TO BE A LOFI BAND IS
NOT ONLY TO ACCEPT
YOUR LIMITATIONS,
BUT EMBRACE THEM...
Could you explain to me your music
making process?
So typically, Levi writes the lyrics
before anything else. maybe he has a
specific melody and structure in mind,
but oftentimes it's flexible. tyler will
come up with some stellar guitar ideas
and we keep going back and forth as
we flesh out all of the instrumentals
and vocal melodies.
new album "nothing
will come of
nothing" out on
itunes,
bandcamp and
spotify.
What compelled you guys to use alt-
lofi for The Mess Inside?
The alternative aspect is simply an
amalgamation of our musical tastes
like indie, classic rock, punk, and folk.
Lofi is an embrace of technical
limitations. Many artists try to hide
their lack of professional recording
resources and end up with a really
muddy sound that makes it all too
obvious they didn't have a big budget,
if any. To be a lofi band is not only to
accept your limitations, but embrace
them so the songs have a distinct
aesthetic appeal.
In your album Doublethink you guys
discuss various struggles, could you
elaborate on how it influenced the
album?
Doublethink was created during some
very formative years for us. While we
didn’t exactly sit down to craft some
big message for our songs, our
experiences and struggles influenced
and informed our music. Now looking
back on it, we can see how the things
we went through, both positive and
negative, affected the music we made
and how we made it.
20
What do you hope listeners will get
from your music?
We hope listeners might experience
the same kind and level of catharsis
we were able to achieve in the making
of our songs. We also hope that
listeners will be inspired by our DIY
lofi style and be encouraged to make
their own art to express themselves.
What is the overlying message
Doublethink expresses?
Overall, Doublethink has to do with
personal growth through adversity.
Songs like “Lonely Hearts Parade”,
“Just Say When”, and “Slit” deal with
angst and frustrations stemming from
insecurities. “To The Moon” idealizes
a person romantically, knowing
they’re unattainable. “Someday” and
“Bloom” deal with dark emotions and a
nihilistic sense of hopelessness.
Can you explain to us what you’ll
guys be expressing in your upcoming
album Nothing Will Come of Nothing?
Nothing Will Come of Nothing is more
or less picking up where we left off at
the end of Doublethink. With greater
technical and musical skills, as well as
a more mature outlook on life and
towards ourselves, we’re continuing
our explorations of themes of
isolation and loneliness. Sure, we’re
older and have more freedom, but this
new phase in life is daunting and can
lead to downward spirals of feeling
lost and abandoned.