Comprising of creative maestros Jesse Cohen and Erim Emm, Tanlines have garnered widespread acclaim for their compelling musical ventures to date. The duo return in 2018 with the unlikeliest of formats – a kids record. Feeling elevated and privileged to be able to make an album for parents all over, the duos latest ‘Presents EP’ consists of five classic kids songs with a Tanlines signature synth pop style. Despite the notable shift with genre, this latest release has a comforting sound, laced with warm vocals and alluring tones that resonate throughout. It serves as a reminder that Tanlines is dedicated to making music on their own terms, even if the results are polarising, nonetheless the impressive productivity remains intact… We talk to Jesse Cohen about taking a DIY approach, podcasts and Top Chef…
TSH: Since you and Eric are both stay-at-home dads now you thought it would be fun to make a kids record to share with others. Talk us through your intentions as you readied this release...
Jesse: Eric and I both had to take a lot of time off from doing music to be with our families, just like most people do when they have kids. We were really just looking for a way to do a creative project together that was sort of fun and with lower stakes than working on a Tanlines album. I suggested a children’s album because I feel it’s always a good starting place for creativity when you make something directly related to your current situation. For us, children’s music is a reality that we are facing on a daily basis, so making this record was a way for us to work on something together and contribute to a genre that doesn’t really have much for parents.
TSH: This EP is also the first DIY release for you guys in quite a while. In terms of distribution and getting it out there, what was it like to take this route again?
Jesse: Doing a DIY release has changed so much in the 10 years since we last did one. There are so many new companies and outlets for distribution, which meant there were a lot of things to educate myself about. I found it all so interesting. Also, it’s definitely liberating to just be able to put something out and to see what happens, which is how we started making music all those years ago. It’s a fun place to be in and a nice way to handle a one-off departure like this project.
TSH: You worked one day a week on this release, whilst a babysitter watched the kids. What was the pace like overall whilst forming this EP?
Jesse: It’s definitely different to what we are accustomed to. We worked a lot faster than we normally do, which I really liked. It can be very difficult to work at home when you have a kid around; there isn’t as much time to be had for yourself as most would think. Overall, it felt great to just have this time aside to work on music, and it was cool for our kids to get to know each other better too.
TSH: Also, the kids on the cover of the EP are not yours or Eric’s...
Jesse: No, they are not our kids. I don’t really share photos of my kid, not even on Instagram. We had friends that were down to have their kids on the cover. So yeah, both these kids are anonymous stand-ins. Besides, they both manage to do the pensive Jewish face that we usually have on our records, ha!
TSH: How did you go about ensuring these children’s songs would have a distinct Tanlines touch to them?
Jesse: Well, we reached way back to a lot of the sounds that we used when we first started out doing Tanlines. We basically wanted all of the these kids songs you’d heard so many times to sound like us, and delving into really old Tanlines sounds is what did the trick.
TSH: What was the defining factor in putting your own spin on ‘Old McDonald Had a Farm’?
Jesse: My kid suggested the animals that we used. Also, we realised we needed a bit more guitar as we’d not had much for this batch of songs up until we did our version of this song. Eric’s guitar definitely brings to mind the Tanlines style, so we used more of his guitar to carry this song.
TSH: For previous works, you’ve noted the best things come from a really mysterious place; this couldn’t have been the case for a children’s record...
Jesse: Certainly not, haha. I don’t think mystery works that well for children’s songs. The songs on this record are for ages 1-4, when the kids are really young. I guess from 5 onwards kids become more interested in Frozen and pop cultural things. So yeah, the idea was to go very slow and to be open and inviting. There was definitely no room for mystery.
TSH: How would you assess your working relationship with Eric?
Jesse: Well, we see a lot less of each other and that’s the problem really. Regardless, when we do get together to make music, even something like a kids record, it feels the same as it used to in both the good and hard ways. Like any creative partnership, when things go well, we have an amazing chemistry that I don’t think I could ever replicate with anyone else. However, we have friction too, which came back even with this project, but we went back and forth and figured out what was needed. Just like always, it came out really naturally, like it always does with Eric.
TSH: You also carry out interviews on your No Effects podcast. Is this an outlet that you find to be particularly gratifying?
Jesse: Definitely. I started the show in 2014 and my intention was to create a space that consisted of long-form discussion. I wanted to do interviews that didn’t include the bulk of the material being based on an artist’s press release. I’ve really enjoyed doing it and it’s been great. I sit down, I talk and I try to listen for an hour. I believe that the listeners that sit through it will leave with a portrait of the artist that they can’t really get anywhere else, and that’s my goal really. I’ve received some great feedback to date and it’s been very gratifying for me.
TSH: Is getting lost in parenthood a refreshing way to temporarily escape the bedlam in the world today?
Jesse: One of the benefits of spending the majority of my time with a two year old is that I’m spending it with someone who doesn’t know who Donald Trump is. I try to see the world through my child’s eyes whenever possible. This outlook definitely helps me to keep my focus on what is important in my home. Also, I’m an avid reader and I do not believe in blocking out the world, nor do I believe in ignorance. I like to know and care as much as possible. But yeah, it is a release to spend as much time with my kid as possible, as well as it being satisfying to know that these heavy questions and tough worldly issues do not affect him.
TSH: Tell us more about being a fan of Top Chef...
Jesse: Top Chef is the only reality show that I watch and care about. I do a lot of cooking so that’s a part of the reason why. Top Chef is a perfect example of why people like reality TV - there is an intense amount of drama and even with a replicable format and the feeling that each show is the same, you still don’t know what’s going to happen in it. However, narrative television has huge arcs and swings, but there’s something sort of satisfying about Top Chef because you kind of know exactly the feeling you will have as you watch it.
TSH: Do you have much perspective on the immediate future of Tanlines?
Jesse: I wish I could say something more definite, but what I will say is that I do want to have more music out this year. I would like to do another record, not a children’s record per se, but I’d like to keep releasing music in this DIY orientated sort of way and see what comes out of us - without the massive investment of a full album. I really would like to get back to a place of pure creativity with Eric. I’m not sure when that’ll happen, but that is one of the goals for me this year.
TSH: What is your biggest drive with Tanlines’ music as you look ahead?
Jesse: I think what felt very good about doing this children’s record is that it came from a very honest place. For the first time I felt like I opened up about my current life, which is being a stay-at-home dad. I think when we first started doing music we were much more focused on certain sounds, technology and creating cool stuff, but then we drove ourselves to no longer thinking about our material in this way. Soon enough our music was based on our emotional honesty, and I’d like to find a way to continue to tap into this type of output on some scale. Whilst taking this route I hope we can resonate with our listeners in a satisfying manner too.
Included in the ephemera that the Canaries created is a USB with various images, videos, sounds, and texts. Above is one of the audio files from this compilation—the sound of waves lapping in Miami, collected when the Canaries were there in October for the 2016 Common Field Convening.
On October 27, Meghan DellaCrosse led a Somatic Awareness Workshop that included an exploration of different qualities of attention as a means of supporting greater access to our lives and well-being. Meghan is a Body-Mind Centering® (BMCSM) Somatic Movement Educator, and the workshop included elements of this technique. The video above shows Body-Mind Centering® founder Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen discussing its philosophy.
Most of the Refuge in the Means lunchtime meditation sessions are led by a Canary, but on days when none of the members are able to lead, these sounds will be played in the space with an invitation for visitors to engage in a self-guided meditation. All Tuesday meditation sessions will be self-guided through the end of October.
