EIC's 10Q's w/ Deadbeat Synesthete

"..swarmed by warming pixelated-martian bleeps.." 

Deadbeat Synesthete

Cruising Constructing Cosmos

Deadbeat Synesthete Bio:

Deadbeat Synesthete is Steve out of Eatontown, New Jersey. His sounds are reminescent of the current Glo-fI scene mixed with a dash of Chill Wave and Space Pop. I wish I could tell you more than that, but unfortunately there isn't much of a bio for this artist..in due time I'm sure.

Hello, how are you?

Pretty good, I guess. Just going through the day.

What are you currently listening to?

As I write this I have Porcelain Raft on...but recently, I've been cycling through: Starfucker's 'Reptilians', Circa Survive's 'Juturna', Purity Ring's 'Shrines', Radiohead's 'In Rainbows', and a couple of Of Montreal albums. When I'm driving around, I have an mp3 cd with all of Crystal Castle's 3 LPs on it. Also, I have an obsession with a Ukranian girl that goes by Blablarism...she's awesome.

When did this project come about, whom/what were your biggest influences?

I started working under this moniker sometime May or June 2012, with the idea that I'd be making full songs, instead of just messing around as I had under my previous soundcloud name, Stevism. I have always been interested in making music, but didn't really have the time or money to pursue it seriously while I was in college. After graduating in May, I finally had a little more of both, and started to seriously work on learning production techniques, synthesis, different instruments, etc. My biggest influences at the time were Neon Indian and Com Truise. I love the grooves that Seth Haley can carve with his synths and drums, and I really like a lot of his other projects...it's a close tie for me between Com Truise and Sarin Sunday as his best work. I had seen Neon Indian in Philadelphia in early April 2012, and I got to meet/talk with Alan Palomo for like 5 minutes after the show. He's a really chill dude, and really laid-back/friendly. It was great talking to him about synth gear, and within 2 weeks I had bought my first vintage polyphonic analog synth.

Is there a story behind the band name?

I majored in Neuroscience when I was in college, and did research on grapheme-color synesthesia. I myself have tested as an associative synsthete, which basically means that I have a statistically significant association for specific colors (as in, exact shade, tone, etc.) with most letters and numbers. I also seem to experience synesthesia for music/sound waves, but I haven't tested for that in any reproducable way yet. The name itself is a play on the Neon Indian song "Deadbeat Summer," since deadbeat kind of rhymes with synesthete but not really. Also sometimes I just feel like a fucking deadbeat in this world.

Care to tell us a little bit about your latest release 'I Dream Of Graphemes'; themes, favorite tracks, recording snags?

I realized I was running out of space on soundcloud, and decided it would be a good time to focus on evolving my music by making a new project name. I wanted a way to close out DS though, so I compiled together a bunch of tracks I had done under the name. There's no true theme I suppose, since I would only focus on themes when I was doing smaller EPs. Most of the tracks are about getting older, and wondering where to really go, you know? My favorite tracks are "Summergone", "The Heroes of Gunstar", "Cubic Zirconias", "Actions", and "Passing Thoughts". The last track, that's really just a Simpson's sample, was totally by accident. It's just the very first part of what was on the vhs tape that wasn't overwritten by my music, and I thought that a scene talking about getting a job would be a good way to end a "deadbeat" album.

Will you be touring for said release?

Nah, I've never played live with this material. I never intended to. Deadbeat Synesthete was more a training exercise than anything, to be honest.

Got any other projects we should know about?

I'm working on some new material that's more along the lines of Post-Punk/Grunge, but with Electronic/Dance elements to it as well. I'm not sure how to really describe it, especially since I'm in the early stages. The whole thing is geared for live shows though, the kind that you go to and everyone is kind of really grimey and drunk in the basement of some city bar and you're having a great time because you're just living. I'm also working with a female vocalist that lives a couple of hours away from me, trying to get that Indie Dance-Pop Shoegaze sound. She has a really beautiful and unique voice, and it's great working with her. I don't work on either project nearly as much as a would like to though, and I'm trying to change that.

What movie would work best on mute while listening to you music?

Hmm, that's a tough one, especially since I'm not the biggest film guy. There's actually a vhs tape in my room that has dvd video from Pink Floyd's 'The Wall' with 'I Dream Of Graphemes' playing over it, since I bounced the whole album to a vcr to gel together the album (you need video to be sent to the vcr as well otherwise the audio doesn't track properly). Actually, I guess I would say 'The Wall'. I wouldn't dare compare myself to Pink Floyd, but I watched the tape with my music over it and it was kind of cool.

You can only keep/listen to ONE album for the rest of your life ..which album would it be?

'The Dark Side of the Moon', easily. It was one of the first albums I ever listened to in my life, and it has influenced me immensely. My first real instrument was the saxophone because of "Us and Them," and "Any Colour You Like" really pushed me towards synths and electronic music in general. "Any Colour You Like" is also the first song that I can recall experiencing visual synesthesia, since there's just so much great stuff going on. There are a lot of other albums out there that I like a lot, but I don't think anything will ever really surpass that one.

Are you living your dream?

I'm not sure what my dream is anymore, to be honest. I do wish I had done things a bit differently, and I'm making those changes. I'm ok with what I'm doing now, but I just know there's a lot more out there.

Thanx Steve!

Deadbeat Synesthete is currently> hopefully working on a follow up to "I Dream.." look for that soon..?

EIC's 10Q's w/ James & Evander

"..roll the windows down, let the sun shine, worry about nothing.."

James & Evander

Shiny Chill Pop

JamEs & Evander Bio

James & Evander started in the apartments of its two members (whose real names happen to be Adam Myatt and Glenn Jackson) while both were attending an art school of sorts back in 2007. Driven by a love of synthesizers and a healthy curiosity for sonic exploration, J&E turned out a number of EPs over its first few years of existence, at first crafting tender slices of indietronica with The Awkard Turtle EP and later turning out stoney pieces of instrumental synth-pop on 2010’s Sunlight and Circuitry. Last year, the pair successfully added its own vocals to the mix, resulting in a three-track EP which molded the pairs’ knack for rich, flowing soundscapes into a space-age take on vocal-driven pop music. The Constellating EP opened up James & Evander’s appeal to a whole new audience, and helped them push their own spin on “future-pop” to new corners.  Now, after making a brief stop in the land of galactic disco for a 7″ with Gold Robot Records, J&E have issued their debut full-length, Bummer Pop, a record that continues in the vein of Constellating with 10 songs of lush, infectious pop, complete with layers of cavernous vocals. Inspired by the diverse Oakland electronic scene from which the duo stem (running with the likes of Yalls, Shortcircles, Elephant & Castle, etc.), Bummer Pop attempts to cover a lot of ground, moving through moments of disco-tinged dancefloor fair, spiralling chillwave, synth-soaked indie-pop, and hazy sections of blissed-out beat work. The album’s constant is its layered vocal contributions, which both Myatt and Jackson share, landing on introspective themes that fit the music’s personal tone. It’s an inviting debut that doesn’t attempt to shout out its presence, but rather hopes to envelope the listener in blankets of sound, revealing more and more details with each listen.

Hello, how are you?

A bit hung over. We were asked to be the DJs for a Starfucker show last night, which was basically a license for drinking to excess.

What are you currently listening to?

The new Xx record and a new album from our Oakland friends Religious Girls just came out, so that's what we've been listening to this morning. Also, the new Luke Abbott EP, 'Modern Driveway', has been on repeat lately.

Is there one particular band/sound/idea that inspired this project?

Years ago, we bonded over a shared love for DNTEL/Jimmy Tamborello/Postal Service and Moog synths. We were attending an "art school" of sorts at the time, and had an opportunity to use the studio spaces there to first try any and all ideas out. Somehow, we landed on stoned-out synth-pop.

LOVE your debut LP, care to tell us a little bit about it; theme, recording process, likes/dislikes, etc.?

We basically began by taking stock of all the tracks we had started over for the years but for one reason or another never finished. For instance, "What Else Is New?" was started way back in 2007 (and it took us recording three different drummers to get it to finally work) and "I Don't Mind" is built from a riff Glenn/Evander had been playing since his high school days. From there, we just kept jamming and experimenting until we found 10 songs we were happy with that didn't all sound the same (we hope). 'Bummer Pop' brought on a lot of challenges, especially expanding our still limited experience with vocals into the full-length format, so some of it now sounds a bit underdeveloped to us. Honestly, we're still learning how to use our voices every time we play a show or write a new song!

What's your favorite track and why?

"The Creative Process" and "I Don't Mind" are up there because they were so fun to make, we had the opportunity to stretch the "J+E sound" and include some live drums, acoustic guitars, and friends' vocal talents into our sonic palette.

Will you be touring for said release?

Unfortunately, we're just not up for any hardcore touring. We've played a lot of shows in and around California since the release, and we'd like to make it up to the Northwest at some point, but really, we'd rather just make more songs for now!

Got any other projects we should know about?

Definitely! We have our hands in a variety of things at all times it seems, but we've been working on some new tunes for a project called Hoodcats, a collaboration between us and Shortcircles (our housemate). It helps us get out our more ridiculous dance music inclinations, plus it's provided a nice excuse to sample Mark Morrison and Christina Aguilera!

What movie would work best on mute while listening to your music?

Ghostbusters, or maybe an episode of Pete and Pete?

 You can only keep/listen to ONE album for the rest of your life ..which album would it be?

We'd almost probably rather listen to nothing than just one album for the rest of our lives! But, if we had to choose, probably Four Tet's 'There Is Love In You', really still haven't gotten over how flawlessly gorgeous that whole album is!

Are you living your dream?

Maybe the dream of 16 year-old us when all we wanted was to do was live in a house that had a studio in it and to be working on music all the time. Just didn't picture that house in the Oakland ghetto or the music-making to involve so much weed perhaps!

Thanx Tim + J & E!

James & Evander recently released a remix companion to 'Bummer Pop', which can be found HERE (for free).