"..With all of the doom and gloom here it seems nearly impossible not to be persuade by its charm. I'm impressed.."
Silk Flowers
Praise For The Caliginous Masquerade
Silk Flowers Bio:
Forging a hallucinatory blend of synths and deep, slurred vocals that sound like Ian Curtis on cough syrup, New York's Silk Flowers features vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Aviram Cohen and keyboardist Peter Schuette from Soiled Mattress & the Springs, and Ethan Swan of Car Clutch, Emergency, and Corpse Kisser. The band formed in 2008 and spent that fall touring with bands including Sightings, Tickley Feather, and No Age, who signed Silk Flowers to their label PPM. The "In This Place and Time" single arrived in early 2009, and the band's self-titled debut album — which was produced by Saturday Looks Good to Me/City Center's Fred Thomas — followed that summer.
Hello, how are you?
Quite well. Thank you for asking.
What are you currently listening to?
Felt "The Strange Idols Pattern And Other Short Stories"
Human League "Travelogue"
Mika Miko "We Be Xuxa"
Where/when did you guys originally meet?
My Dad has his own car service business based in NJ and I'd help him out doing late night runs to Newark airport. To kill time while I was waiting for clients planes to land, I'd hang out at the Hilton hotel bar by the airport. Peter was a bartender there and we would talk a lot about music. Eventually, Ethan started hanging out there too. Somehow, we decided to start playing together.
Your debut album is pretty terrific, I wanted to thank you for writing it.. How do you feel about the outcome of the album?
I am grateful that you appreciate it. It was a labor of love for the four people that worked on it (the fourth being Fred Thomas who recorded and produced it). The whole recording process was really fun and done in an organic atmosphere of working in a home. I think the out come is pretty good considering we've been a band for less than a year. It's not easy to construct a cohesive idea. But, I think we came close. I don't think it's a record for everyone. Certainly, no art really is.
What was the most difficult part about putting the album together?
Initially, it was finding a place to record where we can work methodically without being pressured by time. Our friend, who records at home a lot, was leaving town for two weeks and let us set up shop there. Once that worked out it was not difficult. Which is nice. I believe in sacrifices but, its nice to not fight for every other thing in your life. I think braving the cold and the ineptitude of the NYC late night subway system was the worst thing. It was around 20 degrees some of those nights and the trains were working on some indecipherable system.
What’s with the album cover art? I love it, but I was wondering, does it symbolize anything?
The cover is about how you can move beyond bad times in your life and create new and improved realities for yourself but, somehow the past is never too far to find you. Your room is a safe place for you to be but, you are not beyond the reach of what you may wish to escape. It's a rather unfortunate circumstance.
You’ve toured with some pretty amazing bands, have any good stories from the road?
Opening for Ministry during the "A Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste" tour was pretty crazy. There was some of the best catering I've ever had. Snacks are important to me.
Any large-scale touring plans in the making?
We're going on a west coast tour in two weeks and I think we're trying to go to Europe in November.
You can only keep/listen to ONE album for the rest of your life ..which album would it be?
Sibelius
Are you living your dream?
That's a hard question for me because I never had "dreams" in the sense that your referring to. And that can be a harsh reality to exist in. However, I do feel like I'm living in a new possibility. And having that has made me feel more free. Whatever that may mean.
Quite well. Thank you for asking.
What are you currently listening to?
Felt "The Strange Idols Pattern And Other Short Stories"
Human League "Travelogue"
Mika Miko "We Be Xuxa"
Where/when did you guys originally meet?
My Dad has his own car service business based in NJ and I'd help him out doing late night runs to Newark airport. To kill time while I was waiting for clients planes to land, I'd hang out at the Hilton hotel bar by the airport. Peter was a bartender there and we would talk a lot about music. Eventually, Ethan started hanging out there too. Somehow, we decided to start playing together.
Your debut album is pretty terrific, I wanted to thank you for writing it.. How do you feel about the outcome of the album?
I am grateful that you appreciate it. It was a labor of love for the four people that worked on it (the fourth being Fred Thomas who recorded and produced it). The whole recording process was really fun and done in an organic atmosphere of working in a home. I think the out come is pretty good considering we've been a band for less than a year. It's not easy to construct a cohesive idea. But, I think we came close. I don't think it's a record for everyone. Certainly, no art really is.
What was the most difficult part about putting the album together?
Initially, it was finding a place to record where we can work methodically without being pressured by time. Our friend, who records at home a lot, was leaving town for two weeks and let us set up shop there. Once that worked out it was not difficult. Which is nice. I believe in sacrifices but, its nice to not fight for every other thing in your life. I think braving the cold and the ineptitude of the NYC late night subway system was the worst thing. It was around 20 degrees some of those nights and the trains were working on some indecipherable system.
What’s with the album cover art? I love it, but I was wondering, does it symbolize anything?
The cover is about how you can move beyond bad times in your life and create new and improved realities for yourself but, somehow the past is never too far to find you. Your room is a safe place for you to be but, you are not beyond the reach of what you may wish to escape. It's a rather unfortunate circumstance.
You’ve toured with some pretty amazing bands, have any good stories from the road?
Opening for Ministry during the "A Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste" tour was pretty crazy. There was some of the best catering I've ever had. Snacks are important to me.
Any large-scale touring plans in the making?
We're going on a west coast tour in two weeks and I think we're trying to go to Europe in November.
You can only keep/listen to ONE album for the rest of your life ..which album would it be?
Sibelius
Are you living your dream?
That's a hard question for me because I never had "dreams" in the sense that your referring to. And that can be a harsh reality to exist in. However, I do feel like I'm living in a new possibility. And having that has made me feel more free. Whatever that may mean.
Thanx Aviram!
Silk Flowers are currently wrapping up a US tour, try to catch them (if you can)...
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