Discover Top Posts Tagged with #matthew compton

Compton: Asa, what advice do you wish someone gave you before you started your career?

Taccone: You know, I got a lot of advice from my mentor, this dude Danger Mouse, who produced our first record with me. I have to admit, he covered a lot of ground, like everything from finances to kind of the emotional side of touring and approaching music. It's not that I knew everything by any means, but I definitely got a lot of advice. I remember the first two weeks of our tour, he pulled me aside and he was, like, "You should know every band breaks up," and it's kind of like a crazy thing to say right off the bat. But it [was] good. He [was], like, if you want to avoid it, [then] read up on on bands that actually survived. So I think you know, me and Matthew have just tried to kind of approach this with gentleness for each other so that we can have it be a long-term thing. But I was lucky, I think I got a lot of advice.

Electric Guest interview each other via public radio's Marketplace

#electric guest #asa taccone #matthew compton #danger mouse

9:30 INTERVIEW: Electric Guest

Asa Taccone and Matthew "Cornbread" Compton joined forces in 2011 and together create music that employs synths, soulful vocals, and funky beats. Their sophomore album, PLURAL, follows their debut album, Mondo, which was made with the duo's friend Brian Burton a.k.a. Danger Mouse. Asa and Matthew gave us some insight about their recent single, "Dear to Me," the upcoming album, and the hometown show for Matthew here in DC.

Deana Fedaie [9:30 Club]: After five years, your new album, PLURAL, is being released. Were both of you working on different things during the time leading up to making this album, or just taking a musical break between the festivals you played?

Asa Taccone [Electric Guest]: We worked on random other projects. Matthew did the music for a few movies & I produced a few bands but the entire time we were working on Electric Guest. About a year & a half ago we finished a totally different album but everyone we played it for was kind of blah about it. It was a much more somber record, very slow. But after enough of our friends telling us it was good but that we should keep writing, we did just that.

Matthew Compton [Electric Guest]: I scored a movie which took up some time and toured with Rodrigo Amarante. It was a really great experience and highly recommend his album Cavalo.

Are there any notable changes to your musical style between your freshman and sophomore albums?

Asa: Yes. We view it as a left turn. This was the first time I've produced songs by myself. I think we got closer to who we feel we are. The songs are more modern, less throw back. Also, the lyrics aren't as evasive. I found myself being put off by a certain kind of pretension & wanted to write more straight forward, vulnerable songs.

Matthew: I think the biggest change was that we focused on incorporating more modern sounds in our production. We still tracked a lot of vintage synths and kept a lot of the DNA from what we were doing on the first record, just tried to update it.

Matthew has indie rock influences while Asa cites some Bay Area hip-hop classics. How is the writing process when collaborating to incorporate both of your individual tastes?

Asa: We bring both sides to it. The album is mostly just the two of us with a few friends playing or singing here & there. Everything was casual with the album. We recorded whoever was over at my house. The people who helped us produce some of the songs were our friends. It was a family affair.

The “Dear To Me” music video was a lot different than some of your past ones with it being black-and-white, portraying a series of couples, having dance numbers, and featuring some fellow musicians. What was the inspiration behind the music video?

Asa: I think we realized that we didn't have a video that showed who we were. So we just made one with all of our friends and family. My mom & sister are in it along with like 20 random musicians that are our homies. We rented a studio & people just showed up & we shot them. Our friend Michael drove up in his 1962 Lancer so we had him drive it into the studio & everyone danced around it. That video was fun as hell to make. Same thing as our album: it was a family vibe.

“Dear to Me” uses some vintage synthesizers and in Billboard, you guys mentioned using computers more in this upcoming album. Can we expect to see these elements live?

Matthew: Yes, it’s definitely been a learning experience for us. We hate seeing bands play that are totally dependent on their backing tracks/computers. It can really nueter the experience and take you out of it. We’re trying to play as much as possible and to replicate as many of the album sounds as we can. Hopefully it will come off as seamless.

You haven’t toured in DC in a few years, and for Matthew, the upcoming 9:30 presents at U Street Music Hall show is a local one. How are you feeling about playing so close to Alexandria, VA?

Matthew: I love Virginia and am excited to be back in DC! I feel very lucky to have grown up near the DC/VA music scene. I was telling a friend the other day that I wished there was a band like Fugazi around today. I loved their morals and ability to be completely self sufficient. It’s something that is really lacking in the music scene today. Also their ability to be so angular and melodic at the same time.

-Deana Fedaie

Get tickets here for 9:30 presents Electric Guest at U Street Music Hall on 3/8.

#9:30 Interview #Artist Interview #Electric Guest #Asa Taccone #Matthew Compton #PLURAL #Dear to Me #9:30 Club #UHall #U Street Music Hall #9:30 Presents #Deana Fedaie