Corbu - Sound In The Signals Interview
Corbu is a New York-based band featuring Jonathan, Amanda and Todd. You recently released your debut album. Tell us more about your background and how you came together for those who may be unfamiliar.
Amanda, Todd and I are from Pittsburgh, but all three of us met in New York. Todd and I played together in a friend's band, but Amanda was totally new to playing music when she joined Corbu. She was a friend of mine that always knew what a song needed, and when we started preparing for shows, I taught her how to play keys. That was just a few years ago, and now she plays lots of parts at once and does a million other things in the band.
I've read that you describe your genre as "'78 ski lodge rock with beats". That's an interesting description. Can you explain it a bit more?
That's kind of a joke! But it's also true, and it makes sense in my head. I used to go skiing with my family when I was little, and in Pittsburgh, the whole experience is surrounded by '70s classic rock - stuff like Boston, with big dueling guitars. It's what my dad and my uncle would listen to in the car, and the ski resort plays it everywhere you go. So I have really happy mental associations with ski lodges and guitar harmonies, like a nostalgia for a time before I was born.
Even though I never listen to that stuff, it comes out occasionally, like in our song 'Polygon Forest.' So... Corbu is music written by someone who grew up on classic rock, but doesn't really like classic rock and listens to Boards of Canada instead. The end result is "'78 ski lodge rock with beats."
You recently released your debut album Crayon Soul via Big Picnic Records. Some have described it as a concept album. Will you explain the concept for those who may not know it yet?
Crayon Soul is not a concept album, even though I understand how it comes off that way. With our record, the songs were nearly finished before they suggested a story to us. Amanda and I both saw an animated, sci-fi narrative in our heads, where a person goes through a kind of death to start the story, and wakes up into a new life. He finds his purpose and goes through a series of events that change him, and he has to work with forces greater than him than to fight off a dark, formless entity that's swallowing the universe. We prefer to tell the story through our artwork and videos, which are slices from the "movie" we wish we could make.
I've read that it was inspired somewhat by Cartoon Network shows like Adventure Time and Interstella 5555 by Daft Punk. I can definitely see the connections. Why did you draw inspiration from those and how did it inspire the album?
We love things that connect us to our childhoods, but also touch on deeper things that we've learned and that speak to us as adults. Adventure Time goes to some pretty wild places and tells stories that are mythological, but does it in a really joyful, playful way. We watched Yellow Submarine for the first time last year as well, and it's all just a reminder to not take things too seriously. You have to create and feel some joy if you're going to connect to anyone in a meaningful way.
You worked with Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips, MGMT). What did he bring to the album? What advice did he offer?
Dave mixed our album and made it 3D, like a pop-up book from our original mixes. He brought a ton of texture and grit to it, and heightened the contrast between things. Moments like the first chorus of 'Marching Orders' became a thousand times more meaningful, because Dave put the entire verse into a little box - like you were hearing it through the intercom of a space helmet. So then the chorus hits, and it rips open into this new place. He finished the record, properly, and made it what we hoped it could be.
His advice that sticks with me the most is about playing live: "Don't worry too much about being perfect." He talked about how we have all these effects and filters in the studio to make things sound messed up and imperfect, and to let that happen on-stage. Basically, don't worry about anything other then putting on a good "show."
You've played some shows in early August and are going out with Bloc Party in September. What can fans expect at shows? Tell us about your handmade on-stage light up costumes.
We're still figuring that out! We've never played at venues as big as the ones we're playing with Bloc Party, so we're trying to translate our visuals into that environment. We'll be wearing our light-up outfits for sure, though. Those are handmade by Amanda, who wanted to do something retro-futuristic and Tron-like, but in a tasteful, subtle way.
We were inspired by the Sandman costumes from Logan's Run, mixed in with a little of the Jedi vibe from Star Wars. We want to do something that feels abnormal and takes you out of your everyday life, but doesn't feel distracting and overly theatrical. It would be so easy to make something cringe-y with the sci-fi references - to actually do it right takes a lot of balance, and walking up to the line without crossing it.
I've heard that Amanda found new recipes to cook daily while you were recording. Any favorites that stick out or any that didn't quite work out?
Amanda wanted to keep us all well-fed and feeling good while we were mixing, so we could make the best record possible. Dave and his family were laughing when we got there - “She brought her own pan!” But it all worked out.
Amanda says her favorite recipe was:
http://cafedelites.com/2016/06/08/balsamic-glazed-caprese-chicken-recipe/
Thanks for the interview. Do you have anything else you would like to add?
Because we're so visual-based, I think the best place for anyone to start with Corbu is our Instagram (http://instagram.com/corbucorbu) and even our Facebook page (http://facebook.com/corbucorbu). Just scroll through and take in all the artwork and videos and GIFs - that's who we are. And listen to Crayon Soul all the way through with the lights off, if you can.
Find Crayon Soul on iTunes, Spotify, and Amazon.
For more information on Corbu:
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-L.Burden
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