energy on stage during your live shows is very refreshing, do you ever treat the performance more like an experiment?
Noah: Thanks very much. I know what you mean (about it feeling like an experiment) and I guess I do feel a little bit of that. Every room and every place and every crowd is different and in that sense you never know how things are going to go or if you’re going to feel good or not. I feel like maybe we think more along the lines of the way a dj thinks in that were trying to work with what were given as far as the crowd goes. And at least for me all I want to do is to have a good time and make (or let) everyone there have a good time. In the simplest way I just want something positive to happen. I feel like it’s difficult to really get a large crowd of people involved and connected somehow and I think our energy is our way of trying to make that happen. I suppose were trying intensely to connect with each other in the hopes of having that translate or transmit to everyone else there.
LR: Hi, thanks for doing this interview. Have you noticed a big change in the band’s popularity since 2005’s Feels? If so, does it bring forth more pressure for the next album?
Noah: Hello. No problem and thanks very much for talking with us. I have noticed a little bit of a change. The shows we play got a little bigger and more younger people were coming and I was really psyched about that. The last couple of albums though its been a steady increase each time. We get bored or restless pretty quickly so we tend to change what were doing and how we do it a little each album or period and I feel like that upsets some people. But it seems like we get more people excited than bummed each time so I suppose that’s good. I don’t really feel any more pressure than usual but that’s to say that (and I think I can speak for all of us) I always feel pressure from us to do something we feel really good about and something were excited about. I don’t think we feel any obligation to satisfy anyone besides ourselves even though that sounds a little self-centered.
LR: The energy on stage during your live shows is very refreshing, do you ever treat the performance more like an experiment?
Noah: Thanks very much. I know what you mean (about it feeling like an experiment) and I guess I do feel a little bit of that. Every room and every place and every crowd is different and in that sense you never know how things are going to go or if you’re going to feel good or not. I feel like maybe we think more along the lines of the way a dj thinks in that were trying to work with what were given as far as the crowd goes. And at least for me all I want to do is to have a good time and make (or let) everyone there have a good time. In the simplest way I just want something positive to happen. I feel like it’s difficult to really get a large crowd of people involved and connected somehow and I think our energy is our way of trying to make that happen. I suppose were trying intensely to connect with each other in the hopes of having that translate or transmit to everyone else there.
LR: Vocally, there are so many great sounds and layers on Feels. Is there a lot of spontaneity when you record the vocal tracks in the studio?
Noah: Yes at least for the last two records the vocals were the thing that we fooled around with the most. It was almost exclusively Davey on Feels but Sung Tongs was him and me both. But yes on both there was a lot of writing on the spot or one thing would lead to the next if you know what I mean. The voice is such a malleable instrument and it’s easy to get lots of different sounds and styles with it if you try a little and I guess that’s why we end up using it so much. Plus it usually sounds cooler or fresher at least.
LR: When I talk to musicians and friends here in Los Angeles they often bring up Animal Collective as a big inspiration. Are there any current bands that you guys get blown away by? If not, what are your main influences these days?
Noah: The Daft Punk show we saw at Coachella was my favorite I've ever seen. The sound was real good even way back and I couldn’t get my head around how they could get it to sound that good. And it looked epic. I feel influenced by lots of things but I haven’t been listening to much music lately. The things I do hear are usually recommended by a friend. I like Excepter's Alternation album. I like The Strokes a lot. Jay Dee’s Donut is my favorite thing I’ve heard in a long time. It changed me for sure. Or rather it made me feel like the way I was going made sense. I think I get most influenced by people and the relationships of all kinds that I have with them particularly my close friends and family. I stay home quite a bit but whenever I go out I find something that excites me or excites my mind.
LR: It seems like there’s a lot of child-like innocence and fun that naturally comes out on your records, is this accurate?
Noah: I hope so. I don’t want to play music or to write music if it isn’t fun or positive in some way. I know we all have good time writing and playing the songs especially live these days so I hope very much that it comes across. It’s important to keep an open mind and particularly in creative endeavors I feel like it’s advantageous to feel like you don’t know anything at all.
LR: What are your plans for getting back into the studio? Do you have any particular ideas that you want to accomplish on the next album?
Noah: I don’t know that well record until January at the earliest but I know were all excited about this one. Not to put down the last couple but I think were especially proud of these songs. I don’t want to do anything like wave done before but I suppose that’s not anything new. I don’t want it to be a very guitary record and I'm pretty sure we all feel that way. I have lots of ideas but I don’t want to give them away if that’s all right just because maybe it will be sweeter if it’s more of a surprise. Plus I don’t want to give anyone a picture in their head of what it should sound like or will sound like, I'd rather they make their own when they hear it.
LR: What’s it like being a member of Animal Collective? Who has the most interesting day job in the band?
Noah: It’s good at least for me. I can’t say its easy going no problems all the time. I suppose as with anything threes always difficulties to get over. I’ve been feeling recently like I have something to prove but I don’t know why and I like that very much. Being in a band is like being married to a bunch of people at the same time and you go on vacation a lot. It’s trying at times for sure and lots of work and effort but it’s always more than worth it once it’s over. We went over our days recently and all voted Bressons (geologist) as the best. It involved lots of tea and movies. My day is filled with diapers and toys not that that’s bad.
LR: Thanks again for your time, any last shout-outs?
Noah: Thanks very much for the interview and I hope you are very well. I would like to say hey to lots of bros but I’m afraid to leave someone out or to take up too much space. But thanks for the offer. Take good care.
-Scott McDonald
The Polyphonic Spree
The Fragile Army
2007 | TVT
I
decided I can take the Polyphonic Spree much more seriously since they
stopped donning the robes. I mean, I understand their original concept
for having them, but now I don’t feel slightly off saying that Yes,
indeed I do listen to them, and enjoy them. The Polyphonic Spree is all
about happy music, and if they succeed in making me smile a bit, then
they’ve succeeded with their album. The Fragile Army marks their third release, and also a third label change.
The
amalgamation of instruments and voices is so well structured here that
that alone I find is a very accomplished feat. They almost hold your
hand so that it’s impossible to get lost in the music, making it
approachable and not so “cluttered” as other bands with a lot going on
tend to be. Overall Fragile Army is a more solid effort than their 2004
release Together We’re Heavy. It’s a bit harsher, but I think
that just adds to a more developed style. That harshness takes on a
darker side in such songs as “Light to Follow” where there is an equal
balance moodiness and angelic chorus. “Younger Yesterday” takes on
their natural anthem quality in a Beatle-esque a la Hey Jude closing
that really shows their potential. “Get Up and Go” is almost goofy with
percussion akin to banging on pipes, and guitar and singing work that
for some reason remind me of the Cars. Occasionally I find some of the
songs similar in a few respects, repeated chords, melodies, etc. But
that could also be the newness of the album and my not completely
settled into it yet. It does diverge off in new places and that for me
is the draw.
-Elana Rintala
LR: First of all, congratulations on Serena Maneesh winning “Best album in Norway” in Dagbladet Newspaper. Were you surprised?
Emil: Thank you. Well most people outside of Norway probably don' t know who or what Dagbladet is, so… Well, of course, it is nice that those folks liked it and some more people got introduced to it. Anyway it is some time ago and you gotta move on.
LR: What a crazy year it’s been since your record came out. How have American audiences, and the rest of the world, been responding to Serena Maneesh during the tour?
Emil: We've been witnessing quite a few spectacular scenarios along the way, and you know we were thrown into the pit even when we still trying out different setups and all. We've made some crazy mistakes yet huge progressions in telling our story since the start.
LR: Who does all the recordings and writing for your album? Do you record with your live band?
Emil: I believe in discipline yet certain influence of each individual contributing. So look at Sun Ra. Little bit of idea. I write the songs and mostly arrange them. But the coloring and touch each individual character add to the sound kingdom. In the studio it has been a little different. I record a lot myself and bring in characters who have an interesting touch, but we'll see about next time. There are always new mistakes to be made and new things to be learnt.
LR: Going into the studio, what did you want to do differently on your latest album that you might not have achieved on 2002’s Fixxations?
Emil: New chapters, new sounds. On Fixxations we had limited recording resources. Anyway, I kinda wanted to check how much you could stuff into more of a conventional pop-rock formula of songwriting. Also, if not already done, check 'Oxygen, Please' from the B-side of the vinyl. Works on both 33 and 45rpm. It is probably my favorite from that area.
LR: You have such a big guitar sound on the record but it still maintains a great rock ‘n roll feel, who would you say are some of your most important influences?
Emil: Growing up you drag a long story more or less subsconsciously having an impact on what eventually spits out. I think it is important to acknowlegde your roots, your mothers & fathers. But move on from there… I grew up listening and playing a lof of basic blues and even more acdc. Then I got obsessed with Jobim. Then into really heavy metal stuff. I heard 'heroin' by the velvets at 13 and I got so scared but came to start to bring a change in me…our local rock club had some real enthusiastic people working it, so they brought in a lot of those amphetamine reptile bands like chokebore, guzzard and hammerhead and I got extremely curious. All along I had been exposed to a lot of folk, some medieval and even more classical music. Those things occasionally really brought to a different planet. Even though in my 20s I've been gasping on so much more i think it still speaks about the past leading into some kind of hazy, gutteral rock-n-roll symphony.
LR: You’ve recently signed to PlayLouder Recordings, what are their plans for you this year and the future? Do you get quit your day jobs yet?
Emil: Well, the record just got released in the States, coming here in June…so we' ll see. I think the sounds.. they need to be really listened to. And it might take some time…The first track on the record, 'Drain Cosmetics' will be released as a single June 12th I think…as 12'', 7'', cd maxi and digital.. Remixes by Oktopus (Dälek), Odd Nosdam (Anticon) as well one of our own.. and more to come.. hehe I have lived the least normal life for a long time now and you always wonder how you are gonna pay your bills.. but the rest of the guys. Hmm it is all a mystery how the eventually get paid.. worst case you just get thrown out and you have to stay with a generous friend for sometime.
LR: What’s the music scene like in Norway? Did you have to play a ton of gigs over the years before getting some serious attention?
Emil: Well the center circle is quite small, so if you wanna make your name branded through the myriadsof business and band people it is pretty simple in norway if your stuff is good. At least most music nerds eventually pick it up. To play a lot around in the districts really 'helps' a lot in the districts to certain bands who appeal to more of a general crowd here at home. But I mean, 'serious attention', our country is a pretty small one and we are happy about those people who really dig into it, I think most of these people eventually will get it.
LR: What’s your favorite guitar of choice? It seems like you are an avid guitar/effects collector with lots of options on stage.
Emil: Ha…well with tunings, character in sound and all, then it is pretty obvious…I have my dear jazzmaster and some nice mosrites. The classic 335' s from the 60s and 70s are wonderful for lots of purposes. Øystein (guitarist) loves his silvertone. He sits around with it every night, polishing and hugging it. A little too far to my taste. All my guitars a broken at the moment so I hope to have them sown together for the next performance. I tend to look at them as nice pieces of art but then in the middle of inspired crossfire I always tend to loose any concept.
LR: What’s your lasting impression of the United States? Any people, cities, or stories that really made your tour memorable?
Emil: Well I can' t really compare San Fran to New York, or Portland to Texas. Those places were all stunning in their own behavior, of course. Interesting looking venues (you guys have such much more interesting caves of venues than we have here in our stiff little minimalist country), absolutely spaced-out hippies along the way! So many inspiring people. Even those gigs with few people ended up becoming our favorites.. incredible people at the Grog Shop in Cleveland, great time after logistics madness at NYC' s Bowery Ballroom.. Bottom Of The Hill, San Fran, yankees at the Spaceland in La (wow you know who you are), then there was SXSW, friends in Portland, 7th st entry in Minneapolis lovelee's, you madmen at the Empty Bottle in Chicago… Not to forget a stopover we had in Billings, Montana, where we went into an absolute 'redneck' bar with bull's scull and railroad tracks on the outside. An incredible night all because of some people who went out of their way to make some very strange strangers feel comfortable…Argh I have to stop, what a journey!
-Scott McDonald
The National
Boxer
2007 | Beggars
The National is a band that you know you heard before but are not
always sure if you can place a song, or album for that matter. Since
2000, this Brooklyn based band has been slowly creeping their way into
music collections, while creating a mummer among music critics. Well,
that mummer, as of their 2005 album, Alligator, has finally turned into a buzz.
Boxer starts off with a soft piano and Matt Berninger’s deep voice, slowly
beginning a story that will only grow to much greater heights as both
the song, and the album progress. I could make some boxing metaphor,
but everyone else across the internet has jumped on that conga-line, so
I’ll keep this simple. Besides the droning, Nick Cave-ish vocals, the
most prominent instrument on here is the drums. I don’t know if it was
a choice on the band’s part to keep those an overpowering aspect or
not, however it adds a very dramatic punch to most songs. Coupled with
the piano, on such tracks as “Mistaken for Strangers” and “Squalor
Victoria”, there is an intricate back-and-forth banter between the two
instruments that only comes from really knowing what you are doing.
If
there is such a thing as “approachable moodiness” then the National
have learned how to excel at it. Dark, late night sentimentality
commingles with light, airy melodies. The National have grown leaps and
bounds, and finally people are starting to pick up on that. I recommend
“Mistaken for Strangers”, “Apartment Story” and “Guest Room”.
-Elana Rintala
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