Interview with Serena Maneesh drummer Einar Lukerstuen

What does it mean to be a member of Serena Maneesh?

“the dynasty does not leave a single leaf untouched, indifferent. like a piece of meat through that good old butcher' s molding machine."

How did the band form and how was the name developed?

“recording sessions, late night playing, playing, playing, lot of late night walking, cold air, making lots of stupid mistakes, seeing bad shows, horrible music scene but some good oslo punk rock 'scene' attitude inspired serena- the thoughts of something serene, the serenade, the moment when the curtains are being taken away, the sound of siren inside your head- the maneesh, a stage 'setting' of an opera of fantasy in your head, transcribed."

What early influences do the members have?

"some ramones, some jobim, some old norwegian gypsie folk tales, some grieg, some oldie acdc. all that made our hearts beat."

Were the members of Serena Maneesh making similar styles of music before in previous bands or did they adapt to a new style?

"m. all fragments/ parts of a forming some kind of of path."

Interview with Andy Chase of Ivy

Starting out, what was your first taste of success?

"We got signed without ever playing a single show. Two of the demos that got us signed were immediately released as a 7” in both the States and England. The A-side called “Get Enough” was quickly picked by Melody Maker magazine as their Single Of The Week, and suddenly all this excitement and focus was directed at us...we still hadn’t played a show yet, still were totally green and naïve. That sudden attention from the press helped launch our career, for sure."

You’ve been together as a band since 1994. In what way has your relationship with Dominique influenced the group musically?

"I guess it’s helped us through the good times and bad - Ivy might have broken up a few times already if it wasn’t for me and Dominique's commitment towards each other. I also think knowing Dominique so well and sharing her perspective on this world around us – even understanding her own idiosyncrasies – has helped me write songs that speak to her and, as a result, work so well when she sings them as Ivy."

James Iha has appeared in some form or another on almost all of your releases. What kind of an experience is it to work with James?

"Great. He’s been like a rabbit’s foot. Totallt good luck to have him participate. Great guy too, and he's played on every Ivy record since Apartment Life. He’s even played on my Brookville albums. He’s very melodic and I love to just have him noodle around on each song – he’ll grab a fx pedal or two and try something on the fly - and I’ll go through his takes later and pull out the best moments. He likes working this way so it’s always fun to have him contribute."

Both you and Adam have done a lot of work as producers and composers outside of Ivy. What projects do you enjoy working on the most?

"I've done very little producing because being in both Ivy and Brookville take up so much time and creative energy. I usually end up producing one, maybe two, things a year. Because I produce so little the stuff I seem to gravitate to tends to be the projects I feel will challenge me, rather than what might be an easy “job” or pay well. The Tahiti 80 records I’ve done have put me to task because those guys are such accomplished writers and producers themselves, so it always elevates my game and makes me discover things about my own abilities. Working with them I’m finding I’m always trying to push the envelope, which is really rewarding. Right now I’m producing Juliana Hatfield. She is so insanely talented and such a wonderful, captivating person but she really needs to break free of the sound that served her so well in the 90's. She could be so much more than what she's been, so this is my challenge - to bring that out. That’s the kind of thing I enjoy working on – helping an artist blossom and metamorphose, being part of that process."

Besides more Ivy releases, can we expect to see more projects involving film with you and Adam?

"Man, I hope so. Scoring Shallow Hal was such a great experience for Ivy and we are always looking for that next film."

interview with Josef and Esbjorn of Oh! Custer

Tell us about the Composition Process, i've heard a lot of bird sounds and distortion in your voice,and some shoegaze/electro pop sounds aswell. Tell us what's the message behind all that effects.. Is that just for fun.. do you like nature or something?

"Well, we like it when sounds start to live their own lives to become something we can't really control. In all these sounds and noise you can hear things that we did not intend to put there. And of course we like the sound of reverberation and distortion, that's the reason we use them. And yes, we like nature, of course, who doesn't? Maybe that's something that differs us from other bands. We get inspiration from nature (trees, seasons, birds and stuff) and are not afraid to be geeky about it. But we also get inspiration from the city as it is a kind of nature we explore in our daily lives."

How did you come up with the tracklisting for the debut EP "Leaves"?

"Eh.... it was sort of a thing that just happened. The songs are almost chronological. We sat down and made songs.... It was our first EP and our first songs so it was a learning process. We are learning new things every time we record a new song. It just keeps on coming!"

What are your expectations in the next couple of years as a band? Are you planning on taking a tour of europe to help support your first LP?

"First of all we would like to have a proper record deal with some small label somewhere. Then maybe a booking company to help us find gigs. As it is now we handle these things ourselves. And what about a tour... That would be fun but Esbjorn is finishing his master in Landscape Architecture and Josef is fulltime PhD student in Cancer Genetics. We don't really have time to go on tour. But we do play occasionally. We'd love to go overseas sometime..."

Being a new band in the market makes you depend on a large number of people from reviewers and critics to agents and managers. Are you feeling the new life style stress?

"No, we consider the band as a social project most of all. It's not something we really think about. It's for fun. So far everyone has been nothing but nice to us. Curiously enough...."

Which band in Sweden would you like to recommend to your fans?

"Radio Dept., Franke, Fireside, Silverbullit.... there are many good bands you know! "

interview with Pekka Portfors

What role does relocation play in your music?

"Relocation means new impressions, faces, places and sometimes new problems to deal with, these are all things that tumble around in my head when I am writing a song I guess. It can also give a new perspective to old places and people. "

Have you started a band since moving to england?

"No I haven't, I am here for only 5 months, and having to pay rent and all that forces me to work most of the time, but me and two friends, Ben Sheard (http://www.myspace.com/benwizzy) and Vicky Chapman are messing about with some retro computers, such as a commondore 64, an atari, the first ever casio keyboard and other strange, old equipment, we are called Giftbaskets for the Unfortunate. But yeah, as for the time I am trying to get material for another full length record since my last one never made it to the factory and has been outdated. "

What was it like to be in a song with Taxi Taxi?

"It was ace, worth meantioning is that this song did only feature Johanna B.E from Taxi, Taxi! This was a very strange project though, I got the idea one night, asked Johanna if she wanted to sing on one song, which I then recorded the music for and sent to her over the internet. Taking lazy to a completely new level, but it turned out alright! Haha. "

In music what is the difference between the live music scene in Sweden and the live music scene in England?

"It is alot bigger in England I would say, here it feels more like you are going to a club than to a show, which is a bit more relaxing, also it is cheaper and more bands play here. "

While sharing the stage with Jose Gonzalez what did you experience? What did you learn?

I got to support one of my favorite singer/songwriters! Just that is enough for me. The night was fantastic, but I am not sure if I learned anything, maybe that Jose likes to listen to Iron Maiden-type bands to warm up for his shows, but that could just have been a one time thing, haha.

Interview with Stee Docherty

Who would you consider to be your biggest influences and/or most inspiring people?
"My friends Rich Tee and Leo Coulter are definitely big influences. I used to be in a band with them called Sport, and we self-produced an album. We learned a lot about music-making and recording together. They are both working on something called 'The Rest' now, which is due out soon, I expect I'll be emailing you about it when it happens - I'm really looking forward to it. It's going to sound unconventional. I suppose if there's a panel of inner critics that I sometimes run stuff by when I'm writing and I can't figure out what to do - they are on it. But of course, the reality is, it's just me talking to myself all the time. "

Your songs are very well produced. Do you record at a studio or are they home recordings?

"A mixture of both. I'm still working out what I like in terms of recording. I try not to think of studio or home recording as better or worse than one another - just different styles, different ways that each have a strong effect. Rich did the majority of the production on the Sport album. The stuff with just me has been carried out by a mixture of people with different recording set-ups at their disposal, including my 4-track. "

Is there any certain process that you go through when you're writing a song? Lyrics first? Melody first?

"Writing On the Streets, for instance, was a collaboration with Leo from Sport. That was a really natural process of throwing ideas back and forward, progressing music and lyrics bit-by-bit. His expression was 'like animals fucking'. I try and keep the creative process fun and alive whatever happens. When I'm making stuff up I try and stay in the same state of mind as performing live: ie, fun, spontaneous, awake. If those things aren't happening the music can turn out a sad mess. But I still think the music so far has an element of sadness in it - in that sense - I'm trying to be better with the future material that is building up quite rapidly! The other thing is I try and keep writing even when the song seems finished. I keep changing things and adding bits or taking stuff away. A recording is just a version of a song at that point in time. But it's always changing. "

Will you be releasing anything in the near future? If so, what can we expect?

"Yup, there's definitely going to be some stuff happening. I'm hoping to make a mini album - with a band. So more of a set group of musicians playing stuff together and recording. I'm working on stuff for that right now. I hope we'll also do a lot more shows. You will be first to know as and when it happens. "

You have very full sounding tracks on your myspace . Do you have a supporting band for live shows?

"Ironically, the tracks sound full because I didn't have a set band. I was freer to add instrumentation or take it out. For live stuff it's really stripped down - sometimes just me and a keyboard - but I really haven't been doing much live stuff - that's what I'm looking forward to now. "

interview with Kevin Mcadams of Elefant

Was the decision to play in Argentina something to do with Diego's own expectations of making a comeback to his own roots?

"That was definitely a big part of it. Everything sort of lined up perfectly for the trip to happen. If we could have gone there on SMMP we would have, but that album was never released in South America. This time the folks at Universal Argentina, who were aware of Diego's ancestry, loved the record and were extremely excited to introduce us to the country at large, which took place back in July. It was an incredible experience! Universal Argentina did a fantastic job, and the people were overwhelmingly enthusiastic. It definitely felt like a great home-coming for Diego, which became a proud moment for all of us.

"What was it like to play live to those in Argentina? How do you feel this next time when you play alongside Patti Smith and the Beastie Boys?

"It was pretty ridiculous (in the best way)! The crowds are always massive and the kids are just going bananas! When we played the BUE Festival with Patti Smith and the Beastie Boys last month, everything just felt right. It was a big moment, yet we were all super relaxed and in the zone. I am not sure why, but we always seem to feel right at home on big stages in front of large audiences. Maybe, because our inflated egos can have room to breathe (j/k). :) I am not quite sure...it just seems to be our natural element. We can be as animated and retarded as possible all in the name of good fun. btw. Patti Smith sounded great, and the Beastie's put on the most entertaining show I have seen in a long time. When "Brass Monkey" started, I thought there was going to be a riot!

"The songs "Lolita" and "Brasil" from the Black Magic Show to me are the most interesting titles on the record. What inspired them?

"Diego's best songs are always inspired by women, and tumultuous relationships are always good inspiration. He was trying to express his inner anguish through the majesty of song (j/k)! Personally, I think too much attention has been paid to their literary and cinematic references. "Lolita", for example, only uses Nabokov's character as a loose construct, but is primarily about a personal relationship, not the character. The same is also true for "Brasil". The basic theme of the Black Magic Show is "temptation", in all its mediums; from causes to consequences."

Do you consider this album an evolution? If you consider it that are you adding some of your musical influences as well?

"Definitely. We are different people to some degree now than we were three-four years ago, and that reflects in the music. We have gone through a host of different experiences, not to mention extensive touring which inevitably makes you a better musician. We recorded SMMP in New York City and the BMS in Los Angeles. In regard to the BMS specifically, the songs are more advanced, yet subtly, in terms of song structure, rhythmic approaches, and layering than SMMP, and this comes from experience. On SMMP, less was more, and on the BMS, more was more. As to which approach is preferred is up to the listener. One guarantee I can safely assure, for better or worse, is that every Elefant record will sound different than its predecessor."

Have you considered making songs in spanish?

"Yes. We considered translating some songs from English into Spanish, but in the end we determined it would probably be better to just write a new song(s) in Spanish from the beginning. Translations, no matter how good, are always skewed to some degree."

Interview with Aaron Espinoza of Earlimart

Interview With Earlimart's Aaron Espinoza from May of 2005.

What was it like having such a great influence living right next door?

"Well that was actually a misquote(being neighbors) from some other publication. We lived in the same neighborhood (elliott and i) but never next door to each other."

How would you describe your own music to those that have not yet heard it?

"songs to fall asleep to, and songs to wake up to."

"First Instant Last Report" means?

"love at first sight kinda thingy."

In particular what has helped shape the Earlimart sound over the years?

"um... age and relationships. having around 13 members over the course of 7 years."