haven’t listened to [pioneer-ing English electronic duo]
Autechre and Radiohead and
all that shit. I love all that
stuff. I grew up in the ’80s in
America, not on a mountain
in Tibet! We dabbled with
synths on the previous album,
and this time we just figured,
“Screw it—let’s do an album
that’s mostly synth.”
What keeps you working with
producer brian Deck?
Well, he likes me, and I like
working with people that
compliment me constantly
[laughs]. We are friends, and
he is a great person to bounce
ideas off of. He tells me what
he likes and what he doesn’t.
We also have similar subversive
ideas about what pop music
should be.
It’s interesting that you say
“subversive,” because the
weird synth sounds you used
on the album do seem to go
against the usual stripped-down singer-songwriter
troubadour norm—except
for beck.
[Laughs.] Yeah, Brian and I
both like different types of
music, so we try to fit it in
there, one way or another. I
really feel like I can take the
songs and put whatever texture
I want on them. If you believe
in your melody, you can do
whatever you like.
1957 Gibson ES-125T, Jerry Jones JJ Original Shorthorn
reissue, Gibson ES-335TD, early ’70s Fender Stratocaster,
1972 Gibson SG Standard, Taylor acoustics
Amps
Fulton Webb 30 Watt, blackface Fender Tremolux,
tweed Fender Bassman, tweed Fender Champ,
Fender Hot Rod Deville 212
Effects
Moog Moogerfooger, Boss DD- 3 delay, Boss TU- 2 tuner
Strings and Picks
