When you approached making Is It Now?, was there anything in particular that you learned when you were making Excess that you wanted to bring into this new record? Was there anything you knew you really wanted change?
With this record we kind of broke out of our usual methods. We did longer takes that had a more natural feel, whereas with our last record, we were intentionally going for more of a robotic, cold feeling. We wanted this one to feel warmer. So in that process we learned about playing together really well and getting really tight for these longer takes.
Was there any reason why you wanted it to feel warmer? Especially because I feel like the subject matter [of Is It Now?] can get pretty dark sometimes.
Yeah, I think these things just sort of develop on their own timelines. Like our last two records, I think they were more about personal feelings of alienation. I feel like that was kind of the main theme, this souring view of our surroundings. With this one, even though the subject matter is dark, I feel like we're all kind of waking up to new things and the reality of our situation. So it serves as a nice juxtaposition. It's not necessarily intentional, but it could be looked at as maybe the antidote or something. I think that we have to just work together with people and the community and find a way out of the alienation that is forced on us in our culture without realizing it.
Were there any inspirations behind the creation of this record that people wouldn't necessarily expect? Anything that you were listening to, watching, or reading while making the record that might not be as apparent–
Izzy was really inspired by this really intense, cool book that she was reading. I think it was called, “Oil, Power, and War” or something. It was in these big gold letters and super intense. We were reading a lot of history books and learning more about imperialism. So that was the main inspiration. Then for things we were listening to that I feel like people don't notice or know was…I was personally really inspired by trip hop for the bass lines. I don't feel like it really comes through in an obvious way, but that's what I was listening to the most. Especially Sneaker Pimps and Portishead and things like that. Also we took inspiration from this band called A Certain Ratio for the drum sounds and that's a really underrated band that people won’t immediately think of.
Outside of music I know that you also paint, collage, and make zines. Does your physical art practice affect the music you make?
I don't know if it really did. Well, I mean I made a zine that we sold at the merch table to benefit Palestine. I feel like that's where it crossed over on this album, but visually we worked with outside artists a lot more.In the past, I was making more flyers and more designs. Lola still designs our merch and she's a really talented visual artist.
How did you first get into zines?
Probably when I started working at this bookstore in Los Angeles called Heavy Manners Library. It's a community space where they teach classes, a lot of art classes. They make it accessible to people at affordable price points so you can come in and learn art or you can also check out art books for an affordable price. They were making things that would normally be expensive a little cheaper for people. There's also a zine library and a free zine section so working there was really inspiring and I got to see a lot of artists and their zines…then I started making them!
Were there any cool zines or artists that you discovered while working there?
Oh yeah, tons. One of my favorite artists locally is Kris Chau. She's definitely a friend of the library. She has a cool band with her partner Brian called Bondo. Then there’s also this indie comic artist, Tara Booth. She does all of these hand-painted books and zines and her art is really awesome. Those are my two favorites I think.
Going back to the record– Were there any songs that you guys had trouble finishing or that turned out completely different than when you were first making them?
Oh yes. There was a huge problem with “Mercury.” I don't remember exactly what it was, but we recorded some drums in one place and then we took it over to another place that we ended up at later and we had to line it all up and the feel was all wrong. I initially wrote the bass line on bass but then it was just feeling all wrong, so we put it on a synth… that one took months and months. Izzy couldn't even stand talking about the song for a couple months. We couldn't even bring it up around her. She was just so burnt on working on it. Also “mq9” was a song that we had but it just wasn't quite feeling right and I think we were really close to scratching until the night before we flew to New York to start recording. We messed around with the bass line and the cadence of it really intensely up until the last moment when we brought it into the studio and that was hard for us because we're very controlling. We're not really the kind of people that let a lot of stuff just flow and happen, or, we are to an extent…but we try to at least have the bass written for the songs by the time we get there. So it was just like “Oh, we're going to change this really intensely right at the last minute,” but then it ended up way better. It sounded goofy before and then it sounded stronger somehow after. Those were the two problem children.
What was your favorite song to make on the record or one that you're most proud of?
I feel like my favorite song on the record is “Black Box,” or “Don't Wanna Dance,” and I feel like maybe I'm the proudest, perhaps, of the “Country Song” bass line just because it's kind of hard for me. I'm also proud of “Don't Wanna Dance” because it's so simple! So I'm proud of the simplest ones and the hardest ones!
“Don't Wanna Dance” is one that really stuck out to me too. I feel like it was just so different from the rest of the record…
It's an outlier for sure. That song sort of hobbled along in a weird way too. There were times where we were like, “Is this going to work?” But that was one where Loren, our producer, really added some spice to it that made it really hit home and re-inspired us. He really boosted our confidence and let it be what it was, a simple outlier, rather than trying to make it into something else. It's low key and weird and different and definitely one of my favorites.
When listening to your music as a whole and on this new record, there's a sense of spirituality that comes across to me. What is your relationship with spirituality and astrology like? How does it affect the way you make music?
That's so cool that you picked up on that. I feel like we're all spiritual in our own way. I can't really speak for the other two, but I'm really obsessed with astrology and spirituality which sounds cheesy coming from LA, but it's true! I'm a trope. I like to meditate and also I like to pray to powers for help with writing and inspiration. Every time I do that, I feel like when I connect to whatever other things are going on, it really helps the creative process for me. I know the other two are into it as well but I'm not sure how they would word it or whatever.
What are you looking forward to the most on your tour with Sextile?
Definitely looking forward to the shows and hanging out with them. I'm really looking forward to watching them because they're just so fun to watch. I love that we're just going to get to hang with them because they're already our friends, so it'll just be a good time!
