Album de la Semaine

Marie Davidson
Working Class Woman

Interview de Marie Davidson, par Shaad D'Souza de Noisey

NOISEY: You’ve said that psychologists like Gabor Mate and Alice Miller, who both write a lot about trauma and child abuse, really influenced you on this record. What drew you to those two in particular? 
Marie Davidson: I read both of them but not fully. Of course they talk about child abuse, but not only child abuse. They just talk about childhood. Gabor Mate maybe is more in the abuse sphere because he worked with addict people most of his career. He's a doctor from Vancouver, and he worked a lot on addictions. He talks a lot about addictions. As someone myself who have and has had a lot of addictions, I really relate to what he has to say.

When it comes to Alice Miller, I think she just talks about childhood. She talks about trauma, but not only trauma. It's more about how important childhood is in the way we grow up and we end up being, how much of an effect it has on our personalities in a way of acting in life.I found it very interesting because a lot of work on psychology is based on that. You cannot deny that what happens in the first years of your life will form you, whatever that is. It can be positive or negative.

What do you think you've learned about yourself since starting researching into psychology?
I learned that I was not who I thought I was, and that my perspectives on life are much larger than what I thought—that what has importance to me is not what I thought it was, that actually I'm interested in so many other kind of things, and that I barely know myself. The more I seek out to get to know who I really am, the more it's shattering my preconceived thoughts on how I wanted to live my life.

Work is a constant theme on the record, from the title of the album to “Work It” and “Workaholic Paranoid Bitch”. Why has that concept been drawn out on this album in particular?
How old are you?

21.
Do you have a day job?

This is my day job.
Okay. And how long have you had this job for?

I've had it for about eight months.
Do you like your job?

Yeah, I love it.
Do you sometimes fear you could lose it?

Often.
Well, that's it. All these questions I just asked you, I asked the same questions to myself. So I feel like these days work, [and] work ethics are quite harsh. We live in a society where production is quite valued, it's put upfront. Production and accessibility, availability. You have to be everywhere all the time. Even in your personal life you're supposed to be productive, do things. So many people around me are stressed out by their jobs. And also other people are stressed out because [of] the lack of a job, which is also very problematic.

It's like, there was an era where people would make a lot of music or art about love, right? That was maybe the most common theme, love. We don't live in a love era. Relationships and sexuality, yes, of course, but love ... If I'm talking about unconditional love, it's not a very popular theme at the moment. Let's say if I made an album about unconditional love in 2018, how would that sound? Marie Davidson's new album is on unconditional love. That would sound a bit weird, right? Well, that's why I made an album on work. I think it's quite accurate, don't you?

Yeah. I think about my job constantly.
That's it. Well, yeah. Don't let your jobs steal your life away. You're very young, you'll find other jobs. And you can maintain this job and also get new ones. It's really important to give yourself a bit of free time also. I was working even on Sundays until not so long ago. I don't anymore. I take the Sundays off.

Just the Sundays?
Just the Sundays.

With music, there's such little boundary between work and personal because your workplace is clubs and bars. At what point did you realize that you have to scale it back? Do you think all the work was taking its toll? 
I realized about a year ago. I was really low in energy and having a little bit of health issues. This is when I got it. My body was sending me pretty clear messages.

Why do you think this record is so internally focused, compared to the last record?
I think even on the last record, it's quite based on how I feel and who I am, but this one, the difference is that I was really just putting it out there without any disguise, or without any blur. It's just like straight-up what I thought, how I felt at the moment.

Do you think it's a bad thing to be egotistical?
No, not at all, especially in art. I think it's a bad thing to be egotistical all the time in your personal life, but in your own art, this is the place where you should, you know what I mean?

You should be fully yourself and fully indulging into your feelings, and exploring your ego, and your dark sides, and your fantasies, and your positive sides, and everything, whatever you want. Art. It's art. In real life you should show a bit more empathy and interest for the world around you. That's what I started to do.

Adieux Au Dancefloor and Working Class Woman both have clubby tracks on them, but both records are very critical of dance music culture. Do you mind if people listen to your music at the club and engage in all the things you don't like about the club?I'm not judging. One thing for sure is that I'm not judging other people and I really think that people should make their own experiences and learn through these experiences if it feels right or wrong for them.

I'm all about discovery and I've down my own experiences. And I hope that people can be a little bit aware while they are experimenting and going out. I just hope for them to be aware.

What do you mean by that?Aware of what they're looking for mostly, why are they going to a place, what are they looking for, what are they escaping for, what are they reaching up for, and aware of other people and maybe how fragile some other people can be, and also aware of the consequences of what substance they will use.

And it can be very positive. It doesn't have to be negative. Don't take me wrong. But I think it's good to be aware that what happens in the club is not just what happens in the club. It's not true like what happens in the club stays in the club. It's absolutely wrong. What happens in a club will stay with you for the rest of your life, as much as what happens in the bus, and what happens on the train.

I don't believe in safe spaces. There's nothing like a safe space in this world. It doesn't exist. It's utopia. And I don't think that you can go out for one night, or three nights, four nights, and be like, "This is just these three, four nights in my life." Everything we do has an effect, it leads to another thing.

So it's good to think about that when you go out. Just to be aware of the fact that it's life, we're not pausing life when you go out and you have a good time. Life goes on. Time is still rolling.

Why do you believe there are no safe spaces?Life is not safe. It's not possible. Life is not safe. Life is not a projection of how you want it to be. Life is life, nature is nature.

You've said you got very into psychology, but then there's this track, “The Psychologist,” which feels almost satirical, with all its vocal samples. So why does duality exist where you're very interested in psychology but then the psychologist is making fun of therapy?There [are a lot of therapists in this world, and there's a lot of therapy, and there's a lot of interest on psychology, and as much as it's wonderful, it can also be pretty much bullshit. This is kind of like the play on the game in this track, is to know, is the psychologist a good one or a shitty one?

And I don't know myself. I like it to be both, because the guy who did the voice for “The Psychologist” is actually my friend, so it's not as if it was an actual psychologist I was working with that I sampled. But it's kind of like a possibility in this track, that the psychologist is sometimes you want someone to be strong for you, want someone to think for you, you want someone to heal you, but that's not always possible. First you have to do the work yourself. But also this person is supposed to be there to guide you, but if he's a good guide, he/she/they will be able to guide you towards yourself. But if they're not a good guy, they'll just going to make you waste your money and your time.

This concept of having to put in the work yourself, what kind of work do you think that is?That work about asking yourself what do I really want, who am I, what makes me so angry, what makes me sad, what makes me happy. Sometimes it's very confusing. For a lot of people I feel it seems to be very confusing. They don't even know what they want. At least for myself—I was in my 20s, I was very confused. I had a hard time figuring it out. Took me a few years.

Do you think you know what you want now?Yes, yes, I do. Actually I do. I'm not sure if I know exactly how to get there, but I know what I want.

What do you want?Peace.

How did you come to that realization?Spending a lot of time alone, touring a lot, making my music, reading on psychology and doing therapy. Mostly spending a lot of time alone. And [having] true experiences, you know? It's experiences—through loss, and experiences, you can come to beautiful realization. It can be very beautiful. It can be quite inspiring. Sometimes it's the opposite—it's loss, and grief, and pain. Life is about both.

Label :

Ninja Tune

Tracklist :

01 – Your Biggest Fan
02 – Work It
03 – The Psychologist
04 – Lara
05 – Day Dreaming
06 – The Tunnel
07 – Workaholic Paranoid Bitch
08 – So Right
09 – Burn Me
10 – La chambre intérieure

Album de la Semaine

The KVB
Only Now Forever

Interview de The KVB, par Cassandre Gouillaud de Sound of Violence

Avec la sortie de son sixième album, le duo audio-visuel The KVB signe l'une des sorties les plus captivantes et complexes du moment. Nicholas Wood et Kat Day confirment sur Only Now Forever la qualité de leur darkwave obscure et sensuelle, tout en continuant d'enrichir leurs univers sonores. Nous avons pu les rencontrer quelques heures avant leur concert à La Route du Rock en août dernier, qui sera suivi de nouvelles dates françaises en novembre et décembre prochains.

Vous jouez ce soir à la Nouvelle Vague, dans le cadre du festival La Route du Rock. Comment se passe cette tournée pour l'instant ?

Kat : Ce sont seulement quelques concerts estivaux pour l'instant, mais en réalité, nous n'avons jamais vraiment arrêté de tourner. Nous sommes constamment en train de travailler. Nous allons retourner en Ukraine pour la première fois en très longtemps en septembre, et nous reviendrons en France plus tard dans l'année. Ensuite... on verra !
Nicholas : Cette année est assez calme pour nous, ou du moins, un peu plus calme que d'habitude. On attend surtout la sortie de l'album maintenant.
Kat : Pour tout te dire, c'est aussi parce que nous allons déménager. Nous allons bientôt retourner au Royaume-Uni, et il nous faut un peu de temps pour organiser tout ça.

Vous étiez à Berlin depuis quelques années maintenant. Qu'est-ce qui vous amène à retourner au Royaume-Uni ?

Kat : Nous voulons commencer un nouveau chapitre. Nous avons vécu à Londres pendant cinq ans, et maintenant, cela fait aussi cinq ans que nous sommes à Berlin. Le changement de paysage peut être stimulant, pour nous, comme pour ce que nous créerons. On pensait à l'origine déménager du côté de Southampton, mais on regarde maintenant plus du côté de Manchester. La ville nous paraît très intéressante, et elle est très inspirante musicalement parlant.

Est-ce que les villes dans lesquelles vous habitez jouent un rôle important dans votre création musicale ?

Kat : Bien sûr, mais sans que ce soit intentionnel. Elles se font juste sentir. Même si nous essayons de ne pas faire un album berlinois, l'atmosphère de la ville nous influence inévitablement. 

Only Now Forever sera donc votre dernier album berlinois, comment vous sentez-vous à l'approche de sa sortie ?

Kat : Très nerveuse, encore plus que d'habitude !
Nicholas : Nous avons fini l'album depuis la fin de l'année dernière. Nous avons donc dû attendre sa sortie assez longtemps...
Kat : On n'arrive même plus à écouter l'album maintenant (rires).
Nicholas : Nous sommes globalement très impatients, même si on a aussi un peu peur. Tout ce que tu crées te rend forcément un peu nerveux au moment de sa sortie. Chaque album est dans notre bébé.
Kat : Nous avons aussi beaucoup mis de nous-mêmes dans cet album.

Pendant combien de temps avez-vous travaillé sur cet album ?

Kat : Je dirais que c'est celui qui nous a pris le plus de temps.
Nicholas : C'est ça, nous avons travaillé dessus tout au long de 2017.
Kat : Surtout pendant l'hiver, car les hivers berlinois sont parfaits pour travailler. Tu ne tiens pas vraiment à sortir dehors de toute façon ! Cet été a été aussi particulièrement rude, car il faisait si chaud que l'on ne pouvait même pas allumer un ordinateur.

Quelles ont été vos principales influences, s'il y en a eu, sur cet album ?

Kat : Nous avons intégré des éléments très rêveurs dans cet album, qui viennent de groupes comme Slowdive que nous trouvons à la fois très tristes et heureux.
Nicholas : Cette idée de contraste est quelque chose que nous aimons beaucoup. À part ça, je dirais qu'il y a plus de mélodies et d'éléments accrocheurs dans cet album. Il y a aussi beaucoup plus de parties chantées, qui viennent équilibrer le tout.

Only Now Forever sonne effectivement beaucoup plus mélodique que vous précédents albums, et vos voix ressortent de façon beaucoup plus claires dans le mix...

Kat : Selon nos amis, cet album est « 10% » plus pop que les autres ! C'est ce qui nous a rendus très nerveux, car nous avons peur que certains de nos fans n'apprécient pas ce tournant. En même temps, nous pensons que le changement est important, ce serait dommage de rester identiques. 
Nicholas : Je trouve que cet album sonne quand même toujours comme nos précédents, juste d'une façon un peu différente. On avait vraiment cette volonté de faire un album plus mélodique et de maximiser le potentiel de chaque morceau. 
Kat : J'ai aussi un nouveau synthétiseur, un OB-6 qui a aussi beaucoup influencé la direction prise par l'album. C'est mon préféré, je crois qu'il est présent sur toutes les chansons.

Au moment de sa sortie, vous aviez défini Of Desire comme votre meilleur album, et comme le point culminant de ce que vous aviez accompli jusque-là. Est-ce que ce constat appelait ce changement de direction ?

Kat : Nous avons toujours été intéressés par les questions d'atmosphère et de cinématique, mais cette fois, nous avons voulu vraiment cadrer et restreindre la portée de cette intention pour lui donner une structure plus proche de celle d'une chanson. En composant Of Desire, nous pensions aussi davantage aux instruments que nous allions utiliser live, alors qu'avec Only Now Forever, la question ne s'est pas posée.
Nicholas : Cette fois, chaque chanson a sa propre histoire et raconte quelque chose de différent... des autres chansons (rires). Nous avons aussi essayé de moins réfléchir. Oui, quelque part cet album est comme un nouveau chapitre pour nous. Mais la prochaine fois, peut-être qu'on fera quelque chose d'encore différent. Ce sera peut-être notre album mancunien ! 

Est-ce qu'il y a des histoires en particulier qui ont été importantes pour vous, et pour l'album ?

Kat : Quand tu écris une chanson, je crois que tu ne peux jamais avoir d'intentions assez claires pour savoir de quoi tu vas parler. Tu laisses plutôt les choses venir à toi et tu vois ce qui en ressort. Parfois, tu as besoin de temps pour digérer ce que tu écris, ou pour que l'album lui-même digère cette matière. Je dirais que le temps est quelque chose qui m'inspire beaucoup. Ou plutôt, cette sensation de regarder le passé, mais aussi le futur, car le temps n'est jamais vraiment présent. Tu ne peux pas l'attraper. Cette sensation d'être dans une sorte d'intemporalité rêveuse... c'est une idée très romantique, sexy, mais aussi sombre à la fois. Berlin est vraiment... Encore une fois, nous n'avions pas l'intention de faire quelque chose autour de la ville, mais c'est clairement à propos de Berlin. Je pense qu'il nous faudra du temps pour vraiment saisir ce que c'est. Peut-être que quitter la ville nous aidera à prendre du recul et à entendre ce qu'il s'y est passé.

Vous aviez enregistré Of Desire dans le studio de Geoff Barrow, dans quel contexte est-ce que vous avez enregistré ce nouvel album ?

Kat : Only Now Forever a été entièrement enregistré chez nous, à Berlin.
Nicholas : Nous l'avons fait tous seuls cette fois. 
Kat : C'était complètement différent. Si on était inspirés en plein milieu de la nuit, on pouvait juste se lever et aller travailler sur cette idée. J'imagine que nous étions plus... libres ? Ce sont deux façons très différentes d'approcher le travail sur un album. Le studio de Geoff était était magnifique, et ses synthétiseurs étaient géniaux. Il était comme un mentor pour nous, et il nous donnait beaucoup de conseils pour Of Desire. J'ai personnellement beaucoup aimé ces deux procédés.

Comment travaillez-vous habituellement tous les deux ?

Kat : C'est souvent Nicholas qui commence à travailler seul sur quelque chose.
Nicholas : Souvent, ce n'est rien de plus qu'un beat, ou un accord à la guitare. Ça peut être n'importe quoi. Sur cet album, nous avons beaucoup travaillé à la destruction de nos chansons. Par exemple, il est arrivé qu'on écrive une chanson avec des beaucoup de guitares, et puis qu'on les enlève toutes pour voir ce que ça donnait. 
Kat : C'était comme des remixes de nos chansons. Nous avons beaucoup aimé faire ça, c'était très amusant.
Nicholas : Ça fait partie des avantages du travail en solo. Si on n'est pas contents de quelques chose, on peut juste recommencer, changer la structure. C'est l'avantage d'avoir du temps, même si on travaille assez vite. On a enregistré environ trente-cinq chansons pour l'album, mais on a réussi à réduire le nombre à dix.
Kat : On a déjà commencé à écrire le prochain ! (rires)

Votre travail est bien sûr sonore, mais il est également visuel. Comment articulez-vous ces deux dimensions ? Est-ce que la musique est toujours première ?

Kat : Les visuels sont toujours en second. Lorsque j'ai réalisé les visuels des nouvelles chansons, j'ai été très inspirée par les voyages que nous avons fait ensemble, et notamment par notre passage à Shanghai. Forcément, les paysages étaient très différents de ce que je connaissais jusque-là. J'ai aussi été inspirée par ce love hotel dans lequel on est restés... j'imagine que c'est acceptable parce que nous sommes en couple, sinon ce serait bizarre ! (rires) Mais oui, j'aime beaucoup expérimenter et apprendre de nouvelles choses. J'ai aussi un nouveau synthétiseur vidéo analogique, duquel je me suis évidemment beaucoup servi. Je vais aussi réaliser les visuels du live d'un autre groupe d'ailleurs ! J'adore ce que je fais. J'essaie toujours d'en faire plus et d'être aussi productive que possible.

Ce sont aussi des thèmes qui reviennent aussi beaucoup dans vos pochettes d'album. D'ailleurs, qui a réalisé celle-ci ?

Kat : C'est l'oeuvre d'une photographe portugaise qui s'appelle Maria Louceiro. C'est la première fois que ce n'est pas moi qui réalise la pochette, et c'est un peu difficile de nous voir nous-mêmes sur cette pochette ! Mais j'aime beaucoup son atmosphère, et la façon dont elle complète les grands thèmes et le titre de l'album.

Comment avez-vous rencontré cette artiste ?

Kat : Marie a pris cette photo de nous lorsque nous jouions au Primavera Festival. Nous sommes restés en contact depuis, et elle a d'ailleurs déménagé à Berlin entre temps. Tout le monde est à Berlin maintenant !

J'ai lu que vous parliez de réaliser la bande-originale d'un film. Est-ce que le projet est toujours en cours ?

Kat : Oui ! Le tournage du film va d'ailleurs commencer cet hiver. Nous n'allons pas tout composer, juste proposer quelques chansons. J'ai déjà hâte de voir le rendu. Les films sont tellement longs à réaliser, je ne sais pas comment les réalisateurs font. C'est un processus très intense et coûteux. À l'inverse, tu peux créer de la musique pour presque rien aujourd'hui, c'est un procédé plus démocratique.

Avez-vous d'autres projets en tête ?

Kat : De mon côté, je suis assez occupée avec mon travail sur les visuels. Je n'ai pas beaucoup de temps libre. Nicholas a quelques autres projets à côté du groupe. 
Nicholas : Dans un sens on travaille aussi sur d'autres choses, car toutes les chansons que nous composons ne sont pas très « KVB ». Certaines ne correspondent pas à l'univers du groupe et à ce que nous faisons. Nous travaillons toujours sur plusieurs styles de musique différents, même si The KVB est toujours notre projet principal.

Line Up :

Nicholas Wood
Kat Day

Label :

Invada Records

Tracklist :

01 – Above Us
02 – On My Skin
03 – Only Now Forever
04 – Afterglow
05 – Violet Noon
06 – Into Life
07 – Live In Fiction
08 – Tides
09 – No Shelter
10 – Cerulean

Album de la Semaine

Sneers.
Heaven Wil Rescue Us, We're the Scum, We're In the Sun

For fan of: Swans, The Birthday Party and Einsturzende Neubauten. 

Started in late 2012 in Berlin, Sneers, is a two-piece music project formed by songwriter guitarist 

M.G. Blaankart and drummer Leonardo O. Stefenelli. Heaven Will Rescue Us, We’re the Scum, 

We’re in the Sun is Sneers third album, recorded in Berlin in the long cold winter months of 

January / February 2018 with the studio collaboration of Kristof Hahn from Swans 

at the lap steel guitar. Songs were composed by M.G. Blaankart on acoustic guitar and 

she describes the record as an anthropocentric exploration of heaven and hell with 

the weapons of haunting lyricism, irrationality and intensity.

Line Up :

M.G. Blaankart

Leonardo O. Stefenelli

Label :

God Uknown Records

Tracklist :

Album de la Semaine

Emma Ruth Rundle
On Dark Horses

Interview de Emma Ruth Rundle, par Invisible Oranges Staff

Congratulations on the new album, it’s your fourth studio album with Sargent House, a solo album; are you just in the middle of doing press at the moment, and promotion?

Yeah, been a lot of doing press and getting ready for the tours and ramping up for this art show that I have coming, so my days are mostly either just painting — we also just moved house, so been moving, doing some press, trying to sort out touring logistics and it’s keeping me pretty busy.

I can imagine. So you’ve got three tours coming up, two of the States and one of Europe, and you just got back from Europe a few weeks ago?

Yeah, so the States we’re kind of just splitting into two parts, whereas we would normally do the whole thing at once, we’re wedging it East Coast, West Coast, and in between we’ll do Europe.

I guess it’s probably quite a difficult question to answer, but do you have a preference when it comes to touring certain regions of the US or Europe? Do you enjoy some areas more than others, or do you find them easier to play?

Yeah, there’s always favorites — I think there’s some favorites for me, obviously, like playing my hometown in LA is stressful, but it’s a good feeling to play there, playing the Pacific Northwest… I do prefer touring in Europe, just because… I feel like my music is better received there, and the way that you’re treated and the lifestyle is a little bit easier there, versus here, we sleep on floors and eat at fast food places, and there they give you these wonderful meals and either put you up at a hostel, or a band apartment, so it makes things a little more comfortable. And I feel like the shows are good there as well, London is a big favourite for me, show-wise. I got to go to Portugal last year, and that was incredible, probably a highlight of my life.

I was wondering if it’s easier to tour with a band or solo, for you? I know you’ve [also] done some touring recently with Chelsea Wolfe, a few dates with her in Europe?

We did three shows, I was opening for her.

Does that make it any less monotonous, or easier in terms of logistics if you have a band to help you set up? Or if you’re touring solo and you just have a guitar and amp, do you find that easier, being more portable?

There’s just different ways of viewing it… it can be easier certainly in some ways not touring with the band, when you’re with so many people that has its extra that’s involved, but there’s something about playing with a full band that’s really rewarding, and I love my bandmates, but playing solo, I think, has a different emotional impact live. So, both have their pros and cons, definitely getting to do this tour which was in Europe, which was a few weeks and was sort of based around doing the Montreux Jazz Festival. Getting to do a tour like that, that’s more based around festivals with some club shows and then looping in on those Chelsea Wolfe shows, it kept it interesting and exciting. It’s nice to tour with a standard way, which is two or three band-billed together for four or five weeks, that can be fun also, every tour is different, I guess.

You’ve had the same steady band for about a year now and they’ve played on the new album, is that right?

Yeah.

Did they have much of a contribution when it came to writing the album?

Everybody brings their own style, personality to the songs. I write all the songs from start to finish on the acoustic guitar at home, and then the next stage is Dylan Nadon, the drummer who plays in my band will come, and we’ll kind of shed out the songs together in a rehearsal space — getting the tempos right, feeling the songs, going back and forth — I don’t drum parts typically or write all those parts out, there’s loose ideas of a feel or a beat or a rhythm and Dylan and I work on that together… and then, in this case Evan comes next, and sometimes, again, I’ll have a specific melodic idea that I’ll ask him to play, or I’ll say “can you play rhythm in this section, this is a section where there should be a melodic lead line,” and he’ll flush out those ideas in his own way.

So, I think you can hear a lot of the style and personality of those musicians, and Todd Cook on bass of course, yeah. Really bringing a lot to the new album and on the other records, would record a lot of those parts on my own and typically write those parts in the studio, you know… would write all the overdubs in the moment, so I feel like having another guitarist and having a full band and getting to practice all together before we went into the studio really made a difference.

Yeah, and you actually recorded this in Louisville, is that right?

Louisville, yeah.

It seems like you recorded this in slightly more conventional circumstances than your three earlier albums, would you say that’s right? Like you recorded Marked for Death in a desert, I think, and Electric Guitar One was done in a van, whereas this was in a studio — did you find that made it easier to record?

It did, there were a lot of sort-of challenges that we came across when in recording Marked for Death, and Sonny [DiPerri, engineer and co-producer] was awesome. We also got to do some interesting creative things as a result of that, but I really loved being able to go into a professional studio as a band, and just get to the music and get to the creative aspect of being in the studio, without the challenges of trying to work out of a place that — yeah, less conventional sort of space.

And you wrote most of this album on tour, is that right?

No, I wrote this album mostly — a bit last summer, when I was in between tours, and then at the beginning of this year, in our winter, in January, yeah. So, it was all written in Louisville, in between tours.

So how long ago did you relocate there?

It was in May of 2017.

Can you compare or sort of contrast the musical and also the visual arts scenes between — you were based in Portland before, right? Between Portland and now, in Louisville?

Well I was born and raised in LA, and I was living in Portland for about a year, maybe even less than that. But my sisters live there, and I kind of was like, half-living in Portland and half in LA. Anyway, it’s very different, there’s a very tight-knit community here of musicians… I was introduced initially to Evan [Patterson of Jaye Jayle, her husband] when Red Sparowes did a tour with his band Young Widows ten years ago. I don’t know how to describe it, it’s so different from the West Coast.

I guess I would classify Portland and LA, while they have their own totally different respective scenes, there’s still a cultural feel that it’s the West Coast. And here, it’s more Midwest, on the border of the South and it just has a completely different feel. It’d be hard to sum up the differences in a sound, or a way… there’s definitely a lot less going on — it’s a smaller scale than either Portland or LA, but there’s some really heavy-hitting, lifelong musicians that just chill here. And the biggest difference is that the cost of living is so much more manageable for an artist, you can have a good quality of life here and it’s not a day-to-day struggle just to make ends meet like it is on the West Coast.

I can imagine that would make it a lot easier to get art done and record things and put everything together. Speaking of art, you mentioned earlier that you’re going to do a solo show, as well as a listening party, I think on September 8th, is that right?

Yeah, that’s right.

Do you have any more plans in the future, after this, to kind of integrate your musical and visual art?

Well, I’ve had different ways of doing it in the past. I used to do more video stuff for the music, like I did the video for “The Distance” off my last split… I like that the visual art in terms of the painting, and the drawing has its own life that’s separate for me, it’s kind of like another music I can turn to when I get burnt out on music. So I’m not sure, I’m not sure if the worlds will collide fully. I like that there’s kind of a separation.

So when you approach say, a drawing or making a painting, do you have similar intentions as you might as when you start making a song or an album? Do you look to visual art to have the same effect for you as you might music? Or is it a different kind of process and outcome?

It’s definitely a different process and a different outcome. With music, it’s kind of working more in this… nebulous emotional conjuring process, where the guitar will sort of pull out this experience from me that I need to deal with, and in painting or drawing it’s more of a tactile fascination and an enjoyment of shapes and colours and body parts.

I think, between your three solo albums and also what I’ve heard of the new one, I wouldn’t say you completely reinvent yourself every time, but you definitely seem very comfortable playing with different styles and textures and instrumental approaches, and you also have side projects like Marriages and the Headless Prince of Zolpidem. So, I was wondering, when you do start a new album or writing process, do you deliberately think “I want to try this now, I want to have this approach as opposed to what I did last time?” Or does it kind of just happen organically as you’re writing the album; you kind of, then, come up with an understanding of what you want it to sound like?

It’s definitely a process of discovery. If I do set out with an intention, I never fulfill it. I change my mind constantly with what the plan is and what I want to do. I mean, at one point I thought this was going to be an acoustic album, and then I was like “no, this is going to be a full band, 1990s worship album.” I really wanted to capture the chemistry I developed with the three musicians I mentioned, I thought it was just the right time and place to make a full band record, and so, in writing and as the days were getting closer to the studio, I was just discovering it more and more every day and then committing to the plan of that… only really weeks before did I know that the whole thing was going to be a full band. It’s a rock album, I would say. Yeah… does that make sense?

Yeah, that makes sense. I was wondering as well, particularly the cover art of “Fever Dreams” reminds me of the album art from A Year of Spring by the Nocturnes, and musically, the bridge is kind of reminiscent of Less Than by Marriages. I was wondering if, while maybe it’s not deliberately self-referential, do you listen to your older work while you’re in the process of creating new work? Do you think about it?

No, not really… sometimes, I’ll think about — if I feel particularly attached to a song, like the song “Real Big Sky” off the last record; I’m very attached to that song. I find myself putting pressure on in the writing process to try and maintain a quality control, like I should really try to achieve something that has this level of emotional impact, but then that never really works out either — I don’t think it’s something you can necessarily control. But no, I don’t go back and listen to the old jams, I think there’s probably just some inherent quirks in my writing style that seem to crop up. And I had a lot of fun making that cover, that was actually a contender for the album cover, it’s a collage of photos I took all around our rehearsal space, with some of these photos I took on this polaroid camera with these horse finger-puppets. Anyway, there’s all these industrial… these brick buildings, train tracks, this element of Louisville that is in that collage. I wanted to have a visual representation of the city in there. So I’m glad it made it onto the single cover, it’s on the insert as well, in the vinyl LP.

Would you say that, when you’re writing, you’re fairly responsive to or influenced by the landscape or environment that you’re working in?

I think so, yeah. Someone asked me a similar question a few weeks ago, and I think I said “no,” but I realised that that’s not true. I mean, the whole Electric Guitar album was completely just channelling landscapes in my eyes and playing it through the guitar, and Marked for Death had a lot of desert moments in it as well, with the dusty slides… and this record, I think it even translated lyrically — there’s a song called “Apathy on the Indiana Border” just about being… trapped in this, what I felt at the time, in the winter here was this oppressive surrounding, and the weather and the look of all. I mean, right now it’s the height of summer, and there’s just trees that are six stories tall, leaves everywhere, green, mansions, and in the winter everything dies, which is not something that I’m used to, it’s just not like that where I’m from.

It just felt really oppressive, and I had a hard time — I was really struggling with inspiration and writing that song in particular took the longest to write. I think I had some oppressive moments with the landscape of Louisville. I don’t want to offend anybody, but that’s just how I felt.

I think that’s fair enough. I was thinking as well, given that in your music you often deal with pretty personal subject matter, maybe it’s cathartic recording these songs, but then when you have to play them over and over again on tour, is that difficult at all? Or do you kind of adjust to it?

It goes through phases. There’s adjustment periods, there’s difficult periods. Definitely when I started playing Marked for Death, I had come out of a six-month afterglow of making that record – afterglow in that I actually felt better, but I had stopped playing music for a while. I didn’t sing, I didn’t pick up my guitar, but I think psychologically I had some improvements. And then going on the road, playing that album, I kind of found myself back in my old ways: drinking too much, getting back in touch with some of that subject matter definitely takes its toll. And it’s something I’ve thought about while writing… it’s a challenging relationship with the live performance: should you censor your subject matter, knowing that you’re going to have to go relive it and perform it?

I don’t think you should. I think that it’s just part of the deal, and that’s what I do, until I discover a different source to write from. But it is challenging. It definitely wears on me on the road, for sure.

I was wondering if you want to talk a little bit more about the recording process? I was reading a piece you did, I think it was for Consequence of Sound, you were talking about how you composed “Dark Horse,” and you talked about some influences on that particular song: Sun Kil Moon, Chris Whitley — do you listen to that music when you’re recording? For inspiration and also to get some release, or relief from the actual process of writing and recording your own music?

I’d say that in the writing process there’s more of a developing a palette moment, where, in referencing those artists, you’re like “okay, this is kind of drawing from some of these sources and inspiration in writing” — but once we get into the actual ramping-up to go into the studio, there’s no time to even listen to anything at all, there’s just practice all day, and then you’re in the studio from when you get up to when you go to sleep, working. So until the record is finished, there’s probably a three-week deadzone of complete focus on making the record.

Do you enjoy the process of collaborating? I know you’ve worked with Evan, or Jaye Jayle, you’ve worked with Thrice as well recently… what is it like, compared to your own solo music, when you go into a project and you’re kind of enhancing it, as opposed to having to write the bulk of the material yourself?

Oh, it’s so much better [laughs], I like it so much. With Jaye Jayle, it was great, we had just been on tour and I kind of just waltzed into the studio with them and ate a bunch of mushrooms and played some weird guitar parts and sang. The Thrice thing, they just sent me the track and so was just one evening here of me recording with Kevin actually tracking the vocals and sending it back to them. The most intense collaboration I’ve ever done was with Dylan Carlson on his last record, Conquistador. I went to Salem, Massachusetts and met with him and Kurt Ballou and Dylan’s wife, Holly… he just had called me on the phone and asked me if I wanted to come make this record with him and I went there, not having heard any demos.

So that was actually like real work, getting in with an artist that I had actually never played with before but had massive respect for. The album Hex by Earth is one of my favorite albums of all time. Sitting down, focusing all your attention on the other artist and trying to respond to what they do with something that’s going to add to their work — it was very intense, and stressful in ways, just because I felt a lot of pressure to do a good job, and to honor my hero. But I really enjoyed it, I love the collaborations I have done. It doesn’t feel entirely natural for me to write with other people, it’s always a bit of a challenge, but like I said, with Jaye Jayle and Thrice, just getting to come in and add something to what’s already there- that’s a pleasure to do.

Label :

Sargent House

Tracklist :

1. Fever Dreams
2. Control
3. Darkhorse
4. Races
5. Dead Set Eyes
6. Light Song
7. Apathy On The Indiana Border
8. You Don’t Have To Cry

Album de la Semaine

Coeval
EP

Critique de l'album, par Beat In My Bones

You know that feeling you get when you hear a band for the very first time, and you just know that you’re going to be a fan for as long as they make music and not even them splitting up could taint your love for them? That’s EXACTLY how COEVAL have me feeling.

They’re pretty much a brand new band, and the three of them are just exceptional and make bloody amazing music. The songs are dark. Really dark, and really heavy. They aren’t for those who like pointless mushy love songs. They are for those who want something hard-hitting, poetic and haunting.

This dark and eerie sound is something I can’t get enough of- the songs are euphoric and feel like you’ve stepped into a twisted film where you don’t know who to trust, or if you won’t see tomorrow or not. The sinister feel comes through wonderfully on Bene’s vocals. He has such a distinctive voice, and honestly- you cannot compare COEVAL to anything or anyone else. His vocals on Ex-Future will fry your brain and most certainly have you hooked for life.

For a band that are so new, this EP is so perfect and so beautifully put together. They sound like a band who have been doing this for decades. It definitely goes beyond what is expected from a band when they first put their music out into the world. The guitars sound like chain saws on New Light, and pretty much all the songs. They sound like weapons being aimed to take your soul and take over every single part of you. The drums will throb beautifully in your ears, and all you can do is turn the songs louder to reach this state of nirvana that COEVAL bring out. The songs may be dark and whatnot, but my god they are excellent.

I love the unconventional romanticism in the songs. Pure, just like a Nick Cave love song. I love the real rowdiness in the songs and how none of the band members dominate the other with just how talented they are. I am so in awe of this band. They are definitely up there with being one of the most exciting bands I’ve heard this year. They don’t sound like a band from London. They sound like a band who have roamed the Parisian streets at 3am looking for the meaning of life. They have this gorgeous sound that I reckon most will just lump as ‘Goth’ and be unaware of everything that is going on. They aren’t a band that caters to music genres. They are a band that will beautifully rip you apart with their poetic and captivating sound.

The EP has been released on the ever influential and always brilliant, Le Turc Mécanique who are constantly putting out exceptional Punk records, and beyond. It is definitely worth delving into their releases, and if you do- you’ll see exactly why COEVAL made them their home for this record.

Within 15 minutes, COEVAL have established themselves as being one of the best new bands around. If they can leave their mark like this with just four songs, imagine what they can do with more and more records. I’m super excited to see what they give us next and I hope they find their way up here in Manchester soon. Us Northerners would be honoured to have them.

Let the songs ricochet right through you, and fully embrace every feeling that COEVAL give you. Play loud, as always.

Line Up :

Bene Pooley
Jack Gay
Quentin Pierce

Label :

Le Turc Mécanique

Tracklist :

Chest Rattle

In Hesitation

Ex Future

New Light