Au Revoir Simone
Digital Magic
2008-02-18
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It’s not easy to make the processed and pasturized sounds of keyboards and drum machines sound natural, but Heather D’Angelo, Erika Forster and Annie Hart have managed to embue these artificial instruments with a human soul. On their latest release, The Bird of Music, Au Revoir Simone create songs perfect for a snowy Sunday evening, a Saturday afternoon at the beach and pretty much any occasion in between. On the road in Europe, the Brooklyn-based three-piece engaged in an e-mail correspondence with Synthesis that touched upon lazy naps, springtime and wildflowers.
How’s the tour in Europe going? You traveled there touring for your last album, have you noticed any differences this time around?
Erika Forster: This tour has been amazing so far. More than anything, travelling with our own sound engineer and tour manager has taken a lot of the pressure off of us and has made touring more fun! We have also had the opportunity this time to play with some of our favorite bands including Camera Obscura and Electrelane. It’s so amazing to be able to ask your favorite bands for advice, and watch their show from the side of the stage.
Annie Hart: The last time we toured we were mostly supporting other bands, like Architecture in Helsinki and We Are Scientists, and it was more of a great bonding experience with them and playing in front of audiences who hardly knew who we were. This time, we’re touring just by ourselves (though we usually play with other bands) so there’s not much long-term bonding, but the audiences are huge and lots of people even know the words to our songs.
Heather D'Angelo: It’s more like vacation than tour. I’ve been taking long lazy naps in the tour van as we drive past fields of wild flowers, farms and vineyards. We’ve been sharing family style dinners with the bands we’ve been playing with, which has given us the chance to sample the most wonderful regional cuisine and wines. We even went to the beach one day. The weather is warm and sunny. The shows have been packed and attended by the nicest, most enthusiastic fans…couldn’t ask for more!
The songs on The Bird of Music are inherently simple, which I really enjoyed. Do you think that sort of simplicity helps keep the music very natural sounding regardless of what sort of instruments produce it?
EF: im not really sure, some folk music is really complicated but retains a very natural feel so maybe its more about the sentiment behind the song.
HD: Perhaps they sound simple because when we’re writing them we only play our keyboards, and we only have so many hands. We dont really start layering the sounds until the recording process. I love the magic of a trio…everyone is completely responsible for doing as much as they possibly can at all times, and creating a big lush sound is a bit of a challenge, but one that I love trying to solve.
Reading through the lyrics, I saw a bit of seasonal imagery, especially winter in a few of the songs. Was a lot of this album written mostly in the winter? Do you find that your writing ebbs and flows according to the seasons?
EF: I think I write more songs in the springtime. I feel like I hibernate a bit in winter.
HD: I tend to write songs in the summer, perhaps because I’m happiest and most comfortable when I’m sweating hot and suffering from that groggy head feeling that’s perfect for the beach or hiking in the woods. And I like writing dreamy depressive songs which are somehow easier to write when I’m actually happy.
“Sad Song” had a really happy feel to the music, even if the lyrics were a bit down. It seemed to me that there was a bit of that through out the album, playing with dark and light sometimes in the same song. Was this something that you were consciously trying to play around with?
EF: I am a very peaceful and happy person but I’m often inspired by sad things when I write lyrics.
AH: Yes, for me definitely. I love that juxtaposition of depressing words with happy music; it makes things less corny.
HD: I think I look more for emotional drama in a song, which is a different thing altogether. Not quite happy sounding at all, more evocative, with melancholy lyrics. I’m more My Bloody Valentine than Belle and Sebastian, if that makes any sense.
How’s the tour in Europe going? You traveled there touring for your last album, have you noticed any differences this time around?
Erika Forster: This tour has been amazing so far. More than anything, travelling with our own sound engineer and tour manager has taken a lot of the pressure off of us and has made touring more fun! We have also had the opportunity this time to play with some of our favorite bands including Camera Obscura and Electrelane. It’s so amazing to be able to ask your favorite bands for advice, and watch their show from the side of the stage.
Annie Hart: The last time we toured we were mostly supporting other bands, like Architecture in Helsinki and We Are Scientists, and it was more of a great bonding experience with them and playing in front of audiences who hardly knew who we were. This time, we’re touring just by ourselves (though we usually play with other bands) so there’s not much long-term bonding, but the audiences are huge and lots of people even know the words to our songs.
Heather D'Angelo: It’s more like vacation than tour. I’ve been taking long lazy naps in the tour van as we drive past fields of wild flowers, farms and vineyards. We’ve been sharing family style dinners with the bands we’ve been playing with, which has given us the chance to sample the most wonderful regional cuisine and wines. We even went to the beach one day. The weather is warm and sunny. The shows have been packed and attended by the nicest, most enthusiastic fans…couldn’t ask for more!
The songs on The Bird of Music are inherently simple, which I really enjoyed. Do you think that sort of simplicity helps keep the music very natural sounding regardless of what sort of instruments produce it?
EF: im not really sure, some folk music is really complicated but retains a very natural feel so maybe its more about the sentiment behind the song.
HD: Perhaps they sound simple because when we’re writing them we only play our keyboards, and we only have so many hands. We dont really start layering the sounds until the recording process. I love the magic of a trio…everyone is completely responsible for doing as much as they possibly can at all times, and creating a big lush sound is a bit of a challenge, but one that I love trying to solve.
Reading through the lyrics, I saw a bit of seasonal imagery, especially winter in a few of the songs. Was a lot of this album written mostly in the winter? Do you find that your writing ebbs and flows according to the seasons?
EF: I think I write more songs in the springtime. I feel like I hibernate a bit in winter.
HD: I tend to write songs in the summer, perhaps because I’m happiest and most comfortable when I’m sweating hot and suffering from that groggy head feeling that’s perfect for the beach or hiking in the woods. And I like writing dreamy depressive songs which are somehow easier to write when I’m actually happy.
“Sad Song” had a really happy feel to the music, even if the lyrics were a bit down. It seemed to me that there was a bit of that through out the album, playing with dark and light sometimes in the same song. Was this something that you were consciously trying to play around with?
EF: I am a very peaceful and happy person but I’m often inspired by sad things when I write lyrics.
AH: Yes, for me definitely. I love that juxtaposition of depressing words with happy music; it makes things less corny.
HD: I think I look more for emotional drama in a song, which is a different thing altogether. Not quite happy sounding at all, more evocative, with melancholy lyrics. I’m more My Bloody Valentine than Belle and Sebastian, if that makes any sense.
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