Below is a reprinting of an Interview done in English with Brazilian Fanzine “The Blog that Celebrates Itself”
Link to full Interview with English and Portuguese versions here-Brazilian Interview
Elegance, perhaps the best definition for the sound of this great Dead Leaf Echo elegance combined with an absurd ability to create real pearls in the form of music, few bands nowadays manage to combine poetry, shoegazer, post punk without being easily labeled, but Dead Leaf Echo case of perfection this side of the L, G vocals, guitars, bass, Ana B., vocals, guitars, effects, J. Parker, bateria e Christo Buffam, guitarras e efeitos, com 3 eps fantasticos no curriculo, Faint Violet Whiff, Pale Fire e Truth o culto tende a aumentar gradativamente, e para ilustrar um pouco mais toda a classe do Dead Leaf Echo nada melhor do que dar a palavra aos proprios, aqui o TBTCI coloca versões em inglês e portugues, cortesia do proprio Dead Leaf Echo. Parker, drums and Christo Buffa, guitars and effects, with 3 eps fantastic in curriculum, Faint Violet Whiff, Pale Fire and Truth cult tends to increase gradually, and to illustrate a little more whole class of Dead Leaf Echo’s nothing better than giving the floor to own, here puts TBTCI versions in English and Portuguese, courtesy of Own Dead Leaf Echo.
***** Interview with Dead Leaf Echo ***** *
Q. When the band starts?tell us Dead Leaf Echo history…
A- In opening decade of the 21st century, post 9-11, someone passed a copy of Lolita to an impressionable group of art students. After absorbing it they all walked away with an impassioned response to inform the world of the cruelty of love. Dead Leaf Echo is one of those responses.
Q: What are the band´s influences?
A- Kandinsky on Phosphorescence, Malbec by Candlelight, Camus under Sunlight.
Q: Tell us about the Dead Leaf Echo´s gigs…?
A- Massive db’s of sound…… pushing Fender Twins past 3………vocals that spin in the pool of burning desire churning out empirical knowledge of the human condition……while deep underneath bass,drums and guitars intertwine into one musical being.
Q: Tell us about the process of recording the eps, what´s the different between Truth from the others ones?
A-We recorded “Truth” with John Fryer as opposed to not recording with him on the previous records. But also it’s a concept record just as the other records. It’s a consideration of how everyone is dealing with the idea of Truth at all times and this record was about exploring all the different levels of what it means and the reactions to it.
Q. What do you think about the shoegazer classic era?
A-What is perceived today is far removed than what actually happened and digested at the time. Such is the way with history. Every band from that era has tried in one form or the other to escape the dreaded gaze tag. Things just never work out when your looking down.
Q: Which bands you love to made a cover version?
A-Spoonfed Hybrid
Q: Which new bands you recommended?
A- Slowness from SF, The Sky Drop from DE, Me You Us Them and all of our great friends from NYC, DC and Boston.
Q: What´s the plans for future….new records, a tour.
A- We have our record “Truth” which will come out in October on 2&1 Records as well as a 7″ “Half-Truth” on Custom Made. Hopefully Brazil will be our future.
Q: Any parting words?
A- You can never stay too humble. We’re only human beings not gods, sometimes people forget that. Hope to see you in Florianopolis.
Thanks LG…it´s a pleasure….your friend Renato Malizia
Reprinted from Groupee
Brooklyn’s Dead Leaf Echo has mastered the art of the shoegaze – and have utilized those skills to craft a new album, dubbed Truth, that is garnering just as many positive critical reviews as it is accumulating “civilian” fans. Mike DiLalla, Ana Breton, and frontman LG make up the vintage-meets-modern trio, who working to express their personalities and viewpoints through their music – and who are just as inspired by literature as they are by the music of others.
“Yes, we are very influenced by literature,” LG confirms, “this band concept started around Nabokov. But really overall it’s influenced by many different authors, from many time periods including prose, poetry, and drama; Romantic literature and existentialism both rank high among the personal list. These inspirations are constantly on rotation, constantly changing, varying from writers, composers, painters… all creators.”
Taking those influences – and their songs, of course – to The Bunker Studios, where Truth was recorded, the band worked with engineer John Davis and mixmaster John Fryer on the set, which was produced by LG himself.
“Live, the band plays as a five-piece,” LG explains, “but recording is great with less people as it’s easier to streamline the sessions.”
Dead Leaf Echo is also known for opening up their songs to a plethora of remixers – something many bands shy away from – and this process has both enhanced the band’s work and given them insight to their own songs that they otherwise may not have run across. That’s not to say it’s open season on DLE songs, though, so proceed with caution.
“Remixes are always encouraged, and direction is usually open regarding them,” LG says, “if someone approaches us that we’d feel can bring a fresh direction to the song, then they are encouraged to work on it. On the flip side, with the definitive versions of the songs that are on the albums, the mixes are supervised at a scrutinizing angle.”
Truth, LG says, is more than just anothers singles set, and definitely follows a theme. “Yes, the album like all of our albums is lyrically a concept album,” he says, “everything revolving around the ambitious and often ambiguous word Truth. In its simplest form it’s dealing with the word in relation to its counterpoint – Lies.”
Speaking of truth and lies – otherwise thought of by some as “The Music Business” – LG has plenty of thoughts on those matters, as well.
“Pop music is always evolving,” he says, “though the telescopic nature of that is now starting to slow – after the dramatic shift and rise in pop music since the late 50′s, the evolution is cyclical, just like the trends. Although trends culturally are also products of marketing, the natural evolution is hopefully a little more organic. I feel that the level of songwriting has dipped in the past 10 years, but only in relation to the prolific output that has been the past 40 years; it was bound to recess.”
“They said the same thing in the 80s, especially with digital technology becoming more available and used,” he continues, “they complained about it then, but the 80s don’t seem to be waning in popular culture now. Technology is both a boon and a hindrance to art; there’s always a different lag time for the particular medium, and it incorporates technology to meld. I remember everyone complaining in the 90s how bad it was too, but they did the same thing in the decade before, so really it’s all about hindsight when viewing the present. Viewing the present is not something you can do with nostalgia – it’s too fresh.”
LG further emphasizes that reflecting one’s personality in music is really “the only thing that’s going to keep music working to new ground” – he thinks that’s what will make it singular and original. “But manifesting that is not always easy for most people,” he agrees.
“In regards to improving popular music, the problem doesn’t have to do in the music itself but in the awareness and cultural depreciation of what is popular music,” he explains, “by making it a commodity, its value fluctuates based on quality. But who decides that? What it is based on? The level of the recording, how many chords it has in it? Your often comparing taste with proficiency,” he continues, “but it’s also based on demand.”
“The digital format kills that notion, because music as a supply is never-ending, and is consumed now and disposed of at a much higher rate at a much lower value… often for free.”
MusFormation Interview
Reprinted below from Musformation
Brooklyn’s Dead Leaf Echo is an atmospheric shoe gaze group with more than just a great vintage record collection to prove it. After delicately honing their sound for years on the road and in the studio, the band is making some of the most darkly beautiful music of their career. Recently, we sat down with front-man LG to talk pedals, promotion and making your band a career. Follow us after the jump and we’ll get right to it.
1. What is the biggest mistake your band ever made?
Working with flaky musicians. It hurts you in the long run. Cutting corners to get the gig done may help you temporarily, but if your looking for longevity and growth in your band, keeping bad company around is gonna cut you short in the end.
2. What is the smartest thing your band has ever did?
Opening up for Radiohead, oh wait that was Grizzly Bear. Let’s see I might have to get back to you on that one until we get really lucky and then maybe we can pawn it off as something intelligent.
3. What advice can you give for a band looking to improve their live show?
Rehearse, know your parts and be flexible enough to break them……. or run backing tracks with a killer light show and show some leg.
4. What advice can you give for a band to build up a buzz?
Pay for it. Marketing and Advertising, two very evil things, are something that you’re gonna have to familiarize yourself with and unfortunately learn in the current music world. You’re also gonna have to learn how to do everything that encompasses every aspect of your career. Now is it gonna be a job? or is it gonna be a career? If it’s just a job and your fine with that, then hack it out on the weekends, and be prepared to get up early on Monday. If it’s a career you’re after, then you’re gonna have to go ahead and print up the business cards that say. Joe Blow (Musician, Producer, Composer, Arranger, Accountant, Manager, Roadie, Sound Tech, Actor, Driver, Etc, Etc.)
5. What is the coolest piece of gear you have come across recently?
T.C. Electronic’s Modulator is kinda cool. Now their up to the Tri-Chorus- 3 choruses, simultaneously, oh yeah.
6. What is something you should bring on tour that most people may not think of?
Backups….of anything and everything you can think of. Your somewhere between Alabama and Austin…your power supply to your 1985 Alesis rack unit just went under…chances of you finding a 4 pin din circa that era are slim in that part of the country…you can take your chances but stock up on that stuff while your in the city. And I always recommend War and Peace for those really long tours to kill time.
7. Tell us a cool story from the recording studio?
First time we tried to record, the studio got robbed the day before, we showed up the next morning and there was no mixing board, no amps, the place was trashed and the guy actually goes- “I’ve got this 4-Track, wanna go for it?”
8. I know on your recent record you guys decided on recording on analog tape. How much more difficult was that and will you do it that way again?
It’s a whole another process you have to go through to get to where your going, laborious but worth it. It’s damn expensive and a pain to lug around, but I don’t see recording on anything else in the near future.
9. What is the dumbest thing you see other bands do?
Depends on the band, with most it’s a question of existence- why do you? Exist. Most bands are follow trends and again that hurts you in the long run.
10. NYC is an environment saturated with music, making it difficult for people to get excited about shows. Any tips on getting heads out to see you play?
Well it’s all about promotions kids, and it depends on who is doing that for the band. If your gonna take on the brunt of it, you gonna have to be a man on the scene, and that’s not cut out for everybody. ……Start your own fan club, don’t tell anyone your actually in the band and then wear disguises on stage.
DLE plays an electronic/ambient set Friday August 14th at Monkeytown in Willliamsburg Brooklyn opening up for Mark Van Hoen. The single “Half Truth” from the new album mixed by John Fryer (4AD, NIN) comes out in September accompanied with a new music video, US tour and 7 inch to follow in October.
Here’s a interview done with dear friend Jude Huzicko from On Another Note, featuring a MP3 mix tape. Interview and MP3′s below.
Original Post- On Another Note
OAN: LG, let’s talk about the shoegaze movement for a minute. You and I have talked and shared some thoughts about it. Relay in your own words what shoegaze is and means to you.
LG: It’s a funny word word isn’t it? Once something of degradation is now worn with pride by many. Almost purely a British colloquialism 15+ years ago. I remember they called Ride – grunge here in the states when it came out. But now it’s made it’s big comeback especially with MBV last year and everybody loves dropping that word on anything. Any thing with reverb now on it is Shoegaze isn’t it? Use delay? Oh! Shoegaze band. Press buzz word eh? But how many people really know what it references? Sure more people now than ever, but still if you asked somebody on the street, they’d probably wouldn’t even look at you. Remember the old saying about the Velvet Underground? How nobody really bought their records but everybody that did started a band, it’s kinda of like that with Shoegaze. There’s more bands than there are fans. Are we a shoegaze band? No. Sure people say we wear our influences on our sleeves, whether you want to call that dream-pop or etherial post-punk or Regional Mexican is up to you.
OAN: There is an air of mystery about Dead Leaf Echo, meaning, you have indeed very quietly gone about your business, remained focused, created fantastic work and let it speak for itself. You’ve had two pressings of “Pale Fire” sell-out completely which is quite a feat. “Faint Violet Whiff” as well. You haven’t done many interviews, but have very much been showered with the attention and affection of the media and fans. If you would, talk about the attention your two releases have gotten (not to mention the hype coming from the soon-to-be-release) and enigma the mystery is purely incidental or crafted a bit. And are there thoughts of re-printing the first release?
LG: Well as to re-printing the 1st release- no. Because I don’t feel “Faint Violet Whiff” is what it could have been- I don’t much care for it, sonically and feel that some of the songs on there should be given the chance to be re-birthed under different circumstances. As far as the mystery part of it, I just think we’re very private people who haven’t put that much of ourselves out there, not that we’ve really been thrown under any spotlight or anything.
OAN: LG, Dead Leaf Echo is your creation, your passion, and clearly the band shares in your enthusiasm and creativity in what you play, but how much collaboration is there in writing and composing each song? Do you construct by yourself then tap into them to expand? Or are there concept sessions where each member brings ideas to the table?
LG: I am the carrier of the torch for this band, but it would simply not exist without the passions and drive of everyone involved, period. Mike DiLalla has been there since the beginning and has encouraged me and helped throughout all the struggles that we’ve faced. What Liza has given has also been tremendous, and they have both have stamped their own distinct personalities on the songs. Ana in the last year has given so much of her time to helping us out in anyway she can that I’m forever indebted to her. Regarding the song, they all grow organically from the root up and continue to evolve even after they have been recorded live.
OAN: What does it mean to you to be in New York and having this kind of passionate atmosphere supporting you. Do you think you could do this anywhere, or is the character of New York and the music scene here a big influence? I ask because your sound just seems to fit here.
LG: New York awakened me to many things, and gave me a much needed ass-kicking. It’s very hard here but for good reason, if you can survive here you will position yourself well in the world. As far as the music scene here being an influence that would only extend to certain friends in my close circle, as I feel there’s always an extraordinary amount of extraneous waste you have to wade through on a daily basis. Of course there’s not really any one scene here, its way too big for that, that’s the conflict right? Everywhere else nothing to do, here too much on your plate. And no I don’t think we could pull off what we’re doing here in most parts of North America, I think New York or maybe parts of the West coast are the only places that could accept it. Europe on the other hand I think would take to it with open arms.
OAN: I actually might take those as words to live by. Thanks.
Your contacts, your collaborations, your work with outside personas is a must-discuss. We’ve talked about your conversations that you’ve had with Piotr Fijalkowski (Adorable). And you’ve worked with both John Fryer and Ulrich Schnauss. Describe what your experience in working with some legends has been like and how it’s affected your music.
LG: Well I’ve only spoken to Pete briefly over email, but he’s a major influence for me and I hope to cross paths with him one day. I’ve been extremely lucky to work with both John and Ulrich. Especially with Ulrich- he’s like no one else I’ve met. He’s most the most supportive person I’ve meet in regards to this crop of new artists that are coming into focus now.
OAN: Are there any other creative outlets you explore to kind of step away from music? I ask because you have some very interesting album art. So perhaps photography is something you dabble in? Or do you leave that to better hands?
LG: The complete visual image is of integral importance to the band. Vision+Sound is a complete package especially when in regards to Dead Leaf Echo. Album artwork is very important to the work whether I’m designing it or working with someone else on it, and then there’s moving images. Live we use original visual projections on the band created both from digital and celluloid formats. The 1st three videos we released were shot all on Super 8. We’re now working on a new video for ‘Half-Truth’ shot on 16mm.
OAN: Anything else you want to tell the fans? Anything at all?
LG: Vinyl! We’re gonna bring it. Hopefully a 7 inch first. But really the band hasn’t even really started yet, everything up to this point has purely been experimental in terms of exposition. We’ve only done these small collection of pieces so far, but the band has to grow first as a unit in addition to outside factors stepping in to elevate the band to the next level on both an artistic platform and as a functioning entity.
OAN: LG, my friend, thank you for taking the time to answer a few questions and letting myself and everyone get some wonderful insight into someone who is truly passionate and frighteningly well-versed about what they create. I thoroughly enjoyed the show at Public Assembly and am looking forward to many more. Cheers!
LG’s Mix-Tape
MP3: Adorable-Vendetta
MP3: Orange Yellow Red-Into Your Arms
MP3: The Mary Onettes-Dare
MP3: Her Vanished Grace-Sirens
MP3: New Fast Automatic Daffodils-Bruises
MP3: The Boo Radleys-Alone Again Or (Love Cover)
MP3: Kitchens of Distinction-Elephantine
MP3: The Durutti Column-Believe in me
MP3: The Moon Times Seven-Her House
