Night Tapes: “we are aiming for an immersive journey that ends in freedom and party vibes.” (10/23 at Underground Arts)

This Friday, October 17th, is the October/Halloween edition of Philthy Radio (9-11pm ET on Y-Not Radio), where I’ll be spinning a plethora of especially spooky tracks from phriends of...

This Friday, October 17th, is the October/Halloween edition of Philthy Radio (9-11pm ET on Y-Not Radio), where I’ll be spinning a plethora of especially spooky tracks from phriends of PHILTHY, including a hand-picked selection from London-based dream pop trio (comprised of electronic producers) Night Tapes, who are currently touring their debut full-length, portals//polarities, which was recorded throughout the band’s travels across the world and dropped last month on Nettwerk.  Night Tapes are two weeks into their 19-date North American headlining tour, with an upcoming stop next Thursday, October 23rd, at Philadelphia’s year-round spookiest venue, Underground Arts.  Shortly before hitting the road, I got a chance to chat with Night Tapes’ Iiris Vesik (originally hailing from Estonia) and Max Doohan (Iiris did most of the talking, with Max nodding along in agreement…) about debut albums, witchiness, and making music videos with a Leo.

Izzy Cihak: You just released your first full-length, portals//polarities, but you dropped a handful of album singles prior to that.  Have you had any favorite fan reactions to the new music so far?

Iiris Vesik: “helix” and “babygirl” work a charm live with heavy bass and big beats.  We’ve just recently brought more samplers into our setup to have the samples sound fat, and “storm” is just elevation live, so we’re really pumped for the new set we’re bringing to our biggest tour yet this October/November (going for a big one in the US and Canada and then coming back to the UK and EU).  BIG BEATS lets goooooo.

Izzy: How do you feel like the album compares to your previously released EPs and singles?  I know it was kind of made all over the world.

Iiris: It’s definitely got a more extraverted sound, as this album came together on tour.  We love the outside!  We were playing gigs and, for the first time ever, not just dreaming about travelling but actually being there.  We used to only make songs in our living room and sometimes use footage of inspiring places (For example there is this awesome video of gx7 people skating and gliding down a mad hill in peach hued San Francisco.)  This time we were actually there, and I feel you can hear these different places on the album: LA, Mexico City, Tallinn, Chicago, NYC.  We were using all the gear we use live, and the portability of the setup also probably influenced adventuring into more electronic soundscapes, but I think we have songs that are more dream pop and shoegaze than electronic on the album as well.  It has been an adventure and we tried our best to capture that.

Izzy: Download Spirit, your “lockdown” EP, actually turns five this November.  What are your thoughts on that collection these days, half a decade later?

Iiris: Time has flown by at lightning speed.  We love everything we have put out.  One day we would still love to be able to perform “download spirit” (the song) live but it would need quite a lot of people on stage to pull it off.  Need that dude with a spaceship of different percussion instruments around them and extra backing vocals and extra tambourines.  When we have a marimba on stage, that is when we will have made it, really.

Izzy: Considering that portals//polarities is your debut full-length, I’m curious if you have any favorite debut albums in your own music library?

Iiris: Latest favorites have been Horse Vision’s debut, Chanel Beads’ debut, Addison Rae’s debut, and we are super looking forward to James K’s debut.  It was really awesome to have her warm up for us in NYC the last time we were there, big big fans of “Blinkmoth” and “Scorpio” and fave single from the new stuff is “Doom Bikini” so far.  SO MUCH great music is coming out, hard to keep track.

Izzy: Recently I’ve heard a lot of artists talks about their “cinematic universe” and having a comprehensive video element that isn’t just super cohesive with the music, but super cohesive video-to-video, and it seems like you’ve done that with the music videos you’ve been making with Owain E. Morgan.  What would you consider to be some of the biggest influences behind your work together?  And how would you even characterize your process of working together?

Iiris: Owain just gets it and we’ve had many synchronous moments where we get together to share ideas about new visuals and we have both scribbled down similar things.  We are very lucky to work with such a sweet Welsh powerhouse as him and to create a visual world together.  I feel our visual universe is connected to our sonic universe.  I guess the latest videos reflect on being a part of digital worlds and how the digital worlds mirror us as would any city or manmade systems//architecture.  I feel it’s more important now than ever to understand ourselves and to act on axioms that will lead to shared wins instead of one person winning over others losing (a lone victor is not a victor at all).

In terms of working with Owain, I feel the process is quite intuitive.  He will have images come to him and we seem to also make things feel great at first and then later find out what it means.  He also always finds a way to dance with the camera, bringing that wild Leo energy.   It’s kind of wild how many videos we have made basically at home with him and his enthusiasm (“drifting” and “loner,” for example).

Also, I think that one of our axioms for collaborating is definitely to just have good time in the process.  As for “every day is a game,” we basically just had a fire at a beach and we all just took a productive road trip with our friends to accommodate it.  With “storm,” we got to have a fun day in the studio just planking in mid air (which is how you make people look like they’re falling) and then a fun day visiting beautiful places in the UK.  I ate a burger, it was nice.  Definitely helped the video look epic.

Izzy: You have a monthlong North American tour coming up (which I’m super excited about!), so I’m curious if there are any cities (or venues, you’re playing some pretty legendary ones…) you’re especially excited to play, or even just to visit?

Iiris: Woo!!  Yeah we’re super pumped to come back to the US this October!  We’re so excited about all the places we were last time – NYC, LA, San Fran, Chicago, and finally TEXAS, where everything kind of started for us at SXSW.  But we are also excited to see Asheville for example, where we have never been to, but heard great things about.  And then Nashville, Salt Lake City, Seattle, and San Antonio – also places where we have never been before. We are traveling with a van this time, so hoping to see more of the places we visit.

Izzy: What can be expected of the live show when you’re here at Underground Arts?

Iiris: We are excited to have a more visual setup this time and, as always, we are aiming for an immersive journey that ends in freedom and party vibes.  All of that with a fan.  We are bringing a fan.  Those always work.

Izzy: On a related note, do you happen to have a favorite type of venue or space to play at this point, or one that seems to best fit your live show?  Underground Arts is a concrete basement venue that normally hosts metal, hardcore, and punk, but it definitely works for a variety of sounds.  The Weather Station played an amazing show there earlier this year, Tennis has played a number of really good shows there, and I even saw Halsey there on like her first tour.

Iiris: That is so exciting!  We have just really loved playing to our people and there have been shows that have felt like elevation.  A highlight definitely in terms of sound last year was playing at G Lab in Helsinki where their sound system are basically studio grade monitors.  And we got Finnish people to stand up on their chairs, but they’re just being crazy as Finnish people usually are.  Crazy Finnish people.

Izzy: You’re going to be playing here right before Halloween!  Do you have any tracks that you think are especially well fit for Spooky Season?  I have a monthly radio show, Philthy Radio, where I spin songs by a bunch of my favorite artists who are coming through town soon and, for the October/Halloween edition, I’m trying to play as many thematically appropriate songs as possible.  I feel like “lemon tree midnight,” “pacifico,” and “patience (waiting for the setting sun)” might be sort of in that realm.

Iiris: Uuuu!  I think “Moonrise” from our songs could definitely be interpreted as a witchy song in a ritual sense, a melting and merging with a higher self or a Goddess through sensuous dance or something like that.  Definitely needs a candle (or two).  And then maybe taking a wild left turn and putting on “patience” and dancing in a rave sort of manner, touching that good old goblin at a rave wave.  I’m not joking, dancing by myself in a room with chosen music and candles is a very solid recipe for a good time.  So excited for the spooky season.  Let’s get WITCHY.

*Get your tickets here.

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Band InterviewsLive EventsMusic

During the day Izzy Cihak teaches transgression, subversion, and revolution at Temple and Drexel. At night he haunts Philthy's best venues to cover worthwhile acts for PHILTHY MAG. Morrissey is everything to him and, in their own heads, all of his friends see themselves as Zooey Deschanel.

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