Proyecto Playlist is the brainchild of Ma. Elizabeth (Marie) Hernández and the Maracaibo lovechild of High Fidelity character Rob Gordon (neé Fleming). The blog, born out of a hybrid need to share – Marie is the youngest of six children – and to self-express, has attracted the attention of many Venezuelans looking for curated tunes from local taste-makers. And so what was once a monthly post by Marie was transformed into a hub for local taste-makers [...]]]>

Proyecto Playlist is the brainchild of Ma. Elizabeth (Marie) Hernández and the Maracaibo lovechild of High Fidelity character Rob Gordon (neé Fleming). The blog, born out of a hybrid need to share – Marie is the youngest of six children – and to self-express, has attracted the attention of many Venezuelans looking for curated tunes from local taste-makers. And so what was once a monthly post by Marie was transformed into a hub for local taste-makers and music connoisseurs with highly global tastes. Today, Marie tells us why playlists are superior to singles and why music can replace writing. And she even created a special playlist just for us!!!

How did this project come about?

Proyecto Playlist started as a way to share music with my friends, I have the luck –to call it somehow, but it’s more like a blessing- to be surrounded by friends, who, like me, enjoy listening to music a lot. Every time we get together, 70% of our conversations are about music: what bands are we listen to, fights –well let’s say discussions- about old school vs. new school, what it would have been like to party in The Hacienda or The Groucho and how thanks to Tumblr and Zoey Deschanel everyone is a hardcore Smith’s fans –we can get a little hater sometimes, but it’s pretty harmless.

This project is the aftermath of all those conversations I have with my friends, with so many bands coming out and generating buzz so quickly, keeping up with everything that is happening in music and finding -among all the hype and buzz- really good records that deserve to be heard, has become more difficult. So I thought that the best way to know what was going on for me and my friends was to create monthly playlist with the music we have heard the most during that past month, that way we could know what was everyone listening to and have more things to talk about the next time we would hang out.

Then there’s the fact that I’m addicted to the Internet and of course, I’m a Blogger like everyone nowadays. I started to upload these playlists to my personal blog to have something different from other blogs. After two months, I saw that the visits to the site would increase tremendously every time I posted a playlist. As a marketing student, I saw the great potential this project had and gave it his own website.

But in essence it’s a tribute to my friends.

Click Image to download. Image by Valentina Alvarado.

The return of old friends for The Gopher Illustrated.
There’s nothing like the return of old friends, those whose stories are also our stories, those that know what we are thinking just by looking at us. The excitement of meeting an old friend after years without seeing each other is something I can only compare to when a band I love and miss has a new record coming out. This year, I have been lucky enough to see and hear the return of my favorite bands, those that know me better than anyone.

TRACKLIST

How does Proyecto Playlist work? How do playlist makers become involved with the site?

Alongside music, sharing is one key element in Proyecto Playlist and it is what keeps it going. At first, there would be only playlists made by my friends or acquaintances, but as the site spread around the Internet, I started to receive playlists from people all over the country, Latin America and even Europe who wanted to share a playlist and post it on the site.

Everyone can be a part of Proyecto Playlist, there’s no genre or music style associated to it – though most of our collaborators tend to be on the indie side of things-. I feel that I’m no one to tell what bands or songs should be on a playlist, every person who sends a playlist picks the 10 songs make it up. I love getting playlists with music that is different from what I usually hear and discover new sounds from other people’s playlists.

To be featured on the site, you just have to send me an email with your playlist and the story behind it.

- Why playlists? Why not records or singles?

For me playlists are special, every time I make one it’s like I’m telling a story. A long time ago, I would just a lot, when I stopped I found that by making playlists, I could still exteriorize all the feelings and emotions that I would have put on paper before. But instead of using my words, I use songs that – as a friend of mine always says- I feel they were written by me.

I always joke saying that creating playlists is not easy, for many people it’s about taking some songs, picking a topic and putting them together in shuffle mode. For me it’s almost a science, every single song that is on a playlist has a purpose and a reason to be there, each song is placed strategically to develop an emotion and help me write the story that I want to tell.

For a band a record is a book, it’s their way to tell us a story. All the songs or singles that are on a record are chapters in that book. Since I can’t sing or play an instrument, a take a chapter from that book and put it together with other chapters from other books to tell my story. Sometimes, I think is like making an Exquisite Corpse but with music.

Tell us about a typical day for you.

My days start pretty early, I wake up and to go work –I work as a content and web editor for a local magazine-. When I get there, I visit all the music blog and look for new record leaks and start downloading music compulsively. I start working around 10am –I’m gonna get fired if my boss read this- and while I’m at that, I listen to the records I’ve downloaded and give stars to the songs that I like, that way I can keep track of them later on.

At noon, I stay at the office and take that time to post new playlists on the site, write back to the people that send playlists and look for new collaborators.

I’m also graduating –well almost there- of Marketing and Advertising in La Universidad del Zulia and spend most of my nights going to class, after that you can found me at a friend’s house talking or trying to sleep –thank you, insomnia- if is a weeknight. On the weekends I have a tendency to go party, but due the lack of choices on bars or pubs in this town, having a beer at a friend’s house is the best way to go.

A pretty normal twenty-something life.

[Playlist courtesy of Marie Hernández and Proyecto Playlist. Tracklist image and photo compositions by Valentina Alvarado for Proyecto Playlist. ]

This here is a disclaimer for the change-sensitive.

Cool new idea we’re going for: this Sounds section will now have a series featuring music labels. Yes! We’ve decided to reach out to independent record labels that (a) are doing interesting things, and (b) are awesome. Why? Because with a tiny bit of research we’ve stumbled upon some of the most exciting, innovative creative people congregating around these independents. So, to the point, shall we?

The Peppermill Records is a fun little netlabel based in the mountains [...]]]>

This here is a disclaimer for the change-sensitive.

Cool new idea we’re going for: this Sounds section will now have a series featuring music labels. Yes! We’ve decided to reach out to independent record labels that (a) are doing interesting things, and (b) are awesome. Why? Because with a tiny bit of research we’ve stumbled upon some of the most exciting, innovative creative people congregating around these independents. So, to the point, shall we?

The Peppermill Records is a fun little netlabel based in the mountains of British Columbia! These folks are fond of treeplanting (we kid you not) and attract artists from around the globe. They specialize in collaborative projects that are available for download once they’re completed. We can’t resist a musical reverse-lumberjack – just you ask around – and we were driven to interview them. Once again we invite you, Gopher friend, to take a peek at their work. Not only are they incredible at getting musical talent together, but they have a lovely approach to album art. If you like what you see/hear/feel, go ahead and dive into their sea of fantastic musical art; their website is so full of gems it might make you miss dinner.

Power und Beauty – Lavender

How and when did you get your start as a record label?
It all started back in, oh when was it… oh yes of course it was 1899 and some of my buddies had just returned from the Battle of Mafeking and we were throwing one of the first real outdoor “raves” out at Stonehenge (I swear we had nothing to do at all with the Incident, I believe that rock was still standing after the party) as sort of a homecoming, and also to ring in the new millennium, it seemed the stars were aligning and new styles were emerging and it just felt like the right time to start our own netlabel. Of course both Creative Commons and the Internet were quite primitive back then.  But riding that high we got together and created an album in just 30 Days and the rest is history. Some of this is true.

What musical genre or style do you particularly/most often work with?
Here at The Peppermill, we purposefully incorporate as many styles as possible.  The upcoming Ace of Base tribute called ‘It’s Not A Day For Work’ is an exercise in variation… there’s folk and metal and bluegrass and hip-hop and any others styles but not barbershop or bhangra as intended but hey I tried. Sometimes though I like a more focused approach, such as 2999 which is attempting to reign in futuristic dub music. However, within those parameters there is plenty of room for innovation. Often the best genre is that which can’t be described quite yet.

Looking into the future, what are your goals as an independent record label?
World domination. Throngs of mindless musical slaves succumbing to the hidden control frequencies buried deep within these innocent “free” tracks, triggered at the moment of our choosing.  That moment is soon.

What sets you apart from other independent record labels?
We’re Canadian.  That’s one thing.  Another is that we mostly do themed collaborative projects, so while we don’t have a stable of artists releasing all their work under our protective gaze, we instead have the opportunity to invite anybody we like, to painlessly contribute a song here or there whenever a window of opportunity opens up.
The third and most important but less obvious thing is that we’ve managed to subvert RIAA and FDA regulations altogether and lace every one of our releases with physically addictive chemical agents. Which goes in conjunction with answer #3.

Power und Beauty – Peaches

What is a defining aspect of the artists you represent?
They’re mostly all adventurous types who have a love of melody and harmonics and creative production techniques and also enjoy the actual texture of the sound.  There’s some lyrically brilliant stuff we’ve put out but I’d have to say that overall Peppermill treats the human voice more as another instrument than a storytelling device.

If you could steal any artist/band from another record label, who would it be and why?
I would steal Parliament away from Casablanca circa 1975, and reintroduce the world to P(eppermill)-Funk. Or if this question doesn’t involve time-travel, I may settle for releasing Chad Vangaalen’s next album, although my friends at Flemish Eye do a much better job at promoting him than I ever could.  But as previously discussed, a positive aspect about this label is that we only usually require one short contribution at a time from the artist, and can therefore invite almost anybody to take part with a fair shot of them accepting, that is if the project’s concept appeals to them.

Montag – No Aloha (The Breeders Cover)

What upcoming Peppermill releases and projects should we watch out for?
2999 is the big new project, a futurist dance album where producers of sub-bass-happy electronic music soundtrack the distant future… and then have their visions interpreted by illustrators. Taking part are many many amazing artists from all over the planet but also a few from Caracas… Pacheko, Pocz, Delarge and Cardopusher. We will start releasing one song/image a day for fifty days, starting in early July I hope.
Another dubby release shortly after will be from a Los Angeles fellow who goes by the name Fancy Mike, an EP plus remix I’m looking forward to.
Besides the Ace of Base album mentioned previously, shortly afterwards we’ll begin on more tributes… to either Massive Attack’s ‘Protection’, or Stereolab’s ‘Margarine Eclipse’, or both.
Something I’m very excited about, that we’ve only recently started and will be ongoing for a couple of years, is The Wolverine and the Bee. Sort of an audiofilm, where various artists create ten-minute segments of dialogue, sound fx and music that continue from where the previous narrative left off.  I think it could go in some very interesting and bizarre directions.
And lastly is ‘If You’re A Pretender, Come Sit By My Fire‘, our big project from last winter where we interpreted Shel Silverstein’s amazing children’s poems, it’s another artistic exercise, this time in taking literature and turning it into melody.  The result was fantastic, and we had around 40 submissions before the late-great-Shel’s family made us stop using their team of lawyers, claiming their dad/uncle wouldn’t approve of this, however the family then went and mimicked this idea and did their own version that was recently reviewed positively on Pitchfork.  However ours is much, much better. I believe in the rap community this is called “biting”.
But ours will come out in some form later this year, if the Man In The Sky wills it.

How do you view the music industry today? In your opinion, what is the role of independent labels?
A good label is a home that will send you around the world, pay your bills, and make you hopelessly cool.  They have a network of artists and fans that band together in an international clique.  A good netlabel on the other hand is a poor-man’s version of this, we try to achieve as much of the above as we can but we all have real jobs, so this is more of a (serious and time-sucking) fun hobby.

What are your methods to discover new bands or artists?
In the past it was mostly Myspace and word of mouth, however in the near future it’ll be done mostly through our vehicle Peppermill Idol, which will be a joint venture in conjunction with Okcupid and Simon Cowell’s twin brother Darrell.  It will combine the all the fun of television and dating and indie music, as well we’ll feature a giant Gong, that is as long as we can land Chuck Barris as host… otherwise it would all seem a tad tasteless.

What kind of things do you look for in bands or artists you’re interested in working with?
They are boundary-pushing musicians with a strong sense of melody. With illustrators who compliment them. Hopefully more and more animators as well, I’d love to set these songs in motion although there’s already some of that on the way (google “ZUMBAKAMERA“).

Le Rok – Le Rokford Files

Power und Beauty particularly caught our attention. What can you tell us about their distinct duo character and charming childish musicality?
I discovered this EP while doing a special on Spokane for my radio show, as I focused on a different community every week last winter.  Their city is a bit south of the border from here so I was curious what I’d dig up and Karli almost immediately caught my attention, as she spearheads a lot of the cool local events.  And of course when I heard this supergroup with Anna, Sarah and Caroline I was instantly in love.  They’re spread out now but I really hope that they’ll have a chance to do another EP some day soon.

Rafter – Long Ago, A Rodent As Big As A Bull Lurked In South America

We were also quite interested in one of your newest releases, ‘Greatest It’, that you produced in conjunction with other independent record labels. Do you want to share with us some impressions about the production process of this album?
I had wanted to work with some of my favorite netlabels for a while now, but hadn’t thought of anything too typical yet… and then Upitup proposed that we introduce us all to each other’s fans, bring out some of our favorite old tracks and I thought that was perfect.  I just listed ten timeless Peppermill classics and let them choose 3.  As well I helped choose some of theirs, and then Proot introduced us to Amandine and we had our cover artist, we wanted something dense, and she delivered it’s incredible. I have many more labels I’d like to collaborate with in the future, and have some ideas but am open to suggestions.  As well, at least some of us from Greatest It may soon go through with a music/arts blog where together we could further pursue our CC agendas.  Look out for that.

‘Faces and Hands’ sounds like a really innovative idea. What is it all about?
Well Mille approached me about this documentary style series of episodes she had created, about life in her old treeplanting camp, at first just so she could use some of the music from Hi and Ho, We Plant Trees, but then we  agreed that Peppermill might be a nice place to host the series. Hi and Ho was initially put together for a very niche market, namely, other treeplanters… but it’s proven to be the most downloaded release ever in the history of the Peppermill.  It became apparent that there were others who are fascinated with this culture, and so I was happy to help show the world what it is that some of us do every summer here in the Canadian forests.  It’s quite a rite of passage for many of our disenfranchised youth.

Bakers At Dawn – Might

Please complete this sentence. “If we weren’t answering this interview, right now we’d be…”
…carbonating the dark roasted-barley cranberry ale we made for the festival.

In your opinion, what is the best age to be?
…whatever age you’ll be in 2012, when all you Peppermill listeners become willing captives to our secret mind-control bass frequencies. The revolution will be televised.

Having made the (admittedly very basic) Internet rounds it’s clear that Pick a Piper is exciting the ears it reaches. Their sound gets described in elaborate, evocative, complex and sometimes downright nonsensical terms like “Ecstatically charged yet almost trance-inducing, PAP are a vodka-redbull with none of the edge, all of the euphoria and zero unpleasant aftertaste” (source). What fascinated us was the absolute ubiquity of the word “tribal” to describe the music. Is it that drums, heavy drums, and superimposed [...]]]>

Having made the (admittedly very basic) Internet rounds it’s clear that Pick a Piper is exciting the ears it reaches. Their sound gets described in elaborate, evocative, complex and sometimes downright nonsensical terms like “Ecstatically charged yet almost trance-inducing, PAP are a vodka-redbull with none of the edge, all of the euphoria and zero unpleasant aftertaste” (source). What fascinated us was the absolute ubiquity of the word “tribal” to describe the music. Is it that drums, heavy drums, and superimposed rythms taps into our monkey-brain so that we can’t help but dub it something like “tribal”? (we would love to know your thoughts!) What we hear is a brilliant display of heavy percussion – they play “Siamese drums” which is a fancy way of saying two drummers playing two drum-sets that are attached at some point – married to floaty melodies, and the overwhelming desire to get up and dance around. Go ahead, play a song. We dare you to sit still.

Pick a Piper – Yellowknife

PAP is (and this is straight from the horse’s mouth) “A collective featuring Brad Weber of Caribou, Angus Fraser of Tenth of May, Dan Roberts ex-Winter Equinox and Clint Scrivener.” Their self-titled EP was released by Crony Records (which Weber and Fraser founded) and you can download the whole thing there for free! The Pick a Piper folks are in Canada and rumor has it they play a mean live show – see the video below and be amazed.

Pick a Piper – Bechtel Park

Pick a Piper Live – Sir Lancaster from Reed Video Production on Vimeo.

Pick a Piper – Rooms

Pick a Piper – Dené Sled

Super Lambada en Hollywood

By some twist of fate, two Gopher editors found themselves listening to a strange lecture on independent and self-produced music projects curated by cult creature, performer and sometime alchemist Internet2 this weekend. Despite the longish presentation sets – we sat through several – and the presenter’s strange choice of player (WinAmp? Really?) we had some laughs and came out kind of obsessed with Spanish music project Retrato Robot. Retrato’s bleeps and bloops made us [...]]]>

Super Lambada en Hollywood

By some twist of fate, two Gopher editors found themselves listening to a strange lecture on independent and self-produced music projects curated by cult creature, performer and sometime alchemist Internet2 this weekend. Despite the longish presentation sets – we sat through several – and the presenter’s strange choice of player (WinAmp? Really?) we had some laughs and came out kind of obsessed with Spanish music project Retrato Robot. Retrato’s bleeps and bloops made us feel like someone should design some sort of dancing Space-Invaders type game to pair with this. The brain(s?) behind this kooky mashup of iconic Spanish, Latin American and global cult tunes remain(s?) a mystery, but they do have a MySpace where you can stream their whole album “The Essential Retrato Robot 1.0″ and it links to a Rapidshare file in case you want to keep these tracks four-evarrrr. We’re especially looking at you, kid with the Atari design skills. Hustle!

Carros de Sésamo – Retrato Robot

Rocky el Chocolatero – Retrato Robot

Pajaritos de Maiz – Retrato Robot

Tallest Man on Earth - Burden of Tomorrow

Shallow Graves, the previous Tallest Man on Earth record left us with two questions: “how did it manage to be so good?” and, “why in the name of ears is this such a short record?” Our trusty Wikipedia tells us that The Tallest Man on Earth is the stage name for Kristian Matsson, whose name, in turn, is not the kind of name one automatically associates with Americana sound of  “Shallow Grave” and even less with [...]]]>

Tallest Man on Earth - Burden of Tomorrow

Shallow Graves, the previous Tallest Man on Earth record left us with two questions: “how did it manage to be so good?” and, “why in the name of ears is this such a short record?” Our trusty Wikipedia tells us that The Tallest Man on Earth is the stage name for Kristian Matsson, whose name, in turn, is not the kind of name one automatically associates with Americana sound of  “Shallow Grave” and even less with that Dylanesque voice of his. Turns out that the Tallest Man on Earth is a Swedish act that has accrued a solid base of worldwide fans. So, once again we Gophers were baffled with the land of ABBA.

Tallest Man on Earth - King of Spain

As for the length? Well, the record clocked just under the 40-minute mark. Not even Wikipedia knew how to answer that question. It appears that as tall as his moniker claims that glass of Swedish crooning to be, Matsson’s upcoming record, The Wild Hunt clocks in at thirty four minutes. So the formula seems to be set: big tunes that are impossible to get out of your head, in single-serve packaging. And as for that most obvious of questions? The wonder that is Kristian Matsson is not, in fact, the tallest man on earth. We hear he’s actually pretty average-sized.

Tallest Man on Earth – The Gardener – A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

GNG BNG – Flying Lotus (Los Angeles)

Steven Ellison, a.k.a. Flying Lotus is a musician and producer from Winnetka, California. His music is often categorized as “experimental” and was at least once called “California’s answer to the Aphex Twin” (see Tong, Pete) – a band, incidentally, also signed to Warp. According to the man himself, this experimental-ness can be attributed to the Nintendo-generation: “I’m used to hearing bleeps and those things and whatever it is [...]]]>

GNG BNG – Flying Lotus (Los Angeles)

Steven Ellison, a.k.a. Flying Lotus is a musician and producer from Winnetka, California. His music is often categorized as “experimental” and was at least once called “California’s answer to the Aphex Twin” (see Tong, Pete) – a band, incidentally, also signed to Warp. According to the man himself, this experimental-ness can be attributed to the Nintendo-generation: “I’m used to hearing bleeps and those things and whatever it is that we’re listening to.” Good stuff, Nintendo.

We may be a bit slow on the uptake and a couple of years too late, according to everyone who is cooler that we are (Thanks Wil!) but we are rather enjoying ourselves at the moment. It also seems opportune to talk about Flying Lotus as he is releasing a new album later this year, and thus we see no shame in walking the fresher side of memory lane. As always, if you like please purchase these tracks and the whole album. Support the arts and yadda yadda. In this here post, two songs from his album “Los Angeles” and a track from Mary Anne Hobbs‘ compilation “Evangeline.” Oh and for trivia’s sake, and since it’s on every single article we could find: Flying Lotus’ great aunt is Alice Coltrane.

Parisian Goldfish – Flying Lotus (Los Angeles, 2008)

Parisian Goldfish – Testament ft. Gonja Sufi (Los Angeles, 2008)

Flattery (Sympathy for the Biters) – Flying Lotus (Evangeline, 2008)

[To watch the whole video for Parisian Goldfish, click HERE.]

Ok people listen up: is December 29h, midnight’s approaching and we haven’t decided yet which song will end up being our last post of 2009. You know how it is: you plan to work all night but then wine uncorks itself, fake moustaches appear [ and piñata hats ] and eventually zig-zag is the new A-to-B; so, in honor of this pleasant dilemma of too much music to share, and too many guests to entertain, the according tic-tac-toe solution: a tie. [...]]]>

Ok people listen up: is December 29h, midnight’s approaching and we haven’t decided yet which song will end up being our last post of 2009. You know how it is: you plan to work all night but then wine uncorks itself, fake moustaches appear [ and piñata hats ] and eventually zig-zag is the new A-to-B; so, in honor of this pleasant dilemma of too much music to share, and too many guests to entertain, the according tic-tac-toe solution: a tie. You see, some of us Gophers have the idea of sharing timeless songs of psychobilly madness [ with microphone deepthroating! ], while others believe that above all, 2009 is for the twothousandandniners [ bureaucrat talking! ]. Yes, yes, we could have solved this in a drinking spree and indeed some town was painted red, but, uh, conundrums and uh, THE SONGS:

For those of you out there who believe 2010 will be the year of having cojones:

The Cramps – Tie It Up [ 1980 ]

And for those of you who believe that 2009 was a nice year to save some of that for the next one:

Noah and the Whale – Blue Skies [ 2009 ]

We love both songs, we’re sure neither of their composers thought they’ll end up together in anything, we’ll miss Lux Interior from The Cramps who died on February of this year and we welcome very warmly the Noah-Whales to our you-make-things-feel-fuzzy collection, and yes, we do know the band has been around since 2006, mind you.

And so in this beautiful, chaotic, democratic potlach the 2009 in music arrives to a hurried stop. The Cramps photo is by Jeff Good and the Noah and the Whale from their MySpace, thanks-a-plenty for your time and hundreds [ thousands! ] of clicks in hour beloved music player this year; nevertheless, please don’t take our cutlery home with you.

And no, you can’t sleep here either, this is magazine, not a hostel. Happy 2010.

When we learned about Hi Ho Silver Oh, a musical project spearheaded by Casey Trela, we thought it was a holliday album. Turns out our Bruce Springsteen reference radar was broken and HHSO’s music is (blissfully) jingle-bell free. The present iteration of the band is a foursome made up of three Chapel Hillians and a Los Angelino, making music that is lyrical and fun. We spoke with them and learned about [...]]]>
Communion – Put It All in One Place and Burn It

When we learned about Hi Ho Silver Oh, a musical project spearheaded by Casey Trela, we thought it was a holliday album. Turns out our Bruce Springsteen reference radar was broken and HHSO’s music is (blissfully) jingle-bell free. The present iteration of the band is a foursome made up of three Chapel Hillians and a Los Angelino, making music that is lyrical and fun. We spoke with them and learned about the project and the business of making music independently.

Tell us a little bit about this project: how did it come about? Who are the people making up the band?

I started playing music under the name Hi Ho Silver Oh this past year when I moved out to Los Angeles from Chapel Hill.  I wanted a project where I could write songs and play them solo, or recruit friends to flesh them out with bigger arrangements.  During college, I played in a big eight-person rock group, which was really great and rewarding, but I wanted to keep things adaptable to all the places I’d find myself in LA.  Lately, Hi Ho has been a four-piece that includes my buds Jon Mackey and Wil Donegan from Chapel Hill, and my new bud Phil Eastman who hails from California’s Bay Area.

Does the name Hi Ho Silver Oh have any particular meaning or story? Please do tell.

I took the name from the Bruce Springsteen song “State Trooper.”  I listened to the Nebraska album a lot when I first moved to LA while driving around by myself late at night.  That particular song gives this weird haunting feeling with really simple production.
It’s difficult to find a band name that sums up all of what you are musically and philosophically, especially one that will feel right years down the line.  I feel like, at this point, it evokes ideas that fit the music.  This may change at some point and until then, people should feel free to think into it as much or as little as they’d like.

This record was released independently by the band. Do you think the ability for a band to do this while starting out is a sign of the times? Do you have any advice to share with other musicians looking to do this?

The “DIY” aesthetic has been developing for awhile now, and is at an interesting point with all that the internet gives artists.  The roots of the “independent” musician are still in doing-it-yourself, but have moved from physical, community-based operations to a huge variety of internet-based operations.  With this, artists are able to distribute to a much larger population, but also face an oversaturated market.  We’re trying to pick and use the things we like about the new and old DIYs.  I’ve been lucky enough to come up in musical environments where the idea of having physical connections to your musical community were taught and nurtured.

I think it’s a great idea for bands to release music in any way possible.  There’s a lot to be learned from recording music and releasing it out to the world.  A MySpace page is a good place to start, but you have to do more to make your music stand out in the big internet sea.  Play out at local venues or organize your own shows.  Involve your friends and use all your resources.  Be creative and make releases unique.  Also know that it is possible to make a professional quality album that looks and sounds nice without being on a label!  It’s exciting.  We recorded and mixed our own songs, went to our community of friends for artwork, shopped around online for affordable printing and CD replication, and put together all the pieces to make an album.  “Indie” in its truest form should be something inclusive and encouraging rather than pretentious.

Do you plan to tour?

I did a house show tour last year which was a lot of fun.  I love driving around the country and playing music.  It’s something I’m looking forward to doing again. So, once we’ve raised enough funds, a tour shall be had.

You live in Los Angeles. Would you identify your music with the city?

Every time I make a big move, I identify myself with the previous city more than the current one.  Right now I identify my musical mindset more with Chapel Hill than with Los Angeles.  As we play more shows and get to know fellow bands in our area, I think everything is settling together a little more.  There are great communities here like the ones left back in North Carolina.  I’m just going to keep being myself, which will have little parts of NC and LA all mixed together.

Would you care to recommend any music? Any young musicians?

I’m not the best at staying up on the times.  Today, I danced to the song “Look Out World” by The Great White Jenkins.  They’re a really super band from Richmond, VA.  Their lyrics are consistently solid, and they have a jazzy folky sound I haven’t heard many other places.  I’ve been listening to Midtown Dickens’ and Megafaun’s new albums a lot since they came out.  They’re both from Durham, NC, have great albums, and are the most fun bands to experience in real life.  Daniel Hart is an amazing violin player with a band called Physics of Meaning that everyone should listen to.  Watching him play the song “Dream #1” from their last album will make you feel good.  We played our CD Release show with Superhumanoids and Shakey Graves, who have been a couple of the best things about LA so far.  Wil Donegan and Jon Mackey are both young musicians that write really great songs, and I have a good feeling about Phil Eastman.

Hi Ho Silver Oh – Perjury [My Friends and the Sun EP]

Hi Ho Silver Oh – Worth [Put It All in One Place and Burn It]

The Sound of Arrows – Winding Roads (Danger/2008)


The Sound of Arrows is the hard-labored baby of Stefan Storm and Oskar Gullstrand, a Swedish duo with superhero names. (I aaaaam Stefaaaaan Stooooorm… yes? right?) They hail from Gävle “one of the most boring towns in Sweden” according to Labrador, their Malmo-based record label. Notable residents include the Prog-Rock band Beardfish. I love Wikipedia. Labrador quips that the first “Sound of Arrows” record was late, because [...]]]>

The Sound of Arrows – Winding Roads (Danger/2008)


The Sound of Arrows is the hard-labored baby of Stefan Storm and Oskar Gullstrand, a Swedish duo with superhero names. (I aaaaam Stefaaaaan Stooooorm… yes? right?) They hail from Gävle “one of the most boring towns in Sweden” according to Labrador, their Malmo-based record label. Notable residents include the Prog-Rock band Beardfish. I love Wikipedia. Labrador quips that the first “Sound of Arrows” record was late, because apparently the twosome got signed before they knew how to make music. They were signed from a YouTube video. “But the song suggested what they wanted to do musically together and marked the start of The Sound of Arrows.”

So in addition to my love for Wikipedia I would love to declare my love for the folks at Labrador. They can seriously see in suggestion the stuff of sonic gold. And we have these songs to thank them for. Listen, puejjjj!

The Sound of Arrows – Danger (Danger/2008)

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The Sound of Arrows – M.A.G.I.C. (M.A.G.I.C./2008)