Music Snobbery

Paloma Faith -- The MusicSnobbery.com Interview

If you have followed this space, you know I've been extolling the virtues of Miss Paloma Faith going back to early 2009 when she was emerging onto the UK pop scene. When I saw her play London's Scala, I knew she was a performer who's going places. She a hell of singer, a great stage presence and tremendous personality -- whip smart, funny and out-going.

It took four years, but Paloma is finally making her mark in the U.S. with her second album, Fall to Grace. It finds the singer going to newer, stronger heights with songs that have tremendous flare and theatricality.

So I felt it was time to reconnect with P while she was on tour through the UK. Her bus broke down, but we manage to have a sparkling talk about her humble beginnings, the challenges of making a second album and how she will never dress down. I would like to welcome Paloma Faith to this space.

She starts off the chat:

I know you. I know all about you. Your whole life story.

Wow, I don't know how to respond to that. We met a while ago at your Scala show.

Yes, that was such a fun show. That was ages ago.

That leads me into my first question. Do you feel like a different person now then back in 2009. Do you feel more confident as a performer?

Yes and no. I feel stable at this moment in time, but I take nothing for granted. The success of my second album has been amazing, but it makes me nervous about making another album.

Let's go back to the beginning. Did you grow up in a musical household?

I was always surrounded by music, but my parents were not musicians. There was always a piano in the house, and people who came by were always encouraged to play it. My parents were just massive music fans, but I didn't have any training when I was younger.

What kind of music did they expose you to?

My father was a massive jazz fan. He has one of the biggest collection of vinyl that you'll ever see. He has every BlueNote record ever released. My mum was more into the power of music from the 60s -- a lot of political stuff. She was into Bob Dylan, Carole King and Nina Simone.

Growing up, were you sort of a rebel, a punk, nerdy or geeky?

Hmmm, I wasn't really a rebel, because I was always accepted at school. It wasn't until my adult life that people treated me as a little bit of a rebel or a trouble maker. Growing up, everybody aloud me to be myself. I had a lot of creative freedom in school because I was an intelligent kid in a rough, troubled school. I was seen as an angel compared to the other kids. So I was and wasn't a rebel, you know what I mean? Like, if you took a helicopter and picked me up and put me in the countryside, I would definitely be a rebel just by comparison.

When you decided that you wanted to be a singer, did you have a clear idea of what you want to sound like or who you wanted to be?

Not really. I have such diverse and electric tastes. I've always been the type of person who seeks out different subcultures. I've infiltrated mod, garage, hippie, punk and dance scenes. I have trouble focusing on one thing, so the people I work with find it difficult to link all those things together. I'm happy about that. The albums I've done, it's not the same all the way through. It's a reflection of who I am.

What were some of your first gigs like? Were you playing to 10 people at some tiny club somewhere?

I've always been a sociable person. Luckily, I've always packed every venue I played at when I was starting out. I have played really tiny clubs that held like 20 people, but I made sure that they were full of my friends. I'm a good social networker.

Indeed, you send out very interesting tweets.

Even before Twitter, I was using MySpace to promote my own club nights, just to get local neighborhood people to come out. I worked doubly hard to make sure my shows were well attended.

Were you disappointed that your first album, Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?, didn't get any play in America? It did very well in the U.K.

Hmmmmm. Not really. It just reinforced what I thought about it. I felt like I didn't have the freedom to make the record that I wanted. This one I had a lot of freedom, so it will have a broader audience.

When it came time to make the second album, were their certain goals you wanted to achieve?

I wanted to make an album that sounded like a movie soundtrack.

You got Nellie Hooper to produce the album. He does have a particular style and sound. You can hear it in the Bettye Lavette cover, "Let Me Down Easy"

That's my favorite song on the album.

Mine too. That's why I brought it up. So what was it like working with him?

It was wonderful. He totally gets me and how I express myself. I think in pictures really. So I would e-mail him pictures of what certain songs would sound or feel like. He totally went with that.

What photos did you send him for Let Me Down Easy?

Since that's a cover, I told him that I envisioned a really low submarine with sort of a sinister feeling. It would have a guttural feeling.

The album starts off dynamically with "Picking Up the Pieces". Was the plan to start off with big, bold statement?

We didn't know what the singles would be or the tracklisting when we were done recording. It came apparent which songs stood out.

When it comes to your songwriting, do you have a song that is a statement song on who are and what you are about?

They all are really, even the cover songs. That's hard to pin down. They are all facets of who I am.

Your fashion and stage costumes are a big part of who you are as well. Do you dress on how you feel that day or do you have a plan on what you'll wear for certain shows?

I have a strong sense of occasion. I know what type of events I'm going to and dress appropriately, even when I'm not feeling up for it. I just have to pick myself up and push myself on. I've always admired tragic people like Marilyn Monroe. She always had a sadness in her eyes even when she looked great. I kind of glamorous and romanticize that. So I never dress down in public situations.

I'm a world travel, as I'm sure you are. Do you have favorite places that you've played?

Oh my God! Anywhere in Scotland is amazing. The Hampton show on this tour was fantastic. In America, I'm all about New York. The audiences were really involved and enthusiastic. It made feel like I didn't have to bust a gut to please them. Everybody has been so nice to me.

You're going to love the rest of America.

I'm so looking forward to it.

My finally question. The Brit Awards are coming up, which you are nominated. Do you need a date?

I do. I haven't got one.

Well, come on. Don't be shy. Here I am.

*laughs*

I own a tuxedo with a Burberry tie. I'm good to go. The only problem would be that I'm tall.

Ohhh. Now that I think about it, I haven't seen my friends in a long time so I'll probably take them with me. *laughs*

Well, if you change your mind. You know where to find me. I'll jump on a red eye and be ready to hold your purse at a moment's notice.

The Naked and Famous -- The MusicSnobbery.com Interview

No. 1 on the pop charts -- check. BBC Sound of 2011 -- check. Critically-acclaimed album -- check. What is there left to do for The Naked and Famous? How about a world-wide tour that will take them away from their native New Zealand.

The Naked and Famous will certainly make you believer when they tour with Foals and Freelance Whales this spring. Even if you can't catch them, their debut album, Passive Me, Aggressive You is that kind of album that enchants you more with every listen. The NME called it, "A classic case of ugly and beautiful: TN&F's passive melodicism and aggressive innovation clash in a dazzling blaze of psych/sonic fireworks."

The five-piece was founded by singers Thom Powers and Alisa Xayalith with Aaron Short. Jesse Wood and David Beadle round out the band. Before they traveled to SXSW, I talked to bassist David (on the far right in the picture above) about their debut album and the excitement and confusion of being chart toppers.

How did you find yourself in this band? I know that Thom and Alisa met in music school.
Yes, they met at a music school in Auckland. The core of the group, Thom, Alisa and Aaron, just started writing songs together. Me and Jesse were brought in at the beginning of 2009 to give the group a different dynamic. They had essentially recorded two EPs as a four piece band, so me and Jesse were kind of the fifth member.

I’ve listen to the EPs to compare it with the new album, and it’s night and day. The EPs sound like it was made using Garage Band, while the album is a fully-formed, professional sounding effort made by five people.
Yeah. The sound became a lot thicker when we joined. Consequently, Passive Me and Aggressive You became a much more bigger sounding album. The live show also reflects that.

Is there a vibrant music scene in Auckland?
Not really, but it is a close-knit community where everybody knows each other. There are about one or two bands playing a particular genre of music. Us and Kids of 88 are the bands playing alternative electro-pop.

When you joined the band, we’re they still playing small venues to small crowds?
Yeah, they had a small following, but still playing pretty small rooms. It’s just the nature of Auckland. There’s not a lot of places to hear live music. Plus, by the time I joined, they hadn’t played live for a while. It was only when we released “Young Blood” that more people were noticing the band.

When it came time to making this album, were there certain goals you wanted to meet in terms of what you wanted to sound like?
We did want to sound more cohesive as a band. We went through a phase where we thought we wanted to bring in an outside producer. Eventually, Thom and Aaron wanted to be in control. It was an aesthetic that we had in that we always wanted to have complete creative control.  

"All of This" is a great way to start the album because it defines the band’s sound with that driving rock beat. Was the song designed as a sort of introducing to the band?
When me and Jesse came into the band, that song was one of the first demos that was being fleshed out. The song’s lyrics does include the name of the album, so I guess it does encompass a lot of the what the band is about. I guess it's just a good driving pop song.

I don’t see you as a pop band though. I feel that you guys “rock,” quote-unquote, more than you do “pop” if that makes sense.
It’s tough to define us as what kind of genre we fall into I guess. Our main influences are 90s alternative rock bands if that helps.

“Punching in a Dream” is one of the stand-out songs on the album. How did that song come together? Did you start out with that cool electronic part?
That was the last song recorded for the album. The demo for that song originated way, way back. It was originally called “Wait”. The way we work, everything is constantly evolving. That song must have gone through so many changes. It’s probably why it was the song we recorded on the last day.

Do you have any visual imagery you have in your head as you’re making these songs? I’ve never been to New Zealand, but I can imagine that there are areas that can evoke a strong emotional response.
I don’t know. It one of those things where you come to know a place so well, that when you come to a new place it creates a whole new level of excitement. We’ve all been in New Zealand our whole lives. Other places are much inspiring for us. Lyrically, Alisa focuses more on ideas. She takes inspiration from other songs or a movie. None of us really leaves our house that much [laughs].

How do the lyrics take shape?
It’s a three-step process. Thom and Alisa have a traditional way of writing songs. They’ll hash out a demo of what the song should be. Then Thom and Aaron will produce it and come up with new ideas. Then the whole band comes into a rehearsal room to see if it works live. Then we can determine what parts are working and what needs to change. Something like “Young Blood” was interesting because it came together rather quickly. Alisa had a keyboard line and Thom liked it a lot. For that point, everything fell into place.

“Young Blood” went to No. 1 on the New Zealand charts. Do you get anything for that like a trophy or something?
[laughs] We didn’t actually knew what it meant. Our only knowledge of charts came from the College Radio charts. At that point, we thought cracking the top 10 of that was pretty exciting. Our manager had to explain it to us how the Top 40 pop chart works. It’s just a complete foreign territory for us. We kind of didn’t know what to make of it.

I would also think that being on the BBC Sound of 2011 list was a turning point for the band.
As with the Top 40 chart, we didn’t know what the BBC list meant. Our manager had to lay it out for us. When we went on the internet, we saw who else was on the list. That was when the gravity of it all hit us.

You are about to embark on your first major tour of the U.S. and Europe. Are you nervous? Excited?
I’m really excited. I’ve been living at home all my life. I think it’s about time I leave my parent’s house. [laughs] I’m really looking forward to going to Sweden. It just seems like a beautiful place to visit.

Let’s hope you all don’t get sick of each other.
Not to jinx it, but what I think will happen -- or what has already happened -- is that we’ll get stuck in the van for six hours a day and we’ll just not talk to each other the whole time. Aaron, Alisa and Thom shared a flat for a few years, so I think they are comfortable with not saying anything. We’re all quiet people to begin with.

Do you treat Alisa like the little sister being that she’s lone female of the group?
No, there a moments where she’s like our mother looking after us. She keeps us all in check and out of trouble.

Their debut album is out now. You can check their official website for tour dates in your area.

Blood Red Shoes: The MusicSnobbery.com Interview

 

If you were around during CMJ last year, hopefully you came across the UK power duo called Blood Red Shoes. Maybe, you heard their tune, "It's Getting Boring By the Sea" in Scott Pilgrim vs The World. It could be you saw them last year on their first full U.S. tour. More than anything, you've been spinning 2008's Box of Secrets or their most recent release, Fire Like This. Then you don't need to me to tell you how awesome and intense they are.

Laura-Mary Carter and Steven Ansell make up the team, who are based in Brighton, U.K. That's where I spoke to drummer Steven about the latest record, finding their best sound, touring the States and the wonders of GPS. I would like to welcome Steven to this space.

I've never been to Brighton. What's can I do there?
There are two American cities that Brighton gets compared to, Portland and San Francisco. It's kind of just a hippie town full of drop outs.

So are you a dropout?
No. I just came here to start a band. Laura is technically a dropout. She left art school to be in a band.

What tends to happen with young bands is that they tour relentlessly for their first album. So they end up playing their materials for three or four years. Were you anxious to start working on the second album after you were done promoting Box of Secrets?
I wouldn't say anxious. There was a certain time during the touring of the first album that we just wanted to play new material live. That was more of the impulse than getting to a recording studio, but we did play live the songs that eventually made it onto the second record.

Both albums were kind of made the same way. We had been playing live, then when we started recording we wrote new material. Then for this one, we had some songs we had already been playing live, then we wrote new songs for the album.

On the first album you established your sound. On the second record, did you want to try new things?
Actually, we needed to established our sound on the second record. The first album we fucked up a few things. We felt we could have done a better job. For the second album, we pushed certain elements of what we do.

The second album is much more consistent I think.
Oh, me too. We just have better songs. It feels like a more complete record. Box of Secrets ... I don't know ... we didn't know what we were doing.

Do you two write together or seperately?
We write together. We'll jam together and gradually we'll piece words together. No one will write a song on their own and bring it to practice.

What I've always liked about your band is that it's the two of you, but you sound like four or five people. Is that your aim?
Yes, thank you. I'm glad you think that. It's just a fluke that it's just the two of us. The chemestry worked when we started playing together. Our sound was never intentially minimal. We wanted to sound as huge as fucking possible.

When I tell people about your band, I mention how loud you are. Your sound is that you like to contrast these really loud pasages against more simple elements like on "Light It Up."
It is easy to fall into the trap when you're jamming. It gives the song a direction before you start laying out lyrics. Actually, on the next record we want to change that up and fuck around with it.

On "Heart Stink," you share vocals. When you record, do try to mix up who sings what?
Up until this point, no, but on the next record we're going try and experiment with that in our practice space here in Brighton. How we did it is whoever wrote the lyrics sings it. If one of us has a good idea for the vocals, then they can go with it. It's all spur of the moment

How's the creative relationship between you and Laura. Is she better at certain things or do you tend to follow her lead on guitar?
Yeah. We start everything with a guitar riff and I jam on that riff. We do tend to have different ideas on where the song could go, but most of the time we're on the same wavelength. Those tend to be my favorite songs.

What are you favorite songs?
"Colours Fade" is my favorite. "When We Wake" also turned out great.

You've used the same producer of both albums, Mike Crossey. I'm sure there's a comfort zone there.
Completely. There's a level of trust as well. We didn't have to forge a new relationship on the second record with another producer. We basically can skip the first date.

When can we expect a four-minute drum solo on a song?
[Laughs] I don't think that's every going to happen, mate.

You don't have a little Phil Collins in you?
Nooooo. My favorite drum solo in the history of drum solos is on the song "Puss" by The Jesus Lizard. It's about 10 seconds long.

Along with everyone else, I first heard about you with "It's Getting Boring By The Sea." You tired of that song yet?
So far, no, but I'm getting there. [laughs] It's not one of the earliest songs. What I find is when you start to get fatigued by your setlist, just put in one or two new songs, and the rest will be more exciting. Honestly, I can see a time where we don't play that song anymore. It won't fit into our newer stuff.

In certain places, we are best known for that song. It makes it more of a chore. When you feel that people are just waiting to hear that song, it can be a problem. It makes you not want to play at all. In others, it's one of many that they can sing along to. As there some good crowd reaction to other songs, then we're good with it.

Well, that song got you some notoriety here because it's in the Scott Pilgrim movie.
That did us a huge amount of favors. It gave us the opportunity to do a proper tour of the States. We would meet people who came to show because they saw the movie and heard the song.

So you can't hate on the song that much.
True. We never had a label in the states until the movie came out. Edgar Wright (the film's director) told us that the soundtrack album made it onto the Billboard charts. I said, "Well, fuck! That's pretty handy." Everything fell together to release the album in the states and do the tour.

You did a massive amount of touring in 2010. I'm looking at your past tour dates and you've been to places in Germany and Poland I've never heard of.
What would happen is that we'll be in the van driving and the GPS will take us through these places where there are no roads. We would driving along, then we would just see a field in front of us. We found out later that the road hasn't been built yet.

Has the crowd reaction between consistent when you play these far off places in Europe or even in the U.S.? 
America was up and down in terms of the crowd sizes. San Francisco was a huge turn out, about 400. Then we went down to Santa Barbara and 25 people showed up. The reaction was really encouraging though. I felt people gave us a chance without exception. Even better we sold out our CDs at one point.

I was at your first American show in 2007 at Highline Ballroom, you played before Biffy Clyro and Enter Shakari. You were the best band on that bill.
[laughs] We really lucked out on that. We were thinking that this would give us a record deal in the U.S. and open a lot of doors and we'll be able to come back. Then nothing happened. That sucked.

You did eventually came back for CMJ. You had some bad luck at Le Poisson Rouge. I heard you tossed over your drum set.
That was amazing. It was our first night at CMJ. Everything was fucked. Their guy just fucked up everything. We started playing and we just taking the piss out of our songs. The room wasn't full and there was just a cold vibe in the room. I just got fed up and threw my drum set onto the floor piece by piece. Our manager walked out on us and started freaking out.

That's rock 'n' roll. Next time set it on fire.
[laughs]

You got any favorite drummers?
Yeah, Bill Ward from Black Sabbath. When people go for old school drummers they usually say John Bonham or Keith Moon. Bill Ward doesn't get enough props. I also really admire John Davis from Q and Not U.

Last questions, any plans for this year?
Right now, we're jamming and writing for a new record as best we can. We have a small recording space here in Brighton where we can make our own demos. We're aiming for September to record.

The Vaccines: The MusicSnobbery.com Interview

Last Thursday's U.S. debut was only the beginning for The Vaccines. Since August, the U.K. four-piece have been generating great buzz on both sides of the pond. The reason is simple -- straight-forward, enthusiastic pop-rock songs that are classic as well as catchy.

The group consists of lead singer Justin Young, Freddie Cowan on guitar, Árni Hjörvar on bass and Pete Robertson. Together they have their debut album, What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?, ready for your ears. As you probably know, this isn't Young's first stab at music, having done solo work under the name Jay Jay Pistolet.

Before their Bowery show, I talked to Justin about finding the band's identity and the crafting some of the most exciting new music of the year. I would like to welcome Justin Young to this space.

Obviously, a lot has happened since the last time I saw you.
You can say that.

Were you satisfied with the music you making before you started the Vaccines?
I never was. I was always searching for that satisfaction. It seemed that other people were more excited about my music than I was.

Was there also frustration that your style of singer-songwriter folk music wasn’t taking off?
I was frustrated that nothing was happening. I was questioning whether that style of music was right for me.

You and Freddy decided to form this new band. Did you have a clear idea of what the band wanted to sound like?
Not at all. It wasn’t calculated. It happened quite naturally. We actually decided not to play our main instruments to see what we can come up with. I was on keyboards and Freddy was on bass. Ironically, the birth of the Vaccines didn’t include any guitars. Freddy wanted to change to guitar and I didn’t want the band to be guitar-based. It’s funny how we gradually got to where we are today.

You could have been like Keane, a guitar-less band.
[Laughs] Yeah, that would have interesting.

Were you still writing songs when you finished with your solo work?
Yes. To be honest, I’m still writing songs the same way. I start with an acoustic guitar or piano. I do like dynamic, challenging music, but I’m a firm believer that to make direct pop music, it has to sound good in a basic form. I like writing in that stripped down form before we dress it up.

"Wreckin’ Ball" was the first song I heard from the band. It has tremendous drive and has that stadium anthem quality where you can feel a massive amount of people shouting along. Do you get that feeling as well?
I hope so. When I first wrote it, I did feel rather excited about what it can become.

"The angels gave us F. Scott Fitzgerald, the evening news and the morning herald." That’s pretty awesome. I hate asking this, but where did you come up that? It sounds like a stream of consciousness.
Quite often I’m sort of thoughtful when it comes to writing and I want the song to mean something to me, but that was a stream of consciousness.

The songs you’ve created are direct and to the point. Many of the songs on the album are under two minutes. "Norgaard" is another song that’s short and is very much in that 60s garage rock sound. Did you ever feel that you need to give some of these songs a little more length?
Not at all. Those two are the shortest ones. The last one ("Family Friend") is about six minutes long. We didn’t feel the need to mess around with the songs. We didn’t realize how short some of these songs were until we recorded in the studio. They feel complete. And the long ones didn’t feel that they needed to be shortened. The length of songs seem secondary to us.

Is there a song on the album you are particularly proud of?
I’m trying to think … There are a couple I enjoy playing live. A Lack of Understanding came out really well. It’s hard to say what you're proud of because you're completely involved with creating the music.

This album came together quickly. Was that by intention?
Yeah. We wanted to capture what the band was at the time. There was a lot of energy and excitement early on. We had been working on the songs a long time before we introduced ourselves. A few of them fell by the waist-side. We had 11-12 songs that we felt were ready to be recorded, so we wanted to hit the studio right away.

You ended up with a 29-minute album, so I guess your set is about 20-25 minutes long?
Yeah, around that. I think for the U.S. shows we’ll play a few b-sides and maybe a cover. You got any suggestions?

You can’t go wrong with Fleetwood Mac.
Maybe. Which song?

“Dreams” is the first song that pops in my head, but I think for “Tusk” is more suited for you.
Okay, we have a few hours before the show to learn that. [laughs]

Let me tell you how I found about the band. I was in London at Rough Trade East. I was chatting with the staff about what’s good and what to look for. They brought up that you had started a new band and that the songs you had were really solid. Then I went to Brussels, and I was chatting to some people and they brought up The Vaccines. So I said, “Wow, that’s twice in 3 days somebody has mentioned that band to me.” I think by the time I got back to the U.S., you had already been signed and you hadn’t even played a proper gig yet. That first gig you had, people were lined up around the block. That must have been a good feeling.
Yeah, It was a new feeling as well. The great thing was that everybody wanted to be there. For me, it doesn’t matter how big the room is, as long as people show up. It’s a really good feeling to play to a room full of people.

It’s also different for you before now you’re the lead singer in a rock band and you have to sort of play the part. Before, it was just you and a guitar. It’s a different vibe in terms of the response.
Indeed. I think it boils down to creativity as well. No matter what you do as writer, artists or whatever, you need to change up and do the opposite of what you were doing. Sooner or later, you’ll come to a dead end in your creativity. So for me, it was just feels fresh to be in this band.

Was there a point where you realized that the band was going to take off and succeed?
I don’t think we’re there yet. We’re sort of in limbo right before the album comes out. It feels more and more likely as the days go on. It is really exciting now. We feel good about the album and hopefully everything remains fun and people are enjoying themselves at the gigs.

Do you have any hopes or aspirations for this year?
We do want to work hard at being a really good live band. Hopefully people will connect to the album, and maybe we can start to think about a second album by the end of the year.

What Did You Expect From The Vaccines? doesn't have a U.S. release date yet. In the U.K., the album will be out March 21st. The band will be at SXSW, but no further U.S. dates have been planned as of yet. Once I know, you'll know.

Keith Murray of We Are Scientists: The MusicSnobbery.com Interview

Musician. Sexy Vegan. Songwriter extraordinaire. A man of the people. Keith Murray is all of these things. On June 15th, him and Chris Cain will release their third album of indie rock goodness, Barbara. This time around, they have Andy Burrows, formerly of Razorlight, joining the band on drums. The album offers a more stripped-down effort, while still keeping that W.A.S. spirit of punchy, catchy tunes.

I talked to that handsome fellow above like week about the new album, his desire to escape Brooklyn, the night I saw him share a stage with REM in Madrid and his wikipedia page. Keith is a frequent guest, so I would like to welcome him back to this space.

You've been in this band for ten years now, which makes you practically a veteran. Does it make it easier to write and record a new album?
I want to say that this album was easy to write, but there was stretch for about three or four months that I couldn't get anything done. I've had this desire for a while to leave Brooklyn. We had this practice space that was hugely expensive but a complete shithole. This place just made me depressed. Going back to January of last year, it just wasn't happening for me creatively. Okay, you know the term "eyesore"?

Yes, I do.
Well, this space was a mindsore.

I wanna see this place. I'm curious.
I don't know the exact address but it was on South 1st between Kent and Wythe. We had to move out because it was condemned by the state. It didn't meet any of the building codes.

So I went down to Athens, GA because The Whigs, who we had toured with on the Kings of Leon tour, lived down there.

Of course, R.E.M. is from Athens.
That is correct. Athens had been on my mind, so I rented a cottage, brought my gear down and got to work writing the album for six weeks. From there, the album came to me easily. In saying that, I don't think I've unlocked the mysteries on how to create an environment to work in.

Look at it this way, you live a great life where you are on tour and you go to these great places and play. You come home, and it's a different pace and you probably don't know what to do with yourself.
Don't get me wrong. I love Brooklyn. When I do come home, I think I'm out too much. One out of every three people is a working musician. It's hard to gauge when it's time to work and time to play. While in Athens, my days were spent working and then I could go out at night if I wanted to. The Brooklyn curse is that it's hard to find a time and space to devote to working.

Going back to your longevity in the band, you and Chris have been together the whole time. How is the dynamic between you two? Does he have strengths that you don't have?
Our strengths combine work well in the operation of the band. When it comes to writing, that's largely my world. Chris is an excellent editor of what I do. I would send him .mp3s and have him decide which ones were worth persuring. When it comes to the band beyond our music, the sort of We Are Scientists enterprise and personality, that's all him. Chris writes our press releases and works on the websites.

Speaking of which, I'm looking at this fancy linear notes. Did Chris choose the font? The Wes Anderson, futura font?
How dare you! First off, Wes Anderson uses helvetica.

No, sir. That's futura.
Well, don't blame us on the font. That wasn't our choice. The mere mention of Wes Anderson and fonts is making me break out in a cold sweat.

Sorry, Steve Sizzou.
Wooooo.

You recorded this in New York, London and Los Angeles.
That was more based on our schedules. Our drummer lives in London, while our producer, Ariel Rechtstaid, lives in Los Angeles. We recorded some of the drums in London. Our producer stayed in Los Angeles so we could do vocals and guitars. Then Andy met us in New York to do more work, but our producer couldn't. So we had Chris Coady come in to engineer the sessions. I hope to never do it this way again. It was a headache and it costs far, far more money than it should.

That track that stands out to me is "You Should Learn". It's got this great intro, it's almost Muse-like. Does it surprise you that you can make a song that's like that?
What surprises me is how people react to songs. I would have never have guess that you would pick that song out. It's happening more on this record than the previous two. We try to keep songs interesting to us and hopefully try not to repeat ourselves. The goal is to not have a paint-by-number We Are Scientist song.

With that in mind, it feels that "Pittsburgh" is your first power ballad.
[laughs]

It has more weight to it than your previous down tempo songs.
I think we wanted to be based more on that heavy groove. We definitely wanted to create an atmosphere with that song. I wouldn't call it a power ballad, but we might have drawn our energy from that musical trope.

Maybe in 15 years, you'll see that song in the scroll of some late-night commercial for Power Ballads of the Tens.
God willing, Chris.

Thank you ... On this album, you have a permanent drummer in Andy Burrows. Did you feel that you needed to have a permanent third band member in order to make this record and to have for the year of touring ahead of you?
Here's the thing, he won't be touring with us. When he left Razorlight, his A&R guy signed him immediately as a solo artist. He wrote two of Razorlight's big hits. As it turns out, his solo record will come out this July. He does have responsibility to Universal Music Group that will take priority over our band. He will play a handful of festival dates, but he will mainly focus on I Am Arrows.

So we'll have another drummer to tour with, but we are planning on working with Andy again for the next record.

Going back to your original question, we did want the record to feel like it was made by three people in a band. It's the reason why the record is much more stripped down.

I agree, I think "Jack & Ginger" has that quality. It's a peppy song and you can hear all the parts. It also has your signature vocals where you stretch out the chorus.
[Laughs] Yeah ... yeah.

Which of these songs are you going to pimp out for a movie trailer?
Oh please. We will pimp out any song for a movie trailer, ten times over.

Even something like Alvin & The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel?
Kids need good music. Movie trailers, between me and Chris, are our preferred art form in licensing our music. Trailers are a higher art form than cinema itself. Although I like the cash, I prefer the artistry in movie trailer.

I think the reason you called the album Barbara is so that you can make up some nonsensical answer for when you're asked about who Barbara is.
It's funny you say that. We had been doing that, but by the fourth interview we withered and gave the true answer, which is that there is no Barbara. It's just a metaphor or a universal uber-woman. Barbara is a common name, but not so much associated with one person.

Well, I was thinking you can say that Barbara is the name of the prostitute that your dad hired for you when your were 15 so that you can loose your virginity.
I want to use that in the very next interview. [laughs]

If we can step back, and talk about the night in Madrid where you shared a stage with R.E.M. for their encore. You played Man on the Moon and I Wanna Be Your dog. Does it get any better than that?
I would say that it doesn't get more surreal than that. It did make me feel that I was doing something right. In terms of having a firm sense of achievement, it never gets better than that -- I'm playing Peter Buck's guitar, on Peter Buck's stage, playing Peter Buck's song, with Peter Buck standing next to me. It goes right up there with getting a gold record for the first album.

Let's wrap this up by looking at your wikipedia page. Have you seen it?
No.

It's just a bunch of random things. Here's one: He was nominated for World's Sexiest Vegetarian 2007, losing out to Davey Havok of AFI. I would like to know what happened in 2008. Did you loose your sexiness or did you eat a hamburger?
I think I've been nominated twice, but that year I made the finals. Davey Havok pummeled me with his alien-like sexiness. 2007 must have been a banner year for my sexiness.

He has an older sister. I don't know why I need to know that.
True. I have an older sister.

He is "not a fan of religion".
[laughs] Wow. I don't know what to think of that. I am certainly not apposed to religion. I don't go around extolling the virtues of religion, but I'm not a vocal opponent of it. Not a fan of religion? What does that mean?

This is the one that gets me -- "He is known in the indie-rock world for having gray hair at an unusually young age. His hair started graying from as young as he was 22, reports suggest."
Oh come on! Is that what I'm known for?

Indie rock world? Grey hair?
Everybody is talking about it apparently. I would like to state that my hair started graying at 18, so reports are inconclusive.

What can we add to this page?
"His sexual virility is the stuff of legend according to women in the lower southeastern states."

The next time the fellas will be around is July 14th at Bowery Ballroom. Barbara is out June 15.

Marcus Mumford of Mumford & Sons: The MusicSnobbery.com Interview

Tonight, Mumford & Sons will kick off their largest U.S. tour to date in Cambridge, Mass. Spirits will rise, smiles will widen and feet will be stomped. One the most energetic Americana-folk bands are not to be missed. Their debut album, Sigh No More, features touching ballads and intense country-stomping tunes. One thing the band doesn't lack is passion.

Last Friday, after the British elections that left nobody in power, I talked to lead singer, and one of my favorite people, Marcus Mumford about being raised on American music, writing deeply personal songs and crying after reading reviews. I would like to welcome Marcus Mumford to this space.

Growing up, were you exposed to American folk music?
Indeed. My brother was a huge influence on me growing up, as well as my mum and dad. My mum had a lot of Bob Dylan vinyl and The Animals' House of the Rising Sun, which I fell in love with. I remember I could use a record player early on growing up.

My brother was a massive Bob Dylan fan and he and his friends would make me these mix CDs of obscure bluegrass and country. It's always been a part of my upbringing.

Is there something you identify with in American folk music having grown up in Britain?
I'm actually American born. So I...

Wooh wooh, rewind. You're an American?
I am. Born in California. I have duel citizenship.

Your accent doesn't sound American.
(laughs) Both my parents are British who were living in the U.S. for a few years. We moved back to Britain when I was six months old. We came back every summer because they had lots of friends back in the U.S. So I'm well-steeped in American music and culture. I would come home with beach blonde hair and riding a skateboard through this proper little British town.

So do you feel more British or American?
Definitely more British blood running through me. I've just spent more time here in England. Although, I've spent long periods of time in America. I lived in Denver and California for eight months. I do think I identify more with the U.S. than the average Brit.

How did you adopt your sons?
(laughs) Wellllll, it's not quite like that. Basically, we were all in the same place at the same time. It's not a very sexy story. I had known them all before and I had been writing these songs. We were hanging out together and our creative paths collided. That's basically it.

Starting a band in the crowded London music scene is pretty tough....
I actually think it's harder to keep a band together.

Interesting, you also have to recognize that your band is unlike any that's been popular in the scene in the past 3 or 4 years.
Well, it just seemed natural to play our music our way. I don't think we can form any other type of band but this. We don't have to try hard to sound like we do. It's actuality, we didn't feel like we were apart from the music scene at all. We make music our own way. It's essential to who we really are.

What were those early shows like? Were you playing to an empty room with three people in it.
I think we have played in rooms with three people in it. They were fun because those three people made it worth it. Things did start happening pretty quickly. People started coming to the shows just to see us and then telling their friends about it.

Were those first songs you performed eventually make their way onto the debut album?
They pretty much all did, maybe two or three didn't make it. When we initially formed the band, we just went right out onto the road. Rather than waiting around playing local gigs, we just wanted to get on with it. By the end of eighteen months, we had a collection of songs we felt represented us. We did wait a bit before recording them. I think we just enjoyed playing live too much. Waiting to record helped us because it aloud the songs to develop and evolve naturally. Eventually, the songs were fully formed by the time we hit the studio.

Obviously, "Little Lion Man" is an emotional song. Does it take a leap of faith to write a song that's so vulnerable and personal?
It's .... it's ... hmmmm. I think so. When I was writing the songs, I never thought they would be heard by anybody. I agree with you, writing a song is a private thing. Then suddenly, it's on a public stage and hundreds of people are singing along with you. It's the weirdest thing.  You just can't plan or predict those things. For the kind of music we play, it's healthy not to predict how people are going to react.

I'm sure you recognize that people anticipate certain aspects of your songs. Those moments were they can jump up and down and stomp their feet like in "Roll Away Your Stone".
Again, you can't predict audiences' reactions when writing and recording. We don't design songs to create particular emotional responses.

Did you record with vintage instruments?
Yeah, that was great. We used a 100-year old harmonium that I love. Although it's at my parents house, because I can't fit it in my flat. We borrowed a bunch of vintage guitars off people we knew. We don't own that many old instruments. We tour with relatively new guitars that about ten years old.

Were you nervous when the album came out in the UK?
Oh God yes (laughs).

We're you hanging out at HMV in Oxford Street just to see if anybody was buying it?
Luckily, we were on the road in Birmingham. I remember reading two reviews that day and I started crying. I decided that I'm never reading a review again.

Oh, come on. They couldn't have been that bad.
They were actually quite positive. It's just that they picked up on things that I was insecure about and commented on things that I knew were weaknesses. It was brutal for me.

In your shows and in your band photos, you have a distinct look with the vintage clothes, like collarless shirts, suspenders and vests. Is that something that's important to you?
Nope, that's what we wear. We don't sit down and map out those type of things.

When did you know that the band was working out and that you were gaining an audience?
I think when we found out that people were buying a lot tickets in advance for the shows. That's a cool feeling. Eventually, we started seeing people singing a long, which is wonderful and strange.

What I find great is that you are selling out shows here in America pretty quickly for this tour. Do you understand why? Have you wrapped your head around that?
I have no idea. Our last tour in America was short. This tour is our largest one and it will be interesting to see how it goes. We worked really hard in the U.K. in terms of touring. So I feel that we have earned our success and that it's not hype. It wasn't the labels pushing it or a TV appearance, it was us going out and putting a lot of effort into the shows. We definitely want to have that feeling in America as well with these shows.

You have been living with all these songs for a two-three years now. Are you itching to get back into the studio to work on new material?
We do have three or four new songs that we've been adding to the setlists. We do want to get into the studio before Christmas to get things done.

Last question, are you covered in volcanic ash now?
(laughs) No, I'm not.

Most of this tour is sold out, good luck getting tickets. Sigh No More is out now.

Kate Nash: The MusicSnobbery.com Interview

The Nash is back! Not only is Kate back, but she's got a new album. While Made of Bricks was a smashing debut filled with smart lyrics and toe-tapping catchy tunes, the new album is that, but backed with an orchestra transported from the 1960s. The sophomore album, My Best Friend Is You, is a bold mixture of fun ideas that has her delving into rocking new waters. With Bernard Butler taking care of producing duties, I think all fans will be pleased. It comes out April 20th.

She's been one of my favorites in the five years I've been doing this -- dating back to her early demos. I couldn't have think of a better or more appropriate person to come by for my 2,000th post.

While she was in NYC last week, we talked about the new album, her songwriting and playing in different places. I would like to welcome Kate Nash to this space.

Did you take time off from being Kate Nash, singer-songwriter extraordinaire and let yourself be Kate Nash, everyday woman?
[Laughs] The whole process was such a whirlwind. I toured the world so extensively. My label phoned me at one point and asked, "What do you want to do now?" I said, "Absolutely nothing. [laughs] Please, don't call me or talk to me about music." So they let me be and they've been brilliant in letting me take time off. I hung out with my friends, get into a normal sleeping routine, passed my driving test, moved into a new flat and bought a bunny rabbit.

For me, it was the only way I could start writing a second album. I do understand the amount of pressure there is on a second album. You have your whole life to write your first and then you are dumped into a situation where you have six months to write and record your second album. It's just not a fun way to work. You need life experience to write about anything interesting.

What kind of songwriter are you? Do you need to isolate yourself so that you can concentrate or are you writing things down on pieces of paper as you go?
If I have an idea, I'll write it or sing it into my phone, so that I can remember it later. I tend to forget things by the time I get home. I'm quite shy when I write. I do like to be alone, not because I need to be in deep thought. It's just a personal process.

For this album, I went into this grungy room where we have rehearsals which is really dark and really freezing. It was good because it got me away from watching daytime TV. My thought process was that I had to write something even if it was shit. At least I can say that I did something that day. I don't do much editing with my work. It will change in the rehearsal process so it feels more natural.

The last time I saw you was in Philadelphia, and you already where playing "Do Wah Do." Listening to the finished product and comparing it to three years ago -- from what I remember, it's bigger and brassier now.
Oh yeah, it complete evolved. When I was doing the full tour in the states, I was getting tired of playing the same songs. I had the song in demo form and we just played it however we felt it should sound just so that I can have something new to play. When we eventually got to the studio, I wanted it to be big, fun and girl-groupie.

To get that sound, you went with Bernard Butler to produce. Obviously, he has a distinct sound, drawing from classic orchestral pop sounds. Was that something you were looking for?
Actually, no. I met up with a few producers, and I didn't click with anyone. My boyfriend (Ryan Jarman of the Cribs) had worked with Bernard, and he suggested him. I was hesitant at first -- not because of his work because he's done some amazing work. I was nervous in working with somebody who did Duffy's record. So I didn't want people to think, "Oh, he did Duffy's record, and now he's doing the same thing with Kate Nash." I was paranoid about being grouped into something.

In the end, I was so glad I worked with him. It was the best decision. He's amazing, cool, down-to-earth and he doesn't bullshit you. I had most of the songs in demo form and he got the sound right away.

When I first started listening to you back when you had just demos on your Myspace page, your songs were pretty stripped down. It was just you and the guitar. When I was listening to the album, there's a part in "Kiss the Grrls" where all music just drops out and it's you and the guitar. It reminded me of that time.
Yeah, me too.

Are those moments important to you where it's just you and not the whole production that surrounds you?
I feel more comfortable being a musician now. When I started out, I felt like more of a storyteller. Now, I want to get involved in every aspect of the song. Even on the first record, I felt that if something didn't have to be in, then just take it out. This time around, I felt more confident in trying different things. When I first write songs, it will be just me and the guitar or piano. It's a little bit of who I am. Those small moments feel intimate to me.

I know you're a fan of riotgrrl bands like Bikini Kill and Sleater-Kinney. So, "I Love You More" is your rocking out song.
Definitely.

I can picture you just knocking things over when you play it live. Is this something you wanted to get out of your system?
Oh yeah. I think once you've toured for so long, you think about what would be fun to play live. I started with the riff. I was inspired by those girl rock bands. I've always loved punk music. So I wanted the song to be dirty, but fun.

The first album was a pop album. This one is still a pop album, but there are different styles in there. It paves the way for me to do other things in the future.

This seemed like a fun album to make. Was it fun?
When you make an album -- it can be fun, but it can also be a grind. I'll always think of the positives first. Working with Bernard was important in that. It's nice to consider him a friend rather than my producer.

You'll be back on the road again soon. Are there certain places you like playing like France, Japan, Spain, Los Angeles ...?
All of the above! When you are out on tour, you tend to forget how exciting it is to travel. Having time off, it reminded me how fucking great it is to do what I do and get to sing songs in these amazing places.

You should play New Jersey.
[laughs] Actually, I wanna play places that don't normally have bands come through like Chile, Brazil and India. I think it would be interesting to see the reaction.

Is it weird for you to have a fanbase? You have people screaming your name at shows and you have girls dressing like you.
It's totally weird, believe me. I think of myself as a normal person. I didn't grow up in show business. I steer clear of that. I hate the idea of celebrity. I try to keep my life as private as possible. But, it's nice for girls to look at somebody who looks just like them. It gives them confidence that they don't have to look a certain way to achieve something.

I've always noticed how you engage the audience. You look at people when you sing and try to keep up a rapport.
That's the only way I know how to do a gig. It's all about communication with the audience. I just love playing small gigs so you can look people in the eye and have a relationship with them. It's a weird, cool idea because for an hour, you are in a room with these people and you'll probably never see them again. I like that about playing live.

So now that you've got album No. 2 ready come out, that means more dollars. You made any extravagant purchases like a fancy car or like a big crown?
[Laughs] I wish. I bought a used car. I'm not a fancy person, but bought a lot dresses. I am going to buy my first proper flat.

The Joy Formidable: The MusicSnobbery.com Interview

Coming in out of Wales is The Joy Formidable, a familiar name on this space. The trio caught my ear with their early work like "Cradle" with its furious guitar attack. When I saw them on Fourth of July in the UK, I saw first hand that they build that energy of stage with an impressive live performance.

Depending on how you look at it, A Balloon Called Moaning can be considered their debut album; or just a starting point of what's to come. While you can sample their body of work online, where the action happens is on the stage. You can check it out yourself when they play Mercury Lounge on May 1st.

Lead singer Ritzy Bryan is the voice of the band with partner Rhy Dafydd on bass and Matt Thomas on drums. Taking a break from touring with Temper Trap in Europe, Ritzy stopped by to talk about not defining the band's sound and bringing their personality into their live shows. I would like to welcome her to this space.

I know the band was formed from a previous band, Sidecar Kisses. Can you walk me through how this band came about?
Rhy and I went to school together, so we've known each other for a long time. Our previous band didn't really work out so we moved back to Wales. We didn't start writing songs until about a year and a half ago. We both had an idea of what was important to us in songwriting and in sound.

Did you have a fully formed idea of what this new band was going to sound like?
What was most important to us was to be open to new ideas and now try to limit ourselves. I had never really written songs by myself, so for me, it was a new way of working. We didn't have an agenda. In fact, we don't really have one right now. We know what pushes our buttons, and we do work at it everyday to find out what excites us.

What we some of first songs you wrote for The Joy Formidable?
I think it was Austere if I'm not mistaken. We started off with loads of songs that all sounded completely different, but Austere was something that was different sonically from what we have done before.

Was it important to you to put an album out by yourself?
We didn't have a plan for putting out an album. What we set out to do is being a really good live band. I think the music became more developed the more we played it in front of an audience. Since we don't have a label in the U.K., it's important that we write great material and have it out there so we can develop a fanbase.

It is kind of hard to define the album. Some consider it an EP and we're not sure if that's how we think of it. You can say that we are currently working on our debut album, but it feels strange to call it that.

To answer your question, what happen was that a Japanese label wanted to put out our body of work. At that point, we had eight songs that we felt were ready. Back in the UK, we didn't have anyone willing to put it out, so we figure we'll just put it out ourselves. 

"Cradle" was the first song I heard from you guys. It's got a lot of drive and ambition to it. Would you consider it your signature song?
Not really. One of the good things about our band is that we have so many different styles of songs. Cradle does have a lot of layers to it, and that's something we tend to aim for. You are correct in that it has a lot drive to it. It does have a rawness. Some of the others songs we do have are a little more contemplation to them, like "The Greatest Light."

What I like about "The Greatest Light Is the Greatest Shade" is that epic sound. Did you have big things in mind when you created that song?
That sonf came about pretty quickly. We had the basic melody and the riffs. The feeling was that the song should not be your typical two- or three-minute rock song. It needed to be something more of a grand scale with the melody we created.

You've been putting out new songs since put out Balloon, one of them being "Greyhounds In The Slips". You got Paul Draper of Mansun to do vocals. How did that come about?
We heard through friends that Paul was a fan of the band. Certainly, being from a Wales, I'm a huge fan of his and of Mansun. I admire that they broke from that BritPop scene and went on to do more experimental work. Growing up in North Wales, they were considered a local band to me. I just always loved his voice. When he added us as friend on his myspace account, we thought, "We have nothing to loose, lets ask him if he wants to work together." We had this "Greyhounds" track, and it was something he can definitely add something to.

You were talking about how difficult it is to define Balloon as an album or as an EP. Since you are working on a sort of debut album now, are you satisfied with the songs on Balloon or are they going to be reworked and resurface on your next work?
We do plan on having some cross over songs that will be on both. I suppose no matter how you look at, some songs will feel new to people who haven't heard us before.

The two times I've seen you live have both been great performances. Do you have the live show in mind when you're recorded, mixing and creating these new songs?
When it was just me and Rhy in our bedroom studio, we wrote the songs without haven't play a live show yet. With Matt on board, he's such a dynamic drummer, more songs came from rehearsals. He's very musically inclined and that just opened up a lot of great material. What tends to happen is that we'll think of a new song in rehearsal and we feel need to do stop everything and run to the studio. It's exciting to work backwards I guess.

I'm sure you recognize that you are quite a stage performer. Do you recognize that aspect of your personality?
People have been telling me that. It does sound like a cliche, but the three of us do loose ourselves during a gig. We're passionate about what we do. There is a lot of our personalities in our music, and that does come off in our live shows.

You've toured with some heavyweights like Passion Pit, Editors and now you're on the road with Temper Trap. Since you're the only female among the bands, does everybody treat you like the kid sister?
Not at all. My own family doesn't treat me like the kid sister! I'm just like one of the guys and then we get on with it. (laughs) It's nice. Passion Pit and Temper Trap have been good to us.

Fanfarlo: The MusicSnobbery.com Interview

Fanfarlo is one of the bands that I have been name-dropping for people who ask what new and hot on the scene. The U.K. six-piece have been knocking aroundtheir native country for a couple of yeasr. Eventually, they bypassed any music labels and decided to release their Peter Katis-produced debut album, Reservoir, by themselves.

Here's what I said about them when I saw them last year during CMJ at Fat Baby: Incorporating a violin, mandolin and a trumpet, the band blissfully portrays the joy and pain found in pop music. They embrace all that and just run with it. They remind me of early Belle & Sebastian, when Murdoch and Co. cranked through "If You're Feeling Sinister" and "Me and the Major." With Fanfarlo, they blazed through their set with the anxiousness of a young boy discovering their older sister's pop music collection. A song like "We Live By the Lake" will make Sufjan Stevens jealous.

A few weeks ago, I talked to lead singer and Swedish native Simon Balthazar about making their debut in the U.S., his love of old pictures, the upcoming tour and maple donuts. I'd like to welcome Simon to this space.

How was your summer?
It was really good. I've been doing a lot of cycling and doing it in London is scary. I have overcome my fears.

You should try biking through the streets of Manhattan.
Sadly no. It's hard to bring your bike overseas.

You play a lot instruments. Do have any schooling in music?
None of us do. I took some piano lessons that didn't take. A lot of friends did have schooling, and I picked up from them. Learning it in school was not for me.

How did the band come together?
The long and short of it -- I started songwriting when I was still leaving in Sweden. I moved to London. I felt I should probably find some people to make these songs. In the end, they were quite different from what we sound like now.

"Talking Backwards" was your first single in 2006, but you didn't start making the album until 2008. Were you consistently playing gigs between to kind of work up to making the album?
We did many shows in London, but it wasn't until the beginning of 2008 that we were able to go through out Europe. That was an exciting time for us. It felt like things were finally starting to work in our favor. It was nice to get out of London because I felt like everybody I knew was in a band. The rest of Europe isn't as intense.

What's it like being in a young band in London, since, as you said, there are tons of bands? Do you feel there's a good support system or do you feel there's a lot of competition?
A little bit a both, I suppose. I think when you are surrounded by other talented musicians, you have to raise the bar on your own playing. You can't be complacent with just having a band in the London scene. I think the downsize is that everybody is trying to get themselves heard and you feel frustrated when you don't get attention. It also can be very sort of fad based.

Obviously, you wanted to work with Peter Katis because he has a great track record with Interpol, Spoon and The National. Did you also want to make the album away from London?
Not particularly. We went in with an open mind. We talked to a few who are stationed in all parts of the Europe and America. I think when we settled with Peter, we knew we had to be focused on making the album in a specific time period.

I've heard great things about his studio/house in Connecticut.
Yeah, it's a fun place. He has this collection of music charts from all the albums that he's worked on. We rummaged through them and you can see the comments on these songs that became popular and random doodles from the bands.

Tell me about Harold T. Wilkins. Why is there a song about him?
It's not specifically about him. I think it's more of a homage to him, maybe, or any interesting reference. I picked up a book at a used book store that he wrote called Flying Saucers on the Moon. It's these insane ramblings about aliens and U.F.O.s. The song is about an outsider waiting to get picked up, maybe by flying saucers. I thought it was funny to put two and two together.

On something like "Fire Escape" you use a lot of instruments. Is that something you strive for, like adding a melodica to a track to get an extra layer.
We do like to use a lot instruments. We seem to collect them. "Fire Escape" is pretty traditional. We did pick up a musical saw and lot of weird percussion instruments. I was able to play the clarinet on this album.

Did you feel that making Reservoir was a marathon or more like a sprint?
More of a sprint, it did seem to go by pretty fast. After a couple of weeks, we saw that we had a lot more work to do. By the end, we were sort of in panic mode because we had set amount of studio time and we had to work pretty fast.

The video for "The Walls Are Coming Down" has man singing upside down, how come you didn't do it?
We found an escape artist who could do it better then I can. I love Harry Houdini and I've read a lot about escapology. The directors Iain and Jane thought the video should just be a guy hanging upside and trying to escape. They found his guy Ros and he's one of the few escape artists around. He had to go into a meditative state before he had to be hanged. He would come out of the chain all bloodied and beat-up. It was unreal.

I've noticed from your album art and packaging to your website, that you love old pictured from the 19th Century. Is that a hobby of yours, finding these old sketches and photos?
I find it interesting to combine modern music with these old imagery. I do like those old Victorian sketches because they are grotesque and bizarre looking even though the subjects are normal. It's a fascinating art form that nobody does these days.

You did big arena tour with Snow Patrol. What's it like playing in these huge places where nobody knows who you are?
I don't think it's such a big deal. I think playing in small clubs that are packed is a big deal. It can be kind of nerve racking. When something goes wrong like a monitor breaking, it can ruined the whole set.

I will tell you this funny story. There was this one show during the Snow Patrol tour, where one of their sound guys was fooling with the wireless monitors during our sets. It's one of those in-ear devices so you can hear yourself. He was working on it in the sound deck. For some reason it interfered with our sound and we went stone silent for 20 seconds. The guy would have been fired if it happening during Snow Patrols set, but since it was us, it was ignored.

You're gearing up for your first U.S. tour, you excited about that?
It's been something we've been looking forward to for a long time. We've only played SXSW a couple of times and that Fat Baby show. It's great that we get to headline and play a proper setlist.

Last question, do you like donuts?
I love donuts.

I'm hooking you up with these maple donuts from Tim Horton's. It was change your life.
I, I, I can't wait. Now, I'm really excited.

Reservoir is out now. You can check their myspace page for U.S. tour dates, including Bowery and Bell House this Monday and Tuesday.

Anna Ternheim: The MusicSnobbery.com Interview

Anna Ternheim comes from Sweden, that hotbed of new and interesting music that goes beyond the techno pop. While she's already an accomplished singer-songwriter in her native land, she's been making a name for herself in the states. Her latest, Leaving on a mayday, has the added bonus of Björn Yttling of Peter Bjorn and John working production duties, as he did with Lykke Li.

Her third album contains many fantastic elements like strings, groovy basslines and wonderful harmonies to add on top of her distinct voice. When I saw her at Joe's Pub, I found out how she captivates an audience.

The current NYC resident is always in motion. This fall, she'll do a lengthy tour with Asobi Seksu and Loney Dear. Before she did, we talked about working with Bjorn, strange places to play and wax monkeys. I'd like to welcome Anna to this space.

How was your summer?
It was fine, fun and busy all at the same time. I played a lot of the European festivals. There's was this small German festival called Haldern Pop Festival. It was very relaxing. There was a lake nearby where people can swim and listen to the music.

Do you come from a musical family?
Not at all. My dad brought me to a lot of concerts growing up and he had a large record collection, but nobody could play an instrument. It's something that I stumbled on.

When did you know that you wanted to be a musician?
It wasn't a conscious decision. It was so much fun making the first album that I felt I needed to continue on this path. It's kind of funny because I feel like I should get a real job just in case making music doesn't work out. I don't think about it everyday, but it pops in my head once in a while.

Looking at your list of achievements, you won a lot of awards back in Sweden with that first album. Did that freak you out?
Yes, very much. It was a lot of attention put upon me, which made making the second album a very difficult process.

Is it difficult being an acoustic singer-songwriter in Sweden when the country is dominated by bad teenage pop music?
I don't think so. I sing in English and that automatically narrows my audience. Luckily, there are people who look for the music I make.

What prompted the move to America?
When Decca picked up my second album for distribution, they had me do a lot of promotion in the states. I did a big tour with Joseph Arthur. Then, there were so many people I wanted to work with in New York, I felt the move was necessary. Also at that point in my life, I was -- you know -- unattached, let's just say [laughs]. So for me, it wasn't big a deal to move.

How do go about songwriting? Do you have to isolated yourself or do you walk around with scraps of paper?
There's no easy process for me. The writing comes and goes. I can go for a while without thinking of any vocals. When I got together with Bjorn, he had a lot of ideas, and that inspired me to come up with my own ideas. I think what it comes down to is being open to ways to write my songs.

Let's talk about some of the songs on the album. For the first song, "What Have I Done," did you have all those strings arrangements in mind when you demoed it?
Noooooo [laughs]. That's all Bjorn. He loves that heavy bassline.

I'm sure that's why you wanted to work with him. He tends do those things well.
He's very good at refining the sounds. He works with simple elements and makes them all blend together and not overtake the song.

I like how the strings were used in "Terrified." They almost sound Asian.
I know, that was cool. I played that melody on the piano and thought that would be on the song. When we got to the studio, a lot of weird things happened to that song. It morphed into something that was much more fast, then I didn't feel comfortable with that. When we made the drums more muted and eerie, that changed the whole vibe and made it sound ancient. I'm not sure if I should say this, but sometimes I just don't know how things work out.

"Make It On My Own" is my favorite song on the album. It sounds like a cowboy song mixed with a Kate Bush song like "Running Up That Hill". Did you have to play around with that one to see if the keyboards and backing vocals worked?
That was an easy song to put together. I did have cowboys in mind, that sort of driving beat. The harmonizing was stuck in my mind when I wrote the song.  I'm glad you liked it.

Is there a particular song on the album you're most proud of?
I just like the album as a whole. Each song has a unique character and that sort of what the goal was to make an album with varied colors. I also liked how the songs can mean something different over time and I realize now what I was trying to do.

Now the monkey on the album cover -- is that a real monkey or some sort of robot monkey?
Neither, it's a wax monkey. A lot of people ask about that, it's pretty funny. I can assure everybody that no real monkeys were harmed.

How many days out of the year do you think you are on the road?
Hard to say, but by the end of this year, I'll have done around 150 live dates. I'll have breaks in-between and not work much during Christmas time.

Are there any particular ones that stick out?
There are so many, I tend to remember the extremes. I've played shows in front of 20,000 people at night and during the day time. I've even just played piano by myself in front of 20,000 who don't even know the songs. That was during my first album. Then I'll go play shows in basements where you can hear people from the bathroom. I think that's why I like to play, the weird experiences and different circumstances. I've played fancy rooms with nice dressing rooms. Then I've played places that smell funny and there's no dressing room.

Leaving on a Mayday is out now, and check her myspace page for tour dates.