Interview: Small Black, Big Sound; Play Bell House TONIGHT
Seems Small Black became a big deal overnight. And we’re not surprised.
This duo’s hazy layers have been echoing strong through speakers in Brooklyn these last few weeks. More than just the en vogue sound of what OhMyRockness pegged best as lyrics sung through a “Fisher-Price microphone”, these Long Island gone Brooklyn boys bring the noise, in a lovey dovey sort of way.
They killed it at Market Hotel on Saturday night, and will be doing the same TONIGHT at Bell House with Free Energy. No shows are listed until mid-December, so I’d get off your couch, put down the PBR and Ben & Jerry’s and head south.
For more things Small Black check out the rest of the interview with Josh Kolenik after the jump, who sings lead on these romancing tech-infused melodies.
Reverb heavy lo-fi has been quite the craze as of late, although there’s something about your sound that stands out– what do you think it is?
I think lots of people have been making reverby lo-fi music for a long long time, just people have decided to pay attention to it a little closer over the past year or so. It seems like a natural response to the pristine production of digital music that has been floating around this decade. But I wouldn’t say that our music is lo-fi. The production style is very complicated and layered. Maybe some of tones we use are a bit cruddy, but when you put them all on top of each other, I think it’s something that is a bit more unique than a 4 track recording
What’s up with the term glo-fi and is it a word you use when characterizing your work? Make up a word right now that you can use to describe your songs from now on…
We thought Glo-Fi was hysterical & absurd when we first heard it, but at least it’s moderately unoffensive. And if you want to bring glow sticks to our show, we’re totally into it. As far as a word we use to describe our music, bangers is the one that’s most frequent.
How does it make you feel that somewhere in Brooklyn, someone is probably having sex to your EP as we speak?
Kinda raw & concerned about possible baby names
Did you have any other names floating around for the 12″ or was a self-titled always the plan?
We originally were going to call it Baby Bird based on a strange drawing my sister did that we were infatuated with… but as the record developed, it didn’t fit anymore. We do have a song called Baby Bird Pt II that we’ll put out some time in the future and we ever release some of the earlier stuff, we might use it again.
Which track is your favorite to play live?
Bad Lover is the definite #1. We tend to play it last and really jam out the ending. Jeff & Juan really have helped it come alive with their ideas for live arrangements. . It’s so such a gift be able to elaborate on ideas that Ryan & I came up with at home with such incredible musicians.
You played 7 shows during CMJ, I simply attended and am still recovering– how are you guys feeling?
We actually played 8! Jumped on the Group Tightener/Todd P show @ Monster Island w/ Best Coast, Ducktails & Fluffy Lumbers (some of our favorite bands!) the night of the show and then played at 2 AM. Probably was the best show of the week. Most fun crowd & then an outrageous Dance party till 5 AM on a Wednesday. Though CMJ is really a grind. I was sick the whole week after and watched as much Friday Night Lights as I could get my hands on.
Who’s a band we probably don’t know about that you currently can’t get enough of?
Oh there are so many things I’m loving right now….
Pictureplane – We just did a short tour with Travis and he blew us away. He takes ideas from 90s dance music and makes it so cool & catchy.
Best Coast – Bethany writes unbelievably infectious pop songs and she really kills it live.
Psychobuildings – Our friend Peter makes insane post-world pop jams
Ken Horsehair ‚Äì I was listening to a tape he gave me the other day and realized I might be the only person in the world who had these songs! He’s my friend from Portland who makes sort of lo-fi randy newman style songs…
If you were to cover a song that was, in some way, a major influence on you, which one would it be?
I always want to do Neil Young covers. Learning his songs was pretty much the reason I got into writing my own. I Believe in You just came on my iTunes shuffle as I answered this, so I think maybe I’m on the right track.
Seems like the EP is playing on repeat for a lot of folks in the ‘hood right now, do you ever listen to your own jams?
We listen to our own stuff way too much while we’re recording to scrutinize, analyze & confuse ourselves sometimes to the point where we have no idea whether it’s good or not anymore. Although when its mixed & mastered, it tends to fade out of the playlist.
Tell us more about Uncle Matt.
Uncle Matt is my dad’s brother. He lives on Long Island and he’s one of the most wonderful people I know in the world. Ryan & I did the majority of the record in his attic on weekends over the past year. He’s a surfer & he’s made his own boards for a long long time. When you walk around with him at Long Beach, at least 50% of the people you meet are going to know him. He’s kind of a legend down there. We also did the video for Despicable Dogs with him, which should be out in the next month sometime.
And finally, what is one place we should take a trip on the train out east to Long Island to see (and I mean other than Montauk, etc.)? Any secret good eats locations/venues/bars you would recommend for a weekend escape?
I love to go to West End II at Jones Beach. It’s kind of a hike to the beach, so it tends to be a bit less crowded than the rest of the beach. As far as food, Long Island is all about pizza & delis! The Ferring Deli in Baldwin (where I grew up) has the best chicken cutlet sandwich in the world & they can sure scramble a good egg. Ryan & I are also obsessed with the Albert’s Pizza Square Pie in Copiague. It’s got the perfect amount of sauce on top of the cheese.
I like this band music,its something different for others.anyway tis a nice interview i got some interesting news.