Posts Tagged ‘2009’
Pictures From San Francisco
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A photo-journal of my family reunion in the bay area, Christmas 2009. Series in memory of Larry Sultan.
Happy New Year!
I just wanted to quickly say happy new year to everyone and thank you for all the support this year. To end the year I wanted to highlight one of my favorite blogs that I started following in ‘09, I Love Hotdogs, and their Best of 100 Films post.
The Best of 2009: Miuccia Prada
Letter to Jane’s favorite designer of 2009 is Miuccia Prada. She has again displayed her intellect and talent at the highest level. Between Prada and Miu Miu she set a definitive tone and influenced fashion on every level from high-end to DIY.
The Best Music of 2009
Here are Letter to Jane’s favorite tracks of 2009. This seemed to be the only way to do an “end of the year” list since great music doesn’t necessarily come on an album these days. Quick note, there were other great releases this year but we stuck to the top 30, enjoy.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Hysteric (Acoustic)
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – Higher Than The Stars
Peter Bjorn and John – Nothing to Worry About
Chester French – She Loves Everybody
Why? – January Twenty Something
Let’s Wrestle – I’m in Love With Destruction
The Depreciation Guild – Darklooming
Sonic Youth – Sacred Trickster
Cymbals Eat Guitars – Some Trees
Fool’s Gold – Momentary Shelter
From the Mag: Interview with Dean Spunt of No Age
Without a doubt our interview with Dean Spunt a couple months back has been one of the most popular articles on Letter to Jane and for the first issue of our magazine Dean and I thought it would be a good idea to do a follow up, since a lot new stuff has come out of the No Age camp as of late. Their new EP You’re a Target has been one of my favorite listens this year and they recently wrote a score for the movie The Bear. You can read the extended interview in Letter to Jane Magazine.
You recently did a new score for the film “The Bear” for the Seattle International Film Festival. How did that project come to be and is there any chance for a DVD release? I’d love to see it.
DEAN SPUNT: We were throwing around the idea to do a live score for a long time; it was really pushed by Randy to get us to do one.We put the word out and the Seattle Film Festival invited us to perform. It was great fun; we also did it at Cinefamily here in LA and are going to be doing it at the New Museum in NYC in October. I am not sure if anything will be released, we have been recording each show though.
You usually make music for yourself, what was it like switching it up and writing music for something that already existed?
DEAN SPUNT: It was fun. The main difference was the length, it’s a 94-minute film, we are only used to playing for about 50 minutes max, and so it was a different kind of thing. It was really fun and exciting to get to make that much live music.
Your new EP, “Losing Feeling” is out now. What is the response you’ve received and what are your thoughts on the new record?
DEAN SPUNT: I have only heard positive things, I think it is good, it is just a small sketch, a four song EP before we release a full-length album. I like to listen to it; we go in some different areas, which is al- ways exciting. We have been writing a bunch of songs for a new record, those were some songs we thought would be good together as a four song thing.
The lyrics feel like a look back on your past or a retrospective on youth at least. Is this somewhat accurate or am I reading too much into it, (which isn’t uncommon by the way)?
DEAN SPUNT: Ha, it’s whatever you want it to be, they are songs about losing feeling in one way or another, and they are also love songs, especially “Target” and “Genie.” Losing Feeling has a darker sort of growing, expanding vibe to it…
Can “Losing Feeling” be considered it’s own record or can we look at this as a taste of what the next LP will be like?
DEAN SPUNT: Losing Feeling is its own EP, not to say that the next record won’t have similar moments, but it was meant to be four songs that flowed and existed together. The songs for the new record so far are unique in ways I can’t describe… I am really excited.
The first thing critics talk about is your cleaner, more mature sound. I was wondering, is there still a sense of novelty to recording still like when you first started cutting demos?
DEAN SPUNT: Well, we have gotten used to recording, we are more comfortable writing and getting songs down on record and we are always getting closer to the sounds that we want. To me the new stuff just sounds and feels natural. Sometimes I go back and check out our EP stuff, like Weirdo Rippers and realize how different it is, but it really is the same thing to me. They all hit the same line in my head, it all sounds pretty progressive and pretty and catchy and simple.
No Age are known as road warriors, what are the tour plans for the year?
DEAN SPUNT: Ha, we are TRYING to take it easy for the rest of the year. We got some East Coast and Euro stuff in mid October and after that we are writing and recording and experimenting until early ‘10.
(You can find out more about No Age by going to their website at http://noagela.blogspot.com/)
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Arctic Monkeys Web Transmission
Back in July the Arctic Monkeys put on a concert live on the internet to promote what has ben my favorite album of the year, Humbug. Well now they’ve put up that concert on Youtube (in 1080p no less) for all to enjoy for those who may have missed it.
Letter to Jane Magazine Trailer
If you are following us on Facebook or Twitter then you’ve already gotten the video and the preview of Letter to Jane Magazine which officially launches on Christmas day. For those of you who haven’t seen this yet I hope you enjoy, it’s a quick run through of some of the things you will see for FREE! Stay tuned.
J. Tillman in Portland Tomorrow
J. Tillman (of Fleet Foxes), will be performing at Mississippi Studios on Saturday in Portland and I couldn’t think of a better venue to hear his great music. If you’re in town be sure to check it out.
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Last Night: Passion Pit
I’m lucky enough to see a lot of concerts these days and Portland is just getting to that sweet spot of a city being able to attract great acts at intimate venues. Being able to see many bands up close has allowed me to come to a sort of conclusion, that all bands enjoy what they do, but a few of them look like being on that stage is the love of their life. I saw it once with Peter Bjorn & John and I saw it again the other night with Passion Pit. When I spoke to drummer Nate Donmoyer a couple months ago, he told me how Passion Pit’s main focus was to grow as a live act and they certainly have improved in leaps and bounds. They put on a performance that could out shine the seasoned of veterans. I included a video below, that doesn’t do them justice because they had the whole room dancing so hard I was literally being thrown off the floor, the whole place turned into one giant trampoline. Look for more Passion Pit in a 10 page feature in Letter to Jane Magazine, coming soon!
Interview With The Morning Benders
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The Morning Benders have some of the catchiest tunes out there. The first time I heard songs like Dammit Anna it instantly hits you in the same way when you hear that first smack of the guitar in Hard Days Night or The Kink’s Picture Book. It’s not just me, Grizzly Bear, Girls, MGMT, White Rabbits and others have also loved their music and brought them on tour. Their lead singer, Chris Chu’s wit and presence in the music is what interested me. Good songwriters are few and far between it seems at times and it was a pleasure to catch up with Chis for our Artist Interview Series.
I read somewhere that the band was originally just you with a computer and a guitar, so how did the band as it is now come together?
Time and patience
Your music has that great British Invasion sound of the 60’s, but there’s also a great tradition of that sound from the Bay Area. What are some of those old influences and what are some new ones?
I love it all. I grew up with The Beach Boys, and Neil Young, and The Beatles and such… but lately i’ve been listening to a lot of new stuff. Beach House I really love. Been in love with Blur’s “Think Tank.” Kate Bush’s “Hounds of Love.” To name a few.
I’m trying to stay away from the standard questions like “what was your favorite song you’ve ever written” so I’ll turn that around a bit, what was the worst song you ever wrote?
I don’t think I remember it
What is your writing process like?
Magical
How’s the tour going?
F’ing AWESOME! Grizzly Bear is such an incredible and inspiring band to play with. Love those guys!
Your songs have the quality so that they can be performed differently live, like some I can see being played hard and some really mellow and soft. What’s a typical show like and do you change it up based on the crowd?
Lately we’ve really been trying to find the perfect arc for our set. Making it into a real journey, with lots of diversity and ups and downs. So we’ve just been making slight tweaks to that.
Your album, Talking Through Tin Cans, has some very intimate moments and you produced and engineered a lot of the record yourself, how personal is this album?
It’s definitely a snapshot of what I was going through a few years back. It’s quite personal. I think that’s pretty obvious from listening to the record, and maybe a bit limiting? I don’t know. To be honest I haven’t thought about that album in a while, since I’ve been in album 2 mode. It is what it is.
I’ve heard about some new songs from you guys, when can we expect a new release?
March. BIG ECHO is the album title. We are super super excited about it.
I just sat down and listened to your album again before this interview and it got me thinking about full-length albums. There was a time when I was in favor for more ep releases over albums, a current trend in indie music, but recently there have been a lot of good complete albums, that like yours flow so well and seem to demand the length of an lp. What are your thoughts on the matter? Do you think our current iTunes, blog culture can support a full length album in the years to come?
I don’t think people have been listening to albums for a long time. I don’t think it’s a current trend. Even in the 60’s when vinyl was the primary method for listening to music people would just buy singles, or skip around to the singles. People like to listen to a couple songs by a given band, and thats enough. And that’s fine. That’s the way most people listen to music. STILL, I would say there’s a passionate group of people out there that like to listen to music in the album form. I’m one of those people, so I’m going to keep making albums. But yeah, I don’t think things have really changed that much, people need to chill out! Vinyl, CDs, itunes, I don’t think it really matters…
(The Morning Benders are a indie band from San Francisco CA. You can learn more about them here)
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Interview With Gary Graham
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Designer Gary Graham’s Spring 2010 collection was one of the shining examples during New York Fashion Week this past September. With the “Fashion’s Night Out” event starting off the week, the question of how the economy would effect fashion loomed over almost every show, Graham being one of the exceptions. The CFDA/Vogue ‘09 Fashion Fund finalist put out a collection that was aggressive but not over the top. There was the evidence of tradition with looks that clearly narrated a time and place from America’s history, but there was also that transformation into something modern and attractive that kept me interested. The collection worked because of a designer’s strong vision and concept. I’ve always been so interested as to how a designer at this level works. They live in a middle ground that other creative professionals don’t have to necessarily stay at. A designer has to be part historian and part psychic at the same time. To be honest to your inspiration, present a product that is culturally relevant, and to be an expert craftsman, all in an ever changing environment is nothing short of amazing and something that honestly fascinates me. This is why I was so glad that Gary Graham agreed to be part of our ongoing Artist Interview Series. I found Graham’s commentary on fashion to be so insightful that anyone can at some level find some inspiration. It’s always great to meet someone who you know could make something interesting whether they have a budget of 5 dollars or 5,000 dollars. With all the economic worry that surrounds the creative industry right now, it’s artists like Gary Graham who show that one’s vision and concept rises above it all.
Hello, Every fashion review always uses the term “(insert designer’s name)’s woman is…” So what is the Gary Graham woman like?
She has a casual approach to glamour and definitely likes to mix disparate styles together. She has a history of Goth and punk but sort of keeps it on the back burner and expresses it in a more rustic sort of way.
How has your idea of that woman changed over the years?
I once did a show where I divided the collection into three women: a scientist, a farmer living off the land, and an isolated society lady. I think I always sort of mix these three together but now its become more precise and refined and not so aggressive.
With your Spring 2010 RTW collection, there seemed to be a big influence from silent films with a sort of Lillian Gish type of muse. What were some of the inspirations behind this collection?
Kenneth Anger’s Hollywood Babylon was a huge influence on me as a kid. Our library had a copy of the sequel, which had the photos of the Black Dahlia that I would stare at. There are some stills, which I referenced for this collection, of Anger appearing with Lillian Gish in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I wanted to think about women from two generations coming together, one at the end of her life and one just starting out.
I also found this photo of Imogene Coco after a performance with her head down. Her posture was so different from how I remembered her on television shows, where she always seemed so up and crazy. It was the downtime of Imogene that I was trying to capture.
What would you say is your approach to fashion?
There is a transformation that happens with Tallulah Bankhead’s character in Life Boat, not just in her wardrobe but within her, when she uses her diamond bracelet as fishing lure. It’s a moment of letting go. I think that was a big influence on me—seeing glamour torn apart or worn, either by weather or life circumstances.
I sometimes look at the creation process as making problems and then finding the answers through the work you create. What are some problems in fashion you like to answer with your collection?
I often work from narratives or scenarios. For next fall I am working on constructing a Masonic order of women in Pennsylvania who controlled all the building of the roads. I am also thinking about the story of the Fox sisters, who were famous 19th-century mediums. So the problem is connecting them all with research. The research has me thinking about the history of librarians and how their roles have changed in the digital age. I’ve been talking to librarians and getting their views on the way information is being accessed and the Dewey Decimal System, so this will create ideas and new problems. For example, this might raise the question what do the librarians and the masons have to do with each other? Were they enemies or did they work together? Also, if the women masons of Pennsylvania controlled the roads, how did the politics between the men and the women play out? I can imagine women masons stitching the roadways into their quilts and then somehow they would materialize, like sorcery.
When was it that you felt like you understood fashion, that it was what you wanted to do?
I think in high school I figured out the transformative power clothing can have, especially in relation to the physical and emotional changes one goes through in those years. I feel like I’m only really getting it now, in terms of the big picture. Which really just goes back to that DEVO song, We’re Through Being Cool.
I was doing some performance type work in college and realized there was a discipline to fashion that I loved. The reality of selling things I made was also attractive. I was excited by the idea of creating a garment and it then being worn in the “real world” – the theater that happens out on the street at 2 a.m. in the pouring rain.
How did you get your start in the business?
I started in a basement on West Broadway and sold out of a store called Shack. It was owned by J. Morgan Puett, who is now just working on her artwork but she was a big influence on me in terms of fabric manipulation and garment dyeing.
You just opened your flagship store in Tribeca, how’s the response been so far?
It has been very interesting. We do not advertise so it’s all by word of mouth, neighborhood men and women, we just started a few men’s pieces, and customers that buy our clothes in other cities, and from our boutique inside ABC Carpet and Home. For me it’s really like having guerilla research. You get direct feedback and it’s all very exciting. We are planning many events in the new space, everything from dance performances to film. I am currently working with my friend Liz Collins on a sock monkey terror film that will coincide with her sock monkey sweaters. On the business side, the response has been great.
The economy has been a big topic in fashion lately and I felt some of the recent collections at New York Fashion Week seemed to reflect that with a more consumer, commercial friendly apparel. As a designer how much do economic factors go into your thought process when designing a collection?
There are different economic factors. One is the overall health of a company in terms of cash flow and then the details of margins, profit, and volume. They all affect budgets, which then allow or constrain the amount of money you get to spend on development. So this could come down to being able or not being able to buy a certain lace or beading or leather. It does not ever effect my initial inspiration or concept, which is ultimately free. No one is going to say I cannot be inspired by a Masonic woman who was a witch in Pennsylvania in 1840 but we can say as a company that maybe the apron I designed that was inspired by her with intricate lace work on it is not going to retail for under 1200 and therefore we are not going to sell very many and maybe you should think of something else in addition to this item. That’s sort of how it works. The trick is not letting the two extremes; the sellable pieces and the collection pieces cancel each other out into a void.
There have been many complaints that fashion weeks are becoming too much about entertainment instead of design. How do you feel about the current state of fashion?
Fashion along with everything else is moving so fast that its inevitable there will be a new medium that comes out of all of this. I think DIY fashion is going to take the place of so much. It would be great if home ec became relevant in a new way, reconnecting us to the physical act of making things. I think what Alice Waters is doing with slow food could be done with fashion, if only in terms of making a connection between human labor and the end product, or at the very least an appreciation of quality.
(Gary Graham is a fashion designer from NYC. You can learn more about Graham at his website www.garygrahamnyc.com)
White Rabbits Live
For my Portland readers, White Rabbits are playing at the Wonder Ballroom tonight, definitely a show you won’t want to miss. Here’s a video of their recent performance on Jimmy Kimmel to give you a taste.
You don’t have too many chances to see them for a while so I would suggest you try to make it tonight.
11/5 – Wonder Ballroom – Portland, OR
11/6 – The Biltmore Cabaret – Vancouver, BC
11/9 – Cedar Cultural Center – Minneapolis, MN
11/10 – Turner Hall Ballroom – Milwaukee, WI
11/11- Schubas – Chicago, IL (SOLD OUT)
11/12 – Lincoln Hall – Chicago, IL
Interview With Jody Rogac
There’s one thing young artists sometimes overlook doing as they are starting out and that’s reaching out to the people already in the profession they want to do. Just leaning how to do something in college doesn’t solve things, going out and finding a path brings up a lot of questions. This is why I’ve been so happy with Letter to Jane’s Artist Interview Series, and to have it include great artists such as Jody Rogac. Rogac is one of my favorite photographers working these days. Her images are soft and inviting, her simple style and attention to details lets her subjects be dynamic. Her work can be found in various look books and magazines such as Monocle, i-D, and CITY. Once I came to Jody Rogac as a fellow photographer looking for some friendly advice and she helped me figure out things that seem obvious now but weren’t until someone actually said it to me. I contacted her again recently and luckily she agreed to talk to Letter to Jane about the profession and her work.
Hello, now I’m pretty sure that everyone knows a photographer, but it’s not a general position and few know a photographer who is working at the level you do. So I’d like to start with some simple questions. What are your day-to-day operations like?
Non shoot days: make a big pot of coffee, computer work (emails, photo prep), read, go out, keep inspired. Shoot days: make a big pot of coffee, go out and shoot!
How has the job changed since moving to New York?
The job hasn’t changed that much, I’m still shooting the same kind of stuff, just for different clients. It’s actually become a bit easier because I’m in the center of the industry.
What is your typical equipment setup like?
Me, camera, bounce (maybe). I like to keep things as simple as possible.
Here’s a chance for you to be as pretentious as you want, you get a free pass here: How would you describe your style in regards to your work.
I find it really hard to answer this question whenever it is asked. Although judging by feedback I’ve had from others I’d say my style is calm, simple, and unintrusive.
I love how a lot of your work has a hybrid studio/atmospheric feel to them. I was wondering after you got out of school, what was your first studio like?
I’ve moved apartments a lot and always just made studios out of where I’ve been living. As long as I’ve had a wall and a window I’ve had a studio!
So was there a time when photography was just a part time gig? When did you make the jump to full time?
Photography was definitely a part time gig for quite a while after I finished school. I’d say I made the jump to working full time as a photographer about a year and a half ago.
You’ve done many magazine features now. You don’t have to go in detail but if you could give our readers a glimpse how the process goes from start to finish?
Sure… it starts with the photo editor getting in touch and seeing if you’re available for a shoot they’re doing. Then there’s a bit of back and forth regarding location and logistics about the project. After the shoot, I compile a folder of selects and send them to the photo editor. From there, the magazine makes their choice, and voila!
I think some of the first images of yours I saw were from some of your work in fashion. Are those projects such as look books or ad campaigns better or worse than the other kinds of projects you shoot? What are some of the pros and cons?
I wouldn’t say one is better or worse than the other. Everything is so different from project to project. I generally really like to photograph people, whether it’s fashion or a portrait for a magazine. I try to make the most out of every assignment!
Photography can be quite time consuming, is it hard to take a break from the business?
It’s definitely time consuming, but I love it so much that even when I’m taking a break I’m still thinking about taking photos! I can’t help it!
(Jody Rogac is a photographer working in Brooklyn NY, you can learn more about her work here)
Day Glo by Brazos
It’s getting to be the middle of the week here, are ya stressed out yet? Well relax a bit with this song and click on the image to find out more about Brazos.
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Last Night: Dan Deacon
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I’ll be honest, I’m in recovery mode today. Dan Deacon’s performance at Holocene last night was one that takes a while to recover from, to figure out what exactly happened to you for two hours last night. Deacon literally moved the crowd in ways I’ve never seen. For all the legends that Deacon’s performances has gathered they still don’t add up to seeing him live. Come back soon for our interview with Dan Deacon, as well as many more great photos.
There are also some videos of last night that I’ve posted. I just want to say that I know the audio is horrible, I’m sorry there was nothing that I could do about that, but I still feel that you get a good feeling of what it was like.
Wavves – Daytotter Session
Daytrotter posted their session with Wavves today. I don’t really need to go in depth about this one because I think everyone has already made up their minds whether or not they love or hate this band. If you want to see more check out the full article.
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Last Night: The Morning Benders
I’d be pretty safe to assume there are more fans of The Morning Benders today than there were yesterday. They put on a great show at the Crystal Ballroom last night. From a soft rendition of the incredibly catchy “Damnit Anna” then opened up to some hard rock numbers and some soft country hits. They debuted plenty of new material that I was whistling all the way home. Be sure to see them while they’re on tour and come back for our interview with The Morning Benders along with many other great photos of the show.
Last Night: Fool’s Gold & Metronomy
Fool’s Gold
Metronomy
Last Night Fool’s Gold and Metronomy played at Holocene and I was fortunate enough to cover the show and hang out a bit with the guys from Fool’s Gold. Both bands are on tour together and they put on a great show. Fool’s Gold’s Afro-Pop eclecticism was such a fun and unique experience. Metronomy’s cold and pumping Electro-Rock got the crowd rocking along. If they’re hitting your town definitely try to go. Come back soon for our in depth interview with Fool’s Gold, along with more photos and thoughts about the show in the upcoming issue of Letter to Jane Magazine.
Here are some videos from the show:
Higher Than the Stars by The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
I’ve been sitting on this one for a while, but I’m getting so excited to meet up with The Pains of Being Pure at Heart this week that I thought I’d let my anticipation spill over onto the site. It’s just amazing to me that a band that is still riding off the success of their great album this year has already come up with a new ep that refines and takes their sound to new dimensions. Look for the ep when it comes out later this month and check back here for our interview with the band around the same time.
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Interview with Passion Pit
So how would you handle popularity? Success? Fame? I’m not just talking about people liking you or what you do, I’m talking about your name becoming synonymous with the phrase “Best of the Year.” When you’re just happy that your friends in your college town like your work and then months later everyone with a laptop is Twittering how they’re listening to your song, where do you go next? If your Passion Pit you go further. Their EP “Chunk of Change” was 2008’s gem and their debut LP “Manners” is one of 2009’s crowning achievements. A pop disco mix flying high with dark lyrics popping in and out throughout one of the most satisfying debut albums I’ve ever listened to. They couldn’t just let their album be enough though. Their video for their single “The Reeling” is nominated for a VMA this year, which is one of those things you don’t expect when you’re singing into your laptop in your bedroom. Now they’re all over the world touring and becoming one of the better live acts around now. Letter to Jane caught up with drummer Nate Donmoyer on their European tour to talk about their tour, the album, and the band’s goals for the future.
Hello, So I’d like to start with talking about the tour. You’re in the UK right now, how’s the European tour going?
Good, we just played in Reading which was really great and now we’re heading to Copenhagen. We have a couple more shows in the UK then back to the States.
How much longer are you in Europe because I know you’re going to be here in Portland in a couple weeks?
Yeah we’re here till September 11th and then we head to Colorado to play Monolith then we’re going to take some time off then get back to touring again.
So before Passion Pit had any of you done a tour before?
Yeah, just in the States, nothing too big, just a lot of DIY shows and stuff like that, nothing like what we do now, much smaller.
It’s seems that the band’s success came as a surprise. So what were your goals or aspiration in life before the band, how did you see your life unfolding for the next couple of years if Passion Pit hadn’t happened?
Oh I’d probably still be in Boston making dance music and DJing, I don’t know what I’d be doing exactly but I know I’d still be making music. Yeah the amount of success that we’ve seen has been a bit of a surprise and we’re still getting used to that.
Speaking of success, your popularity has gone beyond people just liking you. Everywhere I went or what I read this year has had Passion Pit as the staple for what is cool in 2009. It’s been like skinny jeans, plaid shirts, and Passion Pit. When it gets to that level how does that not affect you?
Ha, thanks, well we are somewhat self aware but not too much. You can’t really think about that all the time. I mean you definitely feel it, but we’re just trying to improve our live show, trying to become a better band.
Passion Pit seems works so great as a live band, with recording “Manners” did you record as a live band?
Well it was kind of. We’d play like 8 bars then loop that and play some drums and so forth. So yes it was still samples but more organic with us playing them this time.
With the production of “Manners” what sort of discussions did the band have with the producer Chris Zane? What were some concerns and goals that each of you had going into this album?
Well I had met Chris Zane once and I had never met our engineer, Alex Aldi before. I had worked with other producers before but never in a setting like this, the whole experience went better than I ever could have expected. Zane became a mentor to us, not just musically but business wise too. We became a better band because of him. We’re more streamlined now and a better band now than we were before Manners.
I got to say the use of the children’s choir really surprised me with how organic it feels on this album. Usually you only hear a children’s choir in a really sappy piano number about making a difference or in some rap song where someone like Nas is talking about oppression and then kids start singing and it’s sort of ironic because you don’t expect a child to be singing about moral decay of modern society. What made you want to use a children’s choir and was there any fear of it sound too cliché ?
Thanks, yeah that was Mike’s idea, he really wanted to have a choir on some of the songs. We were having a lot of trouble finding one and then Chris found this children’s choir (PS 22) at the last minute on Youtube and they were covering all sorts of stuff like Tori Amos songs and we got them to come in and they really delivered.
“Manners” was your first big studio album, how did you like the studio?
The studios we recorded in were amazing; to go from a bedroom with a couple mics in it to Phillip Glass’ studio in Tribeca was amazing. The place was just massive, huge halls, grand pianos, giant mixing boards, it was completely different than what we had known before.
This has been a big year for you guys. You’ve been nominated for a VMA for breakthrough video of the year with your music video for “The Reeling.” What do you think are your chances of winning?
Ha, I have no idea; I’m still kind of amazed that we were even nominated. Humble produced the video and created all those cool effects and I just hope we win it for those guys because they really deserve it.
Real quick what’s in store for Passion Pit? Have you guys started talking about any new projects or follow-ups?
I think we just want to concentrate on becoming better as a live band. We have a lot of touring ahead and we just want to play off the album for a while before we take a long time to concentrate on recording new material, I think that might be 2 or 3 years away.
(Passion Pit is a pop band from Cambridge Massachusetts. You can find more from Passion Pit at their website and Myspace)
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Interview With Peter Bjorn and John
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So here I am in this small music hall in NE Portland waiting for Peter Bjorn and John to come on stage. I wasn’t sure what I was about to see. I had seen them perform on TV and Youtube, but that doesn’t really mean much, and no matter how good they looked on the screen, the fact is that they’re taking a break from their national tour with Depeche Mode to play for us in the Hawthorne District on a Tuesday, not the most inspired of nights. After a while they quietly walked on stage and performed one of the greatest shows I had ever seen. It was a wake up call to what I had been used to seeing at rock concerts. It’s rare these days to be able to see a band with this much polish and talent, so close and up front. This could have been one of those shows where they could just phone it in. After all this is a pretty small market for a band that became pop culture sensations with their hit “Young Folks” and have quite a vocal fan club of A-list celebrities including Kanye West, Drew Barrymore, The Ting Tings, and so on. Well I found out that night that Peter Bjorn and John isn’t a typical band and treated this night and all of us in the room as if we were all on the A-list. It was this same generosity and kindness that I found when I was talking with the band after the show. It was a real pleasure to photograph the band and to be able to discuss in depth with Peter Morèn about the tour, their music (that now fills up a decade), and what the future holds for Peter Bjorn and John.
Hello, I’d like to start out by asking how the tour is going? How has touring with Depeche Mode been so far?
It’s been really good and Depeche’s fans really seem to like us. They dance and cheer!
You guys have such an extensive catalogue now, how much of the lesser-known songs get exposure on tour. Does any material from Seaside Rock get played at shows?
During the opening slots for Depeche we don’t have time to play that many songs, so we focus on “Living Thing” and a couple of older ones. At our own shows obviously the set list is more extensive and eclectic. We play some songs from our first 2, not so well-known albums and quite a few from “Writers Block”, but “Seaside Rock” is hard, since the melodies are built on weird instruments like flutes, saxophones, steel drums and violins rather than vocals. We did one show in Stockholm were we only played “Seaside Rock”, but then we invited some extra musicians and a lot of kids from a local music school, to get the right naive-feel to the set, it shouldn’t be too professional or perfect since we ourselves on the album play stuff that we really can’t master. It was a night to remember! Some people said it was the best we’d ever done, some fans left angry!
Your fourth album Seaside Rock kind of went by the wayside here in the States, but I have to say it is still one of my favorite albums of the past couple years. Were you met with any resistance with releasing what is essentially an instrumental album after the huge pop success of the previous album Writer’s Block?
Thank you! That’s nice to hear. It’s definitively one of my absolute favorites of ours as well. I think a lot of people (including our labels) got confused by that album. But for us it was really important to show everyone that only knew us from “Young Folks” that we were a weird little band that you can’t really pin-point down. We like it like that! Having said that, I think the record is very accessible, listenable, and melodic. It just doesn’t have vocals (it has whistling though!) For us it was really good to get back in the studio after all the touring with “Writers Block” and do something spontaneous and experimental without a lot of expectations. Just playing around in the studio. It also was really influential on “Living Thing”, some of the more rhythmical reggae/funk things. Also we paid tribute to our hometowns by including narratives in local Swedish dialects that not even Stockholders can understand. On “Eriks Fishing Trip” my grandfather tells a fishing tale.
Living Thing really seems to showcase each individual’s tastes and influences on each track while still feeling cohesive. I read that you guys made mix tapes for each other at the beginning of production. How did that process help set the tone?
It was really helpful to create a frame around the songs and a cohesive feeling to the record. We all write separately and then get together to arrange and produce the songs, so a lot can change and happen with a song after that first draft. We make PBJ-songs rather than just a Peter-song or John-song. But as you said we have different styles and tastes. I was worried putting together these mix cds, thinking we would all clash and want to do different records, but we all put on things that fitted well together. There was a lot of 80’s music from our childhood, like some synth (Depeche was on there! OMD too!) And mainstream acts like Paul Simon and Fleetwood Mac. So we really strayed towards something more hi-fi, sparkling champangy, retro-futuristic sci-fi and those effects they used at that time that made the music sound more glamorous. But there was also a lot of African percussion music, Brazilian 70’s pop, some rockabilly, reggae and funk and new wave and early hip-hop, and I think you can hear it all in there. It’s all about the sound and arrangement. Two of the songs we wrote during “Writers Block”. “I Want You” then sounded very much like The Shins and “It Don’t Move Me” like a mid-60’s Kinks song (like “Til The End Of The Day”), since we were in a more classic guitar pop-frame of mind then I reckon. At the same time it was the less-is-more approach of “Young Folks”, “The Chills” and “Amsterdam” that kind of set the minimalist direction for this album. They are all more drum and bass-driven than the rest of “Writers Block” and almost has no guitar. So it was just a continuation of that, which makes it weird when people say that “Living Thing” must be a chock to “Young Folks” fans, when actually its much closer to “Young Folks” then most of the “Writers Block” songs or the albums that came before. There is also a lot of guitar on “Living Thing” it’s just played in a more rhythmical, less conventional way; influenced by soul, funk and African guitar playing.
After all the years you guys have been together, the way you all communicate and collaborate between each other has to have gone through some changes. What are some of those changes and how have they changed the way you guys create?
The biggest change was when John started to write songs during “Writers Block”. That’s when the band became totally democratic. Before that, me and Bjorn wrote the songs, Bjorn produced, I sang, and John drummed. Now we all write, all sing (even though I still sing 80 %), and all produce and play all kinds of stuff. It makes for really unique music, but it can also be stressful and hard on relationships. That’s why we need our solo projects and that’s why we will hire an outside producer for our next album. But it’s great that we are not locked into a classic rock-band format. We are on stage, which is great, but in the studio it’s better to be playful and swap around instruments and ideas.
From listening to the very clever song, “Blue Period Picasso” I wondered what other mediums influenced the band’s music?
I’m glad you like it! Based on a true experience, (wink). Anything inspires us really, mostly relationships and everyday life’s pros and cons. But we all like a good art museum now and then. Movies. I used to study film earlier. Reading. Anything attached with words inspires me and makes me want to write. Walking in new places and cities. Checking out architecture. As you see, anything and everything!
Could you give us some idea of what the next couple of years hold in store for Peter Bjorn and John? Whether it is solo or group projects?
In the near future, at least 4 more shorter tours for “Living Thing” in the fall and spring, in Europe, the States and maybe Australia. Next year we will hopefully put out an ep with some great songs we started during “Living Thing” but didn’t finish, and we are talking about the next album as well. As I said, outside producer for the first time. It’s gonna be more punky, back to the power-pop roots, that’s the idea anyway, we’ll see what happens. I have a new project with some Swedish friends called Tutankamon. We will put out an album in October, but just in Scandinavia for now. I’m also working on my second solo album. It will be in Swedish, so it’s a very different project from everything else I’ve done so far, but I’m very excited by it. It sounds sometimes a bit folky, sometimes like vintage soul, Stax/Motown, very groovy! But in Swedish! I also have started to write some songs for and with other artists but nothing is released yet. Bjorn also writes for others and continues producing for other artists, like the next Lykke Li record. John has his solo project Hortlax Cobra and also plays with the very good band Holiday For Strings that have a new record coming soon I think.
Very quickly I wanted to ask you about the music videos for Living Thing. They are very unique and definitely fit the sense of humor that’s on the album. Could you give us some background on the thought process or early ideas that became these great videos?
We didn’t want to participate in the videos ourselves, and we wanted to incorporate weird dancing in all of them. “Lay It Down” is directed by our friend Sandra Fröberg and we wanted it to look like a high school disco in a basement in the 80’s, with a VHS-look to it. The creepy part is all the dancers are wearing masks of our faces with different make up and hair. That makes it both very creepy and funny. “Nothing To Worry About” was directed by Andreas Nilsson while on a trip to Tokyo. He saw these greaser-biker-gangs dancing to rockabilly in the parks during the weekend and thought it was a great idea to make a mini-documentary about them. “It Don’t Move Me” was also done by Andreas and follows Markus who is a 16-year-old Michael Jackson fan from Gothenburg, who dances like his idol. When we did the video we had no idea Michael would pass away so soon, so that’s a bit creepy. We brought Markus on stage with us for a Swedish festival and the crowd loved him.
(Peter Bjorn and John are a rock band from Stockholm Sweden. You can find out more about the band by checking out their website or Myspace)
Listen:
Peter Bjorn and John – It Don’t Move Me
How to be a Model: Rihanna for Vogue Italia
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It’s amazing how many professional models Rihanna puts to shame when she graces the cover of a magazine. She has become a brand with the trademark look and attitude of the moment. In the September issue of Vogue Italia the Man Ray-esque images by Steve Klein display Rihanna in one of her most rounded spreads she’s ever done. Very few people can work so many extreme looks and still retain that essence in which you know that’s Rihanna. A lot of models can be a chameleon and adapt from photo to photo, but Rihanna can be Rihanna in any photo and make it work.
Topshop Boutique Preview
Topshop recently posted these photos on their blog and I love them. Raw and candid but a lot of fun with great attention paid to the clothes and their inspiration.
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