Spain

REVIEW: Colleen - A flame my love, a frequency

Laura Kerry

A flame my love, a frequency, the new full-length by Colleen (AKA Cécile Schott), is an album of transformations. A composer who has favored the viola de gamba (and other baroque instruments) with touches of electronic processing in her previous six albums, she makes the leap in her new work to fully electronic instrumentation.

Her seventh album emerged out of another shift that occurred over the course of a single day in Paris. Now based in Spain, Schott had returned to her former home in France for a visit in November 2015, where she saw a lovely scene of people enjoying the afternoon. Later that night, the same scene transformed into a scene of terror with the coordinated attacks that took place at cafes, bars, and a stadium and concert venue.

Though a heavy, despairing sound might seem a natural response to such an event, Colleen’s A flame my love, a frequency is remarkably light. Delicate and based on suggestion rather than profusion, the album seems to capture the ominous glow of the afternoon before the terror more than its mournful aftermath. It opens with “November,” the briefest and sparsest track, built on a single, twinkling synth voice that flutters forward for a phrase, then pauses. With that, the album promises a space for reflection.

It delivers throughout the seven spacious and beautiful songs that follow. “Separating” smolders with an eery intensity as Schott’s quiet, patient vocals echo over dainty synth lines that form a full orchestra in the gaps between them. “Another world” subtly radiates sadness and surprise as a low, resonant synth pulses and brighter voices dance in the foreground. In “The stars vs creatures,” a warm synth waltzes in pretty arpeggios, haunting with simplicity and a touch of otherworldly delay, before making way for a muted drone later on. Though the artist has replaced classical instruments with Critter and Guitari synthesizers and a Moog filter, she hasn’t completely abandoned them; from the piano sounds on “November” to the mallet-like voices on “The stars vs creatures” and string tones on “Winter dawn,” Schott draws so much warmth and depth out of her electronic palette that it’s easy to forget it comes from a series of circuits. For an album voiced by machines, A flame my love, a frequency maintains an abundance of human feeling.

And for an album influenced by loss, that human feeling maintains an impressive degree of levity. Instead of focusing on the shock of terror itself, Schott seems more concerned with the dissonance between beauty and horror. As she sings in “Winter dawn,” while a low synth pulses in an almost cheery rhythm, “The world had nearly ended yet the sky was blue.” Even after the worst event, beauty can persist. Anyone who listens to Colleen’s new album can attest to that.

INTERVIEW: Hinds

photo: Paula Piqueras // Pau Bonet

photo: Paula Piqueras // Pau Bonet

Gerard Marcus

If you were to ask most people in the music industry to name a Spanish garage rock band, Madrid four-piece Hinds would probably be the first to come to mind. Their carefree, beachy jams have officially landed stateside, and with supporting acts in tow, we think it's safe to say they might be the harbingers of a modern Iberian invasion.

We recently caught up with singer and guitarist Ana García Perrote via email to talk about the surf rock scene in Madrid, the band's infectious positivity, and the highlights from their first ever American tour.

ThrdCoast: How did you all get started in music?

Ana García Perrote: Ade started when she was nine, I think, with singing lessons. She also studied guitar for a few years, but she started bass with us about a year ago! Amber started drums seven years ago, and she's been taking lessons since then too. And Carlotta and I, we started together literally like 3 years ago, when this project started.

TC: What is the story of Hinds changing from a two-piece to the four-person group we know today? Also, why the name change?

AGP: When we started the band as a duo, we didn't know how we were going to sound. But while we were writing songs and getting where we wanted to be, we realized we needed to be an electric band with drums and bass. We had to change the name from Deers because a Canadian band threatened us with a lawsuit if we didn't...

TC: What influences your music? Other artists? Events in your life? Places? Frames of mind?

AGP: Our country, Mac DeMarco, live shows, stories, Black Lips, our friends, The Parrots, the beach, films, weed...

TC: Can you describe the garage rock scene in Madrid? Who are some of your favorite bands from there?

AGP: It's burning right now! You should definitely check out The Parrots, Lois, and Los Nastys. All big friends and influences for us.

TC: What's your relationship with The Parrots?

AGP: They're our best pals from Madrid. We met because of this other band I mentioned, Los Nastys. We're all close friends in the scene—we help each other and share a lot of music and moments!

TC: What's the songwriting process like for the group?

We usually start at Carlotta's place with acoustic guitars. Then when we have something we like, we bring it to our rehearsal space and we work on it until we have the song we want!

TC: What would you say you like to write your songs about?

AGP: This is probably a horrible answer, but to be honest, most of them are simply about love.

TC: When most people I know in the States think of the Madrid garage rock scene they think of you guys. How do you like your recent international success? Have things changed for you much back home?

AGP: Our life in general has changed. We only spend ten days a month at home, and the rest is touring! I like to think that some things haven't changed, though. We do the same things with our friends and families, but we also have to work in time for interviews and whatnot.

TC: How did you connect with Mermaid Avenue?

AGP: Julia wrote us right after we put the two first songs on the internet.

TC: How was your U.S. tour? Any funny or memorable moments? Was it your first time to the States?

AGP: So many memorable moments! We did crowdsurfing at Burgerama, we stayed at Shannon's from Shannon and the Clams' place in San Francisco, we sold out in LA, we partied at Harrison Ford's place... It was only the fist time in the USA for Amber.

TC: Did you have a favorite show?

AGP: Probably one of the SXSW shows (we played 15!) and the Burgerama one!

TC: You guys seem to exude positivity. Are you guys always this happy?

AGP: Most of the time, yes! We try to always have a good sense of humor, that's important.

TC: What's in store for the future of Hinds?

AGP: Our first ever album!

TC: Last question. I remember reading once that when you're on tour you only eat pasta. Is that still true?

AGP: I wish it was... We usually can't eat pasta 'cause we don't even have a kitchen to do it. We try to get it as much as we can when we're home though!

INTERVIEW: Gold Lake

Gerard Marcus

Before you read any further, we have a BULLETIN! Tonight is the last night of Earshot, an innovative, interactive audio installment on display in various New York bars. Featuring twelve original radio scripts and an excellent selection of local music, it's a hell of a creative format for an audio play. We definitely recommend checking it out before it's gone for good.

Now, that wasn't a completely irrelevant introduction, because Gold Lake just so happens to be one of the bands whose music will be featured in the installation tonight. The Brooklyn-via-Madrid alt-pop trio released their debut album, Years, at the end of 2014, and they've been going strong ever since. We got the chance to talk with singer Lua Rios about moving to New York from Spain, the experience of working with a legend like Phil Ek (who mixed their LP), and their plans for the future.

ThrdCoast: How did you guys get started playing music?

Lua Rios: Carlos [del Amo] and I are originally from Madrid. We got started in music because we had to, really—we loved it too much not to do it! I have family in the music business back home, and Carlos’ family are big music lovers, so we were both naturally drawn to it.

TC: Gold Lake originally started out as a duo. How did you guys meet?

LR: We met at the bar Carlos owns in Madrid (the Tupperware Club) with his four elder sisters. We both loved the same music and immediately felt the need to play together.

TC: What was the music like back in the early years when it was just the two of you? What influences did you have as individual that you brought to the group, and what influences did you share?

LR: We had been making music together for a few years before we started Gold Lake, as we had been in other projects before, but when we moved to Brooklyn it made sense to start something new as we could feel the influence of being transplanted into different surroundings. So, in essence we were the same songwriting unit as before, but so much had changed around us and we were taking in so much from our new experiences that we also changed the way in which we approached our music. We’ve both been influenced by similar bands. We share a love of the Laurel Canyon music scene in the seventies, as well as a devotion to bands and artists like Bowie, Big Star, NRBQ, etc…

TC: Why did you leave Spain and what led you come to the States, specifically Brooklyn?

LR: We had been playing some shows in Canada with our previous band, and then Carlos and I came down to New York to play some acoustic shows when we played a show at the now sadly defunct DBA in Williamsburg. We fell in love with the neighborhood and what it was like then. We loved the vibrant, eclectic scene and felt it was just what we needed to expand our creative horizons, so we decided to move here!

TC: How was the transition from the Madrid scene to the Brooklyn scene? How long did it take you to get comfortable?

LR: The hardest part, I guess, is going from a place where you know everyone and everyone knows you, to a place where you have to meet people and make friends. But I must say we were very lucky and made great friends very quickly, and felt fairly at home right away.

TC: How did the dynamic of the group change after the addition of David Burnett? What influences did he bring?

LR: He brought a lot of energy to the live shows, that’s for sure! Dave was able to take Carlos’ drum arrangements and put them on the album just as they were intended. He’s a great drummer.

TC: After the addition of Burnett, how quickly did you guys develop your sound as a group?

LR: The songs were already fully arranged and written on our computers (we work with Logic), including the majority of the drums, and so when we took them to the rehearsal space and played them with Dave it was pretty immediate. The magic was there from the start.

TC: How did you team up with Phil Ek?

LR: We sent him our demo through a common friend. Our friend didn’t think he’d take us on, as he’s very busy and usually works with big-name bands, but he liked us and he fit us in right after he’d finished working on Father John Misty’s album.

TC: How closely did you guys work with him? Were you there for the mixing sessions or did you have to communicate more remotely?

LR: We flew to Seattle and were with him throughout the whole mixing process, which lasted fourteen days. It was absolutely amazing!

TC: Did you like the elements he brought to your sound?

LR: Phil is a master at taking the tracks he receives and making them three-dimensional. It’s not that he changes or does anything to your sound as such, but he takes what there is and makes it stand out, each part in its own nook and in perfect balance. It’s like he almost transforms things into a tangible format. He’s really a magician!

TC: It seems like you guys have been pretty busy since recording Years, working with Ek, and touring both by yourselves and supporting acts like Midlake and The Lumineers. How would you say the band has changed with all of that?

LR: Yes, we’re very happy with how it’s all going. I think that with every experience in life you add something to what you are as a group and as individuals. Playing out on tour makes you become a tighter band, for one thing. You just keep finding richer and richer sounds than you thought you were capable of.

TC: What does the future hold for Gold Lake?

LR: We’re playing a ton of shows this year, and at the same time we’re writing the songs for the second album. So all in all, busy and happy!

Chat: Mourn

Gerard Marcus

As people were filing in to see Mourn’s first ever US concert at Baby’s All Right in Brooklyn (you can check out our Field Report here), we bumped into them at the bar and convinced them to have a brief chat before the openers went on. Two of the Barcelona-based teenage rockers, Jazz Rodriguez and Carla Pérez Vas, talked about their surprise signing to American label Captured Tracks, their quick and dirty recording methods, and what they really want to be when they grow up.

ThrdCoast: When and how did you get started playing music?

Jazz Rodriguez: When I was thirteen I started playing drums, but then when I was fifteen I decided to play guitar because I liked it better… so. That’s it. And you?

Carla Pérez Vas: Well, I started playing guitar when I was ten or eleven or something. I just started playing guitar because I wanted to sing with an instrument you know? At the same time. That’s why I learned guitar.

TC: Are you from musical families?

JR: My father is.

TC: And you?

CPV: No. My parents just like weird music. Spanish music, Sevillana.

TC: What’s weird music to you?

CPV: Sevillana cultural music, it’s a kind of Castilian folk music. You know.

TC: I’ve read that early influences of yours include people like PJ Harvey and Pattie Smith. Who introduced you guys to their music?

CPV: Internet. Yeah, that’s my case. The thing is, I discovered the Red Hot Chili Peppers and then just started discovering a lot of bands on the internet and all these things.

JR: Well, I have a lot of records at home because my father has a huge collection, so I can enter his room, pick up some records, and listen to them. I discover things like that.

TC: Early on you guys did acoustic YouTube videos. How did the sound change when you decided to go for the electric four-piece you have now?

CPV: We started doing that because we were writing the songs and we had to record them.

JR: To remember how the songs went. We knew from the very beginning that we wanted to play with electric guitars, and the videos were mostly just to remember the songs.

TC: When did you add Antonio Postius and Leia Rodríguez?

JR: Like a month later.

TC: So it was pretty quick.

CPV: Yeah, after that everything was quick.

TC: [I fumble through my notes for a minute, trying to find the next question] It’s probably not great for a music journalist to be so easily distracted by background music.

Both: [Laughing] Don’t worry.

TC: Here we go! So this recent album of yours was recorded completely live, just you guys in one room right?

JR: Yeah. In two days.

TC: How did you like it? Did you plan to do it that way, or was it just happenstance?

JR: First it was because of the money.

CPV: Yeah. It was cheaper.

JR: And, like, two days are better than four, you know? [Laughs] So we decided to do it live and recorded all eight songs in a day, next day mixed it, and that’s it. And when we did it we thought it was great, and we want to keep recording like this.

CPV: It was better.

TC: I think it gives it more of a human feel with a straight live recording.

CPV: And I think it’s better because when you just listen to a record that is recorded live, when you come to the concert you can understand it more.

TC: It translates better.

CPV: Yeah. You don’t think, “Oh, it sounds different,” you know? Because it’s how you hear it all the time. I don’t know.

TC: What are some subjects you find yourselves writing about a lot?

CPV: Life.

[Both laugh]

JR: It depends. Anything that pops into our heads – like squirrels, for example. There’s a song about a squirrel.

CPV: Why not?

JR: Why not! That’s it. I don’t know. Thinking about something that pisses us off or… you know, all kinds of things.

TC: Do you usually write the songs together?

Both: Yes, yes.

TC: I’m sure those must be fun writing sessions. Seems like they’re getting ready for the opener, but I’ll try to sneak in a couple more questions. How did you guys team up with Captured Tracks?

CPV: So this guy, Mike Sniper [drinking a beer right behind us].

JR: This man here!

[Both laugh as he finally makes eye-contact]

CPV: He just emailed us. Emailed?

JR: Sent us an email, yes. And he said, “I’ve seen that you haven’t released your album here in the States, and I’m glad because I want to do it.” And we were like, “Who is this guy? Um… fine, talk to Sones, our label here in Spain.” Then we searched Captured Tracks and saw all the bands and said, “Oh fuck! I’ve been listening to all of these!” And it happened so fast.

[Both laugh]

CPV: At first it was like, this is a joke. Or something. Not a joke, but it was, like, four in the morning. I remember just waking up and being like . . . I don’t know.

JR: We thought “Oh, he wants to release the album there,” but we didn’t know that we were going to actually come here you know?

TC: Must have been unreal.

JR: And now we’re here! [Laughs]

CPV: It’s crazy.

TC: So you didn’t know much about Captured Tracks before?

JR: No. Well, we knew the bands on Captured Tracks but not about Captured Tracks.

CPV: Mac Demarco, Diiv.

JR: Wild Nothing.

CPV: Yeah. Wild Nothing, Beach Fossils.

TC: What do you guys do when you’re not a rock band?

JR: We make videos. We like to make funny videos and little movies.

CPV: With different stories.

JR: Always when we go to France or whatever. When we have a little free time we record little stories like… I don’t know. Yesterday we were in Brooklyn, in the house we were staying at and I was like, “Oh Carla, lets record a movie,” and it was like…

CPV: In an American way.

[Jazz strikes a pained, melodramatic pose]

JR: “Michele…  I’m going to Stanford.”

[Both laugh]

JR: It’s stupid, but it’s funny.

CPV: We do this and, like, comedy-drama movies. Yeah. It’s a thing.

TC: Are you guys going to school or anything?

JR: Yes, I’m studying animation.

CPV: I was studying photography, but I left. I love photography. That’s why I left.

TC: So how is life back home now that Mourn is becoming a bigger deal? Is it still the same or has it changed at all?

CPV: The thing is that sometimes we feel like we’re just touring, you know, playing with our band on weekends. And then you come back home and it’s…

JR: It’s the same.

TC: I feel like that could be relaxing. Returning to a place that always feels normal.

JR: Yeah. But I feel sad because I want to be playing every day.

CPV: Yeah! That’s what I wanted to say.

TC: You miss it when you’re home?

Both: Yeah.

TC: Are you guys planning on releasing another album after this?

Both: Yeah! Yeah, for sure.

TC: Any rough tracks already written?

Both: [Laughing] No.

CPV: A couple, but we have to write more songs.

TC: You guys are still pretty young. Anything else you want to do when you grow up, other than music?

CPV: …I don’t know?

JR: No! I just want to keep playing.

CPV: When we were kids – well, we still are, but…

JR: I wanted to be like Indiana Jones, you know?

TC: You still could.

JR: I could. But I prefer playing. I could be Indiana Jones and in Mourn at the same time.

CPV: Yeah, I want to be a photographer too. And a musician. Like, on the same level.

TC: Do you have a portfolio?

CPV: I have a Tumblr where I just post my photos.

At this point, Past Life were making their way onstage. We figured it would be polite to pay attention.

Field Report: Mourn // EZTV // Past Life

Mourn headlining at Baby's All Right in Brooklyn (all photos: Gerard Marcus)

Mourn headlining at Baby's All Right in Brooklyn (all photos: Gerard Marcus)

Gerard Marcus

This past Sunday, we had the distinct pleasure of witnessing Barcelona wunderkinder Mourn's first ever stateside concert at Baby's All Right in Brooklyn. Their high-energy, generationally-transcendent angst was on full display, and it was clear that these kids are at their best when they're onstage.

As much as it can make you envious to see a group of 16- to 19-year-olds selling out shows internationally and being featured on the top music sites in the world, it's also exciting. This is a band with a deep reverence for their musical predecessors, and just the right combination of talent and hubris to transform those influences into something fresh, inspiring, and innovative.

Along with opening performances from Past Life and EZTV, Mourn put on a hell of a show. And, as usual, we snapped a few pics to make you jealous.

Past Life

EZTV

Mourn