Issue #43 - Animal Collective | Under the Radar Magazine Under the Radar | Music Blog for the Indie Music Magazine
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Issue #43

Issue #43 - Animal Collective

Nov 02, 2012

Under the Radar’s fall issue is out now. It features Animal Collective on the cover as well as interviews with Paul Banks, Bat For Lashes, Community’s Jim Rash, Divine Fits, Flying Lotus, Benjamin Gibbard, How to Dress Well, Menomena, Tame Impala, Taken By Trees, and Ultraísta, among others.

The issue includes an in-depth 8-page cover story article on Animal Collective in which the band discusses their new album Centipede Hz. The exclusive photo shoot was conducted by Tommy Kearns in New York.

“From the beginning, we wanted it to be positive energy or positive experience. Along the way some people have viewed some of the things we’ve done as dark, but for us the energy and joy has always been a part of it.” – David Portner (aka Avey Tare)

“My parents claim that when I was three and a half I asked to play the piano. Playing like Beatles songs. One time the teacher made a deal with me to learn a classical [piece] in exchange for learning a Beatles song.” – Brian Weitz (aka Geologist)

Merriweather was this immediate record, and this isn’t.” – Josh Dibb (aka Deakin)

The front-of-book Detection section features interviews with Bat For Lashes, Efterklang, Flying Lotus, The Fresh & Onlys, Benjamin Gibbard, Jim Rash of Community, and Taken By Trees.

“When I thought of that image for the front cover, it felt like it represented how I was feeling, which was if I take away all of the glitter and the feathers and visual imagery, what’s left? Is it powerful enough?” – Natasha Khan of Bat For Lashes

“I know that as long as you stay open to inspiration, then it will always come.” – Steve Ellison of Flying Lotus

“The reality of my life now, whether correctly or incorrectly—and 99 out of 100 times it’s incorrect—people are going to assume that these songs are about my ex-wife. And they’re not.” – Benjamin Gibbard

“As long as [Dean Pelton’s] heart’s in the right place, I think that sort of excuses the fact that he can have the school be taken over by someone that’s crazy, or allow the study group to get into a paintball war, or almost lose the school financially.” – Jim Rash of Community

“This is my love album…. I fell in love—like deep.” – Victoria Bergsman of Taken By Trees

Our main features include articles on Paul Banks, How to Dress Well, Menomena, and Tame Impala.

“Sometimes you learn about the personality of your favorite artist, and you like their art a little less, because it doesn’t jibe with what you had envisioned.” – Paul Banks

“I don’t believe in a true happiness that exists in a negation of pain.” – Tom Krell of How to Dress Well

“I hate to call it a concept record, because we didn’t go to the beach and huff paint like Ween or anything.” – Danny Seim of Menomena

“I’m totally in love with that whole point-of-view thing, seeing the world from someone’s eyes.” – Kevin Parker of Tame Impala

Our Pleased to Meet You new bands section highlights 11 new artists: Chrome Canyon, Doldrums, Egyptian Hip Hop, Get People, Glass Animals, Halls, Indians, Night Moves, NZCA/LINES, Ultraísta, and Young Dreams.

“I didn’t watch A Clockwork Orange when I was little—I think that would be inappropriate—but as I got older I got into Wendy Carlos and discovered all of that stuff. I think it got lodged in my brain subconsciously, this deep-rooted music that was just sort of driving me.” – Morgan Z of Chrome Canyon

“Half of the reason anything gets any hype these days is because it’s new. Who cares if something’s new? That’s not what music’s about.” – Airick Woodhead of Doldrums

“It was almost like we were rushed into the whole idea of playing in a band and playing live and making a record.” – Louis Stevenson-Miller of Egyptian Hip Hop

“The more a band is escapist, the more they’ve got a chance of being timeless.” – Caspar Leopard of Get People

“I think music that’s a bit lo-fi is a bit of a copout. There’s so many things that people can do to make the music sound new and interesting.” – Dave Bayley of Glass Animals

“Finishing this album was actually terrifying.” – Sam Howard of Halls

“When I started talking to 4AD I only had one song. It was a big amount of pressure. I didn’t know if I had a whole record in me.” – Søren Løkke Juul of Indians

“Musicians are like politicians. They’re the last people who should be making music, just like politicians are the last people who should be running things.” – Nigel Godrich of Ultraísta

“They say, ‘Well, some guy said that great artists steal. So I stole, for I am a great artist.’ That’s bogus!” – Matias Tellez of Young Dreams

Over 100 CDs, DVDs, books, films, TV shows, and comic books are reviewed in the issue, including reviews of releases by: The Amazing, And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead, The Avett Brothers, Azita, Paul Banks, Bat For Lashes, Ben Folds Five, Andrew Bird, Black Forest Fire, Black Marble, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Chad Valley, Chrome Canyon, The Citizens Band, Clinic, Cold Showers, Jason Collett, Dark Dark Dark, Deerhoof, Departures, Diamond Rings, Django Django, Earlimart, Efterklang, El Perro del Mar, Elbow, ERAAS, Eternal Tapestry, Flying Lotus, Matthew Friedberger, Dan Friel, Lulu Gainsbourg, Gangi, Generationals, Benjamin Gibbard, Philip Glass, Golden Void, GRMLN, Halls, Lavender Diamond, Lord Huron, The Luyas, Jason Lytle, Maserati, Matmos, Matt & Kim, MONO, Moon Duo, Mount Eerie, The Mountain Goats, Mumford & Sons, Murder By Death, Muse, The Music Tapes, A.C. Newman, Night Moves, of Montreal, Oneida, PAWS, Pinback, The Polyphonic Spree, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, The Sea and Cake, Ty Segall, Snowblink, The Soft Moon, Sun Airway, Tamaryn, Tame Impala, Teen Daze, Thee Oh Sees, Titus Andronicus, Toy, Trash Talk, Tussle, The Twilight Sad, Ultraísta, Martha Wainwright, Scott Walker, WHY?, Patrick Wolf, Neil Young & Crazy Horse, and more.

Our new last page feature, Postscript, features a postcard sent to us by Jason Lytle of Grandaddy.

The not-to-be-missed digital version of the issue (available for Mac, PC, iPad, and Android) includes the same articles that appear in the printed version—plus 108 extra pages of editorial content not found in the print edition.

Included are extra photos of: Animal Collective, Paul Banks, Divine Fits, Doldrums, Get People, Glass Animals, Benjamin Gibbard, Halls, How to Dress Well, Indians, Menomena, Jim Rash of Community, Tame Impala, Ultraísta, and Young Dreams.

The digital version features exclusive bonus Detection interviews with Black Moth Super Rainbow, Chad Valley, The Mountain GoatsJohn Darnielle, and a report from The Øya Festival in Oslo, Norway. Plus there’s an additional Postscript feature, a postcard from Jon Wurster of The Mountain Goats and Superchunk.

“I spent so much time making sure that I wasn’t in any kind of box, and I think by doing that it sort of built a new box. That box was even smaller.” – Tom Fec of Black Moth Super Rainbow

“I don’t really like lo-fi production. It’s such a trend. I think it’s going away. It really annoys me when I hear a great song that’s produced badly.” – Hugo Manuel of Chad Valley

“[Judas is] not a secretly evil guy. He’s an actual friend who does a terrible thing. But in the story, he’s sort of fated to do this terrible thing, and without him doing that, you don’t get a crucifixion, without a crucifixion you don’t get resurrection, without a resurrection you’re not saved.” – John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats

The digital version features exclusive bonus Pleased to Meet You articles on By the Sea, Highasakite, and Levek.

The digital version also features additional extended Q&As with artists interviewed in the print edition, quotes that didn’t make it into the print version. Included are bonus Q&As with Bat For Lashes, Benjamin Gibbard, Jim Rash of Community, Flying Lotus, How to Dress Well, Tame Impala, and Ultraísta.

“I really wanted to make a record about being in England and just being at home and privacy and being in one place to see what would come out of that lack of chaos.” – Natasha Khan of Bat For Lashes

“Whenever people find out that you’ve written a song about them, they don’t feel like they’ve been represented properly.” – Benjamin Gibbard

“It’s either me in a costume, or somehow they get Joel [McHale]’s shirt off. It’s one of those two things they manage to do [in every episode].” – Jim Rash of Community.

“There’s always something to do. I have a hard time sleeping at night, because I know I could be working on shit.” – Steve Ellison of Flying Lotus

“It’s possible to undergo extreme loss and disruption and then have that be a wellspring of super positive creative energy.” – Tom Krell of How to Dress Well

“You may as well use whatever is available to you to do the craziest shit possible, because if you limit yourself you’re going to end up somewhere in between some other bands.” – Kevin Parker of Tame Impala

“I like to be in the laboratory with the doors closed. I like experimenting and trying things.” – Nigel Godrich of Ultraísta

Click here to buy the digital version of the issue (for the iPad, Macs, PCs, and Android devices).

Click here to subscribe to the digital version of Under the Radar (for the iPad, Macs, PCs, and Android devices).

Click here for a list of U.S. stores that carry Under the Radar.

Click here to subscribe to the print version of Under the Radar.

 

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