INTERSTLLR
Interview by: Allyson Cooper
Over the last 10 years or so, our little community of Guelph has sculpted a distinct indie-folk-oriented music scene- producing groups and solo artists that have gone on to great acclaim and success in Canada, and internationally. Could the next generation of great Guelph musicians be moving into a more urban- or pop-oriented sound? With the mid-summer release of INTERSTLLR’s self-titled freshman EP, the next generation of musicians will undoubtedly count Koko Bonaparte and Madadam as inspiration. With each listen to the 15-minute long EP, I become more and more of a fan. Tracks like “Is There Thunder” and “Love Sit Down” could easily be lent to party playlists, and “Mercy Me” (which was far too short for my liking) makes it impossible not to move.
INTERSTLLR were kind enough to answer some questions about their first release. Make sure you get your hands on this EP, and mark October 6th on your calendar - it’s the night INTERSTLLR invades the eBar.
Royal City Scene: I’ve read you’ve been friends since childhood, what instigated this collaboration? Why now, in the summer of 2011?
Koko Bonaparte: Last year, Adam and I both changed our work and the places we live. We had small renaissances. It wasn’t mapped and planned, but it makes sense that we invented INTERSTLLR as a new thing to suit new days.
RCS: There have been acts that mesh ambient samples, hip hop beats, and startling female vocals, a group like Portishead comes to mind, but somehow you’ve created a new version of that sound. How did your sound come to be?
KB: Portishead is still inspiring, still haunting. It’s so cool that several people have hesitantly compared us to them! Our sound happened “big bang” on the first song we made, which was “Is There Thunder.” It did not result from long band practices or soul searching. Soul was at the door, leaning there. It was like when a hockey coach puts together a new line and the line clicks. Our line is: Madadam, Koko Bonaparte, and Gregory Pepper. We were dancing a lot then, so it made sense that we wanted to make electronic and grimy songs that feel good. We agreed on that and went for it.
RCS: I’ve encountered a few pieces about the release of the EP, and a resounding theme is that people are surprised that you’re from Guelph and NOT making indie rock or folk. As artists, what is so attractive about Pop and Hip Hop?
KB: The clutch rhythms, the dancing, the humour of Pop and Hip Hop, the sex—these are attractive.
RCS: Explain your creative process.
Madadam: I like to sit in front of the computer screen until my eyeballs get dry and sore, then I take a break, get some eye drops, if it's that bad, and maybe I have a glass of water, then I get back to it. I play around with the beat until it has that feel that I’m looking for. I'll start with a drumbeat and then chop some samples over top of it, or visa versa, but there's no set formula. I find that most of my beats just make themselves. I guess it's best described as sculpting. You get a general loop going with all the chopped samples and the drum beat, and then start chipping away at it until it really hits. I use software as opposed to an MPC, so there's a visual element to it. I can see every thing notated on a grid. I used an MPC one time. I was like the kid who can’t figure out how the toy works and so throws a temper tantrum.
KB: I listen to the beat about one hundred times. I write to the beat when I’m out walking with headphones on, in the early morning or late evening. Sometimes I sit down at my desk to write. I excel at dancing in a chair. In Grade 7, the rapper Livestock and I used to dance in chairs all the time. This should be part of every writer’s education.
RCS: Madadam, what era of music has the best samples? Is there an artist you like to sample?
MM: I can't say that any one era has the best samples. There are great samples to be found everywhere. I do like sampling older material like big band stuff or those cheesy "100 strings play....” records or anything classical, or Bert Kampfert, or stuff like that. I also look for lots of single note samples, like a clarinet tone that I can pitch up and down to make into my own melody. On the INTERSTLLR EP, I sample a wide range of stuff from prog rock to Dixieland, to soul, to Bach, to an instructional drum cd, to sounds that come with my production software, or my own stuff that I played on a keyboard, or a tone that I generated. Whatever works. Some people think there are rules to sampling, like some beat makers would never sample a sound from a loop bank that came with their software, but I don't care at all. I put lots of work into my beats. If it works, then I’ll use it, just as long as I’m not phoning it in with a simple four-bar loop and a pre-looped drum beat over top. I did that 10 years ago. I’m trying to progress as a musician. I don't want to be just making four-bar looped beats all the time. It's been done. That being said, there's nothing like a good banger.
RCS: Koko, I know you’ve rapped in the past, what led you to singing?
KB: Gregory Pepper told me to do it. I am grateful. I sing all day now.
RCS: I saw a video from late August of you performing “Is There Thunder?” and it was tight- so in the pocket. It’s pretty rare to find a new group that can sound just as polished and clean live, as they do recorded. Does your live show stay faithful to what’s on the album?
KB: Right now, our live show sounds like the INTERSTLLR EP. We gathered a small fleet of synths and production machines to make it rock right. We’re proud of our live sound.
RCS: How has the Guelph music scene received this EP?
KB: Guelph has been incredibly supportive and cheerful around the INTERSTLLR EP.
RCS: Madadam played Hillside with Common Grackle; will we see this duo at Hillside next year?
KB: They decide that in a room, behind a door, don’t they?
RCS: You have a great Tumblr site, how important is social media for new bands?
KB: I like my data like bread, fresh and soft in the middle. Our Tumblr site keeps us organized. We always know how to share news and videos, and don’t have to wonder what to do, but just post it there. But I also like it when music is hard to find, when it seems remote or marginal. This gives it an air of mystery and special value. It’s a pleasant illusion. I like reticence.
RCS: To quote “Love Sit Down,” what should happen next for Interstllr? Will we be seeing a full-length album?
Some singles and videos are next.
You’ve worked with Noah 23 and Common Grackle is there the possibility that we could see some collaboration on some new music?
Yes, more songs with friends!
Connect: Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter
Interview by: Allyson Cooper
Over the last 10 years or so, our little community of Guelph has sculpted a distinct indie-folk-oriented music scene- producing groups and solo artists that have gone on to great acclaim and success in Canada, and internationally. Could the next generation of great Guelph musicians be moving into a more urban- or pop-oriented sound? With the mid-summer release of INTERSTLLR’s self-titled freshman EP, the next generation of musicians will undoubtedly count Koko Bonaparte and Madadam as inspiration. With each listen to the 15-minute long EP, I become more and more of a fan. Tracks like “Is There Thunder” and “Love Sit Down” could easily be lent to party playlists, and “Mercy Me” (which was far too short for my liking) makes it impossible not to move.
INTERSTLLR were kind enough to answer some questions about their first release. Make sure you get your hands on this EP, and mark October 6th on your calendar - it’s the night INTERSTLLR invades the eBar.
Royal City Scene: I’ve read you’ve been friends since childhood, what instigated this collaboration? Why now, in the summer of 2011?
Koko Bonaparte: Last year, Adam and I both changed our work and the places we live. We had small renaissances. It wasn’t mapped and planned, but it makes sense that we invented INTERSTLLR as a new thing to suit new days.
RCS: There have been acts that mesh ambient samples, hip hop beats, and startling female vocals, a group like Portishead comes to mind, but somehow you’ve created a new version of that sound. How did your sound come to be?
KB: Portishead is still inspiring, still haunting. It’s so cool that several people have hesitantly compared us to them! Our sound happened “big bang” on the first song we made, which was “Is There Thunder.” It did not result from long band practices or soul searching. Soul was at the door, leaning there. It was like when a hockey coach puts together a new line and the line clicks. Our line is: Madadam, Koko Bonaparte, and Gregory Pepper. We were dancing a lot then, so it made sense that we wanted to make electronic and grimy songs that feel good. We agreed on that and went for it.
RCS: I’ve encountered a few pieces about the release of the EP, and a resounding theme is that people are surprised that you’re from Guelph and NOT making indie rock or folk. As artists, what is so attractive about Pop and Hip Hop?
KB: The clutch rhythms, the dancing, the humour of Pop and Hip Hop, the sex—these are attractive.
RCS: Explain your creative process.
Madadam: I like to sit in front of the computer screen until my eyeballs get dry and sore, then I take a break, get some eye drops, if it's that bad, and maybe I have a glass of water, then I get back to it. I play around with the beat until it has that feel that I’m looking for. I'll start with a drumbeat and then chop some samples over top of it, or visa versa, but there's no set formula. I find that most of my beats just make themselves. I guess it's best described as sculpting. You get a general loop going with all the chopped samples and the drum beat, and then start chipping away at it until it really hits. I use software as opposed to an MPC, so there's a visual element to it. I can see every thing notated on a grid. I used an MPC one time. I was like the kid who can’t figure out how the toy works and so throws a temper tantrum.
KB: I listen to the beat about one hundred times. I write to the beat when I’m out walking with headphones on, in the early morning or late evening. Sometimes I sit down at my desk to write. I excel at dancing in a chair. In Grade 7, the rapper Livestock and I used to dance in chairs all the time. This should be part of every writer’s education.
RCS: Madadam, what era of music has the best samples? Is there an artist you like to sample?
MM: I can't say that any one era has the best samples. There are great samples to be found everywhere. I do like sampling older material like big band stuff or those cheesy "100 strings play....” records or anything classical, or Bert Kampfert, or stuff like that. I also look for lots of single note samples, like a clarinet tone that I can pitch up and down to make into my own melody. On the INTERSTLLR EP, I sample a wide range of stuff from prog rock to Dixieland, to soul, to Bach, to an instructional drum cd, to sounds that come with my production software, or my own stuff that I played on a keyboard, or a tone that I generated. Whatever works. Some people think there are rules to sampling, like some beat makers would never sample a sound from a loop bank that came with their software, but I don't care at all. I put lots of work into my beats. If it works, then I’ll use it, just as long as I’m not phoning it in with a simple four-bar loop and a pre-looped drum beat over top. I did that 10 years ago. I’m trying to progress as a musician. I don't want to be just making four-bar looped beats all the time. It's been done. That being said, there's nothing like a good banger.
RCS: Koko, I know you’ve rapped in the past, what led you to singing?
KB: Gregory Pepper told me to do it. I am grateful. I sing all day now.
RCS: I saw a video from late August of you performing “Is There Thunder?” and it was tight- so in the pocket. It’s pretty rare to find a new group that can sound just as polished and clean live, as they do recorded. Does your live show stay faithful to what’s on the album?
KB: Right now, our live show sounds like the INTERSTLLR EP. We gathered a small fleet of synths and production machines to make it rock right. We’re proud of our live sound.
RCS: How has the Guelph music scene received this EP?
KB: Guelph has been incredibly supportive and cheerful around the INTERSTLLR EP.
RCS: Madadam played Hillside with Common Grackle; will we see this duo at Hillside next year?
KB: They decide that in a room, behind a door, don’t they?
RCS: You have a great Tumblr site, how important is social media for new bands?
KB: I like my data like bread, fresh and soft in the middle. Our Tumblr site keeps us organized. We always know how to share news and videos, and don’t have to wonder what to do, but just post it there. But I also like it when music is hard to find, when it seems remote or marginal. This gives it an air of mystery and special value. It’s a pleasant illusion. I like reticence.
RCS: To quote “Love Sit Down,” what should happen next for Interstllr? Will we be seeing a full-length album?
Some singles and videos are next.
You’ve worked with Noah 23 and Common Grackle is there the possibility that we could see some collaboration on some new music?
Yes, more songs with friends!
Connect: Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter
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