Interviews

Lesley Flanigan (June 2011) – This is a conversation I had with electronic composer and sound sculptor Lesley Flanigan about all manner of things, including: electronic music, intuition, and what, exactly, a sound sculptor does. It was also my very first Skype interview. I was worried that I might be a little bit out of my depth with this one, but I think it turned out just fine. [read the article] [read the transcript]

Bitter Ruin (April 2010) – It all happened so suddenly. A volcano in Iceland erupted, some musicians were stranded Stateside, and Brighton’s dark cabaret duo Bitter Ruin rather serendipitously and entirely deservedly ended up attached to Amanda Palmer’s “Fuck the Ashcloud” performances in the UK, Ireland, and Paris. This interview was conducted via Twitter. It was a late night for them and a preternatural traffic jam for me, but every ashcloud has a silver lining. [read it]

Dimbleby & Capper (14 March 2010) – Fresh from the saddest bit of Mexican food I have ever tasted, I met London’s DIY Siren Laura Bettinson (aka Dimbleby & Capper) over coffee in St. James Park. After a surprisingly lengthy chat we’d discussed everything from her myriad projects and influences to the origins of the D&C aesthetic and the finer points of creating a stage persona. It was far too much awesomeness for one post, so I broke it into pieces. [part 1] [part 2]

The School (12 March 2010) – After a year trading occasional tweets and emails and waiting somewhat less than patiently for them to release their debut LP for Elefant Records, Eric finally caught up with the Cardiff indiepop outfit at the Wee Red Bar in Edinburgh (more specifically, in their tour van just outside of said Wee Red Bar) to discuss any number of things ranging from the Cardiff music scene and why it took so long to release an album to indie music-themed chat up lines. [read it]

Emilie Simon (15 October 2009) – I never thought I’d even have a chance to see the Goddess of French Electronica perform much less interview her. So, when I heard she would be making her Chicago debut, I dropped everything, took three days off of work, and drove 400 miles. Have you ever had the opportunity to join your number one celebrity crush of all time for coffee? Talk about starstruck. Once I regained my composure, we discussed her years studying at IRCAM, her recent move to Brooklyn and the new album it inspired: The Big Machine. We also talked about the other albums. [read it]

Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond (Spring 2009) – Shara was on the road singing the role of the evil queen on the Decemberists’ Hazards of Love tour. Before their Columbus, OH performance, Shara and I spent the better part of an hour discussing everything from her classical background and songwriting process to the science and philosophy of music. My first interview ever–talk about jumping in at the deep end. [read it]