Audio Fuzz. How long have you guys known each other? When and where did you meet?
Steve Nalepa: Adam and I have known each other for quite some time now, we have a lot of wonderful mutual friends. He lived in Los Angeles for a few years, that’s when we first met. He and Ry met originally about 6 years ago, but didn’t see each other again until they reconnected just before our first music session together.
A. What were your main influences?
S. There’s so many influences and it is pretty varied, it is hard to pick one ‘main’ influence. We all love deeper stuff, tracks with heavy drones and interesting sound design, music with lots of space. In general we gravitate towards the more artful side of things. We appreciate and were inspired by artists who have been able to actualize their grand visions.
A. Do you like performing live, making videos, or working in the studio best?
S. All of the above. Currently we’re deep in live performance mode, but there is a certain joy from working in the studio. We are pretty much on the road until mid-November, so finding time to get into the studio is going to be tricky until after that. Making the videos and collaborating with such a talented team of visual artist friends has been a blessing, looking forward to doing more of that.
A. What process do you use to write your songs? Where do your ideas come from?
Our process for this album was very intuitive and experimental. Someone would start off with an idea, some sound or a chord progression, perhaps some rhythmic part, and we’d get it down and start adding to it. Generally there would be some back and forth inspiration, taking turns putting more paint on the canvas, and then at some point Ry would hear a vocal melody and say “pull up a vocal track.” I’d record him singing a couple takes straight from his subconscious. Sometimes we ended up keeping those initial takes, other times he’d go back and revise some of the lyrics. Basically we stayed very much in the flow, keeping in mind to not let the track get too busy, leaving lots of space, tightening up the arrangement and keeping it as concise as possible.
A. If you were dogs, what type would you be?
S. Reservoir
A. Who else do you think is really good out there?
S. Paul Laffoley’s paintings, Buckminster Fuller’s ideas, Elon Musk’s vision, Bill Cosby’s drum story, Les Blank’s films, and E2-E4.
A. Any other facts/theories/anything you want to fans to know.
S. We appreciate all the support, looking forward to sharing the audiovisual show we have developed with you. Cheers!