I had the pleasure of getting to ask North Atlantic Oscillation a few questions! This very sweeeeet band will be supporting Cymbals Eat Guitars on Sunday 15th November 2009 in Auntie Annies!
Tickets —–>HERE
Why not click PLAY and have a wee read of the interview. This is a track called 77 Hours and is remixed by Engineers
North Atlantic Oscillation – 77 Hours (Engineers remix)
Where did NAO all begin? Were you all after the sound that you have now or is it something that has organically grown?
Our sound has changed a lot since we started out, but I think that’s because we’re better at achieving what we want nowadays, not because what we want has changed. I’ve always loved and wanted to make expansive, escapist, spacious music, where the sounds are not necessarily recognisable earthly sounds and the themes are not earthly themes. Though we use vocals and vocal harmonies extensively, we’re heavily influenced by instrumental music because it’s more abstract, untethered, subconscious.
I have read that you guys have an album out soon, is it finished yet? What treats can we expect?
It was finished a while back, but it will be released in February 2010 on Kscope Music. There are many tracks on the album that no-one except our live audiences has heard. We spent a lot of time recording and mixing the album , making original and very stupid mistakes which will hopefully make the album sound quite unique. Our Callsigns EP, which contains two album tracks along with a cover version of a song written in 1934 and a remix, is out on November 2.
Have any particular bands or producers influenced the way you have recorded the album?
My three favourite current pop/rock producers are very different from each other: I like Steve Albini’s ruthlessness and amazing drum sounds. I like Nigel Godrich’s subtlety and grace. But number one for me is Dave Fridmann who produced the Flaming Lips’ Soft Bulletin and Yoshimi albums (as well as Mercury Rev, MGMT and many others). He has brilliantly counterintuitive ideas. He uses deliberately primitive recording techniques and comes up with futuristic-sounding stuff. He’s a maximalist, totally unafraid to push the limits of what a recording studio can do. His philosophy seems to be that if something sounds good, who cares if it sounds like it was supposed to. That I love. Coincidentally, I love those two Flaming Lips albums too. We’re also influenced by many bands who sound nothing like us. One of my favourite groups of all time was the piano-based Esbjorn Svensson Trio, whose frontman tragically died last year. See above for why instrumental music is important to us.
How have you been finding gigging, is it something you enjoy and are you looking forward to touring with Cymbals Eat Guitars?
Playing live is essential to us. It is how we test new material and how we improve. Often a song will change considerably after we first perform it in front of an audience. Material that is recorded but never played live will always lack vitality.
Whats coming up for NAO, and what excites you about it?
We can’t wait to find out how the EP and album will be received. The prospect of them doing well enough for us to spend all our time on music is very, very exciting.
Top tipped team for two thousand and ten!
ON Wednesday October 28
