Plants & Animals interview
by We checked in with Matthew ‘Woody’ Woodley, drummer and vocalist with Montreal group, Plants & Animals, and asked him what was in the water in their hometown that helped it consistently kick up so many unique bands: ‘Beer. But more specifically, the formula is cheap rent equals less time working and more time playing, plus a vibrant, multicultural town, plus tons of good musicians, plus plenty of nice venues, equals audiences who show up, support and enjoy, times media attention and sharing, times cross-pollination, all equals a healthy musical ecosystem’.
What was the reasoning behind taking an otherwise bare sound and lushing it up with strings on your debut album? ‘It took us two years to make the record because we tried so many things. We went forth with the notion that any idea is worth trying. If that meant invite a pro horn section in for an afternoon, or our friends over in the evening to play choir for beer, we just did. We kept a lot and let a lot fall to the wayside. With all that, naturally, the experience was exciting, tiring and fun. Mostly fun’.
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.
RELATED
The bands Plants & Animals are listening to
We asked Matthew ‘Woody’ Woodley, drummer and vocalist with Montreal group, Plants & Animals, which bands he thinks are doing interesting things right now and he gave us the following list: ‘Grizzly Bear, Malajube, Yeasayer, Metro League and the guys in the Patrick Watson band’. To read about Woody’s favorite songs right now, check out his recent Secret Playlist.
Also by ZOLTON
Maths explains the origin of superhero characters
I love the colours and simple reasoning in this clever series by Scottish illustrator Matt Cowen, which uses basic maths equations to explain how certain pop culture icons came to be. Read more
Star Wars Uncut: a fully crowdsourced version of Episode IV
The project of creative technologist, Casey Pugh, this full length version of the George Lucas masterpiece was created from multiple 15 second segments recreated from the original movie and submitted by thousands of Star Wars fans, which were then spliced together by editor Aaron Valdez to form the final product. Genius, as both a commentary on contemporary pop culture trends (there are references to LEGO, stop motion, memes and the like) and on the power of tapping your audience for quality material.
Filmmaker creates LEGO stop motion to propose to girlfriend
Now, this is one for the ages: back in 2010, Atlanta film-maker Walter Thompson created a jaw-dropping LEGO stop motion to propose to Nealey Dozier, his girlfriend of four years. The video took 22 hours of shooting and some 2,600 pictures to splice together, a small sacrifice to pay for years of happiness together. Right? Right! Oh, and she said yes. Bonus.
YOU'RE SAYING (2)
pam said | 25 March, 2009
oh, I should note I wish it was more of an interview.. or am I missing something? way too short.
HAVE YOUR SAY
We love LEGO. And why not? It’s colourful, it’s fun, and it’s applied to a thousand and one different things these days, including this: Blokz Birthday Candles. Fit for the cakes of all grown kids.
Zeh Palito paints on both canvas and the streets, infusing his world with a fun, playful energy. Palito’s unicorns find themselves well within the composition. They know where the party is and they know how to dance. Read more
Seldom has black humour been done so well. On the surface, this film about the everyday lives of some unusually mundane characters, sounds extraordinarily boring. But it is instead a cutting comment on the absurdity and drudgery of everyday life. The characters try to break out or change their lives without success, and the results are bleak and hilarious. Read more
If you drink white Russians and have a dedicated relationship with your house robe and bowling, I have just the house for you. The Dudes house from the film The Big Lebowski is up for sale. Read more
Grace is part of a new series of books by author Dale Cusack. The story chronicles the lives of Grace and her feline companion Boot in their struggle to fight the evil Drawl and the cover illustration was done by Auckland-based artist, and Lost At E Minor contributor, Dennis Juan Ma. We asked him about what shaped the colour choices for the piece: ‘I wanted to create a mystery world within the reality. I wanted the colour to encourage readers to stimulate their imagination. I illustrated the covers with a classical Japanese wood block look to show the oriental flavour of the cat’s world. And it just happens that I’m a wood block art fan’. Read more
No wave is alive and well, if Brooklyn duo Talk Normal are any indication. Drummer Andrya Ambro keeps things cohesive with surprisingly precise percussion, occasionally banging on such things as an electric guitar and an old iron pipe rigged with contact mics, while guitarist Sarah Register coaxes some unnerving and discordant noises from her axe and array of pedals. The two take turns shouting abstract and absurdist lyrics with voices like hi-tech valkyries from a futurist nightmare.
This is Australian fashion designer Emma Mulholland’s second collection ever (if you count her graduation show) and she has pulled it together like a pro. The colourful collection makes strong references to surf culture and throws in touches of rave, tribal and psychedelic influences. Read more
WE'RE POSTING / SOME OF THE BEST
Here are a couple awesome pieces by Matt Leines that were recently on display in the Doubting Thomases exhibit at Nudashank gallery in Baltimore. Gives me ideas for Halloween. Read more
Matthew Dear’s Black City album totem
Our friends at Ghostly International are releasing Matthew Dear’s Black City album as a limited edition ‘totem’. A what? A totem – a limited edition metal bar used to access a private music chamber. Cool! Read more
Honest Food Preparation Instructions
Yes, we’ve all been there: the chinese food from last week that still looks edible amongst the bare surrounds of an empty fridge. But really, we shouldn’t. Just let it be. Or College Humor will expose you! Read more
Pencils made from recycled newspaper
The problem with awesome things like these pencils made out of recycled newspaper is that you almost don’t want to use them.
Pitched as ‘Ulterior Motives in Contemporary Art’, Disorder Disorder is running until November 14 at Penrith Regional Gallery. It’ll be well worth the trip out west of Sydney: the Australian, Japanese, American and European cast reads like a warriors of street art roundup and includes Mike Giant, Ed Templeton, Anthony Lister [artwork above], Ozzie Wright, and Jonathan Zawada. Read more
A tribute to the movie trilogy Back to the Future and that childhood fantasy, the Hoverboard, and designed in the style of a vintage comic book ad that promises the earth but delivers very little, this sexy five colour screen printed t shirt is by New Zealand-based label Cuppa t shirts. Read more
If you have a Twitter feed that focuses on cool pop cultural things and you’d like to swap Tweets with Lost At E Minor and other like-minded Twitterers, drop us a note (with Tweet Swap in the title). We have a system in place and we’d like to have you in on it! [illustration by Brad Fitzpatrick]
FOLLOW US
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.
pam said | 25 March, 2009
I like plants. I love animals. I like Plants & Animals. their new album is great- in the running for my favourite album of the year!