Columbia City Paper

 

FR: Honestly, before I even heard your music, I was intrigued simply based on the name Phantogram.Where did that name come from?Does it have anything to do with actual phantograms?

SB: No.Well, it didn’t when we were thinking about band names.Josh actually thought he made it up.He was trying to find a name that represented something from another world, something ghostly, something there but not there.We were thinking about Ghost Hands or Phantom Hands.There are so many bands and everyone takes a name, so Josh suggested Phantogram, as a description for a message from another world or from a ghost world or something.We really liked the imagery that came with it so we decided to take it.And then we looked it up and the definition was completely different.But it works.

FR: Yeah.It totally works.

SB: Yeah.

FR: How did you begin writing music and how did that lead to the development of Phantogram?

SB:I used to spend my free time on the piano just messing around.I’d come up with songs and then forget about them a couple days later.I never took it very seriously until I met up with Josh in 2006.And that’s when we started working together.He came home from living in New York City where he was pursuing a different band with his brother.He let me listen to some of his music and I really was amazed by it.I was in awe, it was so beautiful.And he asked me to sing the songs he was working on and it ended up working out okay.We then decided to collaborate.

FR: Eyelid Movies boasted some pretty stylish music videos with “Mouthful of Diamonds” and “When I’m Small”.Will any tracks from Nightflife be granted the video treatment?

SB: I don’t know.I’m not sure if that’s going to happen. I’m thinking the label will probably want us to do a music video for “Don’t Move” but I think it would be amazing to do something for “Nightlife” the song or “A Dark Tunnel”.That would be pretty cool as well.

FR: That would be the less safe route.

SB: Yeah, I know.

FR: What kind of equipment do you use to create Phantogram’s infectious beats?

SB: Let’s see. We have a laptop we record on in Logic.We’ve been collecting synthesizers, analogues, a 4-track, records, loop pedals, samplers, drums, drum kit, guitar, bass guitar, tapes and other types of equipment we like to loop things in and put samples in to distort them to make different sounds.

FR: What was the main inspiration behind Nightlife?Do you think your sound has evolved since Eyelid Movies?

SB: Yea.I think the main inspiration behind Nightlife is… a lot of experience and emotion, circumstances that Josh and I went through in the past couple of years while we’ve been on tour and been a band who has become successful. We wanted it to be heavy.We wanted it to be dark. We wanted it to have a different dynamic element that Eyelid Movies may possibly lack. Eyelid Movies… we were actually only hoping for it to be a demo when we finished it up in 2007-8.The plan was to just release it locally so we can have some music to play and sell to get our name out there for college radio stations and all that stuff.But it caught on a little bit quicker than we were expecting.So I think Nightlife is definitely a more mature sound than Eyelid Movies. If we ended up waiting a little bit longer or if we knew what the plan was going to be where people caught onto our music quicker, I think Eyelid Movies would have sounded a lot more like Nightlife.

FR: Is the EP a format that you embrace or did the music just need to get out?Any idea when we can expect another full-length from Phantogram?

SB: I’m not sure what the plan is yet.Josh and I are still figuring it out.I think our initial plan is to get back into the studio and start writing and recording a full-length-but there’s a side of me that is intrigued about another mini-LP and releasing it sooner.We will see.

FR: You guys have had a pretty rigorous touring schedule over the past year.Not to single anyone out- but do you have a favorite place to play?

SB: We played Santa Fe last night and it was so much fun. We love playing in Minneapolis.Also, the night before last we played in Phoenix and it was incredible too.Josh and I are big fans of driving through smaller cities where most bands don’t drive through or stop and play.You get a crowd and energy that you really can’t find anywhere else because they are so happy you are there.And even if you fuck up the entire set, they will still love it.

FR: What is the most difficult part of translating Phantogram into a live experience?What is the most rewarding?

SB: There’s a lot that needs to be done. It can get a little complicated to get the sound from the record into the live environment. But we’re able to pull it off pretty well. When people come up to us when we’re done and say that we were the best show they had ever seen, that has to be the most rewarding.

FR: Since you have officially become a popular female frontwoman for a successful band- are there any other female musical artists, either current or in the past, that influence you?

SB: Oh, man.I don’t have a lot of female inspirations.I look more up to male performers, singers, and songwriters.I guess if I had to pick one, I would have to say… Beyonce’.

FR: Music is currently available in a variety of formats.MP3s, CDs, vinyl, even cassette tapes are staging a mild comeback- what’s your favorite format for listening to music?

SB: I can say vinyl of course because it sounds the best.The experience of sitting down and listening to vinyl is an experience compared to pressing play on your iPod where you can’t really wait for the next song to come.Sitting and listening to a record and flipping it over, it’s more of a memory thing.But I also really enjoy listening to music while I drive and the only way I’m able to do that now is with my iPod.It just depends I guess.

FR: What’s on your iPod right now?

SB: Com Truise, Exitmusic and Sacred Spirit.

FR: In the past decade, the music business has changed drastically- from Napster to iTunes to Spotify.In your opinion, where do you see the industry going in the next ten years?

SB: I think you’ll see more singles.I think you’ll see more short records.Not necessarily more EPs but mini LPs.I think there will be more connection with visual concepts along with records- like possibly whatever gadget they’ll have that allows you to put on a record and project something off your phone on the wall while you’re listening to it. I think stuff like that is possible.I think people are going to start- even though I know it’s already popular at the moment- but I think music fans are going to start wanting to collect tangible music the way it used to be.

FR: Any advice to up-and-coming artists struggling to make it in the 21^st century music industry?

SB: Don’t think you have to move to a big city to do it.Just work your ass off and believe in your music. Do what you have to do.

- Fr. Jones

CB: I’m really excited to see Araabmuzik and Moby if i can. I would say Austra – but I’ll be on tour with her so I’m sure I’ll be well-acquainted with her set by Moogfest.

FR: I have read where you describe Grimes as post-internet. Can you explain this description? And are there other artists you would refer to as post-internet?

CB: Well, I would say most artists making music today are “post-internet” — I wasn’t trying to make any serious cultural diagnosis or anything when I made it. But I was basically referring to the generation that grew up with Napster and everyone after that because I feel like their approach to music is inherently going to be different from the older generations because the nostalgia that stems from early adolescence is so much less specific in terms of what music one would be listening to. For me, I’m as nostalgic for Lata Mangeshkar as like, New Order or something. There was really like an infinite amount of music that I was exposed to whereas before that you would have to go to the record store. And emotionally formative years were really driven by specific things like I know my dad just has this obsession with when he first heard David Bowie and Bowie being the one ultimate savior of high school or something because it was so hard to get music and it was the only cool record he had. Which is totally chill, i just think like that lead to a kind of stasis in terms of what he can enjoy. People who are my age but even moreso people who are younger are, like, really able to be experimental in their taste. You look even at mainstream music and its soooo fucking weird, because teenagers are like, insatiable. They have everything so you just need to bombard them with the craziest shit.

But if you want artists who I think really embrace the chaos — I would say Doldrums does it the most. Cop Car Bonfire, Blue Hawaii, I don’t know.. I feel like Flying Lotus kind of has pretty chaotic vibes in terms of how he approaches music. Really everybody though. Like, I did not invent this idea — everybody who’s mashing pastiches and hopping through genres is from this generation. I think its not a movement its just the natural progression. I don’t want to be like, labelled as the inventor, im just doing what everyone is naturally doing and ppl latched onto a word I used to describe it once.

FR: Technological advancement and over-saturation are only picking up speed. How long do you think before we move into the age of post-post internet? What did you think this era will be called?

CB: I don’t know- I’m not really sure what that would entail but I imagine things will either slow down or the means of consuming or making music will be much faster. They’ve got motor based systems now where you can control movement with your brain to say, “Play a video game” or something. I think if this can be translated to music – like you just think of notes and they record themselves, this will be post-post internet.

FR: You recently toured with Lykke Li- what was that experience like?

CB: Really great, she’s a smart and driven lady. I learned a lot from her.

FR: Grimes boasts a tone that is both wonderfully ethereal and macabre. I’ve heard it described before as a “haunted music box”. How does this sound translate to the live circuit?

CB: Well, live it’s much more dance-oriented. Like, I want the listening experience to be unsettling and personal, but i want the live experience to be communal and ecstatic, so it’s definitely weird and sonically interesting- but… I guess much happier?

FR: The videos for “Vanessa” and “Crystal Ball” are quite memorable. Will there be a video from Geidi Primes?

CB: No, Geidi Primes is too old. There will be videos for every song off my new record though-Visions. It’s an audio visual record- like the Doldrums VHS maybe. Seriously, check out Doldrums. I don’t want to get credited for his ideas.

FR: What was the recording process like for Geidi Primes? You have another LP out this January- what is the secret to your productivity?

CB: It was just recorded straight into the mic on garageband. It’s super ghetto, which is why I think it’s funny on vinyl. But I definitely stand behind it because I like it’s experimentalism. I think there is no secret to productivity besides just like, if you love something- you want to do it all the time as much as you can.

FR: Can you give us a hint as to what the next Grimes album will sound like?

CB: If Aphex Twin and TLC decided to make a band.

FR: In this post-internet era, music is available in a wide array of formats- digital downloads, cassettes, CDs, vinyl, etc. What is your favorite way to listen to music?

CB: As digital as possible. So i guess .wav files, in headphones, in the dark, while stoned-merging with my computer.

FR: Any advice to up-and-coming artists struggling to make it in the 21st century music industry?

CB: Go to New York.

FR: I really dig the album artwork for both You Make Me Real and Mr. Machine. What is the story behind that?

PF: Daniel had the ideas for both of them, he’s the one who usually comes up with visual and conceptual stuff. For “You Make Me Real” we asked the illustrator Danae Diaz to draw it. Afterwards she also made the video for “Caffeine” based on the artwork, together with Patricia Luna. And the objects for the “Mr. Machine” artwork were build by Jan’s friend Robert Meyer and photographied by Richard G. Brozowski. Mr. Machine’s skull has even moving parts and lights in it, and also the ear, the arm and a bone. Mr. Machine is an old pre-industrial robot that we found underneath our garden.

FR: The new album features some vocals from Ninja Tune’s Emika. What was that collaborative experience like?

PF: We know each other well, so it’s very cool to work together. Before we did the album recording of “Pretend,” we had done a remix of her original song. At some point we had the idea that our remix would fit very well for making an ensemble arrangement of it. Emika was also on tour with us in May, supporting us and then also singing “Pretend.” All the ensemble musicians loved it from the start.

FR: You guys will be performing at Moogfest in Asheville, North Carolina this October. How did you land that gig? Is there any particular artist involved you are excited to see perform?

PF: Oh, ask our booker! We’re excited about Moogfest, glad to be able to see for example Amon Tobin, Flying Lotus and again Battles who were already fantastic at Glastonbury.

FR: What can an audience expect from a Brandt Brauer Frick live performance? How do you feel your sound translates live?

PF: People shouldn’t have any particular expectations and come with their senses open wide. Maybe they will like it.

FR: To me, the classic 9 minute “Bop” video is a brilliant, conceptual summation of your talents. Can we expect another video in the same vein to coincide withMr. Machine?

PF: Well, yes! We shot a pretty gigantic video some weeks ago, and the cut is almost ready. It’s very different from “Bop,” and I find it quite spectacular.

FR: Does the ensemble have a preference for any of the reinterpreted tracks from You Make Me Real featured on the new album?

PF: Not completely sure about the others, but my favourite is the piece “You Make Me Real” itself. It’s got a very intense vibe and there are very mind-blowing and sick instrumental sounds in it.

FR: What is the inspiration behind the unconventional, signature sound of the Brandt Brauer Frick Ensemble?

PF: Love and hate, life and death.

FR: Out of the wide array of instruments utilized in Mr. Machine, is there one that you feel defines the Brandt Brauer Frick Ensemble the most?

PF: No, it’s about creating a world, with whatever means we feel like. But maybe we can make a competition: who finds the vibraslap on the album gets a CD?

FR: What can fans expect from future releases?

PF: They can’t expect anything, we don’t even know it ourselves!

FR: In just the past decade, the music industry has gone through some radical changes. Where do you see the music scene heading in the next ten years?

PF: To eternal happiness?

PF: Any advice to up-and-coming artists struggling to make it in the music industry?

FR: Hm, just the obvious one: first make music and then you can think of the industry, not the other way around.