School of Seven Bells interview
by 
|
With their dynamic and exciting electro-pop sound, Brooklyn group School of Seven Bells are just about the hottest thing out of the borough this year since fluoro coloured hair combs made their omnipresent comeback.
We spoke with Benjamin Curtis, one third of the trio, and asked him — given how intricate the production is on their debut album, Alpinisms — how hard it was for the group to let a song go from the mixing stage to the mastering stage: ‘It is a delicate process, for sure. I’m sure you can imagine that we could continuously work on any piece of music for the rest of eternity, but that’s where the chemistry with the three of us really starts to work. We really trust each other musically, so as soon as we reach a point where all three of us are happy with what we are hearing, we have to stop there. It takes a lot of discipline, but it’s totally necessary. Otherwise, we’d have never finished this record’.
Half Asleep is the song of 2008. No doubt about it. What do you remember most about the writing of it?
‘It actually started from a small vocal loop I’d put together. I’d arranged and bent this little snippet of music into a great little melody that later in a way became the basis of the chorus. Some chords were added, and we just let it sit to see where it would go. Claudia had some inspiring changes in her life, out of which came her words and vocals for the verses which were written over what I had done. Alley, being inspired by what Claudia was saying, and feeling really sympathetic with that emotion, came up with and sang the chorus, and it all worked together magically. It was written and recorded very quickly, and in the end was probably about as collaborative as any of us have ever been musically, and the result really shows. It’s a special song for us’.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Tagged: Brooklyn bands, electro-pop
- 0
- 1
RELATED
The best new music I’ve heard recently is coming out of the East Coast. The band Full On is fronted by Shana Falana, who has been part of the music scene for the past decade, with a voice that is both gorgeous and tough. She’ll grab you and pull you in. Rawk on!
Hypernova video, directed by Richard Patterson
Brooklyn-band Hypernova’s new music video was shot and directed by Common Machine’s Director of Photography, Richard Patterson, on Profoto’s spanking new, lighting packs, enabling the video to be shot on a stills camera. There are actually more than 16,000 stills that make up the video, the first time it’s ever been done like this.
Kyp Malone’s new album, Rain Machine
I love Kyp Malone. I’d love him even if he weren’t guitarist and singer for one of the best bands out there, TV On The Radio. See, Kyp’s just a rock solid, totally unpretentious, good guy. He gives good hugs. Our kids play together and have sleepovers. I had mostly forgotten that Kyp was a rock star. Read more
Also by ZOLTON
El Bolson is a beautiful village located in a fertil valley at The Comarca Andina, near Bariloche in Argentina. Close to national parks and Los Andes is a perfect place to stay and then start a trekking trough lakes, rivers and the mountains. In the town you can enjoy good music, handicraft market in Plaza Pagano, delicious local ice-creams and the view of Piltry Mountain. Read more
Maarten Wetsema is a Dutch photographer living in Arnhem, The Netherlands. Wetsema is represented by Van Kranendonk Gallery in The Hague, The Netherlands. He has had numerous international exhibitions, and his images have appeared at Photo Miami and Paris Photo. Read more
Blippy: tracking real time online spending
The idea behind Blippy is to use the public blackboard that is the burgeoning social media environment to monitor what your friends, and their friends, are spending their hard-earned money on. The Twitter-based platform encourages its members to upload their credit card details so that their online purchases are displayed in real time for all the world — or at least a voyeuristic few — to see.
YOU'RE SAYING (1)
HAVE YOUR SAY
Just in case you’re planning a camping trip, here’s a website that has a list of things that bears love, so you can avoid them or attract them, depending on your mood. Read more
Once upon a time there was a real connoisseur of jeans, Hidehiko Yamane, as expert and demanding as only certain Japanese ‘otaku’ can be. Read more
Long before the franchise destroyed our fond childhood memories like Aunt and Uncle Beru on Tatooine, many of us born in the 70s were proud to own the many products associated with the Star Wars movies. Read more
How do you explain a rainbow? I’m sure science has its answers. In fact, one has probably been manufactured in a test tube somewhere. Read more
Films involving characters faced with an impossible choice never make easy viewing, an example being the Nick Cave Australian gem, The Proposition. A nightclub manager, played with understated power by Joaquin Phoenix, is the victim here, and you actually feel truly uncomfortable as his predicament unfolds. Set in the 1980s, We Own The Night shows a real nostalgia for that period — particularly in the costumes. Read more
Dutch designer Daniel Schipper, the man behind the awesome, oragami-like folding shelter, has just unveiled a frameless, foldable greenhouse that is aimed at the growing urban gardening and farming market.
Not all dark, epic music has to be harsh. British songstress Rose Kemp builds operatic folk tunes that crescendo from acoustic, string-infused atmospherics into menacing, down-tuned heaviness, drawing as much from Neurosis as she does from PJ Harvey, Kate Bush, and even Massive Attack. Read more
WE'RE RESPECTING
WE'RE POSTING / SOME OF THE BEST
Yum, yum, cupcakes are fun. These creations are so clever, so arty, so damn bizarre that it would almost be a shame to eat them. Almost! Read more
Creative advertising packaging
Despite the intentions of many, it’s not so often that advertising — as an industry — truly thinks outside the box. Yet, when executed well, clever eye-catching advertising actually works. It does. As these examples will attest to. Read more
Wheeeeee! This game is so freaking fun! You move your cursor over each dot to make them split into four smaller dots ad infinitum.
Diane Koss’ recycled bottle monsters
Check out Diane Koss’ amazing handmade stuffed monsters if you’re looking for a last-minute gift. Her mostly cycloptic creatures are fashioned from felt made from one hundred percent recycled plastic bottles. Read more
Dennis Pomales is a man after my own heart, creating impulsive yet detailed, tribal-influenced monsters and aliens using watercolors and ink. Read more
It’s spring cleaning time and we have a massive pile of assorted new release CDs to give away to a randomly selected LAEM subscriber. To enter, just be a subscriber and leave a note under this message telling us the city you live in.
From afar, Jesus stares serenely at those surrounding you. But up close, Islamic crescents cluster together in abstract patterns. Created by fashion label, the-affair, this tee is printed on beautifully soft American Apparel in a limited edition of 200. Purchase now. Read more
DISCOVER MORE
SO...
SEARCH: Can't find what you're looking for? Do a search..
IS IT GOOD FOR YOU TOO?
We hope you're enjoying your time on Lost At E Minor, but it’s not over yet. Got something to share? Tell us about it and we'll look to publish it. If you want to have your work featured on the site, we'd love to hear from you. Pssst, we also have an online store stocking some of the goodies we feature on the site.
If you're a media agency and want to use this platform to connect with our readership, then drop us a line and tell us about it. Oh yeah, and we do digital consulting for cool brands that want to reach the sort of demographic that visits this site.
gus gaivno said | 6 December, 2008
Nice little interview. I saw them at the Empty Bottle, Chicago and they were amazing!
cool post, as always thanks for sharing.