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Intervju: Of Montreal

Kevin Barnes er aktuell med The Sunlandic Twins med sitt band Of Montreal.

Ronny Svendsen 

Del på Facebook29.07.05

Amerikanske Of Montreal ga tidligere i år ut albumet Sunlandic Twins, til stor begeistring både blant fans og ikke minst et samstemt pressekorps. Leder Kevin Barnes bodde i Oslo store deler av innspillingsperioden, og ei låt på skiva heter Oslo In The Summertime. Kevin som er gift med ei norsk jente er for tiden ute på turne med Of Montreal, men tok seg likevel tid til en prat med groove.no

- Congrats with a fantastic new album. Can you tell us a bit about the songwriting process and the recording of it?

Well, I wanted to make an album that was sort of cut into two movements. The first half I wanted to be very upbeat and dance oriented and the second movement I wanted to be darker and moody. It is the first album where I used more electronic drums than acoustic drums. I had a lot of fun working with the programming and sequencing of the sounds. I have entered into a more electronic phase now, and has been inspired by bands like Royksopp, Caribou and Four Tet. I wanted to combine these contemporary influences with stuff from the 1970's like Brian Eno, Queen and David Bowie. I've also been listening to a lot of Talking Heads and Prince.

- It's more electronic than before. Was that decided up-front?

Since I have been really getting into the contemporary electronic bands I listed, it has definitely made an imprint on my style. I try to mix things up a bit from album to album so that things don't get too predictable. I think it is important for an artist to do that. You know, to take chances a bit, try new things and stay excited about what you're doing.

- What inspired you to start writing songs and creating music?

I don't really know. I basically started writing music from the very beginning. As soon as I learned a few chords on guitar I was writing my own stuff. I probably wrote about 400 songs before my first record came out. I used to just sit in my room all day writing songs and recording them on my 4-track cassette recorder. It was really great fun. Actually things haven't changed all that much. I guess I just caught the bug.

- How do you create music? From melody line, chord progressions, lyrics or jamming?

I usually write the basic structure on acoustic guitar. Nowadays though, I do compose a little bit more using my audio programs. I create a simple piano melody line and then slowly add stuff on to it. Sometimes I have a melody line in my head and lyrics and everything before I even pick up an instrument. That's pretty rare though. Most of the time I work on a song for a couple months, fine tuning it and getting the arrangement where I'm happy with it.

- Do you have a day job or is Of Montreal a full time project now?

No I don't have a day job. It's nice cause I can dedicate almost all of my energies on recording and writing.

- You've been spending some time in Oslo lately, haven't you? How has it been?

I like Oslo a lot. I like that it is so culturally diverse. The summers are amazing but the winter is a bit too cold for me. I do think that Norway is one of the most beautiful countries in the world.


- You also DJ'ed at Café Mono some months ago. How's the Oslo scene compared to Athens?

Unfortunately I didn't really get a sense of the Oslo music scene. I only went out a few times and I didn't get a chance to meet that many people. I've played shows in Oslo with a couple different bands and it's always been a lot of fun. It's hard to compare a college town with a metropolis though.

- Do you read a lot?

I do. Right now I'm reading Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem. I used to only read dead authors but now I have been getting into more contemporary stuff.

- What inspire you from day to day?

Mostly other people. I really feed off of other people's creativity. It is the most exciting thing to discover something new. I'm always looking out for new stuff.

- Do you know any norwegian artists?

Yeah I am a big Royksopp fan and i also like St Thomas, Annie, Loch Ness Mouse, Kings of Convenience, Kaada and the
Ethnobabes.

- Finally, what are your favorite albums of all time?

In no particular order:
The first two Os Mutantes albums
Kevin Ayers: Joy of a Toy
The Kinks: We Are the Village Green Preservation Society
Brian Eno: Taking Tiger Mountain By Strategy and Here Come the Warm Jets
Talking Heads: Remain in Light, Fear of Music and More Songs About Buildings and Food
Mayo Thompson: Corky's Debt to His Father, Prince: Parade
Fela Kuti: No Agreement
Sly and the Family Stone: There's a Riot Going On
The Beatles: Revolver
Charles Mingus: Ah Um and Mingus Mingus Mingus
Cedric im Brooks: And the Light of Saba
White Noise: Electrical Storm"
...Ok I need to stop now or else I'll just go on forever.