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Interviews

Interview with The Wombats

the wombats

Bruce Rave had a great chat with Wombats lead singer Murph before their two late January shows in LA. We updated on new songs, the surprise of “Jump Into the Fog” being the song to blow them up in the US, staying healthy on the road, his personal life, etc. The Wombats Glitterbug album drops in early April.

The Wombats: england (Official) (Twitter)

reviewed by
02-17-15

Interview with BØRNS

borns
Interview by Cher Dunn

After hearing the uplifting and anthemic debut EP from BØRNS “Candy”, I had to know more about the poetic man behind the new music and when we would hear more. We caught up with BØRNS about his previous treetop home, holiday plans, favorite poets, 2015 goals, and upcoming US tour with Misterwives!

How’s life in LA? Are you still in your treehouse? Tell us about the decor.
I have recently migrated from the treetops to a more grounded abode for a different perspective. I was living very simply with an outdoor kitchen overlooking the canyon, a loquat and apricot tree within picking distance, string lights and a shimmering disco ball in the branches and plenty of air to breathe.

Has living so secluded and minimally affected you or your writing in any way?
It freed me musically. I could sing and play electric guitar all hours of the night. And not having many belongings clears your mind of clutter.

Your music is really dreamy, upbeat, romantic and hopeful. Was that reflective of your life at the time you wrote those songs?
The songs came from the feeling of longing. Theres a lot of passion in what you can’t have. Also the feeling of weightlessness, like being in outer space or floating in the ocean or the caress of a lover.

You’ve been touring quite a lot this year, how has it been?
BØRNS: A grand experiment. It’s always an interesting game playing your music for people who aren’t familiar with it. You learn what jives and what you thought would jive but seemed way cooler in your head.

You must have grown quite a fan base this year, with all your touring and the release of your EP. Have you had any great fan interactions this year you could tell us about?
People say some pretty interesting things on the inter-web. Some flattering, some a little frightening. And apparently I really need to play in Hong Kong.

If you could choose any celebrity to like your music, follow you on tour and be your band aid who would it be?
Probably an old poet. Like the late Pablo Neruda. So we could have inspiring conversation about women and romance.

Are you excited to have a break from tour? What do you do to wind down after?
Not yet, the tour has just begun. I’ve recently inherited a claw foot tub that will definitely be a part of the unwinding process.

Plans for the holiday season? Do you think you’ll have time to write more?
I’ll be taking a trip to the tundra of Michigan. Probably do some snowshoeing and drink hot beverages while playing the baby grand piano in the house I grew up in.

Do you set aside time to write or do you write as it comes to you?
Whenever I give myself too much time I end up writing in circles and completely evolving a song from the original idea. I’ve found the less time I give myself the better. You can never fully recreate that initial gut feeling of a sound or emotion.

How is your full length album coming along?
It’s like building a fire. Just feeding the flames and seeing what burns the brightest.

How did you choose your bandmates and collaborators, did you know them before you moved to LA?
I met my bandmates and producers in LA. I think in any collaboration it’s important your vibes complement each other creatively and on a human level. We’ve all become really great friends.

When did a musician or a song really move you?
Tea for the Tillerman by Cat Stevens was a record I grew up listening to. Those songs still resonate with me and take me back. Perfectly placed words and melodies.

Must read book or poetry for fans?
This is my Beloved by Walter Benton

What are you doing New Years Eve?
Drunken snow angels.

Looking forward to anything particularly in the new year?
My first US tour. Excited to hit the road.

Three things you hope will happen next year?
Become fluent in french, make a record in paris, meet a lovely parisian painter… Maybe I’m being too hopeful.


BØRNS performs an acoustic version of “Electric Love” with Zella Day.

reviewed by
12-11-14

Interview with Kacy Hill

Kacy Hill - Lo Res

Interview by Erin Feathers and Geovanni Donaires

L.A. based Kacy Hill stylishly announced her musical debut with the recent release of her sharp and lovely Electro track “Experience” which is a subtle, refreshingly lyrical repose that alluringly showcases Hill’s talent as a producer, vocalist and poet. Apropos to the title, “Experience” teeters on the edge of innocence and risqué. Hill’s interestingly provocative lyrics and whispery vocals are so flirtatiously opaque they exude that star quality of a finely-tuned balance between artistic virtue and that ever-so-inviting steamy seduction of the imagination. Immersed in wonderful understatement, the production includes some vivacious electronic instrumental accents such as a quietly percolating bass line, simple melodic cowbell and well-timed ending background vocal loop; all of which serve to complement Hill’s soft and raspy vocals, vastly poetic lyrics and passionate yet wily, overtly-feminine delivery.

“Experience” also features a brilliantly spartan accompanying music video which captures and showcases Hill’s natural beauty and inherent star quality with a repetitive array of close up images as she delicately sings the lyrics. The video is strikingly minimalist as well; it only reveal Hills very pretty face, with is gorgeous smathering of freckles, perfectly-imperfect teeth and luminescent blue eyes which are jauntily obscured by a transparent plastic 70’s visor that she dawns throughout much of the video. Hill, who embodies the timeless look of a vintage postcard pinup from yesteryear, is an absolute eye charmer and therefore mesmerizing in each and every frame of the video which, in all its quiet simplicity cleverly introduces the world’s senses to the very capable, talented and trend-setting Kacy Hill.

B3SCI: I think it’s awesome that as a caption on your Youtube channel you have “I make music you don’t know about.” So tell us, the Kacy Hill “Experience,” what is it and where do you see yourself going as you begin your journey in the music scene?

Kacy: I think for me, the whole Kacy Hill “Experience” has been really heavy in observing and figuring where I fit, both as an artist and a person with a whole bunch of feelings. As I’ve begun to discover myself a bit more, I’ve ended up laying a (really cool) foundation of music to work off of and hope to continue with that and put out honest music I would be excited to hear myself..

B3SCI: The lyrics for “Experience” are wonderfully vast and poetic. Can you briefly describe how they came about, what they mean to you, and if they are designed to send a specific message to the world? Tell us about the most important line (or statement) from the song, both for you personally and regarding others.

Kacy: I wrote “Experience” at a strange time in my life where I was working at an ice cream store, starting to regret my decision to opt out of university, and feeling super lost. Sitting down to write it was like a journal entry and I started writing about things I wanted to do and what was holding me back. Everything I crave caters to a feeling rather than a physical thing, so “Experience” revolves around being uncomfortable in the best way possible.

“Freedom a state of mind/sold to wandering eyes/substances controlled to protect the mind” comments a bit on society’s inability to function without mind-altering substances. I think there’s something really lovely in being able to be a human and be nervous and weird and be okay with it. Everyone wants to be sold a lifestyle but no one wants to honestly feel what it is to be consciously alive.

B3SCI: Are there any cool remixes in the works that we can be on the look out for? Do you have plans to collaborate with any artists, musicians or producers in the near future?

Kacy: We’ll see! I think there are going to be some really amazing sounds coming along soon.

B3SCI: Living in LA with so many bands and singers, do you find yourself comparing, getting inspired or wanting to collaborate with anyone?

Kacy: I like making music a whole lot so I always enjoy collaborations. It’s all inspiring! I don’t think one group or individual inspires me completely, but constantly working with new people and learning from them is very humbling and gets me super hyped to make cool stuff.

B3SCI: What do you think are some similarities as far as putting yourself out there as a model and now as a musician? What experiences did you take from modeling and how did you incorporate them to your music world? Expand upon how it has helped to form your artistic tone and aesthetic as either a model or singer-songwriter.

Kacy: I think with both modelling and music, there is little room to hide. I put a lot of myself into my writing and it ends up feeling like I’m reading my journal entry out loud. I think it’s a really interesting point of view being both the observer and being observed. Modeling is great and definitely helped me be conscious of the aesthetic that I present, but I never felt any connection to it, so I think having creative freedom and catharsis in music was a chance to breathe.

B3SCI: Did you have a musical upbringing? Was your family involved in shaping your career as a singer-songwriter? Do you play any instruments?

Kacy: I went to a funny little performing arts school growing up and played oboe and saxophone and sang in choir there for some years, so my musical background is all based in that chunk of classical knowledge.

B3SCI: You began your artistic career in your home town of Phoenix as an assistant to a wedding photographer who later helped to uncover your beauty by taking photos of you. Do you still have an interest in or enjoy being behind or in front of the camera? Any noteworthy perspective worth sharing?

Kacy: As I mentioned before, I enjoy being observed and being the observer. I think the juxtaposition of vulnerability between being a photographer and being photographed is really lovely and both positions forced me to focus on detail that I normally would not have.

B3SCI: Can you reflect on a life experience that has transformed you as an artist or give some advice to young people who (like yourself) want to explore different faces as an artist?

Kacy: The past year has been a lot of letting go of poisonous relationships with other people and thoughts I let brood in myself. Good feelings come from letting yourself feel good and with that in mind, I think as an artist and as a person it’s best to stay honest and do things that make you feel good.

B3SCI: Your nose is fabulously pierced in your cool new video for “Experience”. Did you already have the piercing or did you decide to take the plunge for the video?

Kacy: I’ve had this little guy in my nose for a while now! It was a product of boredom.

B3SCI: We’re hooking you up with a ride in the B3SCI time machine? Imagine if you could go anywhere in the past or present. What time period would you choose and what makes you want visit that particular reality?

Kacy: Ancient Greece vibes. I think their technology was far advanced than ours because they had the intellectual capacity to understand what they were creating.

B3SCI: When can fans get a chance to see Kacy hill perform live?

Kacy: tbd…

B3SCI: When can we expect your next single?

Kacy: Eeeee hopefully soon…

Kacy Hill (Info)

reviewed by
10-28-14

Interview with Kasabian

Casabian shoot 2011

Interview by Bruce Rave

Mike of B3SCI and I hit this month’s Kasabian show at LA’s Wiltern. The band blew everyone away with their usual precision and intensity. I hung with producer/creative force Serge and lead singer Tom of Kasabian at their LA hotel bar the next week when the band were back in town for their appearance on Jimmy Kimmel. We covered much, including industry trends, their plans for America, Serge as band producer, and of course their music. Interesting fact: both Serge and Tom loved Michael Jackson’s Bad album in their very young years.

Hear Bruce’s “Go Deep With Bruce Rave” weekly new music show on Indie1031/Los Angeles, KX 93.5-FM/Laguna Beach, and WSUM-FM/Madison. Details and archived shows can be found on his blog and be sure to follow Bruce on Twitter too!

Kasabian england (Official) (Facebook)

reviewed by
10-26-14

Interview with Catfish and the Bottlemen

catfish2

Interview by Cher Dunn

B3’s Cheryl Dunn recently sat down with Van McCann from Catfish and the Bottlemen before the band’s show at Milkboy in Philadelphia. The band has been touring non-stop for the past year and have no plans on slowing down, with the recent release of their brilliant debut album The Balcony. You cannot blame the band for not being able to keep the venue names straight. “Is the venue called Milkboy? That is weird…I like it!” McCann says. The show would be their second time in Philly this year after a great show at Underground Arts. McCann can’t keep the venue names straight, but his enthusiasm for the shows themselves cannot be underestimated. I spoke with McCann about their past year, meeting one of their heroes, maintaining their energy, his plans for the future, and sending nudes to NME.

The band had come from NYC and Van speaks fast and energetically about their gigs: “It was amazing! We did one gig in a place called “Baby’s Alright” and that was really cool. My first gig back takes me a while to get into so I didn’t enjoy it. Well, I enjoyed it but I felt like I could have done better. But the second night, Mercury Lounge, I felt like we really nailed it. I think everyone was really into it. In between songs it was pin drop quiet everyone was listening to what I had to say. I was just telling how I wrote the songs. People were genuinely interested and it was just a really cool vibe of people. Just people really passionately into the songs whilst we were playing them, then in-between the songs like ‘everyone quiet!'” he whispers, “Really cool. It was nice!” He continued, “It was kind of overwhelming for us. It sold out yesterday, the gig, we came over and we were thinking ‘We’d be lucky if there was 10 or 20 people there!’ cause in England you hear yourself on the radio so you kind of know how much you’re getting played and you know who’s writing about you and who isn’t writing about you, so you can kind of predict your trajectory. But, over here, ’cause we’d not heard anything since we left, we didn’t realize it was getting played on the radio. Didn’t realize people wanted to interview us. So when we came over and the gig sold out we were like “Whoa! That’s crazy!’ it’s good! It’s very good!” he emphasizes with a smile.

I had to bring up a special fan they met at their New York show. “As if I forgot about that! Ewan McGregor took us out for breakfast! It was surreal.” Ewan McGregor has been the face of the band since they released a montage of the actor for their lyric video for ‘Kathleen’. His face even illuminates from the bands drum kit at each show. Ewan McGregor saw the video and tweeted, “Don’t quite know what’s going on here but I’m flattered by @TheBottlemen Looking forward to your gig in NY!!” with a link to the video. The actor did not just go to the show, McCann beamed as he told me about their day with McGregor. “We walked into this cafe and I was like, ‘We’re meeting someone here,'” he recalls wryly. “And they were like, ‘You got a name?’, ‘Yeah…Ewan McGregor’ they pointed over to the corner and he kind of looks over the back of his chair at me, and I was like ‘Oh my God!’” I couldn’t help but smile at the sight of him beaming over the experience. He continued, “You know how in films where you don’t walk, you just get dragged together magnetically? I kind of just hovered over to him and it was like walking into a TV set and onto a film. It was unreal,” he emphasizes. “He was just smiling and looking at me and I was just melting…like ‘Oh my God, he’s gorgeous.” I could not be happier for another human being to meet their hero. Van McCann was illuminated with joy.

McGregor didn’t go to the show alone, McCann explains. “His daughter came to the show that night. She came with her friends and she is so nice. Somebody told me that he’s a really good dad. Someone told me that they knew his kids somehow and I was like ‘Oh, they might be a bit show business cause he’s a superstar and that, but she was so nice. So nice.” We discussed how there is nothing better than meeting people you look up to and having them be everything you wanted and more. “He was more than that! It just made me think- it was his aura. We were talking about it yesterday and we were saying I think [the reason he is] so good at what he does he’s got an aura. When we were sat with him it felt like ‘Oh, he’s not even acting in those films! He’s just naturally cool as fuck!'” He concludes, “It’s just one of those things that was just amazing. He took us to this shop, this clothes shop, and we got loads of smart gear and it was quality! Amazing morning. It was like ‘See you in a bit!'” I told Van how great it was that he just wished that into the world by putting him into their videos, on their drum, and just made that happen. Would he do that again with someone else? “No, I’m sticking with Ewan forever,” he says sternly before continuing. “He was so interested in what we had to say and he was so interesting with what he had to say. He was just a good, good guy. He was exactly what we thought he’d be and more.”

I couldn’t help but notice that McCann also seem to radiate the positivity he saw in McGregor. “Really? Stop it! Thank you very much. Thank you. I’m tired today as well [but] I imagine you caught me on a good day. We’d be laughing. We’d have bellyache!” he laughs, “But thank you!” McCann was a test-tube baby and vocal about this in his songs and interviews when explaining how he thought of their band name. I asked him to tell me the story. “Mum and Dad ran off to Australia together. Me mum found out when she was younger that she couldn’t have kids the proper way because she got ran over when she was younger. They ran off together to try to start a new life and they tried for an IVF baby, a test-tube baby, and despite doctors saying it was never going to happen they tried twice. They put all their money into it, they were working two jobs and on their final attempt, just when it was getting to much for them, they were like ‘Ok, we’re giving up after this go’ and then they had a go and the next minute I popped out like I scored a touchdown!” he exclaims.

His family then traveled around Australia for two years, which is where McCann recalls his first memory of music. “My first memory of music was seeing this busker play. He used to play a washing line with wine bottles on it like a drum kit and he was called ‘Catfish the Bottleman’ and I thought that was an apt thing to name a band,” he states. Although Van McCann does admit he regrets the name. “I wish I hadn’t named it that now, because when you are trying to tell drunk people, especially drunk American people what you’re band is called they’re like, ‘Catfish and the what?'”

After the release of their debut album, virtually everywhere but the US, I pressured Van McCann to tell me when we would be able to get our copy. According to him, I’m not working hard enough. “Everyone’s leaked it! It’ll be leaked. Go get it!” he says. I suggest I must be terrible at pirating music, but he tells me the New York fans must not be. “When we played in New York yesterday everyone [called out] ‘Oh my God, play ‘Hour Glass!’ and I was like ‘You shouldn’t know that song, it’s not out over here!’ so I think people have got it,” he says smiling. But for those of us who like the rush of buying the vinyl from our local record store, we’ll have to wait until January. “I think it’s going to be January. I think it will be January between the tenth and the twentieth, I reckon,” he informs me. We discuss the difference of release dates between countries and he says it is probably so they can cover more ground in the US before the album drops. McCann wonders how many people will be at the Philly show that night, but then admits, “If I came over here and there was one person coming to see us I would be like ‘Mate I’m in America. I’m 22. I wrote a song in my bedroom that was good enough to fly me across the world.’ I’d be happy playing to one person if they cared about it. You know what I mean?” The band played to a packed house of thrilled fans that night.

This year has been non-stop for the band. He tells me how sometimes they don’t even know where they are, might not get to eat at all before a show, and how hectic and tiring tour can be. But even with no sleep the band comes alive on stage. “When we go on stage, no matter how tired you are you get this burst.” He continues, “Our whole thing about being in a band is, we want to make people go away from our gigs thinking not necessarily about music, but going ‘That was one of the best nights I’ve had in my life.’ Turning to their mate, putting their arm around their mates and going ‘Mate, that was a class night. We had a good night.'” Even if the night continues for fans and they talk about the show later, McCann wants to give something to his fans live that resonates. Something that makes them “feel something inside them where it’s like ‘Mate that was powerful, I enjoyed that,'” he explains.

McCann explains how he admires America for their view of success. “It’s good over here in America because everyone is so into success. Like in England, the British culture is very much like…people do like to kick you when you’re down. If you are doing well for yourself they kind of like to go negative. Especially in this press. You never really see the english press talking about how good a band is. They only talk about how bad a band is. Whereas over here, they want heroes and triumph, and they’re like ‘you’ve got to support this band!'” He gives an example of their show in New York the night before. “Everyone [had] big smiles on their face. Everyone wanted it to be good and if we did the job yesterday, which we felt we did, then everyone went away from that gig like we wanted them to. Whereas in England they come with a cub on, a miserable face, so you have to spend your night trying to make them smile. So America is so…easy. That’s the only word I can think of. It’s like walking into a room and instead of someone looking you up and down, they hug you. I like it over here. It’s nice. Too hot though,” he adds.

We discussed the band hopefully playing SXSW next year, our love for the band Little Comets, and British Radio DJ Huw Stephens, who presents the British Music Embassy shows at Latitude 30. However, it took some convincing that actual fans go to the festival and it’s not just an industry festival “Full of Lawyers and Accountants clapping really slow” as McCann fears. I told him of my favorite set at SXSW with Little Comets, where not only did the room fill to the brim during their set, but the street became packed with people who stopped to watch their set after hearing the band as they walked by. McCann shares my enthusiasm and explains their relationship with the band. “Yes mate!” he says excitedly. “They are a good band. They are amazing. The thing with them is, they taught us so much because they have massive record companies chasing them. The labels wanted them to change who they were and be something they didn’t want to be, which is what they do to most bands really. You wouldn’t believe the amount of bands in England that are going around now lying about their age and being dressed by their management. But Little Comets are like ‘Nah, we’re doing it ourselves’ and they’ve built their whole reputation themselves.” He remembers first meeting them after being a fan. “Growing up listening to them, then meeting them and being mentored by them in a way…they taught us quite a lot. You do get a lot of stuff like that in the industry, like if people tell me to do something that’s slightly…” he gives an example, “like a deluxe album. We refused to do a deluxe album, because to me, in England you just do a deluxe album if you want to steal a couple more pound of a couple kids. You put like maybe, ‘oh here’s a demo version of a song, we’ll charge you five quid more for a nicer case’ you know what I mean?” He continues passionately, “I’m not doing that. I’d rather have them steal it than spend more money on just one song.” Their time with Little Comets made them stronger as a band, “They taught us to stay true to ourselves and do whatever we want to do.”

Van McCann tells me more about his experiences with press in England. “You know NME? They hate us in England. Which is fine! I don’t mind that. I think they need… I like it when magazines and bands don’t get on. It’s like, people used to hate Muhammad Ali but you’d still go pay to see him. I was raised on Muhammad Ali, so the way he used to think is the way I kind of think. I want to be the best. I’m not afraid of saying that we want to be the biggest thing on the planet. You get one chance in life and I’d rather go out full on giving it my all trying to be the biggest thing and the best thing we could possibly be than just be like, ‘oh yeah, we’re happy to stay a mediocre level and just stay in our bedrooms writing songs’ because that’s not the truth,” he says. Then, referencing their time in New York, he continued, “We watched Jay-Z and Beyonce in that Central Park gig the other day and they finished the gig and I had just seen two helicopters fly off straight after the gig. I was like, ‘I bet he’s just tucked [Blue Ivy] into bed, kissed her on the forehead and said ‘I’ll be back in an hour’, put a film on and he’s flown to the gig, gone off, went onstage, rapped, straight off back to his daughter’ and I was like, I want a helicopter. I think if you’re in a band and you don’t get to a stage where you can kiss your son goodnight and be back before he’s asleep…” he thinks then admits, “because my ultimate goal in life is to have a family. I love my family. My family is huge so the reason why I want to get the band as big as it can is because I want to be able to get a helicopter to my [future] son and bring him to the gigs.” He opens up about what it’s like to have of a significant other while on the road nonstop. “I haven’t seen my girlfriend in three months or something like that. I keep telling her I’m doing this so we can build a life together. That’s why I’m going to try to get it to be as big as it can be,” he continues honestly.

Van McCann digresses to his not-so-loving relationship with NME. “They [NME] hate us in England because they don’t like bands that come out and go ‘We want to be the biggest thing’. The album went top 10 without anyone’s help, we weren’t getting any media attention or anything like that. The album went top 10, so they had to review it, so them emailed us asking for a copy of the album to review it and I was like ‘nah, fuck that!’ they’ve hated us for so long…so I just sent them a picture of me naked and just said ‘review this!’,” he then states sadly, “They didn’t print it. I told them to print it but they wouldn’t.” Totally unfortunate. He continued, “Little Comets told us that anybody else would have probably gone, ‘oh! NME are interested now! Finally!’ and bent over for them, but we were like ‘no! if you don’t want to be on board don’t be onboard!’ let’s have it! To hell with them,” he continues smiling, “It’s all a good crack to me.”

McCann tells me about the album writing process and how the band not only tries to focus on building a wall of sound, but also makes the listener feel something. He explains, “I want to write music that doesn’t just sound good it feels good. I want to physically feel it.” He recalls a night they scrapped all their songs and thought, “Right, I want to write music like when a chorus comes in I want it to pin you to the back wall, like you feel like it’s literally hitting you in the face. I remember making everything feel big, feel huge… It’s just kind of what came out [from that].” He goes on to reference the UK press again, not being into guitar bands. “They hate us ’cause we’re old fashioned, we don’t use lap tops, synths and that kind of thing. We just play guitar music, just three guitars and drums and me singing. They don’t like that because they’re like, ‘Oh my God I heard that a million times,’ it’s hilarious. If you read the stuff in England, they’ve been saying for the last five years, all the English press were talking about ‘we need guitar bands back where are all the guitar bands hiding?’ then we come back and they say we’re out of date!” he smiles, before continuing, “They go, if this came out five years ago this would have been an amazing album. You know, if The Beatles brought Revolver out next month, you would still think, ‘This is an incredible album!’ Music can’t be dated if it’s good.”

Fans of Catfish and the Bottlemen can be assured the band has no intention of slowing down and every intention of making more great music. After finishing up their US tour this month with a slew of West Coast shows, they have about a day off back home before continuing their tour in the UK all the way through April. Even though the boys expect to be non-stop on the road for the next year, doesn’t mean we can expect a new album though. If it’s up to McCann they will release another next year. McCann tells me of his goal to write and release five new albums in the next few years. He explains, “I didn’t want to be a band that disappeared for years. I feel if anybody’s invested in our band or cares about our band as much as they do in England-like I was saying about physically going to shops and buying the album- then I want to be able to give them a band to listen to every single year. Imagine if we can give people five or six albums, which is rare for a band nowadays,” he says before continuing,

“That means they can grow up with us. If they are 17 years old and they grow up for the next ten years, by the time they are 27, we could have five or six albums out. I want to be one of those bands. I don’t want to be a band that disappears after a few months. So we are going to try our best not to.”

Catfish and the Bottlemen are currently touring the US and have made it to the West Coast. Tickets are also on sale for most of their UK dates. For tickets and more tour information, click here!

*ALSO – B3SCI’s Bruce Rave hung out backstage with the energetic Catfish and the Bottlemen leader Van McCann before the band’s LA debut at The Echo. The chat covered the band’s music, their ambitious goals, their super strong live shows, and of course the origins of this very unique band name. “The Balcony” is their first album and it’s US release will be January 6. Here’s a listen to their chat.

reviewed by
10-20-14

Interview with Teleman

teleman

The Uber-talented Teleman were in LA to play It’s A School Night and a B3Science produced show at The Bootleg following two shows in New York. We hit upon their creative process, working with producer Bernard Butler of the band Suede, their live shows, thoughts on the US, and their semi-tongue-in-cheek quest for American wives, etc. Interview by Bruce Rave.

Hear Bruce’s “Go Deep With Bruce Rave” weekly new music show on Indie1031/Los Angeles, KX 93.5-FM/Laguna Beach, and WSUM-FM/Madison. Details and archived shows can be found on his blog and be sure to follow Bruce on Twitter too!

Teleman england (Facebook)

reviewed by
10-12-14

Interview with Courtney Barnett

courtney-barnett-credit-lisa-sorgini

Interview by Cher Dunn

Courtney Barnett has been living and playing music in Melbourne, Australia for the past five years. This year, she released a wildly acclaimed EP, “A Sea of Split Peas”, toured non-stop in the US and abroad, playing sold out shows and festivals, all while maintaining her label Milk! Records. I caught up with the multi-talented artist and asked her about her start in music, her year so far, Australian artists we should know, and what we can expect for next year.

Wanting to start from the beginning, I first asked Courtney Barnett how she got started playing music and what her early experiences as a music fan were like.

“I grew up in Sydney and then moved to Hobart down in Tasmania.” She continues, “I started playing music when I was 10 in Sydney, and went to my first gigs when I turned 18 in Hobart.” Growing up her early experiences going to shows were a lot like ours, even now. “I started going to heaps of gigs and I’d stand right up the front. I would just get really obsessed with bands and buy all their stuff and try to get their signatures… I really made a connection with certain bands and artists.”

Courtney Barnett’s sound is unlike any other. From her storytelling lyrics to wailing guitar, I needed to know how she found her sound.

“I listened to a lot of different music, you know?” she states matter-of-factly. “So all of the different stuff kind of blended together.” She continued, “When I was a kid we listened to loads of Nirvana, and then I got into bands like the Australian band called Magic Dirt, and PJ Harvey,”. With so many classic musicians as influences, it’s no wonder she is quickly becoming legendary for us, but her influences didn’t stop there. “But then I would listen to my dad’s jazz records and mum’s classical records… and then I started listening to The Beatles,” she states. You can hear in her music that such a vast musical upbringing has helped her to create a sound all of her own.

I recalled finding a video of her on YouTube in the band Immigrant Union. The video was a live acoustic performance with her bandmates Bones and Dave, also in the band. I had to ask about the current band and if she met the them through her time with Immigrant Union.

“Yes I kind of met Bones before that, but yeah pretty much. I joined that band and they were already in it and then we became friends,” she says. Courtney Barnett had been writing her own music and playing solo for five years before she joined the band, and never stopped writing. “I kept my songs pretty separate,” she said. When she finished working with the band she would go home and record her own music. After releasing her EP A Sea of Split Peas, it started getting difficult to juggle both bands, so Courtney left to tour her first EP. Courtney, Bones, and Dave have been touring ever since.

I asked her what her writing process was like, did she set aside time to write? Or did she write as songs came to her? “I normally just do it as it comes or when I have time.” Courtney says then pauses, “I should probably set aside more time to do it!” laughing, she continues, “I haven’t really been able to work like that.”

Courtney Barnett has a lyrical style that is easy to connect with. Her songs really tell a story and build a world of experiences easy to relate to. She told us that most of her songs are from her own experiences, while others are inspired by other outlets. “Most of them are real life. There’s probably a few bits of stuff I’ve heard from friends or just inspired by something else- whether it’s books, music, T.V. or something strange,” she explains.

When we were talking to her, Courtney was in Australia finishing up a nearly sold-out tour, only to come back to the US to headline venues across the country. She has been non-stop after releasing A Sea of Split Peas. I had to ask her about her non-stop year and what she does to recoup between tours and festivals. “Yeah [this year has] been crazy! Crazy good! Yes, very hectic,” she continues “It’s the busiest I’ve ever been in my life.”

Courtney Barnett has not had a lot of time off between all of the touring and festivals she’s been playing this whirlwind of a year. But she let us know what her ideal time off is like. “Just hang out at home, sometimes get out of town go to the beach or the bush or something. Just read books.” Reading isn’t something she does on her time off. She reads many books while touring. “It’s the perfect setting to read, I’m reading that Pussy Riot book. It’s been really cool, good reading that!” she says.

As Courtney Barnett plans for her upcoming US tour, I asked her about what to expect, and a new member she has added to the band. She explains, “Dan’s played with us a bunch in the past and recorded with us. He helped produced the album we just wrote. It’s going to be released next year.” Trying to hold in my excitement on word of a new album, I listened as she continued, “Yeah, he’s great he’s a great guitarist. We’re playing mostly songs off A Sea of Split Peas, and then a couple of new songs we are busting to play. We kind of still haven’t played in some of these venues so we should probably play some of our old songs.” I laugh, as she explains, “Just very different from last time. With Dan playing with us as well, it’s kind of a different sound,”. This news has me even more excited for the tour. Courtney Barnett’s sound as a three piece was already electrifying, adding another guitar is bound to sound massive.

Courtney Barnett has had such a stunning year, from releasing her successful EP to endless touring. I wanted to know if she was documenting her year, through writing, photography or video.

“I document it through writing a fair bit, I try and do lots of photo and video. I think it’s very important to have that documentation. I’ve got a friend that’s actually making a documentary on part of the Melbourne music scene and she’s been following us around as an offshoot to that. So she’s traveled to some of the places with us. So that’s pretty cool capturing that moment in time,” she said.

Fans will have to wait for this insight into Courtney Barnett’s crazy year. She explained that the documentary will probably not be out for a little while, as her friend is still making it.

Barnett started her own record label Milk! Records. Originally, she started it to release her own music, but now the label has grown to include some of her favorite musicians in Melbourne and collaborative projects with her and friends. “It started slowly building into something else,” she continued, “it’s just grown into this awesome community.” She told us of one of her favorite artists, and friend on the label, “I play in Jen Cloher’s band and we made an album and put it out on Milk. It’s our own little project, helping each other out.”.

With so many Australian artists currently making waves, I asked her some of her favorites we might not have heard yet. “Darren Hanlon, The Drones, East Brunswick All Girls Choir, Beaches, Jen Cloher,” Courtney states, just to name a few. Sharing her vast musical knowledge of great music from now and of the past is enough to give everyone an addition to their record collection.

Courtney Barnett really seems to take control of the whole creative process of being in a band, including creating the artwork for her albums and merch sold on tour. I asked if she had a hand in the creation of the music videos from a concept level and if she thinks she will add any of her artwork to her live shows.

“Oh yeah, I wrote about five videos for the new album. We just did one the other week. I did the ‘Avant Gardener’ video as well,” she said. On adding art to her live show, she told us “Maybe! My friend Celeste Potter who’s an artist she did the ‘Anonymous Club’ video. It’s an animation. We’ve been showing some of that on stage which is kind of cool. It adds a different dimension.”

What is she looking forward to most with the upcoming US tour? “It will be fun to come back again and play different venues, slightly bigger venues which will be kind of scary,” she said. For a musician who has such a high-intensity, electric, mesmerizing live show, there is really no need to be scared. If Courtney Barnett doesn’t win you over with her vocals, slaying guitar and energetic interactions with the band, then you may need to have your pulse checked.

Courtney Barnett’s new album is due to be out early next year. Her US headlining tour with San Fermin begins on October 16th in Atlanta, Georgia and will end in Austin, TX with Fun Fun Fun Fest. Check out her tour dates and music below. You do not want to miss her live!

Courtney Barnett australia (Facebook)

TOUR DATES

16th OCT – Atlanta, GA @ The Loft
17th OCT – Charlotte, NC @ Visulate Theatre
18th OCT – Washington DC @ Black Cat (SOLD OUT)
19th OCT – Washington DC @ Black Cat
20th OCT – Philly! @ Union Transfer
22nd OCT – NYC @ Webster Hall
23rd OCT – Clifton Park, NY @ Upstate Music Hall
24th OCT – Montreal, QB @ Caberet Mile End
25th OCT – Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace
27th OCT – Chicago, IL @ Metro
28th OCT – Kansas City, MO @ The Riot Room
31st OCT – Seattle, WA @ Neptune
1st NOV – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
3rd NOV – San Francisco, CA @ The Filmore
4th NOV – Los Angeles, CA @ El Ray
5th NOV – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom
8th NOV – Austin, TX @ FUN FUN FUN FEST!!!!

reviewed by
10-01-14

Interview with Lincoln Jesser

lincoln jesser

It wasn’t long for Cali synth-pop artist Lincoln Jesser to set the music blogosphere a-buzz. After circulating online a series of high-flying tracks, the young songwriter looks toward his latest creation, debut album Modern Color. B3’s Geovani Donaires recently had the chance to catch up with the rising pop star to chat about his production prowess, high school bands, and (…of course) Elton John. Have a look at their conversation below.

B3: It’s an exciting time for you. Your debut album, ‘Modern Color’ drops on the 23rd of this month. Is there a theme to the album? And, were there any noteworthy inspirations while working on it?

LJ: It is an exciting time! This album has been in the works for about a year literally, but from a philosophical standpoint I’d say I’ve been building up to it since I moved out to LA 5 years ago. It’s a reflection of who I am not only as a musician but as a human being, about who we all are, about what we have in common and the things that distract us from happiness. But it’s also about remembering that most of the time, it’s better to say “fuck the over-analysis” and just enjoy life for what it is. Each of us has so much power to paint our individual realities the way we desire, more power than any generation of humans has ever had, so it’s up to us to use Modern Color to our advantage.

B3: You produce and write everything yourself, do you ever find that as a liberating or more confined experience?

LJ: Most of the time I find it liberating because I’m a bit of a control freak, but it can definitely get lonely and frustrating too. When I’m in the thick of working on a song, I find myself unable to really focus on anything else…if I’m stuck for a while on a particular lyric or passage, my life tends to go on standby. And there have definitely been times where my relationships have been affected by that. But the feeling when I finally connect the dots makes the loneliness and frustration worthwhile…and my real friends forgive me 🙂

B3: You’ve been in bands before. You were Yuna’s guitarist before going solo. Was being a solo artist always Plan A? When did the idea of starting your own band cross your mind?

LJ: I started writing my own solo songs at 13, but didn’t really begin performing until I started a band with my friends in high school. While I was involved with it, the band was pretty much my main musical focus. The summer after graduation was when I first really began exploring what I could achieve on my own, via a more electronic musical medium. I never had a very specific vision of what my long-term project would look like beforehand, I think it evolved pretty naturally. Yuna and I share management (Indie-Pop) which is how we met and became friends; she needed a guitarist/programmer and I was of course a huge fan of hers with a huge desire to get out and learn and experience live music on a much larger scale than anything I’d done before. But yeah, throughout all our touring together, I tended to spend my downtime in the green room corners, making my own stuff with a laptop and headphones (sometimes to everyone else’s dismay, haha).

B3: I noticed on Instagram you have a picture of Elton John. What’s interesting and awesome about this picture is the comment you posted stating, “he hit replay so many times that he hurt himself.” Tell us about that?

LJ: It’s so funny, so many people have asked me about that. Unfortunately, I’ve never actually met Sir Elton…I just came across that image and decided to Instagram it as a joke! I guess it looked like a real iPhone snap though. lol

B3: You recently performed at the Sunset Music Festival. How did you prepare yourself before stepping out on stage? Do you have any special or crazy rituals?

LJ: Yeah, I performed at The Roxy, which was a big milestone for me. I’ve seen a ton of inspiring shows there since I moved to the city…to perform there myself was definitely an honor. I like to do some pushups before my sets, to get the blood pumping a little bit. And occasionally a shot of Jameson.

B3: What’s next for Lincoln Jesser? What does 2015 hold?

LJ: I’ve got some visuals on the way for a few songs off Modern Color. Besides that, plenty of new music. I don’t plan on slowing down any time soon.

Lincoln Jesser california (Soundcloud)(Facebook) (Spotify) (iTunes)

Rating 8.4

reviewed by
09-26-14

Interview with Circa Waves

circa waves

If you still like to rock and roll, then there’s lots (and lots) to love about Liverpool darlings Circa Waves. This young Brit rocker collective know how to jangle their way around a catchy song. Amidst their forthcoming and debut US tour writer Cher Dunn had the chance to chat with band-member Joe Falconer about growing up in Liverpool, their ‘Young Chasers’ EP and forthcoming album, life on the road, and more. Have a look at their conversation below.

B3SCI: Your hometown of Liverpool has been a notable city of great music, tell us what it was like to grow up in the local music scene, as a musician or a fan.

Circa Waves: I moved here about 6 years ago from a small town in the Midlands and the music scene was definitely one of the main reasons I came here. The best thing about Liverpool is that it feels like a big city condensed into a tiny space, so everything creative and interesting coming out of it is happening in a really small area. There’s a lot of independent venues all within a 5 minute walk from each other so it becomes very easy as a fan or musician to become involved and there’s a really strong community spirit. There’s a real diversity to the types of music that people are playing which I think pushes people on to keep trying new things.

B3SCI: When did you start playing music and what made you decide you wanted to try to pursue music professionally?

Circa Waves: I started playing piano when I was really young, but that kind of thing is a very solitary affair which isn’t what I enjoy about playing music. The big thing was when I picked up a guitar for the first time and started to play with other people, and realising that doing that is the thing that’ll make up better. I think moving to Liverpool was my first decision to try and take it more seriously. After that I made sure I played with other people and never resigned myself to a job that would take opportunities away from me, I didn’t want to commit to anything else because I never really saw myself happy doing anything other than music.

B3SCI: So far Circa Waves has released some really strong, upbeat and addictive tracks that seem to have an array of influences. How did the band meet, and what has the writing process together been like?

Circa Waves: We all got together last year in Liverpool. Kieran had just written “Young Chasers” and the rest of us knew that it was something we wanted to be part of when we heard it. The original plan was to give it our best shot, and hopefully (we’d) play at the festival the next year; we managed that, and in the mean time ended up doing things that we never really expected. As we developed as a band, and all brought something to create our sound as a band, we all work on ideas more collaboratively.

B3SCI: You signed to Vagrant Records, an awesome label. How was that experience? What are you most excited for with the release of your self-titled EP this year?

Circa Waves: We’re stoked to be signed to such a cool label, the thing we’re most excited about is getting the opportunity to play shows in the States and tour around, it’s something we’ve been wanting to do for a long time.

B3SCI: When can we expect a full-length album, and where did the band record?

Circa Waves: The album is going to be coming out next year, we spent 5 weeks down in London recording it.

B3SCI: You guys seem to be touring non-stop. Tell us some of most memorable moments while on tour and what you look forward to with your upcoming UK tour.

Circa Waves: Because touring is mainly spent in the van, the secret of staying sane is trying to make the most of each place in the shortest amount of time. If we have a couple of hours before a gig we’ll try and walk around a city and see something worthwhile and then afterwards we go find a bar and drink something worthwhile. Europe has been great for that even if you risk wandering around desperately trying to find a cab at 4am in an area that may or may not be a shady part of town.

B3SCI: What has been your favorite city on tour and where would you like to go?

Circa Waves: At the moment we’ve yet to go out of Europe, but we’ve got some dates lined up in Japan which I’m really excited about. I really love Berlin too, we were there for Record Store Day and played a couple of gigs. It’s one of those cities where you can feel like there’s something going on, everyone there has a really accepting and creative mind set.

B3SCI: How has the festival circuit been for you so far? Have you had any memorable moments?

Circa Waves: Festivals have been a great experience, the crowds so far have been amazing. The first one we did at Best Kept Secret was one of my favourites; we didn’t know what to expect when we showed up but the reaction was great and the crowd put so much energy into it throwing each other.

B3SCI: How do you pass the time while traveling on tour? Is there anything you are reading or listening to you can recommend to your fans?

Circa Waves: Sleep. Read. Listen to Music. Play Fifa. I’m currently reading a biography of a Indian Mathematician called Ramanujan who grew up in a remote village and came to England to study and then went home to die a tragically young death. It’s a good van read, but sometimes the drier bits of the book coupled with the movement of the road make me real sleepy.

B3SCI: What are your goals for the rest of the year?

Circa Waves: More Rock, More Roll.

Circa Waves england (Facebook)

Circa Waves On Tour

8/07 Norway @ Oya Festival
8/09 Sweden @ Way Out West Festival
8/16 Japan @ Summersonic Festival
8/17 Japan @ Summersonic Festival
8/23 Reading UK @ Reading Festival
8/24 Leeds UK @ Leeds Festival
9/21 Manchester UK @ Apollo (w/ The 1975)
9/22 Manchester UK @ Apollo (w/ The 1975)
9/24 Glasgow UK @ Barrowlands (w/ The 1975)
9/25 Glasgow UK @ Barrowlands (w/ The 1975)
9/26 Manchester UK @ Apollo (w/ The 1975)
9/27 Manchester UK @ Apollo (w/ The 1975)
9/28 London UK @ Alexandra Palace (w/ The Libertines)
9/29 Wolverhampton Uk @ Civic Hall (w/ The 1975)
9/30 London UK @ Alexandra Palace (w/ The 1975)
10/01 London UK @ Alexandra Palace (w/ The 1975)
10/20 Washington DC @ DC9
10/21 Allston MA @ Great Scott Allston
10/28 Los Angeles CA @ The Echo’s Pop Shop West

reviewed by
08-16-14

Interview with HOLYCHILD

holychild

Photo Credit: Shervin Lainez

It’s been a hurly-burly year for the young DC native indie-pop duo Holychild. From moving to Los Angeles, to signing with indie powerhouse Glassnote Records, and touring with Fitz and the Tantrums, it makes you wonder if the band has even had the chance to reflect on all of the incredible things that have happened in these last 12 months. One thing is certain though, the future looks very bright for this young group. B3 staffer Brian Litwin recently had the chance to chat with Liz and Louie from Holychild about all of the important things: wardrobe choices, how they met, their ‘Mindspeak’ EP, and their forthcoming full length album expected in 2015. Have a look at their conversation below.

B3SCI: Liz, we’re impressed with your wardrobe both on and off the stage. Is there a method behind all the awesomeness?

Liz: Thank you! Yeah, clothing and what I wear is very expressive for me. There’s no method beyond what inspires me in the moment. Sometimes before shows I try on a hundred outfits, and sometimes I put one thing on and it feels perfect for the performance and city. I do like to wear more special pieces while I perform; I feel like it gets me more in the mood and takes me to a new place with those around me. Beyond that it’s all about feeling and how I feel that day.

B3SCI: How did you two meet?

Louie: The year was 2010, and I was the musical accompanist for Liz’s modern dance class at the college we went to, George Washington University, in Washington DC. Liz initially approached me to collaborate on a crazy live performance art piece, wherein she’d paint a blank canvas in the middle of the street in DC with her practically nude body + and I would accompany with drums, percussion and what not. I was into the idea of challenging the establishment in DC with such live art, so I agreed, but we promptly got distracted jamming and writing our own original music; hence HOLYCHILD.

B3SCI: Going in to record the ‘Mindspeak’ EP, were there any expectations of what it was going to sound like? Was there a plan?

Louie: The only expectation I think we had was to sharpen our scope. Up until the point of “MINDSPEAK,” we were sonically all over the place. From string driven funk jams, to an original arrangement of Miles Davis’s jazz standard “All Blues” we actually got the rights to record(!), and more I won’t bore you with, we had recorded an EP while still in college we never released called “Tribes,” which suffered immensely from identity crisis. After moving to LA though and hanging/working with so many talented artists in a variety of capacities, I think we knew deep down inside that in order for our own work to be taken seriously, we’d have to reign in our bad tendencies, practice a lot, write a lot, record a lot and at the very least, offer a more cohesive batch of songs, hence MINDSPEAK.

B3SCI: I have to admit, every time I watch the video for “Playboy Girl” there are two things that occur: 1) The song is immediately trapped in my head for the rest of the day, and 2) I wish I could have been on that set when shooting, because it looked like a lot of fun to be a part of. How did the idea for the video come about?

Liz: Haha, those are such nice reactions! The idea for the video really spawned from the song. I guess I just wanted to make sure people knew I was being sarcastic with my words. I feel like in the past I’ve made art and it hasn’t been interpreted in the way that I had hoped so with Playboy Girl my mission was to make sure the message was clear with the visuals. At the time I was definitely in a weird place with food, and I was really over-analyzing what I ate and what it was made of and what that meant for me. It was this constant cycle and I felt really constricted while doing something that should be totally effortless to us: eating. The idea for the video happened pretty quickly, and it was the first video I really wrote the whole treatment for. It was so nice to collaborate with director and cinematographer Jancarlo Beck to make it come alive, and it definitely hammers the point of the song home!

B3SCI: How was it on the road during your recent tour? You’re settled now in LA for just a moment… before you hit the road all over again. How do you like and adapt to life on the road?

Louie: The recent tour with Fitz and the Tantrums was a dream! They’re doing so well right now (i.e. three songs on the radio right now + sold out North American tour!), which is amazing, but for us as openers, it was especially amazing, since their fans would show up as soon as doors opened. So we played in front of 3-to-4,000 new folks a night all over the country and thankfully at each show, won over the majority of the audience, sold a ton of merchandise, etc. In terms of adapting to life on the road, I’d say it takes me a few days to adjust, but then I get into the swing of things and from there on out, it is intense, since you’re minute-by-minute life is pretty much out of your control, but ultimately it is a blast to see so much of the country + world while on tour (and meet new people, make new fans, etc). I personally love putting my feet in other people’s shoes for 24-72 hours, learning from them for a moment, seeing what informs their perspective(s), etc. To say the least, I have never learned so much about myself and the world in such a short period of time + I feel blessed for such opportunities!

B3SCI: Have you guys had time to reflect on all that has happened with HOLYCHILD in this past year?

Liz: Not as much as we would have liked! The year has been such a whirlwind so far. However we frequently say to ourselves, “Remember what we were doing a year ago?” which was teaching dance and music and working at a summer camp. We were perpetually broke and definitely too skinny and it’s such a pleasure that working so hard has been worthwhile. We are still working just as hard, but it’s nice that we don’t have day jobs now that get in the way of art!

B3SCI: Being signed to Glassnote seems to take bands to a next level. How has it been under the wing of such a successful indie?

Louie: It has been wonderful. By now, more than six months after signing to Glassnote, the honeymoon phase is over, but we like them and their role in our lives + art now as much as we did when we first signed late last year. It is just a different type of appreciation. Then, I think we were flattered to just have their attention. But now, it feels like a healthy + very collaborative working relationship and I don’t think we would want it any other way. Our album is close to being done, we’ve been working our asses off on it the past year when not touring, so it is nice to say the least that everyone on team HOLYCHILD is feeling great about what we’ve come up with and it should be an exhilarating next year or so for us!

B3SCI: When can we expect the full length? Any surprises with new material?

Liz: We’re so excited to be working on the album. It’s still not done but we anticipate it being out in 2015. We’ve really been exploring human vulnerability from a few different places. On one hand the lyrics are definitely vulnerable and honest and trying to understand this hypocritical limbo that I find myself in, and similarly the production and songs themselves are really reflective of that and are vulnerable in their own regard. It’s been a crazy year, and that’s also a part of the writing. The new songs definitely represent more of a dynamic range of emotions than the EP. We’re really looking forward to sharing it next year.

Holychild (Facebook)

reviewed by
08-02-14

Interview with Laura Welsh

laura welsh

Those who frequent B3SCI are familiar with the soulful talent of the young Laura Welsh. The rising British singer songwriter has been causing a flurry amongst the blogosphere for almost 2 years now. Having just recently dropped her debut and self-titled EP in the States, Welsh’s new single “Break The Fall” has been chosen by iTunes as there new Single of the Week — you can grab a free download of the track here. B3SCI writer Cheryl Dunn recently had a chance to chat with Laura Welsh about her new EP, songwriting, and her experiences collaborating with John Legend and Gorgon City, amongst other things. Have a look at their conversation below.

B3SCI: We’re curious, do you like to set aside time to write songs, or are you always writing on the go, as you are inspired? 

Laura: I tend to write lyrics or sing stuff that comes into my head into a recorder on my phone no matter where I am. I usually get ideas very late at night and have to put them down. Sometimes they don’t make a lot of sense in the morning (!) but there will sometimes be a line or melody that sparks off a song idea. Sometimes I will just sit at home with a guitar and write and other times I’ll go into the studio and experiment with sounds. It just depends on my what mood I’m in.

B3SCI: Do you always pull from personal experience when writing? Or are you inspired by friends, books or stories you hear?

Laura: I only write from personal experience. I find it easier to say how I’m really feeling through writing as opposed to having conversations about them with people. I write in an emotional and reactive way to situations going on around me.

B3SCI: Your new self-titled EP just dropped in the US. What was the writing process like for this EP?

Laura: “Ghosts” was one of the first songs I wrote on my own which was quite a defining moment direction wise for me. It was written during a period of time where I needed to take a step back and just have the freedom to write without any opinions or expectations. I wrote the other songs for the EP over in New York and LA and recorded them out there. The approach for me was no compromising at all with these songs and that included the shape and feel of the production too.

B3SCI: Can we expect some or all of the tracks on the EP to appear on a full-length album? Is that something you are working on now?

Laura: Yeah, all of the songs on the EP will be on the album which is finished now! It’s coming out early next year.

B3SCI: Do you have a favorite song from the EP that was particularly moving to write or record?

Laura: I would say “Hardest Part”. I wrote the song with John Legend over in LA. We just sat around the piano and wrote and recorded a demo of it in a few hours. It came out really quickly and was good to just keep it simple writing wise with just a piano.

B3SCI: For us US fans, what is your live show like? Is there anything you would like to do with your live shows artistically?

Laura: I’ve recently been putting together a set of visuals for each song in my live show. It’s a projection of imagery & video clips that I collected and put together with the help of my friend Babysweet. I have a few short black and white clips online and that’s the kind of feel I wanted to try out as a backdrop to the live show.

B3SCI: What are you upcoming tour plans and where would you like to play?

Laura: I’m hoping to tour in the Autumn time in the UK and also come over to the US before the end of the year.

B3SCI: You’ve recently worked with the very talented production duo Gorgon City on the infectious single “Here For You”. Much like Disclosure, they have an opportunity to break singers into stardom and give them a ton of exposure. How did you meet and what was it like working with them?

Laura: I went to write with Matt and Kye back in December. We did a day together at their studio along with MNEK and “Here For You” was what came out of that session. We pretty much wrote the track and laid down the vocals in one day. I just clicked with them to be honest and liked where they were coming from musically. They create a really relaxed environment to write and thats how like to work also. Musically, it’s a different world to my own music but I enjoyed stepping into their world.

B3SCI: After working with Gorgon City, is there anyone else you would really love to work or collaborate with?

Laura: There’s loads but right now I’d say Flying lotus, James Vincent McMorrow and Evian Christ would be up there.

B3SCI: On your twitter you sometimes post songs you are currently loving and listening to. What are some songs or artists you think people should know that you are listening to right now?

Laura: Collapse by Vancouver Sleep Clinic and I really like Ben Khan and Raleigh Ritchie at the moment.

Laura Welsh england (Facebook)(Purchase)

reviewed by
07-22-14

Bruce Rave Interviews Temples

TEMPLES_Sun Structures

Prior to Temples’ recent show at the High Noon Saloon in Madison, WI, Bruce Rave interviews Tom and Sam of the buzzing British psyche-rock collective at WSUM-FM studios. Have a listen to their hang below.

Temples england (Facebook)

* Links and playlists from Rave’s weekly new music show can be found on his blog and be sure follow Bruce on Twitter too!

reviewed by
05-27-14