L'ALTRA are a Chicago-based group that has impressed me greatly with their beautiful, evocative, and emotive albums for rising indie label Aesthetics. Both 'Music For A Sinking Occasion' and 'In The Afternoon' combine traditional songwriting and almost baroque arrangements with flourishes of technology and textural experiments that align it more with 'post-rock' in places. But L'ALTRA present their music as a much more accessable, emotional, and sensitive release, preferring to conjure luscious, bittersweet melodies rather than exercises in leftfield experimentation. Anyone with a liking for sounds like LOW or SIGUR ROS should immediately search out these releases. Check my (glowing) reviews if you need more convincing. The collective of Lindsay Anderson, Joseph Costa, Eben English, and Ken Dyber were interviewed by GODSEND's Todd Zachritz in April, 2002. Thanx to all of them for their time, and especially to Ken for his efforts in bringing it all together.
GODSEND (G)-Describe the genesis/origins of L'Altra and initial influences...
Lindsay (L): Ken hung the infamous flyer. Joe (J): i had been playing music for many years, but chicago and all its musicians gave an environment that convinced me to get more serious. the unromantic reality is that ken posted an ad and lindsay and i responded. i wish it were more interesting. Eben (E): ken and i were both from new england (new hampshire & maine, respectively) and both moved to chicago around the same time, and i met him one night at a trans am show on my first night in chicago. i moved here to play music with my other band, del rey, but i was looking to get involved with other projects as well. ken mentioned that he was trying to start a group, and i told him if he wanted a drummer that he should give me a call, which he eventually did. in the beginning we were a lot um,....louder i guess, a lot of which was because i was still really young and wanted to go crazy and rock out, or at least be really rhythmically intense, which i think was because i was listening to a lot of early thrill jockey stuff (tortoise, directions in music, trans am) at the time.
G- 'Music For A Sinking Occasion' was a very strong and mature debut release. Obviously the band had been involved in other projects before forming L'Altra, right?
L: Not all of us. J: i was involved in another project named BELL&BELL with todd mattei of joan of arc. lindsay and i had been playing together as well, but never serious. E: i've been playing in bands since i was like 15 or 16 years old, so by the time that record came out, i'd had quite a bit of experience playing with other people, doing shows, and recording, so i was really comfortable when we went into the studio to record it. like i said, i also play in another full-time band, del rey, which is a lot more aggressive and allows me to get my rock fix on a regular basis. if i didn't have that i don't think i could play with as much dynamic control and maturity, which is what this music really calls for in a drummer. K: this is the first band I've been in.
G- How did the recordings for the latest release, 'In The Afternoon', differ from the debut album? I see the 2nd album as a continuation, keeping the same general feel but with advanced songwriting and more attention to melodic layering...
L: I was much more conscious of songwriting & structure on the second record, regardless if I wanted to be. J: the recording of in the afternoon felt a lot looser to me.. we had been playing the songs a lot less, and were less familiar with them during the recording. i think this looseness worked to our advantage in the end. nothing was solid. things were more spontaneous. also, our engineer jeremy leemos is an incredibly enegetic guy, he pushed us. E: the basic recording process was pretty much the same, but we were more comfortable with how to use the studio as an instrument in itself, and more willing to experiment with different textures. the songwriting process was generally the same, in that usually somebody would come up with a few bits on their own which would be fleshed out and arranged by a collaborative group. i think we just learned from the experience of doing the 1st record....i mean, you're always better the next time around, y'know?
G- Musically speaking, L'Altra seems to favor a sort of acoustic, almost baroque vibe, accented by a subtle use of technology. It's certainly not a straight 'pop' or 'rock' sound--but much more developed. What influences this far-ranging use of sound and texture?
L: I think it's the combination of what all of us do individually. J: its a mixture of lindsay's classical background with my pop with ebens rock with kens weirdoness rhythm. also we like technology but none of us are very technologically advanced so we have to be subtle. E: for me, i just like to make the music rhythmically interesting, and i try and incorporate ideas from other, more percussive musics, whether they be electronic or latin or african or whatever. i think that desire to have the drums and percussion be part of the composition of the song, rather than just an accompaniment to it, is what gives it an edge. the end result is really just how the whole mix turns out after everyone's put in their two cents. it's not always something we've planned on or discussed beforehand. >
G- L'Altra is quite accessable and melodic, certainly with catchy, hummable hooks. Do you think of the band as being aimed at a pop or radio sort of audience or is that of any concern whatsoever?
L: I don't think it's a concern. I write songs in the moment not trying to create for a specific audience. J: i am glad to hear that. we have talked about sounding catchy. i aim to sound like a copy without an original. something very close to something you think you know or have heard, but actually have not. i suppose this sounds a bit too postmodern, but i think this is the only option left for a popmusician........copy pieces/borrow pieces but the pieces are so disperate that when put together they form a new entity yet retain the ghosts of what they once were. i suppose this is called inspiration. E: i don't think there's any specific aim. once we record it, it's up to everyone else how to interpret or classify it. we're just playing the music for it's own sake, really.
G- Are there other artists you feel are peers of L'Altra (if any)? Any recommendations for those who appreciate your sound already and are curious to hear more or similar sounds?
J: i recommend lali puna, friend/enemy, the notwist, silvio rodriguez, eric satie, eno. as for peers i would say marc and joel of pulseproggramming, we are very close friends and trade lots of opinions. E: the whole issue of peers or colleagues or contemporaries is a tricky one, because you never can really tell what other people are thinking about you. i know musicians who i would love to think of as my "peers," but they may not have heard my music. i also wouldn't want to say that i'm on the same level with a lot of those artists, because i think they're amazing and the fact that i have so much respect for them is what makes me want to have them think of me as an equal. but if you're looking for recommendations, or bands that i think people might like if they like us, check out low, sigur ros, godspeed you black emperor, paul newman, tarantel, or jim o'rourke. K: everyone should check out: Hood + cLOUDDEAD
G- L'Altra is a performing/touring entity--how does the live lineup differ from the studio? Surely to translate the fullness of the tracks, other players must be brought in?
L: Not necessarily. It's nice to bulk up our sound with other instrumentalists, but these songs sound great with just 2 of us as well. Because they're layered, they can be stripped down and still remain intact. Adding instruments makes each song more fun. I like to see how adding melody lines & harmonics can transform a song. J: we hold our own live pretty well. and marc of pulse will be touring with us with guitar and laptop. E: the fullness of some of the tracks isn't really reproducable live because we're a very tight-knit group of people and it would just be too difficult to incorporate that many people into our practices and shows. some of the things we'll try and duplicate electronically, but the record is the record and a show is a show.
G- In the liner notes to both L'Altra releases, there are no credits given regarding who plays what--any reason for this?
L: Perhaps its an incentive to see us live. Plus, we don't like too much talk. J: some people did more than others. but one triangle hit is as important as say an entire horn line. E: we like to leave a little to the imagination. K: I played every instrument on the record and Eben sang all the parts.
G- What other projects are members of the band involved in (and, > if possible, describe their relation to L'Altra)?
L: I've been partying with pulseprogramming quite a bit. J: lindsay is a pretty popular musician in chicago, she plays on records and has toured with will oldham . i think she is working on some solo ballads as well. ken is don aesthetics. eben is in delrey--a rock band. i am a visual artist and am working on a solo record as well called costa. E: again, i'm in an instrumental rock band called del rey which has a few records out, one which we released ourselves on a label called dirigible recordings, and another one which came out recently on my pal god records. we ashare a practice space with l'altra, and several members of the band love to sing spontaneous backup vocals to certain l'altra songs at our shows. K: I run a record label.
G- What do you wish to accomplish with L'Altra? Future plans...
L: I'd like to support this record in Europe & the U.S. After that, who knows. I hope to play music for a long long while, but with L'altra? It's certainty in decline... J: i think we have one more record in us...then? E: to make good music and have fun doing it. that's all that any band should be about, in my opinion.
G- Any closing words?
J: thanks for your interest. E: i'd just like to say to the people of the world, george bush is not our fault. we did not elect this person. he stole the election, and everyone here knows it and thinks he's a total jackass.
For more info on L'ALTRA and the band's projects, visit http://www.aesthetics-usa.com/ and http://www.laltra.com/