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Animal Collective Interview
LR: Hi, thanks for doing this interview. Have you noticed a big change in the band’s popularity since 2005’s Feels? If so, does it bring forth more pressure for the next album?
Noah: Hello. No problem and thanks very much for talking with us. I have noticed a little bit of a change. The shows we play got a little bigger and more younger people were coming and I was really psyched about that. The last couple of albums though its been a steady increase each time. We get bored or restless pretty quickly so we tend to change what were doing and how we do it a little each album or period and I feel like that upsets some people. But it seems like we get more people excited than bummed each time so I suppose that’s good. I don’t really feel any more pressure than usual but that’s to say that (and I think I can speak for all of us) I always feel pressure from us to do something we feel really good about and something were excited about. I don’t think we feel any obligation to satisfy anyone besides ourselves even though that sounds a little self-centered.
LR: The energy on stage during your live shows is very refreshing, do you ever treat the performance more like an experiment?
Noah: Thanks very much. I know what you mean (about it feeling like an experiment) and I guess I do feel a little bit of that. Every room and every place and every crowd is different and in that sense you never know how things are going to go or if you’re going to feel good or not. I feel like maybe we think more along the lines of the way a dj thinks in that were trying to work with what were given as far as the crowd goes. And at least for me all I want to do is to have a good time and make (or let) everyone there have a good time. In the simplest way I just want something positive to happen. I feel like it’s difficult to really get a large crowd of people involved and connected somehow and I think our energy is our way of trying to make that happen. I suppose were trying intensely to connect with each other in the hopes of having that translate or transmit to everyone else there.
LR: Vocally, there are so many great sounds and layers on Feels. Is there a lot of spontaneity when you record the vocal tracks in the studio?
Noah: Yes at least for the last two records the vocals were the thing that we fooled around with the most. It was almost exclusively Davey on Feels but Sung Tongs was him and me both. But yes on both there was a lot of writing on the spot or one thing would lead to the next if you know what I mean. The voice is such a malleable instrument and it’s easy to get lots of different sounds and styles with it if you try a little and I guess that’s why we end up using it so much. Plus it usually sounds cooler or fresher at least.
LR: When I talk to musicians and friends here in Los Angeles they often bring up Animal Collective as a big inspiration. Are there any current bands that you guys get blown away by? If not, what are your main influences these days?
Noah: The Daft Punk show we saw at Coachella was my favorite I've ever seen. The sound was real good even way back and I couldn’t get my head around how they could get it to sound that good. And it looked epic. I feel influenced by lots of things but I haven’t been listening to much music lately. The things I do hear are usually recommended by a friend. I like Excepter's Alternation album. I like The Strokes a lot. Jay Dee’s Donut is my favorite thing I’ve heard in a long time. It changed me for sure. Or rather it made me feel like the way I was going made sense. I think I get most influenced by people and the relationships of all kinds that I have with them particularly my close friends and family. I stay home quite a bit but whenever I go out I find something that excites me or excites my mind.
LR: It seems like there’s a lot of child-like innocence and fun that naturally comes out on your records, is this accurate?
Noah: I hope so. I don’t want to play music or to write music if it isn’t fun or positive in some way. I know we all have good time writing and playing the songs especially live these days so I hope very much that it comes across. It’s important to keep an open mind and particularly in creative endeavors I feel like it’s advantageous to feel like you don’t know anything at all.
LR: What are your plans for getting back into the studio? Do you have any particular ideas that you want to accomplish on the next album?
Noah: I don’t know that we'll record until January at the earliest but I know were all excited about this one. Not to put down the last couple but I think were especially proud of these songs. I don’t want to do anything like wave done before but I suppose that’s not anything new. I don’t want it to be a very guitary record and I'm pretty sure we all feel that way. I have lots of ideas but I don’t want to give them away if that’s all right just because maybe it will be sweeter if it’s more of a surprise. Plus I don’t want to give anyone a picture in their head of what it should sound like or will sound like, I'd rather they make their own when they hear it.
LR: What’s it like being a member of Animal Collective? Who has the most interesting day job in the band?
Noah: It’s good at least for me. I can’t say its easy going no problems all the time. I suppose as with anything threes always difficulties to get over. I’ve been feeling recently like I have something to prove but I don’t know why and I like that very much. Being in a band is like being married to a bunch of people at the same time and you go on vacation a lot. It’s trying at times for sure and lots of work and effort but it’s always more than worth it once it’s over. We went over our days recently and all voted Bressons (geologist) as the best. It involved lots of tea and movies. My day is filled with diapers and toys not that that’s bad.