Just in case your electro-rock quota of the week wasn’t quite full, here’s an interview we did with Phantogram a while back. Listening through this is the ultimate contrast, with the deep chords of guitarist Josh Carter’s voice combined with keyboard and vocalist counterpart Sarah Barthel’s uniquely chilled feminine chimes.
S] Any highlights from the UK dates?
JC] “We never got to travel there when we were younger so playing in the band is fortunate because we get to. Our fanbase is growing steadily. We wanna come back and build it more with the UK audiences.”
S] Any fond memories of Manchester?
JC] “It was pissing rain the whole time so we didn’t get to do a damn thing.”
S] Any plans to come back before the end of the year?
JC] “We’ll be back over the summer. There’s some dates there. We wanna come back more and more.”
S] What inspires you and keeps you motivated outside of music?
JC] “Movies are inspiring, so are the visual arts in general. Old Alfred Hitchcock and David Lynch movies inspire me.”
SB] “I love photography, I love art, I love videos, music videos, being in big cities and walking around with my headphones on, I love plays and theatre, experiences with friends and family – we just grab inspiration from every part of our lives.”
S] Your music really chills people out. How do you react to fans telling you that your music has helped them through a crisis?
SB] “It’s one of the best compliments we can get. A few people came up to us and told us the same thing. It’s very touching, it’s one of the reasons we like to do what we do.”
S] Can you talk to us about what inspired ‘Black Out Days’?
SB] “It comes from a very personal place but we like to keep that to ourselves. It’s important to us that the audience can relate in their own way through their own lives.”
S] How do you reflect on the success of the earlier form of the band?
JC] “It’s great how things are panning out. We’re achieving things now that we’ve always wanted to. We made a lot of sacrifices and focused a lot on the music. Our initial mission statement was to create music we wanted to hear. Luckily things changed over time and we actually started to build a fan base. It grew, and it did so in a very organic way.”
S] What are you guys looking forward to in 2014?
JC] “I’m looking forward to going to Australia for the first time in summer.”
SB] “We have a lot to look forward to in the summer. We’re excited about the festivals.”
S] What’s the song that motivates you in difficult times?
SB] “I’ll put on the Future Islands albums when I’m getting up and getting ready to go. It motivates me to get creative and get in tune with the day.”
JC] “I tend to drift towards motown and soul music from the late sixties, early seventies. That puts me in good step with the world.”
