Durham’s Free Electric State has been buzzing for a couple of months now about its gig opening for New York psych/noise rockers A Place To Bury Strangers and Hooray for Earth this Friday at Motorco. In fact, this is the first chance the public will have to see the band–currently working on its yet-to-be-named follow up to last year’s Caress–since November when the band played the Troika Festival.
Want to go? Tell us your favorite Richard Dryfus movie moment in the comments below (leave your e-mail address, too) and we will notify a winner by 5 p.m. tonight. (You should probably live closeby or plan to be in town as we’re too broke to ship tickets).
Where are you guys at with the recording the new record?
Tony Stiglitz: Plans are to go into the studio in April. We’re going to record in Baltimore with Rob Girardi at Lord Baltimore Recording. He has done some great records by Beach House, Celebration, Double Dagger, The Death Set, The Oranges Band, Arbouretum & Dragons Of Zynth just to name the proverbial few. Rob understands our music and actually “likes” it. From now until then we’re excited to be able to play the new songs out live. It’s a great way to see where your at with the material. I think we all love the fine tuning aspect of the process as much as the original writing/creation part.
Nick Williams: We are also spending a lot of time deciding what the “soundworld” of the record will be like. We want to establish a very specific atmosphere for these songs, but we are not sure what that atmosphere will be yet. I can promise that it will not sound like sunshine and daffodils.
Are the sounds any different and are there any new inspirations?
TS: For this record the motto is “More Kraut, Less Rock.” The songs still rock, but with more emphasis on the overall mood and groove so you can “let your eyeballs roll into the back of your head.” New “old” inspirations abound in these new songs!!!
NW: We are not quite as concerned with creating a shoegazy wash of guitar noise on these songs. I think each instrumental part should ring through the fog and succeed or fail based on it’s own merits, rather than hide beneath oceans of delay and distortion. That said, there are some pretty psychedelic head exploding moments in these new songs.
How are the songs are shaping up?
TS: Great. They’re starting to look like that mashed potato sculpture from Close Encounters of the Third Kind. We’re really hoping it will lead us to new alien life forms! I mean, nobody has stolen riffs from them… yet!
NW: Except the songs aren’t made of mashed potatoes. They are made of radioactive ice from one of Saturn’s moons. So, I think.
Are there any potential titles?
TS: Song titles, yes, but we’re going to wait until the baby is born before we name the little bastard.
NW: The working title at the moment is “Peanut Butter Sandwich”.
Why should someone come to your show on Friday with A Place To Bury Strangers?
TS: We’ll tell you the names of all the new songs!
NW: You should only NOT come to this show if you hate things that are great. If you hate awesome shit, you will NOT enjoy yourself.
