by Lauren Tischler

If you own a computer or a TV, odds are you have heard pop-punk band The Drums. With numerous songs featured on commercials and on TV, the media has rapidly turned the Brooklyn-born band into a sensation. Guitarist Jacob Graham speaks with me about making music in New York City, his influences, and what we can expect next from The Drums.

How did you first meet?

Jonny and I met when we were kids, about twelve years old. We were the only guys that were into the sort of music we liked OMD, Kraftwerk, The Smiths… things like that. We met Connor when we moved to New York City to try and play some shows as The Drums. We were frantically looking for a drummer and we met him through friends of friends and word of mouth. We clicked with him musically almost as quickly as we did with each other.

When you first got together, was there any real plan of what you wanted to do, or what kind of music you wanted to make?

There was a sort of vague idea in the beginning of what we wanted to do, but I don’t think that we had a very clear idea of how it would come out, no. But in a way it felt like we had a plan because we knew what sort of feelings we wanted to invoke and how we wanted to be perceived, we just didn’t quite know how we would get from point A to point B, which is perhaps exactly what has kept the whole thing interesting.

Some might classify your music as surf-Pop. Do you agree?

Not at all. I think those that would classify us as surf-pop are either hearing what they want to hear or are just eager for trends to be more prevalent than they actually are. For example, a band like Surfer Blood, who sounds much more like Pavement than The Ventures, are also lumped into this category of modern surf music. We were clearly more inspired by the things that were happening on Factory Records and the C86 movement than we were with The Beach Boys who, incidentally, I’ve always found rather annoying. I feel as though people these days are going off imagery so much more than the actual sound of the music, which is disheartening.

If you could compare your sound to the likes of any artist whom would it be?

At the risk of people thinking I’m vain or delusional: The Wake, The Legends, Orange Juice and if we are speaking strictly of sound, I would probably say bands like The Icicle Works, Aztec Camera and New Order at times.

Jonathan (Pierce) and Adam (Kessler) were a part of the band Elkland before joining The Drums. Do you feel as if their sound influenced The Drums at all?

The sound of Elkland has not really influenced that of The Drums. I do wonder if the experience with the music industry has informed some of the decisions we’ve made though.

What does the music-making process look like?

It looks like a tiny New York City apartment kitchen filled with musical instruments and some angry neighbors stopping by periodically to complain about the noise, never in a polite way.

Your music videos are very stylistic. Can you speak on the process?

Yes. Typically we just rack our brains until we come up with a concept for a video. We’re very hands on with the videos so the process is actually excruciating, not unlike child birth. And also like a child, we get to watch it grow and make mistakes, and punish it. It is a lot of work, but I’m glad of how all our videos have turned out. I think they’re all pretty unique of one another, like children.

Would you say that most of your lyrics come from personal experiences or elsewhere?

Well, as I’m not the primary song writer, I can’t say for sure. But Jonathan is my best friend, and sometimes we have a few drinks together and he tells me what they’re all about. It is a mix.

Recently your guitarist Adam Kessler quit The Drums. Can you speak on his leave? What caused this, and how has this affected the ethic of the band?

Adam left the band, as far as I can tell, because he was unhappy with our image and probably the way we went about working on some things. I’ve been careful not to talk about this very extensively because I haven’t talked to Adam since he left so I can’t know for certain. As far as ethics go I don’t think we’ve changed much. Perhaps we’re less trusting.

What’s next for The Drums?

Our second full-length record is nearly completed. So if all goes as planned, it should be released this year sometime. I’m really excited about the new batch of songs we have and we’ll be playing a few of them at our upcoming shows. And we’re just about to hit the road again.

The Drums – Let’s Go Surfing

The Drums – Forever And Ever Amen

The Drums – Down By the Water

The Drums – Best Friend

The Drums- Book of Stories

Official Site / MySpace / BUY

The post Interview with The Drums appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

Alternative hip-hop has blurred the lines between genres since the late 80’s. Recently, up-and-coming hip-hop artists like Hoodie Allen and Das Racist have kept this tradition alive by sampling popular indie anthems like the Black Keys’ “Tighten Up” and trading prototypical bass lines for synth and pop-inspired melodies. One group who has exemplified alternative hip-hop greatly is Chiddy Bang. The band, who gained internet fame when music blog Pretty Much Amazing featured songs from their MySpace, is composed of rapper Chidera “Chiddy” Anamege and Noah “Xaphoon Jones” Beresin. By sampling key-based artists like Sufjan Stevens, Ellie Goulding, and MGMT, the duo have won over the music scene by finding a unique way to capture universal appeal. Their newest EP The Preview was released in October and continues to generate substantial buzz.

Obscure Sound: “Chiddy Bang.” What’s the background behind the name?

Noah “Xaphoon Jones” Beresin: It’s what Chiddy has called all of his side projects since day one. At the time, we were moving so fast and writing songs so quickly, we just picked it as a name and moved on.

When did you and “Chiddy” meet?

Our freshman year of college at Drexel University. So, the end of 2008.

Where are you based?

Currently, Chiddy is based in Stroudsburg, PA, and I am based in Philadelphia.

Starting out, did you see Chiddy Bang as more so recreation, or were you initially aiming for real fame and success?

It was mostly just fun and recreation, but as soon as I realized I might be able to use it to avoid going to college, it was full speed ahead.

You guys sample a lot of indie pop; MGMT, Passion Pit, Hot Chip etc. Do you both generally listen to that sort of music?

I do. Chiddy mostly stays on the hip-hop tip, but every once and a while I’ll convert him and he’ll become a fan of something.

What is the writing process like?

There’s a lot of variation, but for the most part I make a beat, email it to Chiddy, he writes to it, and then we finalize the song together in the studio.

How much room do you allow for the raps to develop when your in the recording process?

It’s totally up to Chiddy, but once the rough stuff is laid down, we usually bounce different ideas off each other until a compromise is reached.

Who or what do you find inspires your music?

I’m inspired by lots of OG artists, particularly Joe Strummer and J. Dilla.

What do you find yourself doing when you’re not making music?

Hanging out with my roommates, walking our dog, cooking.

Last summer you played Lollapalooza, which I’m assuming was a big deal for Chiddy Bang. Can you tell me what the experience was like, along with any other memorable show experiences?

We’d done festivals before, but this was our first American one, and we didn’t know what the reception would be like. I’m rarely nervous before shows, but I must admit I was very much so at Lollapalooza. However, the reception was amazing and the crowd reaction was nuts. Our first festival was Glastonbury, and that was even wilder. We were supposed to be there for a day and ended up staying for like four days. Trying to recall details makes me dizzy. Amazingly fun though.

How have you been managing the fame?

I’m just the man in the background, and I like to keep it that way. I will say, I try to keep it real by not moving to New York or LA. Philly all day and tomorrow.

Even though you’re a fairly new band, you’ve certainly caught the attention of the music scene, including the many people who will read this interview. Anything you want to say to your fans?

Fans – we love you. Keep listening, bootlegging, whatever. And to you college kids – if you feel strongly about it, don’t be afraid to drop out. Kidding… kind of.

RIYL: Das Racist, Hoodie Allen, B.o.B, XV, Kid Cudi, Mike Posner, Bullion, Donnis, Wale, J. Cole, Wiz Khalifa, The White Panda

Chiddy Bang – Truth (feat. Passion Pit)

Chiddy Bang – Opposite Of Adults

Chiddy Bang – Nothing on We

Chiddy Bang – Bad Day (feat. Darwin Deez)

Official Site / MySpace / BUY

The post Interview with Chiddy Bang appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

by Lauren Tischler

It is safe to say that hip-hop prodigy Scott Mescudi, better known as Kid Cudi, has a lot going for him. His debut album Man on the Moon: The End of Day sold 104,419 copies in the span of a week, he stars in HBO’s “How to Make it in America,” and has collaborated with hip hop greats such as Common and Kanye West. The rapper, singer, and actor is on the top of his game after a few short years, and the much awaited release of his newest album Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager tells us he’s not stopping anytime soon.

Considering the amount of success that Kid Cudi’s breakthrough album had in 2009, it was instantly obvious that the follow-up had to meet some high expectations. Whether the album meets these standards is debatable. The album opens with the rapper crooning promising lyrics. “You are now in the world I am ruling,” he expresses, followed by a soulful chorus sung by Gnarls Barkley’s Cee-Lo Green. The song is seemingly a prelude to an album that we believe will be somewhat like Cudi’s first work: refreshing and youthful. What follows, “REVOFEV”, meets our anticipations with a mysterious, psychedelic drum beat and instrumental track.

While the first two tracks of Man on the Moon II are convincing, the rest of Kid Cudi’s album proves to be wary. The tracks are unmemorable and seem to blend together as the album progresses. “Don’t Play this Song” is a dull composition with monotonous lyrics, and while Mary J. Blige is featured on the track, even she fails to impress. “MANIAC” featuring St. Vincent and Cage, and “Erase Me” with Kanye West again prove that even an impressive line up of guest vocalists does not attribute considerably to success of any kind on Cudi’s album.

Although Man on the Moon II is not Kid Cudi’s most outstanding work, it shows us a side of the artist we have not seen in his earlier music. Since Kid Cudi’s first album, he has become a father to a little girl named Vada and has been arrested for criminal charges and drug possession. The artist has also, in the past year, opened up about a heavy cocaine addiction. Though we should not hand Cudi a free pass because of these trials, it is unquestionably a factor to be taken in when considering his newest album. Man on the Moon II is blatantly dark and exemplifies these problems in Cudi’s life. This effect can be seen, for example, in “Wild’n Cuz i’m Young”. Kid Cudi speaks of how his father’s smoking and drinking habits influenced him over an eerie synth line. “These Worries” is another cryptic narrative. The album closes with “Trapped in my Mind”, and while the track is not catchy or noteworthy, Cudi’s lifeless delivery provides a surprisingly fitting conclusion to the album.

So despite the fact that Kid Cudi’s new album won’t be perpetually blasting from my stereo in contrast to his early release, it serves another purpose. Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager introduces us to an intimate artist named Scott Mescudi, rather than the pop culture icon Kid Cudi we know and see everyday.

Kid Cudi – Scott Mescudi vs. The World (ft. Cee-Lo Green)

Kid Cudi – REVOFEV

Official Site / MySpace / BUY

The post Kid Cudi’s Follow-Up appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

by Lauren Tischler

Though we’re forever resistant to let go of the warm weather, the transition from summer to fall is never unpleasant. Sweaters and autumn-colored foliage greet us warmly, while our ears begin to beg us for grunge over the pop-filled melodies we have been continually listening to under the sun. Fall 2010 has already proven to be a friendly listening season, with noteworthy album releases from Of Montreal, The Drums, and Blonde Redhead. With more coming from Badly Drawn Boy, Simian Mobile Disco, Belle and Sebastian, and Sufjan Stevens to name a few, we’ve got a lot to look forward to. Get ready for the color of music to change this season along with the leaves, making a smooth transition with this dark and dusky playlist.

The Temper Trap – Fader (buy)

Local Natives – Airplanes (buy)

Summer Camp – Round the Moon (buy)

Dirty Projectors – Remade Horizon (buy)

Santogold – Say Aha (buy)

The Dead Weather – Hustle and Cuss (buy)

Cold War Kids – We Used to Vacation (buy)

Why? – By Torpedo or Crohn’s (buy)

Coldplay – Yellow (buy)

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin – House Fire (buy)

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zero’s – Home (buy)

Dr. Dog – My Old Ways (buy)

The Strokes – Trying Your Luck (buy)

Gorillaz – Clint Eastwood (buy)

Grizzly Bear – Cheerleader (Neon Indian Remix) (buy)

The White Stripes – This Protecter (buy)

Band of Horses – The Funeral (buy)

DOWNLOAD ENTIRE COMPILATION>>> (72.8MB, .RAR)

The post Lauren’s Fall Playlist appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

by Lauren Tischler

The sound of Ghost Mall is indescribable. But the band, made up of college roommates Pierce, Alex, Cody, and Jimi, give it their best shot. “Garage-y ramshackle pop/ethereal,” lead singer Pierce Lightening struggles, attempting to put a label on his own music. With a lead singer named Pierce Lightening, and influences along the lines of “Babes, Springsteen, Comic Books, and Star Wars,” you are naturally drawn to the quartet. What is surprisingly more interesting than the band members themselves is the music on their first album, Goons.

The album, produced by DJ Teenwolf of Ninjasonik, features five well-done and oddly classy songs. The EP starts out with the marijuana-induced “40 Nugs”, and while I would have chosen a different track for the first, it sets an appropriate tone to the album without giving away their mysterious style. Next is “Senile Felines”, setting a dark synthesized tone that lures the listener further in. The next couple of tracks are “Young Liars”, followed by “Balloon Idea’s”, which captures an eerie essence while keeping it light; it samples a few lines from Biz Markie’s “Just a Friend” with convincing maneuvers. The final track, “Johnny Appleseed”, serves as a near-perfect ending. It is more of an anthem than anything, providing the listener with a soft sort of closure.

The album itself is a work of art, but it is clear that Ghost Mall are about performance art more than anything else. Ethan Barnett, a fan, describes a show in full detail. “The first time I saw them, it was in the basement of SUNY New Paltz. It was one of the coldest nights of that winter, but as soon as I got into the basement and Ghost Mall was about to begin their set, I began to sweat because there were about 75 people packed into a small classroom. They began their first song and the room turned into a beehive, with everyone dancing in every direction. The lead singer was lost in the crowd, and all you could see was one of his hands. By the time they began their second song, the keyboardist and guitarist were lost in the mess too. Midway through their set, Pierce was thrown up into a crowd surf, and he held onto a water pole that was soaking wet from condensation. After the final song, “Johnny Appleseed”, everyone ran out the exit covered with sweat. Head to toe.”

“I don’t know what we’re trying to achieve,” Pierce says about his band’s music. “We’re just being honest. Sometimes it’s about our specific friends, sometimes it’s about how everything should be. Mostly, our songs are about the end of the world. So maybe they’re a warning.”

You can catch Ghost Mall on September 24th at 323 Wall Street in Uptown Kingston, New York.

RIYL: Japanther, Penguin Prison, Male Bonding, Urinals, Latterman, Cloud Nothings, Abe Vigoda, Times New Viking, No Age, The Mae Shi, Parts & Labor, Psychedelic Horseshit, AIDS Wolf, Wavves, Lightning Bolt, Jay Reatard, NODZZZ, Sic Alps, HEALTH, Arab on Radar

——————————————————————————————

Ghost Mall – 40 Nugs

——————————————————————————————

Ghost Mall – Balloon Ideas

——————————————————————————————

Ghost Mall – Johnny Appleseed (acoustic version)

——————————————————————————————

Official Site

MySpace

The post Ghost Mall appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

by Lauren Tischler

“Fame has so many bad sides,” say the girls of new Sweden obsession First Aid Kit. “Fame is a very complex thing and our view on it is double. Fame is crucial to be able to make a living as a musician, which is our primary goal. However, we strive to get our music known, not us as people.” Even if fame wasn’t the primary objective, Klara & Johanna Söderberg, only 17 and 19, have been hit hard with it. First Aid Kit had its start in 2008, when the band decided to record a cover of Fleet Foxes ballad “Tiger Mountain Peasant Song”. Receiving a massive amount of attention in their hometown of Stockholm, Sweden, the music industry took First Aid Kit under its belt and, within a short amount of time, their first EP, Drunken Trees, was released under Rabid Records. Later in the year, UK label Wichita Records (The Cribs, Bloc Party) released the EP, sparking the worldwide folk phenomenon we now know as First Aid Kit.

“We had really great childhoods. We felt safe and loved and there’s not much more you can ask for,” the girls explain, reflecting on their beginnings in Sweden. “We have such a wonderful family, that’s the truth. We’ve always lived very close to nature. Our parents used to force us out on long walks through the forests,” they laugh. “There was always music around. It was an overall creative environment. Our parents were always encouraging us, whether we were singing, painting or writing stories.” The girls started playing music and writing songs in 2007 and “were discovered through Myspace,” say First Aid Kit on their breakthrough. “About a month after we put up our demos, various people in the Swedish music industry wrote us. I think the fact that I added about 200 people every day for a month might have helped.”

The Big Black & the Blue is First Aid Kit’s harmony-infested debut album. The full-length release, which came out in March 2010, features 11 brilliant original pieces, including “Josefin” and “Sailor Song.” “It’s very spontaneous,” the girls say regarding their songwriting process. “We can’t predict when a new song will pop up and we can’t force one out. There is no set song writing procedure. Sometimes Klara writes songs entirely on her own and sometimes we finish off songs together,” pipes in Johanna. “We never seek inspiration if we find it hard to write something, we can’t force anything out. We let the inspiration come to us. What we are inspired by is other music, films, books our friends and family – the world around us.”

Listening to First Aid Kit is like reading a chapter of a treasured novel. The music is very visual, conjuring up countless soft images. “Our lyrics are both autobiographical and fictional,” they say. “It always starts with us wanting to get some kind of emotion, mood, through to the listener. This mood or emotion could arrive either from other music or from our own experiences.” The songs, while very diverse, all have the same underlying spell of harmony and folklore. “Joanna Newsom, Bob Dylan, Gram Parsons,” Johanna and Klara say when asked about their folk influences. They continue with, “Bright Eyes of course, Carter Family, Vashti Bunyan, Karen Dalton, Louvin Brothers, Townes Van Zandt, Simon and Garfunkel… there are so many musicians and we would like to thank them all so much for the beauty they’ve created, but that list would be a little too long.”

Johanna and Klara Söderberg have to make sure to maintain a healthy balance between their lives as young adults and their lives as musicians. Though it may sound easy, it is not as simple as it seems, especially since the girls have just begun a worldwide tour. First Aid Kit explains a typical day in the life: “Wake up, get in car, breakfast at fast food chain on the road (or at hotel), arrive at venue, sound check, dinner (sushi or Indian food,) show, sell merchandise, sleep at hotel.” As you could imagine, their days are as filled amply with beautiful music. “Fionn Regan’s “Put a Penny in the Slot” is high up in our iTunes playlist. Simon & Garfunkel’s “Kathy’s Song” is as well.” Though they maintain a busy schedule, there are no regrets. “We will promise to sing and play our hearts out. There will be some bad jokes and a great deal of harmonizing,” they say when asked why fans should attend their upcoming shows. Johanna and Klara are particularly delighted regarding this summer, when they will travel to play their music in the US. “In the US some people see us as exotic and interesting because we are Swedish and that phenomenon definitively does not exist at home,” Johanna notices about how the US has perceived their music. “Our lyrics are in English so it’s possible that an English speaker receives it differently. We try not to think about how we are being received; it only gets in the way of your true potential as a musician.”

So with a massive following and an album full of gorgeous tunes, First Aid Kit continue their journey through the musical world. What should we expect next from these first-rate folk lords? “Next is a bunch of festival shows, more touring and working on new material. We are really excited about doing another album, though there is a long way to go until we’re there.” As their MySpace tagline states; “We aim for the hearts, not the charts!” So open your hearts up to First Aid Kit, and they promise to deliver sweet melodies that will make you love them after the first listen.

RIYL: Laura Marling, Taken by Trees, Fleet Foxes, Marissa Nadler, Neko Case, The New Pornographers, The Tallest Man on Earth, Slow Club, Hello Saferide, jj, Basia Bulat, Fleet Foxes, Jenny Wilson, Fionn Regan, Anna Järvinen, Laura Veirs, Frida Hyvönen, Sambassadeur, El Perro del Mar, Håkan Hellström, The Leisure Society

——————————————————————————————

First Aid Kit – Hard Believer

——————————————————————————————

First Aid Kit – You’re Not Coming Home Tonight

——————————————————————————————

First Aid Kit – Cross Oceans

——————————————————————————————

Official Site

MySpace

BUY

The post Interview with First Aid Kit appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

by Lauren Tischler

You could start by telling me the origin of your name. Is “Uffie” your birth name?
Ah! Uffie is the nickname actually my dad gave me. “œuf” is an egg in French, so that somehow turned into Uffie before I can even remember.

You are currently in Paris, but where did you grow up?
I was born in Miami actually, I moved to Hong Kong when I was four, and then I moved back to Florida: Miami, Fort Lauderdale. Then Connecticut, then Missouri for a while, and then Paris when I was 15.

You’ve been there for awhile then. How does Paris compare to any of the other places you’ve lived?
You can walk everywhere, which is nice. The food’s amazing. It just really has a slower pace, everyone enjoys life here. They take their time, long dinners. It just has really calm vibes, and there is always something to do, always an exhibition happening. It’s a very good balance.

So how did you get into rap from that childhood?
I started listening to a lot of hip hop when I came back from the US to Hong Kong. And when I started making music, I was friends with DJ Feadz, and he was kind of pushing me to do vocals for him, so I wrote “Pop the Glock”. And things just kind of went crazy from there!

Obviously! So “Sex Dreams and Denim Jeans” is finally set to be released really soon. Can you tell me a little bit of why there was such a delay on the album?
Yeah, this is the golden question! What people don’t really realize is that “Pop the Glock” was the first one I made. You don’t magically find your complete musical sound. It takes time, years. And we were touring non-stop for two and a half, three years, so I only had time to go into the studio like, a day a month, which is not very much! And then I had a baby, so it was just a bunch of stuff combined.

Can you tell me a little bit of how your studio time was? I know you worked with Pharrell a bit
Sadly with Pharell, we didn’t get to go into the studio together, but he was so lovely on the video shoot, the guy’s amazing. Super generous, super humble. I started with Feadz and Mr. Oizo, and then finished with Mirwais. Recording with him (Mirwais) was amazing. He’s a legend, definitely one of my mentors, heroes. And Matt Safer was in town one day. He’s an old friend, so I contacted him because he wanted to work of “Illusion of Love” with me, and his voice just fit the song so perfectly. Everything just kind of fell into place. Just, very slowly!

Is there anyone you really want to collaborate with?
I’d love to work with Pharrell as a producer.

I know your lyrics are pretty out there, definitely rebellious, and not everyone gets it. What do you say to the people who talk shit about you or your music?
Well you know, everyone has their cup of tea. They’re entitled to their opinion. I would much rather them love it or hate it then have people say,”oh, so so.” I mean, not everyone is going to always like what you do, so you just have to just keep your head up!

Have you ever had any odd encounters with fans?
Not really yet, I kind of live in a little bubble. I guess when you’re in the center of it, you don’t really see everything that’s going on around you.

So what are you trying to achieve with your music, lyrics, albums, etc.?
Well, what I’m hoping for this album (Sex Dreams and Denim Jeans) is, from eighteen to twenty-one you change a lot, so obviously the music evolved. I wanted to go a bit deeper, go more into rock and singing. So hopefully the people who originally liked my music will follow it.

Do you have a favorite show experience?
Definitely playing with Pharrell in Japan, when I was nineteen.

So people are obviously very excited about your album, what do you have to say on it?
It’s really just the chronicles of my years. All the adventures I’ve had in the past four years are on it. It gets a lot deeper in feelings. It’s no longer just a fun party.

RIYL: Justice, Robyn, Crystal Castles, Feadz, Mr. Oizo, HeartsRevolution, SebastiAn, Crookers, Boys Noize, The Bloody Beetroots, MSTRKRFT, Ke$ha, Peaches, Yelle, New Young Pony Club, M.I.A., Surkin

——————————————————————————————

Uffie – MCs Can Kiss

——————————————————————————————

Uffie – Pop the Glock

——————————————————————————————

Uffie – Brand New Car

——————————————————————————————

Official Site

MySpace

BUY

The post Interview with Uffie appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

As our pleased ears have told us, bands that form with members from other influential bands are usually victorious. In regard to these sometimes-called “supergroups”, one reputable name is Jonathon Donahue, whose short but praised presence in both the Flaming Lips and Mercury Rev make him a rare example of a musician treading between two of the most acclaimed acts in a given genre and time period. The Rassle contains four members that can relate somewhat to Donahue, at least in his juggling of work between two bands that some consider chronologically suitable rivals. The Rassle, which focuses on reviving the post-punk sound, has extreme chemistry despite the members’ mixed backgrounds. It is probable that this instant chemistry was a result of The Rassle’s make-up and experience, which includes former Virgins affiliate Erik Ratensperger, Marc Solomich of The Takeover UK, and Reed and Blair Van Nort of Young Lords.

The Rassle formed after a long acquaintance and a short history of playing shows together, mostly at random venues in New York City, soon forming the name The Rassle. “It’s a slang word,” Blair Van Nort says on the name. “Reed and I are brothers and we come from a small state in the south called Texas and we used to joke about rassling when we moved to New York many years ago.  Things like: “Rassle me up a 40 when you’re at the bodega.” Or, “If you don’t clean up your room I’m gonna rassle your ass.” We just thought it was a funny word but also loaded with enough context to make it a good band name,” he explains. “And we also liked that people might not be familiar with the word, so they could apply their own contextual imagery without the words defining the band first.  Kinda like when we were kids and heard about Oasis.  We didn’t think about what a stupid band name it was, ’cause we had no idea what an Oasis was.”

With the age of technology at its prime, we are frequently seeing bands take advantage of it by setting up extensive MySpace pages, twitters, blogs and websites. Characteristically, The Rassle’s Myspace page is vague and has a sense of humor to it. With Biggie Smalls and Little Richard listed as their musical influences, and a minuscule amount of friends, first-time viewers might question the band’s legitimacy. “We’re still so new,” Erik Ratensperger says on their lack of Internet partake. “We only launched these songs a few months ago, but it’s nice to see such a positive response so early.  This is definitely not a side project; when we started this, we didn’t know exactly how it was gonna go, but we quickly realized that something was there.  It was pretty magical, it just sparked and we decided go full steam,” Ratensperger finishes, before Reed Van Nort quickly pipes in, “Who’s on MySpace anymore anyways?  I think as Seth Meyers put it: MySpace: The Abandoned Amusement Park of the Internet.”

So with Young Lords and Virgins influences present, should we expect a similar type of listening experience from The Rassle?  “This is an entirely different band,” Ratensperger boldly states. “I think the music we are making now is a lot better than what we did with Young Lords,” Blair Van Nort adds. “But we are older now and have learned a lot more about making music and we have a clearer vision of what we want to see when we reach the light at the end of the tunnel.” Though they aim for a fresh style, the band incorporates a cumulatively equal style in the songwriting process. Ratensperger sees the process as mutually beneficial. “It’s a collective effort.  It’s really nice when we’re working on something and everyone’s just bouncing off each other with different ideas on what might make a song move,” he said. “But because this is still so new, I think we’re also still learning the process as we write and record more songs.  It also usually also involves a few cold ones and Doritos.”

Being an unsigned band fairly new to the music scene, The Rassle decided to take the initiative and recorded a few demo songs on a cheap microphone in their apartment. “From the beginning we decided to throw the kitchen sink at these songs,” Blair Van Nort says on his band’s loose recording process. “We had all been in bands that got pigeon-holed into these genres and styles and we were super reluctant to allow this new project to be defined by his or her dogma. So we tried adding and subtracting lots of different sounds and instruments until we found the parts we felt added up to the highest degree of sonic purity. But ultimately you know we were super limited by our tools since we made these songs at our apartment using Garage Band and Pro Tools Lite, but I think it turned out great. We stumbled into something so much more honest and true to ourselves being cramped in our tiny apartment but dreaming big.”

With a few rough songs, some upcoming shows in the New York/ New Jersey area, and an optimistic attitude, The Rassle have already began their journey of taking over the indie rock world. “We just really wanna make music that inspires other people,” Blair Van Nort says on his band’s goal. When asked for a few last words, the guys summarize in a few of their own lyrics. “Celebrate the days!” Blair exclaims, as Reed pipes in, “If it’s all you got!”

RIYL: MGMT, The Virgins, The Takeover UK, Young Lords, Black Kids, Mystery Jets, Good Shoes, The Maccabees, The Pigeon Detectives, The Teenagers, The Strokes, Passion Pit, Klaxons, Two Door Cinema Club, The Kooks, The Clouts, Blonde Acid Cult, Dear Future, The Redwalls

——————————————————————————————

The Rassle – Wild Ones

——————————————————————————————

The Rassle – Born Free

——————————————————————————————

The Rassle – Celebrate the Days

——————————————————————————————

Official Web Site

MySpace

The post Interview with The Rassle appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

Tokyo Police club has let go. “We’re less afraid of having fun,” Graham Wright explains, his band’s new album, Champ, set to be released in early June. “There are more guitars. Also, the songs are longer. I think that we’re more confident and better at trusting our impulses,” the band’s keyboardist adds. If what we were hearing on Tokyo Police Club’s first album, Elephant Shell, was the group holding back, then Champ is looking pretty damn good.

The band, who formed in 2005, are based out of Toronto. “These days, some of us are trying a more transient approach to life, so I guess we’re based out of wherever we are at any given moment.” The group started when Tokyo Police Club’s members were seventeen, immersed in the short-lived garage band Suburbia. The band, which consisted of Police Club members along with their friend Will, eventually disbanded. The four (Graham Wright, Dave Monks, Josh Hook, and Greg Alsop) began to play shows as their own, smaller group, which they named Tokyo Police Club. They quickly obtained attention from their hometown area of Toronto, and were signed to infamous indie label Paper Bag Records. Since being signed, the band has played dozens of festivals (Coachella and Glastonbury), toured with Weezer, and released one album, Elephant Shell, via Saddle Creek Records, which received notable attention from the music scene.

Champ is Tokyo Police Club’s second and freshest album. “We’re actually enjoying a brief vacation before we start touring, which has been lovely,” Wright adds.  “As for what touring is going to be like, I’m expecting it to be a large, sleepless blur of tomfoolery and random roadside photo-ops.” Wright’s conception of the touring life appears to be full of both frenzied and drowsy living, so quality television is a must. “I’m also intending to choose a TV show that I’ve never seen and watch every episode, but I haven’t decided which one yet.  Possibly Mad About You, Just Shoot Me, or Night Court.” When not watching cheap television, the band is handling with their sudden touch of fame. “Most of our odd encounters have been odd in a good way,” says Wright on his experience with fans. “People bring us baked goods a lot more often than I would have expected, which is excellent and definitely something I encourage.  I like cupcakes, myself.” As far as Tokyo Police Club’s schedule for the immediate future goes, they are looking forward to play a set of shows with electro-rockers Passion Pit. “We’ve been friends with those guys for a while, and it just so happened they had a tour planned right around the same time we wanted to tour, playing in many of the same cities we wanted to play in. Yahtzee!”

Tokyo Police Club has come a long way in a minimal amount time, and have no plans to stop growing. With a surely splendid album on the way, the lives of Graham Wright and his band-mates are in a wonderful dream. When explaining the origin behind the album’s name, Graham lists some Wikipedia-aided comparison points: “Champ is a reputed lake monster living in Lake Champlain. Champ is an Irish dish of mashed potatoes and scallions. CHAMP is a German satellite. C.H.A.M.P. is the Counter-electronics High power microwave Advanced Missile Project.” But then, he makes a convincing proclamation: “Champ is our new record, and we think it’s our best record and if you love it, it will love you back.”

Champ is set for release June 8^th via Mom + Pop Records. You can sample two new tracks from the album, “Breakneck Speed” and “Wait Up (Boots of Danger)”, below. You can also check out Graham’s solo material here.

RIYL: We Are Scientists, Born Ruffians, Ra Ra Riot, Foals, Vampire Weekend, Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene, The Maccabees, Metric, Minus the Bear, Wolf Parade, Harlem Shakes, Land of Talk, Death Cab for Cutie, Cold War Kids, Matt & Kim, Hot Hot Heat, The Futureheads

——————————————————————————————

Tokyo Police Club – Breakneck Speed

——————————————————————————————

Tokyo Police Club – Wait Up (Boots of Danger)

——————————————————————————————

Tokyo Police Club – Your English Is Good

——————————————————————————————

Official Web Site

MySpace

BUY

The post Interview with Tokyo Police Club appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

It’s almost dark, and I am sitting in front of the fountain that decorates the Bearsville Theater in Woodstock, NY. Walking towards me is Kathryn Calder and her manager Euvin Weeber. Kathryn is looking like anyone else in the crowd that surrounds us, down to earth in a floral print dress, while Euvin blows her cover in a flashy, white suit. After introductions, Kathryn and I find a comfortable spot and begin to acquaint. Later this night, she will be playing the first show of her upcoming tour with her band The New Pornographers. The band very recently released Together, their fifth album, which features impressive collaborations and an extensive orchestra of unusual instruments. The band, who have been together since 1997, are a grand group of nine. I took my moments with Kathryn to speak of the tour, David Bowie, and her ongoing goal of producing the best album ever made.

LAUREN: Your album (Together) just came out a couple days ago?

KATHRYN: Yes!

Very exciting, congratulations

Thank you

You guys have been together for a while now. Since like, 95′?

Well, I think the official date is 97′. But, I didn’t join until 2005. But yeah, it’s been a long time.

How do you feel like your music has evolved since your first album (Mass Romantic)?

I think it’s just getting “more.” More of everything; more harmonies, more instruments. I think Karl is getting into orchestration these days, so it’s pretty fun. You know, we’ve got lots of guests on the record obviously. Lots of cello, horn section, all kinds of chimes. You name it! We’ve got it!

On the album you collaborated with acts like St. Vincent and Beirut. Is there anyone you are really inspired by and would die to collaborate with?

Me personally? I’m not speaking for the band here? Who would I love to collaborate with… oh man. You know, I’m a huge fan of St. Vincent. I mean, technically, I’ve already collaborated with her. I wasn’t there when that was all going down, but it’s still awesome. Who else? I can’t pick… but, David Bowie! I don’t know. Tough question. The Shins!

You guys have been compared to The Shins multiple times!

Really? I’m not surprised. It’s sort of a melody-driven, similar type of thing.

I noticed that the album art for Together is remarkably similar to Neko Case’s solo album, Middle Cyclone. Any relation in regard to design?

Well the album artwork was actually designed by… this is terrible, but you’re going to have to look this up. I can’t remember. But they were both designed by artists, and Neko did the typography. I love it. I think they did an amazing job. (Editor’s note: I believe Katherine is referring to Kathleen Judge)

What has been your most interesting experience on stage?

So many shows! I guess my most memorable show was when I first joined the band in June 2005 and we played Prospect Park in Brooklyn. It was something like my third show with the band… in front of, you know, 10,000 people. And Neko wasn’t there, so I was singing Neko’s parts. It was super fun, and about three quarters of the way through, we were on stage in this big park with tons of people. And there was this sort of “reserved” section for people in front of the stage, and then a bunch of people from behind stormed into the reserved section. It was fun, and it was this big party! That was one of my most memorable shows.

Well you guys are headlining Lollapalooza this year, are you excited?

Yeah, yeah! It’s a big deal! We played Lollapalooza before, and I had a good time. That brings up another memorable show! We played Coachella, and I almost got heat stroke! For some reason I didn’t eat before the show. I was too busy wandering around and having a good time. And it was sunset, so I thought, “Oh, Sunset! It’ll be cooler!” It totally was not though, because the sun was directly facing me. So yeah, that’s another memorable one. But yes, Lollapalooza!

This is the first stop on your tour. What made you choose Woodstock, NY?

Karl lives here! We did a lot of the record here. I mean, the record was done everywhere. We recorded in studios all over the place, just because that’s the nature of the band. Most of the band is from Vancouver, so we make it work. Karl moved up here with his wife and they have this little guest cottage that we put up this makeshift recording studio in, and did a lot of the record in the bedroom. You know that kind of thing, where the control room is in the living room! So we did a lot of the record here, and then when we were looking for a place to rehearse, we picked this theater (Bearsville Theater) because Karl knew about it. It’s a really beautiful little place, and it fits everybody. We’ve been here for the past week, just getting ready for the upcoming tour. Fitting, it’s all very fitting.

What do you aim to achieve with your music?

I think we just try and make the best records we can, all the time. That’s what the goal is, you just have to keep getting better, keep trying to make the best music you possibly can. That’s all we’re trying to do, all we’ve ever tried to do.

——————————————————————————————

The New Pornographers – Sweet Talk, Sweet Talk

——————————————————————————————

The New Pornographers – Silver Jenny Dollar

——————————————————————————————

Immaculate Machine – Dear Confessor

——————————————————————————————

Immaculate Machine – Sound the Alarms

——————————————————————————————

Official Site

MySpace

BUY

Get the “Crash Years” MP3 for free here.

Kathryn’s solo material can be heard here.

The post Interview with The New Pornographers appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.