Category: Interviews
Shaky Knees 2016: LANY X Vinyl Mag
Although they only emerged a little over a year ago, Los Angeles-based trio LANY has quickly made their way to the top of the charts. After touring with Halsey, X Ambassadors, Twin Shadow and, most recently, Ellie Goulding, the young band is now on their own headlining tour across the U.S. Vinyl Mag had the chance to chat with LANY prior to their set at Shaky Knees to talk about their music, touring and the exciting future ahead.
Vinyl Mag: So you guys started out in Nashville and now you’re based in LA. Has that change impacted your songwriting or is the process still pretty much the same?
Paul Klein: I think it’s the same. I mean I was living in LA when we started LANY but I would say it’s probably the same.
VM: Where does the name LANY come from? Does it stand for anything?
PK: Los Angeles, New York. It just represents, all over the country.
VM: And speaking of acronyms, your EP Make Out is full of them—what was the idea behind doing this?
PK: Well Make Out was a re-release because in 2014 we put out an EP called Acronyms that had a voicemail from his mom, I love you so bad and be right back, so we wanted to, we went on tour last year and opened up for people and got a bunch of new fans. And we wanted to kind of, noticed that on our Spotify albums we had a bunch of singles, and it felt a little unorganized, so we wanted to condense and make it an easy discovery process for people. So we complied our songs and put it on Make Out.
Jake Goss: We were actually in Nashville eating when we decided on the Acronyms thing.
VM: Well it’s a cool idea. And you guys recently toured with Ellie Goulding, how was the experience?
PK: It was super tough, probably the hardest thing we’ve done as a band. Just playing two hours before Ellie Goulding in arenas is interesting.
VM: Have you ever played an arena show before?
PK: That was our first. So normally we’re used to being really close, and on top of our fans, or people and in an arena people are really far away from you and two hours before the headliner goes on it’s pretty, it’s like half full. So for instance when we were playing the O2 that holds 20,000 people and there probably were 10,000 people there when we were playing, but it really just felt like there were 10 people.
VM: So would you say you like playing for smaller venues better, or was it cool to play in something that large?
PK: Well our songs sound really humongous in arenas so that’s always awesome. It sounds huge. But I’m gonna say smaller rooms because we’re headlining smaller rooms right now, so that feels better. But I think our greatest challenge as a band but something that I look forward to is making an arena feel like a 500 cap room. Because I know that we will be there one day. So that’ll be, I can answer that question better when we headline.
JG: But it’s always the best to just play with your fans.
VM: So when you get to the arena level, who would you want to open for you guys?
Les Priest: Coldplay
VM: Solid choice.
PK: Yeah, I don’t know probably whatever. I mean I hope that we can bring up bands that remind us of us when we were not playing arenas. Bring those people out.
VM: So if you could describe your sound in three words, what would you say?
PK: Dreamy, aspirational and emotive, or convincing. There you go, you have a couple choices.
VM: Looking towards the future, what can fans expect from LANY? Any news on an album release date?
PK: No news, just because we don’t have any news on that. But you can expect just a lot of activity I guess. A lot of content coming your way.
Shaky Knees 2016: The Dear Hunter X Vinyl Mag
What started as a solo project of frontman Casey Crescenzo eventually turned into a full band with over a hundred songs to their name. Progressive rock band The Dear Hunter features a wide variety of instruments and sounds and is known for their creation of immersive concept albums. Vinyl Mag got the chance to sit down with Crescenzo at Shaky Knees to talk inspiration and the strategic writing process behind each new creation.
Vinyl Mag: You guys have such a huge back catalogue. How do you narrow it down when you’re playing a set at a festival?
Casey Crescenzo: It’s really hard, honestly, especially because we always want to just play new songs. The one’s that we’re the most fresh on, and excited about. Represent us the most in the moment. But I think that’s a little too selfish to do it only that way. So it’s just a mix. What songs do we really really want to play right now and what songs do we think people who already know us might want to hear. If they aren’t super up to date on all the new stuff. But it’s pretty chaotic, the act of making a set list.
VM: I love the idea of you doing concept albums. Can you tell us a little bit about the writing process behind it?
CC: Yeah, I think it’s changed per record. The first few records were really just me, in a room writing for hours on end. And this last record is the first time it was really kind of, I gave the band a treatment of the story and concept artwork that no one else would see and just—nerding out on it—but just so they would have a frame of reference of where my head’s at about it. Cause I think of track listings before there’s a note of any of the songs, just to spell it out. So lately it’s been me coming with a few skeletons, and then everybody in the band, I don’t want to say putting their mark on it, because that sounds like they’re forcing it, but it’s like everybody with the story in mind and with the concept in mind kind of working together to complete a song, or a record.
VM: So when you’re writing, do the lyrics normally come before the music?
CC: No, I think the meaning comes before the music. But the lyrics usually are the last thing I do. When I’m writing music I sing with it, but it’s mostly just phonetics and gibberish, and I get my melody really comfortable. And this is going to sound really clinical, but it’s almost like painting by numbers, because I know the cadences already, I know the rhythms and the melodies, so it’s kind of like I know the rhythms, I know the melodies, I don’t know the lyrics yet but I know what I want to say with them, so it’s an easier process than to write lyrics from scratch. With no melody and no idea. But that is usually the last thing to come. Curiously enough with a concept album. I’m not a poet, so I don’t just sit and write poetry.
VM: So if you were describing your sound to someone who has never heard your music, what would you say?
CC: No idea, I hate when people say we’re just music, or it’s eclectic or something like that. Usually when people do ask I say it’s a rock band because I think if you took the widest cross section of the band that’s the element that’s shared amongst all the varying genres, but honestly there’s everything from Latin folk, to dark industrial rock, to ambient, kind of shoegaze music, to just pop. There’s plenty of just stupid pop songs that I’ve written. But it’s really all over the place, so instead of it being just kind of like, oh there’s something for everybody, it’s more like there’s everything for people who want to hear everything. And I think that’s why it doesn’t really appeal to a wide audience, it’s more just people like me who just like music, and aren’t necessarily genre specific. They don’t really have an interest, or exclusively listen to one type of music. So that’s the people I think it appeals to, and that’s what I usually describe it as, rock music that can be pretty much any type of genre.
VM: People that enjoy the meaning behind the songs too.
CC: Yeah I think it goes both ways. I think some people get really into the story, and then some people don’t think about the story at all and just think about the visceral pleasure of it. Some people cast the story away and the lyrics still have meaning. I mean there’s some songs that are really plot-driven, concept record songs. But there’s 90% of music I believe has a meaning, and can be enjoyed void completely of a concept. It is still identifiable and relatable without being over arching, 30 hours, space odyssey music.
VM: When it comes to playing something like Shaky Knees, do you have a different way of choosing your songs, as opposed to playing a smaller venue?
CC: Yeah, I think it’s just knowing that we’re not a headliner here. And knowing that while some people might know us, it’s not necessarily satisfying people who might know us at a show like this, it’s more of what do you choose that you think might be interest-catching for people who have no idea who you are. I mean we arrange a set the same way we would if we were supporting a bigger band, like going on tour as a supporter. I think the headliner sets we do are usually a little more selfish, a little bit more what do we want to play and what would our fans want to hear. And not even thinking about what might be interesting to someone who’s never heard us.
VM: So what’s next for the Dear Hunter after this? Any tour dates you’re looking forward to, or anything new you’re working on?
CC: We actually do this and then two days off , and then we start a three week tour with O’ Brother and Rare Futures. But we do that until the beginning of June, then we have a few months off and I don’t really know what’s after that, but those are the immediate things.
VM: An exciting few weeks ahead it sounds like. Staying busy.
CC: Lots of friends, that’s the best thing is we’re friends with all those people. Mini vacation.
Shaky Knees 2016: Craig Finn X Vinyl Mag
If there’s one thing to learn from Craig Finn, it’s how to weave an intriguing story. While the Hold Steady frontman knows what it’s like to rev up an audience as a loud rock band, he appeals to the more mellow side of things as a solo artist. We sat down with Finn following his Friday set at Shaky Knees to talk inspiration, Purple Rain and the importance of telling a story through rock ‘n’ roll.
Vinyl Mag: So have you played Shaky Knees before?
Craig Finn: Yeah I played with Hold Steady in 2014, had a really good time then. I’ve never seen so many guitars at a festival, it kind of feels like nice as a rock ‘n’ roll band to feel like it’s a rock fest.
VM: Are you gonna check out any other sets while you’re here?
CF: Well, we have to get to Nashville tonight but we played at an after party last night and I saw Beach Slang, and we have a ton of friends here, so that’s been fun.
VM: So what was the transition like from going as a band with the Hold Steady to going into a solo career?
CF: You know there’s ups and downs to both, obviously you have the camaraderie with a band, a history, you have different side jokes and all that. But the cool thing is I write so much. The solo thing is able to work on my schedule a lot more. If I want to record two songs, I’m going to get who’s available to try and record with me, rather than try to make everything work for all, or get schedules with all different people. And also the solo thing allows me to play with different people, under the umbrella of the solo thing so that’s really rewarding and helpful. So there’s great parts to both, I just sort of like getting to flex two different muscles.
VM: So in the future do you see yourself branching out into a solo-only career or do you want to stay with the Hold Steady?
CF: Well we already have a couple shows with the Hold Steady in the fall, but we haven’t played in 18 months or so, so right now I’m concentrating on the solo thing. I’m trying to do, I think it will probably be a mix of everything. My first band Lifter Puller played a show last summer. So I feel like it’s just all the things I do. I’m hoping to do a different type of writing. So that’s kind of my idea of where it goes. But I think now that I have the solo thing there will always be the solo thing. It’s one of the reasons I wanted to do it, you can’t break up with yourself. Like my next record could be electronic, but it’s still Craig Finn. And then it’s like you’re still building a body of work.
VM: So do you think your audience as a solo artist is different than the Hold Steady? Or was there a lot of crossover?
CF: I think it’s quite honestly a lot of the same people. Hopefully you grow into, and some of the tours I’ve done in the last year have grown. I went out with Jason Isbell and Heartless Bastards and certainly met a lot of people at those shows. That’s always encouraging. But you’re also getting people who were at the Hold Steady. Hold Steady is a lot louder rocking band, so some people are disappointed they aren’t going to be able to throw beer in the air, but hopefully those people are also getting more mellow as I am, so hopefully it’s at least the Hold Steady people.
VM: It’s nice to have a good mix.
CF: Yeah, I mean I hope it will appeal to people of all ages. And we’ve done a lot more shows with the solo thing that are seated shows, which is kind of nice, a different energy, and hopefully it will appeal to a different group.
VM: Yeah, you get to play a lot of different types of venues I guess.
CF: Yeah, we did Lincoln Center in February and I did a lot of small theaters with Jason Isbell. Just kind of different. Again, it’s like flexing a muscle. Playing down south with Jason is a lot different than playing Chicago with the Hold Steady. Playing Bristol, Tennessee, that was a really small town in the south and no one knew who I was and that’s cool, that’s a challenge. You’ve got to be funny and you’ve got to try to charm them a little bit.
VM: So to someone who’s never heard your music before, how would you describe it?
CF: I would say it’s rock, with a focus on storytelling. Cause I think that’s one of the defining things that my songs are—stories.
VM: I like that. Do you pull inspiration from your own experiences?
CF: Yeah I do, I think we all do. I think novelists—I forget who said it, someone said “there’s one hero in every novel and that’s the author.” Gregory Dunn said that. But when I write, it’s myself but it’s also stories. And books. Like reading novels, cause I still just read, going on tour, traveling, walking around, looking in a house, and saying ‘what happens in there?’ Picking up a story, trying to entertain myself.
VM: So what has been your favorite venue to play at, in all the time you’ve been touring?
CF: So I’m from Minneapolis, and First Avenue is the club there, and it’s not only that it’s my hometown, but I think if you ask me, and most people would say that for a club this size, that and the 9:30 club in D.C. are probably the two best. But especially, First Avenue is where Purple Rain was filmed. And so there’s a lot of nostalgia, and it’s also my home town. But also I just think it’s the best club, and now that Prince has left us there’s a special nostalgia. I watched Purple Rain in 1984 when it came out, and then I watched it for the first time in full last week—it’s so good. I thought it was terrible when I was 13. But now I love it. I guess I’m in a sympathetic mood. It’s bizarre, but it’s entertaining,
VM: Yeah, seeing it from a new perspective of him not being here anymore.
CF: Yeah it’s very melodramatic. It’s not real feminist I have to admit. When they put the girl in the dumpster…
VM: Yeah it definitely has some bizarre moments. Well that’s about all I have for you, but is there anything else you want to share with Vinyl readers?
CF: No, I think we’re good. Just thanks for having me.
VM: Thanks for talking to us, and good luck on the rest of your tour.
Shaky Knees 2016: Kaleo X Vinyl Mag
With their brilliant blend of blues, folk and country, Kaleo took America by storm last year when they arrived on the festival scene. After great success in their native country, the four-piece Icelandic band moved their sound to Austin, TX and was met with an equally receptive audience. Vinyl Mag sat down with Kaleo frontman JJ Julius Son to talk inspiration, audience and an exciting new album coming out next month.
Vinyl Mag: So you guys are from Iceland, and have been a big hit in the U.S. so far, gotten a pretty big following. Are there any key cities you want to hit?
JJ: Good question, I think we have probably played almost every city. I think we played soon, every state pretty much. The past year we’ve really just been touring pretty much. But a lot of great cities that we loved. Nashville is a big favorite. San Diego. New York is always fun. Chicago.
VM: And you guys are living in Austin now, how is that?
JJ: Yeah, Austin’s a great music city. We wish we had more time there, cause we’re constantly on tour so we don’t really spend much time there. But maybe in the future.
VM: So how was the transition from the Icelandic market to the American market?
JJ: It’s a huge transition, cause Iceland is a country of 300,000 people and America is 300 and something million. So it’s very different and you know, long drives. But every state is different, every city is different. And I think that’s one of the qualities we like.
VM: Would you say that your audience is pretty similar in both countries or do you have a different following?
JJ: No I would say they are similar. We see now that it’s more and more people from all ages in the U.S. And that was always the case back home, so we’re delighted it still crosses over to America as well.
VM: Right, appeals across the spectrum. So to someone who has never heard your music before, how would you describe your sound?
JJ: I would describe it as diverse, dynamic, soulful.
VM: And you guys have a new album coming out next month?
JJ: Yes, June 10 – very excited.
VM: What can fans expect to hear?
JJ: I would say it’s very much, to kind of go with the vision that I had which is diverse, and you’ll hear that. It’s a kind of concept album. It’s called A/B, so side A, think of it as a vinyl, side A is very much rock ‘n’ roll, blues, and then side B has more balance and softer stuff, like folky. And you can label these things into all kinds of genres and stuff, but yeah it’s gonna be diverse, definitely.
VM: So this is your debut album for the U.S.
JJ: So we did release an album back in Iceland that was only released in Iceland, so you can call it a debut album, well outside of Iceland. I think they are calling it a debut album in the U.S.
VM: And after Shaky Knees, what are your plans?
JJ: I have to catch a flight I think in an hour, but we have a festival in Austin and then we have a show in Houston, and then we have Hangout Fest.
VM: Staying busy! Have you ever done Hangout before?
JJ: We did last year, lots of fun. Right now it’s obviously festival season which is fun. And then this summer we’ll be mostly touring, and then we go back to Iceland for a few weeks, which will be nice. See some family. And yeah, that’s kind of the summer.
VM: Do you play any shows when you go back to Iceland?
JJ: Yeah, we’re planning on doing one concert when we go back.
VM: Well I don’t have anything else for you, but is there anything else you want to share with Vinyl readers?
JJ: Yeah, check out the album. It’s a vinyl concept, A and B.
VM: So great excuse to buy it on vinyl, right?
JJ: Always, yes.
Shaky Knees 2016: The Hip Abduction X Vinyl Mag
Paul Simon’s Graceland album meets Bob Marley–at a dance party in 2016. Oh, and they’re both really high. That’s how David New of The Hip Abduction would describe their reggae, world music sound–or, at least how he would describe it to your grandma. With inspiration stemming from the band’s immersion outside the U.S., The Hip Abduction has a sound that epitomizes the bright, beachy days of summer and takes you to a place far away from home. We sat down with New prior to the band’s performance at Shaky Knees to discuss travel, inspiration and the experimental quality that makes their latest album–Gold Under the Glow–so intriguing.
Vinyl Mag: So how long have you guys been playing music together?
David New: 2010, 2011 is when I guess the official Hip Abduction got started. I mean I’ve been doing the solo thing for a little while. But I think 2010.
VM: So I love Gold Under the Glow, and like your other stuff it has kind of a Jamaican, reggae vibe…what’s the inspiration behind incorporating this sound into your music?
DN: Well I lived and traveled in the Bahamas and the Caribbean a lot, during college after college, I actually worked at a field station teaching sailing and marine biology for a little while and all the stations we listed to were from Havana and Jamaica and I really got into island and Caribbean music. And I traveled to Central America a little bit. So that all comes from my time spent there. And we all individually have lived outside of the country for a little while so it’s in the vein of all of our music. And all the guys.
VM: It’s a really cool sound. I feel like you guys have a unique sound, very beachy. So if you could describe Hip Abduction to someone who has never heard of you before, what would you say?
DN: Well if we’re talking to grandma it’s different then when I’d talk to someone in their 20s or something. But to grandma, I’d say Paul Simon, Graceland album meets Bob Marley at a dance party in 2016.
VM: I like it.
DN: Really high, by the way. They’re both really high.
VM: Even better. How has your writing process evolved, and what was your process like for Gold Under the Glow?
DN: Well I guess it starts when I first wrote a song, when I was like 25. But I was really into Paul Simon’s Graceland album when I was a kid. My mom listened to that. And then I studied a lot of the musicians that were on that album—South African and West Africa. And I just evolved from there. And I was in Africa for a little while, listening. And then we released a couple albums that were influenced by music outside of the country and then this album, we started to listen to more indie-pop, indie-rock, bands like St. Lucia, Vacationer, you know modern, alternative bands. Daft Punk, I’ve been really getting into synth pop and dance. And I love fucking around with old synths, like analog synth pedals and stuff. So what I’ve been listening to has influenced the more electronic sound, a little more four on the floor dance stuff, but the world is still there. We may not be playing reggae music, or West African traditional music, but it still takes someone to a special place, the island or the same place that maybe an old record would take someone, or any reggae music or West African music. World music in general.
VM: So would you say that this album was more experimental than your past?
DN: Yeah, I feel like this is our first, who we are, kind of album. Other ones were like, let’s try to replicate this old sound of the 60s, you know like a lot of bands do, trying to replicate old, trying to do what bands in the past have done. But this one was like, I wanted to move forward, and this one is us. It sounds like us, no one is really combining these sounds with these sounds, this particular feel. But there’s a lot of white dudes from southern Cali playing reggae music, or bands playing traditional West African music. So this is our own thing.
VM: So with Shaky Knees coming up, do you guys have any pre-show rituals or routines?
DN: No, we’ve got to massage the keyboard player. He’s got to get a massage. His back is killing him right now, so have to give him a little massage. We like to chill, I mean there’s no—I think a lot of people think that backstage is crazy, party and shots and all that but it’s not really like that at all. I think when you’re trying to do this for a career and day in and day out just try to take it easy. Have some organic foods and juices and feel good, get some good sleep and take maybe a shot before the show. That’s pretty much it. I mean rituals—no, no jumping upside down or any chants.
VM: Nothing crazy?
DN: No, maybe we need some though.
VM: What’s your favorite thing to perform live? Do you have any favorite covers?
DN: Yeah, right now we’re doing one of our own instrumental versions, which is a drum jam. I’ve been taking some drum lessons and we jam a little bit. And then we cover Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing”, but it’s a tropical house version. So we’re rocking that on this tour and it’s one of those songs like, we have to stop playing this? Cause every tour you have to do a different cover, but I don’t want to stop playing it. So I still love it, and we’ve played it for four months now. And that gets the crowd excited.
VM: Yeah, I’m sure it will be a big hit at the festival.
DN: Yeah, we’re going on early and it’s gonna be hot in Hotlanta, but hopefully people can find some shade.
VM: You have quite a few tour dates coming up after Shaky Knees, so is there any city or venue you’re excited to play?
DN: You know, these are all new to us pretty much. We just started touring, we’re relatively new to the scene. And 2015 is our first—I was talking to the guys and we’ve done 14 new cities that I’ve never been to in my life in just a couple months. So you know we love New York City, we have a pretty big following there. We’re playing with Umphrey’s McGee a little bit, so I think it’s more about, we love the festivals, we love going to new cities and new markets. The Hamilton in D.C. is fun, but I have no answer for you, I just like them all.
VM: Well you get to see a lot of new places, so I’m sure that’s exciting.
DN: It is, yesterday we went white water rafting and mountain biking, and zip lining in Charlotte, and now we’re heading to the foothills of West Virginia, and we’re doing a hike, up to 7,000 feet I believe, so pretty excited about that. It’s nice to have days off, that’s for sure. But yeah, traveling is fun in doses, if you get enough days off.
Shaky Knees 2016: Beach Slang X Vinyl Mag
The “rads,” “totally’s” and “dudes” of James Alex’s vocabulary speak entirely to the nature of the band’s unique name. Since 2013, Beach Slang has stolen the hearts of punky indie rock lovers everywhere, earning them a loyal following and huge success on their debut album, The Things We Do To Find People Who Feel Like Us. We sat down with Alex prior to this year’s Shaky Knees to discuss an exciting future for the band and learned why their next album might just take you back to the days of your favorite John Hughes 80s flick.
Vinyl Mag: So are you guys getting excited for Shaky Knees?
James Alex: Yeah, Atlanta has been really cool to us. We did that Wrecking Ball thing and that was amazing so yeah can’t wait.
VM: So you started out playing with the band Weston…how does your approach in making music with Beach Slang differ from that experience?
JA: Yeah definitely, because that was the whole figuring it out, kids you know, not really knowing precisely what we were doing, just wanting to be loud and have fun. That whole deal. But we had no blueprint for how the hell to do any of it, we were just flying by the seat of our pants which was fun and rebellious. But now getting into Beach Slang, we’ve kind of been around the block a couple times and I just kind of know how to figure out things a little bit. Still trying to keep some of that rebellion in there, but the chaos is a little more organized I’d say with Beach Slang.
VM: Is there any story behind the name Beach Slang or did you guys just sort of come up with it?
JA: Yeah well it started off as bands do, just making a list of names. And I used to skate with this girl Elizabeth, and I say rad and totally and stuff like that a lot and she kind of lovingly makes fun of that so she called it a language, she called it beach slang. So I added that to the list, and then I read this interview with another band and they said something about ‘if you have beach in your name you can’t be taken seriously’ and as soon as I read that I was like okay, I’m gonna call this thing Beach Slang and I’m gonna make it matter. So inadvertently my childhood friend Elizabeth named this band. But reading that thing from that band really fortified why I thought it was important to keep that name.
VM: Yeah kind of prove them wrong right?
JA: Absolutely, it’s that little punk that’s still hiding out in me. I need some grain to go against.
VM: Love it. Where do you guys draw your inspiration from when writing songs? Do you have any artists you’re influenced by, any particular sounds that you really like?
JA: Yeah for sure. I mean I’ve talked about this before and I feel like I broke it down into a little three-part thing, like how I approach when I’m sitting down to write songs. And the first thing I do is I sort of pretend I’m scoring a John Hughes film, and then I think to myself you know, what kind of melodies would Paul Westerberg put to it and then once I have that, what sort of words would Bukowski put to Westerberg’s melodies. So that’s really lofty ambitions, but those are definitely sort of the holy trinity to me. Sort of John Hughes coming of age films. And then Westerberg and Bukowski. It’s a long list but if I had to really sort of boil it down, like I said, they would be the holy trinity.
VM: Yeah, that’s a cool process. So when you’re playing festivals like Shaky Knees, do you have any pre-show rituals or routines?
JA: Not a whole lot, we sort of drink enough to shake off the nerves, but we really don’t have any ritual. You know things have been going fairly well for us, so I make sure I wear the same belt–sort of the things we do in our work we don’t change those. But I don’t know that we have anything before we go on like we have to do. We don’t have a chant or anything which is sort of like, you know, drink a little bit and go out and have fun. I’m sure at some point we’ll fall into some pre-show ritual but right now we’re into that flying by the seat of our pants, they want us to be kind of reckless and unscripted on all levels.
VM: yeah I mean that makes for a good love performance anyways, just kind of going with the flow.
JA: Precisely.
VM: So what’s your favorite song to perform live…do you guys have any cool covers you like to play? Or your favorite song of your own to perform live?
JA: Yeah I guess I’ll speak to the covers cause our songs it’s kind of like choosing your favorite kid, you know? But I don’t know, we do like “Bastards of Young” by the Replacements, I always love doing that. “Boxcar” by Jawbreaker. We just started working on “Just Like Heaven” by The Cure, as a band. But I played it by myself a couple shows and it was super fun so the band’s like we should get that together, so we’ve been working on it in sound check and I suppose we’ll be playing that live eventually and that will be cool.
VM: That sounds awesome. So what can we expect next from you guys? Do you have any news on an upcoming album?
JA: Yeah, we just got out of the studio before we left for this tour and the record is done, it just got mastered, it comes out in September. So we get pretty restless when we’re idle so we just try to keep shoving forward. We’re touring Europe, Australia, Canada…like all summer and then September the record comes out and we start the whole cycle back up again.
VM: Sounds like you will stay busy. Does this record have kind of the same sound as your previous work or did you experiment with anything new?
JA: I mean it’s definitely from that world of course, but it definitely evolved a bit, I think a lot more of my loves for shoegaze, and sort of British new wave to this thing. Like a lot of Catherine Wheel and Swervedriver, Chapterhouse and stuff. So it’s still definitely rooted in that 80’s, sort of Minneapolis sound but you know my record collection is bigger than just like The Maps and stuff so I wanted to dive into that a little bit more. I don’t want to become Xeroxed copies of ourselves you know what I mean. So it’s definitely, there’s an evolvement that I hope people will dig and connect with. But it goes without saying that I feel really great about the record and I can’t wait for it to come out.
SXSW 2016: Declan McKenna X Vinyl Mag
Over the past year, 17 year old British singer and songwriter Declan McKenna has leaped into our hearts. His poignant single “Brazil” criticizes FIFA and FIFA’s role in bringing the 2014 World Cup to Brazil without addressing the sever poverty of the country. We sat down with McKenna at this year’s SXSW to get deep into the mind and understand the creative force behind this young and extremely talented musician.
Vinyl Mag: How has the transition been going from the UK airwaves into the U.S. Your single “Brazil” is just blowing up. How has it been from your perspective?
Declan McKenna: It’s crazy! I mean it’s mad different from the UK like stuff over here has been a lot more crazy. There’s a lot more going on, so it’s pretty mad. But it’s my first time in the United States anyway so it’s quite a culture shock, but it’s amazing to be able to come out here and play a load of shows every night. I couldn’t really ask to do anything else.
VM: In coming over to the U.S., what’s been the biggest eye opening experience for you so far?
DM: I’ve only been here for a couple of days but it’s really cool. I don’t know. I love just coming to Austin and SX, it’s kind of crazy just being able to play it, a festival that everyone wants to play at and that’s just amazing for me. Just this whole experience.
VM: At SXSW is definitely a melting pot of performers. Have you experienced an audience singing your songs back to you back to you yet here?
DM: Yeah, I’ve had that, like I was in Florida, then I went to Atlanta and now I’m here so I have people who’ve known me like at all the gigs in America which is just beyond me. I didn’t expect that at all. It’s crazy for me, it’s crazy.
VM: Well when you’ve got something good people will love it. The song “Brazil” is very mature for someone your age, what did the creative process of this song look like for you and what was your driving source of energy?
DM: It started with a little guitar but I just sat at home, it’s weird it doesn’t normally happen like this, but I was just sitting at home playing guitar and I came up with a little neat guitar riff, and it kind of just stemmed from that really. The idea came pretty naturally, like it was kind of this World Cup thing that was all over the news and I wanted to write about the corruption that I’ve sort of seen and heard so much about all over the place. There’s kind of bits of it around the internet but there was no mainstream coverage so it was kind of just something I wanted to write about it. I mean I didn’t really have anyone listening to my songs, there was no pressure or no real reason to write about a kind of poignant, quote on quote topic. It just kind of happened pretty naturally for me and it turned out as “Brazil.”
VM: Well I think when something like this happens so naturally it just works.
DM: Yeah, I don’t try to have a time where I’m writing a song and focused. If I’m gonna write a song now, just starting doesn’t work for me. I always kind of have to get at it while I’m in the zone or whatever. I don’t know why, that’s just kind of how it works for me.
VM: Are you working on anything new at the moment?
DM: Oh yeah loads of stuff. I mean I’ve written a bunch of songs and kind of just working on them now trying to record finished products. I’ve kind of been recording bits so this summer I’m hopefully gonna have a period of a couple of weeks just to do all the songs and have a couple more to release I guess.
VM: Are they relatable to Brazil you would say, or are you experimenting with your sound?
DM: The songs are pretty diverse. I mean I don’t really feel the need to stick to one specific sound for this just because it’s just the early days for me. I guess being so young, I don’t want to restrict myself to anything. So I’m just kind of writing what I want to write and come out with quite a collective sound, I think. Which is pretty exciting for me. Cause it means I get to try out a bunch of stuff and I’m just playing a lot of shows, trying out songs, seeing what works. Taking my time with it.
VM: So this summer we should be anticipating more works from you.
DM: Well there’s gonna be more tunes throughout the year and then hopefully I’m gonna be able to release a full body of work around early next year. It’s just a guess but it all depends on how stuff is going on, how stuff goes. I guess around next year, but there will be stuff throughout the year that’s coming out. “Brazil” is still going pretty strong at the minute
VM: And it’s continuing to climb up the charts.
DM: Yeah, so it’s still growing at the minute. There will be more tunes though. Hopefully people like them and can kind of go from there I guess.
VM: Now, you have some tour dates coming up.
DM: Sort of, it’s mostly sort of radio based stuff. This whole American run I’m doing is just on my own. I have a band back home and then next time I’ll bring them, but yeah it’s just me for now sort of giving a little introduction to America. I haven’t been here before so I thought it’s pretty much the most natural way to do it on my own and yea its mad exciting. I’m here for like a month doing a load of stuff. Here [in Austin], and then NY and LA.
VM: Any city you’re particularly excited to go?
DM: LA probably looks, I mean I’m really excited for stuff there. Going to Disneyland. NY as well, obviously. Im excited for everywhere cause I’ve not really been anywhere here before, so everywhere is new to me. So it’s mad exciting.
VM: Are you looking to try any new foods while in the U.S.?
DM: Yeah! Apparently I’m being taken to the best vegan restaurant in New York when I get there so I’m excited.
VM: Are you a vegan?
DM: Yeah. As of quite recently. Trying to eat really good. I’ve tried out loads of new food. Americas really good at fake meat. Like veggie burgers that don’t actually taste like veggie burgers, they’re like imitating meat. It kind of tastes a little bit like meat but it’s kind of watered down. Its not bad though its pretty cool. They do a pretty good job of it out here. They don’t do a very good job back home.
VM: Do you have any rituals or anything to get you pumped up for playing live?
DM: I normally just shout a bunch before I go on stage just to get my voice ready because especially for “Brazil,” I have to really perform it. Like I was 15 when I wrote it. It’s only been two years but there’s a difference, I always have to be really prepared. I just do that sort of thing, like warm-ups. But when I play with my band, which I will do here in a couple of months, we do this thing called the clap which I saw, I can’t remember what band doing it but it’s just a really cool thing. You all have to clap at the same time and you won’t have any kind of count so I just stand there and you have to all clap at the same time so there’s not overlapping claps, it all has to be one clap. That’s the only ritual we have.
VM: I like it, it’s a great way to get excited and pumped up. Well just want to say congratulations. I’m sure it’s very exciting and it should be.
DM: Yeah, thanks! It’s crazy.
SXSW 2016: Lewis Del Mar X Vinyl Mag
A couple of years ago you would have found Rockaway Beach’s Lewis Del Mar busking on Austin’s street corners and playing in some guy’s backyard during SXSW. But that was then. Now, you will find this duo in great demand and performing in packed out venues such as Hype Hotel.
We met up with Danny Miller and Max Harwood, found a stoop (because that’s where cool SXSW interviews take place), and had a late afternoon chat about the sonic collage that is Lewis Del Mar’s music, best eats of SXSW 2016, and we tried, unsuccessfully, to get the release date of their upcoming album.
Vinyl Mag: Let’s talk about the EP that you guys just released… Describe the EP in three words for someone who’s never listened to your music before.
Danny Miller & Max Harwood: Bedroom, I think should be one. City. And, I guess we’ll say beach. Yeah, I guess ocean. Yeah, ocean is better. Bedroom, city, and ocean. Which I think are sort of the locales and time of the record.
DM: We recorded it in Max’s bedroom. And we live in Rockaway Beach. We actually recorded it in this bungalow. And I think Rockaway is sort of the coming together of these two disparate worlds.
MH: And it’s like city meets ocean.
DM: So we’re trying to convey that in what we do creatively.
VM: Absolutely, cause I know you guys made the move from D.C. to Rockaway, so what prompted that?
DM&MH: Such a long story.
VM: How’d you pick Rockaway?
DM: I think we came to pick Rockaway because we felt like it sort of embodied what we were already trying to do creatively with the project. So we moved from D.C. because we had an old group and it disbanded, and it was sort of Max and I at the home of it and we wanted to do something else creatively. We’re from D.C. so we could have moved anywhere in the world and I think it would have been more interesting. It was just sort of an idea of getting away from home. We moved to New York. We moved to a Spanish- speaking area in Brooklyn. And that sort of… it sort of started a lot. My father’s Nicaraguan… Max’s parents live in Panama now and we lived in Chile for a while we had very strong ties to South America, Central America. And it just sort to began to influence the music in a way we weren’t really expecting. And we started to tap into a lot of those things and I think that while I was tapping in to that part of my heritage personally and those influences musically, Max was sort of tapping into something else in moving into New York.
MH: Just sort of like the intensity of the city. In the old band I was basically just the drummer and it was just sort of like a regular rock-n-roll type of band, and we started this project and I got into production and sampling and hip- hop and all these different things. Now it’s just amplified like a thousand times when we moved to the city. You know there’s just so much humanity and you come face to face with so many experiences and cultures that I just started bringing in different sounds into what we were doing and starting sampling; sampling from vinyl, picking up sounds around the city with just a voice memo recorder.
DM: I think that sort of when we started to fuse those two worlds together we were kind of going out to Rockaway to surf, hang out with some friends there. It just sort of began to us to manifest itself into the more physical and locational properties of the music. So we just moved there. We sort of had to live in to make it come to life. And that was sort of the goal.
CH: If this sounds like a crazy collage of things, its because that’s exactly what it is.
VM: That’s great, that’s what helps make an album I think. All these things coming together to make one.
DM: Right, I think when we finished the other band we were looking for something different we were curious about other sounds so we just opened ourselves up to any and all influences and all these different things flooded in.
VM: So we are anxiously waiting on the new album. Do we have a date?
DM: Nothing we can say…This year.
VM: Can we expect the album during beach weather months?
DM: We can’t say. We’re finishing it right when we get back. All the songs are written. Everything’s been recorded. We’re just kind of fine-tuning it. We have sort of an excess amount of time on our hands so we’re just sort of taking our time with it and making sure it’s something that were really proud of as a first statement for our band. It’s been such a process of love and nurturing and learning for us because this is our first time making a full length album so it’s been really cool.
VM: Awesome, looking forward to it! So you guys have a tour coming up, some international dates. Any cities in particular you’re looking forward to playing?
MH: We’re excited to go to Paris.
DM: Really excited to go to Paris for the first time.
MH: Honestly excited to go anywhere in Europe. I feel like our minds were kind of blown when our manager started talking about sending us to Europe. We’re like oh my God, that’s going to be amazing.
VM: What are some things you guys like to eat on the road?
DM&MH: I just like Caribbean food I love lie coconut rice, and fried fish. On the road I feel like…We try to eat healthy but it’s not so easy. We like Thai. Mutual love for Thai food.
DM&MH: Yeah, Thai food is amazing.
VM: What’s the best food you have eaten at SX so far?
DM: I had really delicious Caribbean food. It was like sautéed pork over some… like oh it was crazy it was coconut curry bacon fried rice.
VM: Oh man! Where did you find this?
MH: It was like right around the corner.
DM: It was this taco truck.
VM: So is there anything else you guys want to share?
DM: I just want to say that this has been the most amazing thing, and as two kids that have known each other our entire lives…we’ve been making music together our entire lives. Like before this Max and I were traveling around in a station wagon and sleeping on floors and shit so to have anybody care about our music and to come here, and this sounds so stupid but to get a wristband to play at these showcases, like we were here two years ago and we were busking on street corners so…
MH: We literally played in some dude’s backyard two years ago.
DM: And there’s just not a second of it that’s just the most amazing experience and to be able to do it with your best friend is the greatest thing.
MH: Yeah, we’ve known each other since we were 9.
VM: I think remembering where you came from keeps you humble.
MH: And it gives you perspective. Its so nice to have someone to bounce ideas off of, and just like, when we have to make decisions that are sort of heavy, there’s someone there that you also feels like knows you sort of as well as you know yourself.
SXSW 2016: Rooney X Vinyl Mag
It’s been a couple of years since we last heard from Rooney, but with the hit single “My Heart Beats 4 U,” an absolutely memorable SXSW performance, and a new album, Washed Away, due to be released this May, Rooney is certainly back in our lives – and we couldn’t be happier.
We caught up with the face of Rooney, Robert Schwartzman, down in Austin and chatted about the creative process behind Washed Away and how he wrote, produced, engineered, mixed and performed all of the songs on the album.
Vinyl Mag: You guys have a new album coming out in May and we are really excited.
Robert Schwartzman: I’m excited for you guys to hear it. I’ve been waiting so long. I’ve been sitting on this stuff so long and I’m so happy to put it out finally.
VM: If you could describe the album in three words…
RS: Dangerous, Scandalous…..I don’t know how to describe it in three words…I hate to classify my own music as something but I feel like it’s rockin’, I feel like its energetic but also ill say mid-tempo.
VM: How long have you been working on it?
RS: I’ve been working on it well, it depends, a lot of these songs I’ve kind of had waiting to do something with for a while, but I kind of buckled down really last year and put the final touches on this record. I had some of these songs before that, I just wasn’t sure what I was gonna do with it. Like if it was gonna be a Rooney record or something else. But I like to spend a lot of time on the sonic quality of the album. I get really obsessive about the quality of it, so I’ll remix it a lot and I’ll master it like ten times. I get really obsessive. So I recorded it by myself. Produced it. And I mixed it with another friend of mine.
VM: What’s that creative process like?
RS: It’s cool, I feel like it’s kind of part of the process for me. I kind of mix as I record and I kind of write as I record so it all happens at one time. I don’t like just sit down, write ten songs and then go record them. I write and record like all at one time.
VM: So when you’re writing…I feel like there are two different kinds of people who are like I have to sit down, have set hours and write or some people are like it just came to me…
RS: I don’t know, I mean I try to make time for it. I go through phases where I record a lot and then I stop. Usually when I’m in this phase right now, like bringing a record out, I don’t really write a lot. But when I’m ready, when it’s been a little bit of time and the dust settles I’ll go back in the studio and just start writing. But I used to write more, like every day I was writing something but lately that’s sort of changed a little bit because I’ve become more hands on with other aspects of this process. Which I find equally as gratifying and creative as making music. Like I think marketing your album and coming up with your release plan and your artwork and music video…to me they’re all like part of the same process. Because it shapes who you are and what you’re trying to say. Because you could have a really good song but it could be misrepresented with how you bring it to people and then it changes the perception of that song, so to me every little piece really matters and you have to be careful with all of it.
VM: How do you balance your time with doing so many things going on such as working on movies as well…how do you balance all of that with your songwriting and the creation of an album?
RS: Well lately now I’ve been moving more into the movie stuff. For a while it was just full time Rooney but now I really want to be, I kind of want to diversify the thing that I like to do and be more hands on with all of it but it can be really hard because you really just have to carve out time where you can fully devote all your attention to this one thing, for this period of time. They will overlap, like right now they’re overlapping. Things I’ve been doing thus far over the hiatus and now with the return of the Rooney record, they’re all hitting at one time and it’s becoming a little bit challenging but if I want to live this life, I have to just do it. I just have to figure out a way, basically. That’s my solution.
VM: So what do you have going on with the movie aspect?
RS: The movie, I directed a feature film that I co-wrote and it’s a feature length film that will be at the Tribeca film festival in April. And we’re just gearing up with prepping the movie for Tribeca. But what’s cool is I got to write the score for it so music was a part of it. And then I wrote a song for the movie that’s in the movie. It’s on the Rooney record. So they go together.
VM: It all collides and right now your worlds are colliding. Do you have any involvement with the new Princess Diaries?
RS: Oh the third one? I heard about that. It’s interesting, it’s been so many years since that movie but it hasn’t really gone away because it plays all the time. I never knew I would be in that movie. I didn’t know I was gonna be in a movie that would be just like, this long-lasting, movie. I’m happy to have been a part of it. I think its cool. I love that people love it. Whatever gets people excited, is all that matters.
VM: Just like people are excited for your record!
RS: That’s true, That’s true.
VM: and we are excited!
RS: You can pre-order it. People should know they can order vinyl and CDs now. On the Rooney website. Rooneymusic.com!
VM: I know you have been sending new songs off the album to your fan club over email, how did you go about choosing those songs that you want those dedicated fans to hear first?
RS: Well, I think that when people give you their email address, I think its very cool, very personal. There’s a nice email list and it’s not technically a fan club right now but id like to turn it into a fan club. But I find sort of the people who are on our email list sort of get first dibs on new stuff. There was a free song sent only to email list people so it’s a way to reward people for just being apart of it. But I picked the song “Come on Baby” because I feel like it’s a new song, but it sort of to me sounds like Rooney. Like it sounds like what people know Rooney to sound like. And I think its good after all these years to give people a touch of familiarity before all this other new music comes out. And I want people to know that even tough it’s a new time for this band, it’s still the band everyone has liked for all these years. It’s still the same.
VM: So, SX really quick. You just got in, you probably haven’t seen much. What’s your SXSW plan?
RS: I don’t know, I don’t even know how to find shows. When it comes to SXSW, its always great to be here but I’m always here to do a show and I’m never in the mindset of seeing other bands.
VM: Finding shows is a full time job, I literally had a spreadsheet I had to make so I completely understand.
RS: Well I really just want to just chill out and enjoy being in Austin cause I really like being here. So I just want to have a little bit of down time. Maybe if there’s a good show. I’ve gotta get my badge. I don’t have a pass yet, I gotta pick it up.
VM: Do you have any favorite restaurants in Austin? Or food you’re looking to enjoy?
RS: The Salt Lick, I’d like to try to go. I went there once and I was like this place is awesome. I couldn’t believe it.
VM: The Salt Lick is like a cultural experience.
RS: It really is, there’s nothing like it.
***5% of all purchases of Rooney’s Washed Away made through the preorder page are being donated to The Pablove Foundation in support of their mission of helping kids with cancer live***
SXSW 2016: The Chainsmokers X Vinyl Mag
You may have first heard of this American EDM duo in 2014 with their chart topping hit “#Selfie,” but the Chainsmokers did not stop there. Over the past two years The Chainsmokers have released hit after hit and an EP titled Bouquet in 2015. If the EDM community wasn’t talking about Andrew Taggart and Alex Pall’s after all of that, the duo’s past two hits, “Roses” and “Don’t Let Me Down” have brought The Chainsmokers to a whole new level. Taggart and Pall are sitting on top of the world and ruling the music kingdom.
The Chainsmokers were down in Austin, TX, for SXSW to perform at this year’s MTV Woodies/10 for 16. The night before the Woodies, Taggart and Pall took some time after their soundcheck to talk to Vinyl Mag about everything from their music, to Fireball shots, to what they eat on the road and everything else in-between.
Vinyl Mag: Let’s talk about your music first. You have hit after hit and I’d like to call them very infectious. You could play them over and over again, and they just translate so well. Where does the inspiration come for these tracks? What does the creative process look like?
The Chainsmokers: Every song is different. We really don’t hold back on letting whatever we’re currently inspired by make it’s way into what we’re creating ourselves. We’re always listening to new music, and old music. I think whenever you hear a song from us it’s like a modge podge of what we were into that day. We make a ton of tracks, and only put out the best ones.
VM: The songs you are putting out are definitely the good ones. And you’re collabs and the vocals all work on these tracks. Is there any person/artist in particular that you have a dream to collaborate with?
TC: So many. It changes weekly. We’re relatively new, speaking, to the music community, we just moved to LA. Everyone lives there, it seems like, so we’re really pumped to be there and set up time to get together and meet with these people that inspired us. It’s so cool to be a part of the Woodies. Being on the stage with a lot of these artists that are on our Spotify playlists. There isn’t one person, there’s so many.
VM: If you could pick one right now.
C: We’d love to do work with Lukas Graham. And I want to work with Harry Styles, not One Direction just Harry Styles, cause I think he’s low-key, I really do. I’d also love to work with Bon Iver, that’s one of my dreams. And I’d love to work with Phoenix cause they’re my favorite band. That’s a good list.
VM: Yeah, that’s a great list. Do you guys have any pre-show rituals?
TC: Drink Fireball.
VM: Shots? Full glasses?
TC: Shots. I don’t think you sip fireball.
VM: Ok, so about how many shots?
TC: Uh, about three or four? But then we switch to something else.
VM: In a row?
TC: More or less, within the span of 10-15 min.
VM: Just to warm everything up?
TC: Yeah, exactly.
VM: What do you guys like to eat on the road?
TC: That’s the best part about this, is that we get to travel all over the world and try all these different cuisines. Sometimes its sad because we don’t have the time to go do these places, so you like go to a place and you only have airport options, but in Barcelona we finally had some really good bomb ass food there but we’ve been there like 10 times and only had like terrible food. So it really just depends.
VM: What exactly did you eat that was incredible, what did you have?
TC: Tapas. But we had like octopus, mussels, foie gras and steak and there was like this egg and potato thing that was so bomb. Yeah it was awesome.
VM: What’ s the best thing you’ve eaten while touring at a festival?
TC: There’s this barbeque chicken that I had at this restaurant in North Carolina that was like, I’m thinking about it right now and …Carbone in Las Vegas. It’s at the Aria hotel, but they also have one in NYC. Spicy rigatoni is a fuckin must. It will change your life.
VM: Change my life, that’s what I like to hear! Are you guys going to catch any artists while you’re in Austin?
TC: We’re going to the Disruptor showcase and Xylo is playing with Jocelyn Alice and they’re really dope so I’m psyched to see them play even though we’ve seen them before and obviously I mean every performer on the Woodies, but particulary Lukas Graham. Excited to see Travis Scott always … There are so many bands unfortunately we’re not really here long enough to see them but we’re lucky that we get to see the ones we do.
VM: Is this your first SXSW?
TC: Yeah.
VM: Well welcome to Austin and I hope it treats you well! Also, I really have to share that I’m a big fan of all of your tracks. I just came back from a girl’s weekend and my friends had them on repeat the entire time.
TC: Which one?
VM: All of them. Especially “Roses” and “Don’t Let Me Down.”
TC: What’s your favorite?
VM: I absolutely love the new one.
TC: “Don’t let me down?”
VM: Yes…that drop… it just hits you in all the right places.
TC: It’s the first track drop I’ve ever made and I made it on a plane. I didn’t think it was good enough but then I played it for my friend Emily and Scott who I wrote the song with and they were like fuck yeah bro. It’s funny, like a lot of producers overproduce their shit but I think what we’ve learned is that if it gets the point across, it’s good. Less is more.
VM: I love electronic music, but I think with many electronic tracks you can play it and you love it and then you play it over and over again and get sick of it. Honestly speaking, I just think there is something about your songs, and you can just not get sick of them.
TC: That’s so nice!
VM: And with “Roses,” it just hit me like a ton of bricks….In a really good way.
TC: Hell yea!
VM: It’s just so fresh to the electronic scene.
TC: I can’t wait until you hear our new record
VM: I can’t wait either…when can we hear it?
TC: I expect April 1st.
VM: Yea? April 1st?
TC: I just got pumped up!
