Posts in Trip Hop
Yukimi Nagano, Little Dragon
Yukimi Nagano, Little Dragon

Yukimi Nagano of Little Dragon is a book hoarder at her local library in Sweden. She browses the stacks across all subjects, from photography to poetry to flowers. Then she walks out with as many books as she can carry. When she gets home, she peruses those books for both words and images. Sometimes the words make their way into her songs, and other times the images give her ideas to spin off of. "It could be a book about flowers, for example, and I might find a beautiful name for a flower that could be a song title," Nagano told me. And when she gets home, she does most of her writing in the kitchen. There's something about the "nice, soothing hum" of her refrigerator that's conducive to her creativity. 

For today's interview, I have a companion. Last November I interviewed Theresa Wayman from Warpaint. It remains one of my favorite interviews. I recently read that Wayman was a big fan of Little Dragon, so I asked her if she wanted to interview Nagano with me. She gave me an enthusiastic yes, and somehow we made this happen: I was in New York, Wayman was in Rhode Island, and Nagano was in Sweden.  We had a fantastic discussion about the creative process.

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Trip Hop, Synth Pop, Electro Indie, IndieBen Opipari Comment
Josh Carter, Phantogram
Josh Carter, Phantogram

This is how I know Josh Carter of Phantogram is at home in in the rural environment of upstate New York:  he's recorded the sound of his car driving over a bridge.  Not the Tappan Zee bridge, but probably one of those small two lane bridges over the lonely upstate streams and rivers. Having once lived in rural New York near Syracuse for four years, I know what he's talking about.  It's the sound of one car on a bridge, with nothing else around.  Just you, the car, the bridge, and nature.  The sound is pure and unadulterated.

Yes, Carter and Sarah Barthel, the members of Phantogram, live in New York.  With their hip hop beats and electronic rock, this is hardly surprising.  It's a great place to live if you want to make that kind of music, since you are surrounded by like-minded people.  Only it's not New York City I'm talking about.  It's upstate New York.  And I am not talking about the 30 minute drive from the city that residents of New York City consider to be upstate.  I'm talking about Saratoga Springs, New York. (photo credit: Doron Gild)

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Electronic, Dream Pop, Trip HopBen Opiparibarsuk, eyelid movies, josh carter, mouthful of diamonds, phantogram, sarah barthelComment