stellastarr* pick a label and announce a release date for their debut album For the current issue of Under the Radar, (Issue 4), we followed New York hopefuls stellastarr* around for a long weekend, as they were flown out to Los Angeles to be courted by several labels, both major and indie. At the time the band was carefully weighing every option, and were understandably very cautious not to ruin their career by making the wrong label choice. After much deliberation and weighing of the pros and cons of indie vs. major, the band has finally signed a deal, with NYC major RCA, and have announced a release date for their long finished debut album, September 23rd. We spoke to lead singer Shawn Christensen briefly by e-mail about why they chose RCA and what to expect from the album, which was recorded and produced by Tim O’Heir (Sebadoh, The Folk Implosion, Dinosaur Jr.). Mark Redfern: Why'd you choose RCA over all the other labels that were courting you? Shawn Christensen: Many, many, many little things that add up into a better bigger picture. Ultimately, their roster is small and quiet, giving us plenty of room to release the record and let it breathe in all the markets over the course of the next year.  It is clear that we will be a priority in the label and they share our vision. If you're at liberty to discuss it, what kind of deal was signed? For example, how many albums did you sign for and how much creative control do you maintain? I cannot give specifics of the deal, but we do have full creative control. Have your fears about signing to a major label been alleviated by the people at RCA and your experience with the label so far, or are you still proceeding with caution in terms of your dealings with them? RCA is basically an indie label with major label power.  Meaning, we have a constant dialogue with the entire label on a daily basis, from the head of A&R to the head of marketing to publicity and so on.  It's kind of an intimate feeling in the New York office and they'll probably only have about 20 releases this year, which is extremely small compared to most majors.  There's no walking on eggshells with them at all. Is the band excited about their first full national tour, opening for label mates Longwave of course, and besides that and the release of the album, what else lies in the near future for the band? Sure, we're excited. We've known Longwave for quite some time, and it's nice to tour with bands you are friends with and already have a great repoire.  Which leads to a great September tour we'll be doing in America with another band we're friends with... What can we expect from the debut album and has RCA asked you to re-record or alter any of it at all, or are they just releasing it as is? The album is much more versatile than the EP because, I mean, how much can you really do with only three tracks?  There's more range of mood and atmosphere and some pretty harsh ups and downs.  We don't like being stuck in one certain thing.  We re-recorded some songs that we knew we could do better and we did this out of our own pockets before we signed to RCA and that’s the record that they’re releasing in September. Here’s the full tracklisting for stellastarr*’s debut: 1. In The Walls 2. Jenny 3. A Million Reasons 4. My Coco 5. No Weather 6. Moongirl 7. Somewhere Across Forever 8. Homeland 9. Untitled 10. Pulp Song Read more on stellastarr* in Issue 4 of Under the Radar and on our website here. Also visit the band’s own site at www.stellastarr.com Words by Mark Redfern Photos by Wendy Lynch