What do you consider to be the darkest piece of music you’ve ever heard?
NG: Thats a hard one I’ve heard a lot of pretty dark music, one song that comes to mind is “Crowned" by These Immortal Souls. It’s like a spiraling decent into hell followed by a long silence and finally ending in a wash of feedback drones.
BF: I suppose if I had to choose I might pick something like “A New Kind of Water” by This Heat. Although it was written over 40 years ago it still feels relevant today. It paints a stark vision of the world with lyrics like:
“We have moved from A to Z
This Nuclear state is our demise
Fly away Peter, hide away Paul
Who can watch as the earth burns
Shatters and dies?”
How would you characterize your own music?
NG: Well I think it depends on the song as our music has somewhat of a range but ultimately I’d say its kinda weird, usually noisy and above all honest.
BF: Yea, it definitely depends on the song. I would add frantic, challenging, and experimental.
What are your musical aspirations?
NG: I stopped wanting to cater to music industry standards a while ago. I just want to make music I enjoy with people I enjoy and hopefully that resonates with enough folks to make it sustainable.
BF: I agree, we both have similar ambitions. I think we definitely want to challenge ourselves artistically as well as personally.
What are your main musical inspirations?
NG: I think I’m mainly inspired by my life experiences, I pull a lot from what I’m feeling or working through. I also read a lot of poetry, mostly from the beat movement but lately I’ve been seeking out Italian poets and writers like Natalia Ginzburg and Patrizia Cavalli.
BF: I would say that my main musical inspirations for this project are artists like This Heat, Big Black, Talking Heads, Brian Eno, Colin Newman.
What are your main goals in life?
NG: I think just to be able to keep creating and live comfortably. I think I missed the boat on being a child prodigy.
BF: haha yes, I agree with Nadia
What motivates you to create?
NG: I’ve joked before that it’s an affliction and I stand by that, its something internal that keeps me coming back to writing and playing music.
BF: I guess catharsis and just for the joy of it. I love writing and the act of creating. Just chiseling away at something and before you know it there it is, a song. That and the camaraderie of being in a band. Collaboration is pretty essential for me.
Are you more of an early bird or a night owl?
NG: I tend to be up early most days, but I think that’s a side effect of working on film sets.
BF: I am definitely a morning person. I like being out during the day and I am also a coffee addict. Sometimes I go to bed excited about how good that cup of coffee will be in the morning.
Besides music, what other art forms would you like to explore?
NG: I write poetry also. Some of that becomes lyrics but most of it I collect until I have enough for a chap book. Aside from that I really enjoy working with my hands making sculptures, clothes and painting when there’s time.
BF: I love all art forms and find inspiration through many of them. But, I am so happy exploring the endless world of music and audio that I rarely have time to indulge in others. I do design and build audio electronics in my free time (Pre-amps, noise boxes, etc). Some of which get used on our records. I guess you could consider that to be an art form.
Which is the very first record that had a big impact on you?
NG: TLC Crazy Sexy Cool, it was the first album I ever saved up for and bought myself when I was about 11. I think it was my first understanding of an album as a cohesive work of art. It was especially meaningful that they were an all female group and seemed to be confident and powerful in their songs.
BF: Kate Bush’s The Dreaming. My parents were big fans of Kate Bush when I was growing up. I remember hearing “Sat In Your Lap” in the car and thought “this music is so cool”. I feel lucky to have been exposed to her at such a young age. I didn’t realize until I was older how remarkable and unique Kate Bush is as an artist. It definitely impacted me as a musician and made me realize early on that it’s fine to be yourself and stand out. That being weird is cool.
What is the best decade for music?
NG: I’m fond of the 70’s personally. I feel like there was a lot of experimentation happening with bands like Can and Neu! It was also the early years of punk bands like Xray Spex, Wire and of course the Stooges.
BF: I think every era has it’s highlights. I suppose a lot of what I listen to is from the 80’s but I do also love a lot of new music as well like Fever Ray, Charlotte Adigery & Bolis Pupul, and Sextile to name a few.
What do your future plans include?
NG: Writing more music, playing shows.
BF: Yea, we already have a few songs demoed out for whatever is next and will be playing some shows later in the year.
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I is out now!
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KAPUT
All questions answered by Nadia Garofalo & Brian Fox
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