Beberapa hari lagi Stars, band indie-pop berasal dari Kanada, akan pentas di Jakarta! Kami sempat berbincang dengan Stars melalui email berkat organizer acara mereka di Jakarta, Prasvana, mengenai album mereka yang terkini dan proyek-proyek mereka yang akan datang. Selamat menikmati wawancara singkat ini, dan jangan lupa menonton pertunjukan mereka Jumat ini!
Stars Live in Jakarta
opening act: Scaller
12 Feb 2016
Soehanna Hall
The Energy Building
SCBD Lot 11 A
Jl. Jendral Sudirman Kav 52-53
Jakarta
Untuk pembelian tiket, kunjungi Kiostix (click link).
W: According to your Wikipedia page, you are one of the first bands to make their albums (In Our Bedroom After the War) available in digital form in its initial release in 2007 and released an EP (Sad Robots) exclusively online. With so many avenues now (itunes, online radio, social media such as soundcloud) what do you think about digital distribution of music in 2016 and how do you use these avenues?
I think, in the absence of any transparency from the record labels, that digital streaming in particular, could prove the death of the small musician. We make next to no money off streaming. It’s abysmal. And unless this changes, many bands our size will no longer be able to operate. If it was up to me, all our music would be pulled off streaming services until a fair deal is worked out. But it isn’t up to me unfortunately.
W: Your new album, No One is Lost was recorded above a shuttered Montreal gay disco, was there any specific reason behind this decision? Did it have anything to do with the ‘dancey’ theme of the album?
It just happened to be the bar below our jam space. We work in a place called Mount Zoomer, where Arcade Fire, Wolf Parade, Wintersleep and many others have worked. It’s been a jam space for years. But definitely the beats we heard coming up through the floor were very inspiring in encouraging us to up the dance quotient a little in our music. We have always been a dance band, but we tried hard to make at least some of the songs on the last album something you could play in a club.
W: No One is Lost has more of an electronic influence on it, which apparently comes from your experience recording it above the disco. As electronic instruments are often quite different from “traditional” instruments in their interfaces and certainly the sounds it produces, how was your approach towards the songwriting different from previous albums?
I know people think this record is more electronic, but in fact we have always been an electronic band. The process of songwriting has very much been a continuum for us. We get together in a room, we work as a group and develop things slowly. For all these years, that process has just gotten more focused, but it hasn’t changed that much.
W: Stars emerged in the early 2000, in the “golden era” of the so called indie phenomenon, do you think Stars had some benefit from the trend? And how do you guys see your position in the era where indie is no longer a term that seems “special” anymore?
I hate the term indie; it’s a lie. Even the most “independent” bands now have connections ot massive corporations; and it also denotes a kind of preciousness and sexlessness that I don’t like in music. I know we sound “indie” but to me, we are a soul band, and that idea, of playing music for people to have in their daily lives, is what matters most to us.
W: Can you describe for us what living in Toronto is like, what it’s music scene is like, and how it has influenced your music? – Is there a “Toronto Sound”?
None of us have lived in Toronto in years, we’ve been in Montreal. But I did grow up there and I can tell you personally…i hated it! It was cold and grey and unfriendly and when I was a kid there were just a bunch of bar bands really. A few good hip-hop acts like dream warriors, but other than that it was pretty barren. Music for me was an escape from the mundanity of Toronto. Now, it’s a much more diverse and sophisticated city than it was when I lived there; and it’s too big a place now to claim that there is one specific sound. What I will say for Toronto is that the people who live there are big supporters of arts and culture and there is a really rich artistic scene. Not just in music, but in theatre, writing, visual art, everything. it’s a good place to be an artist. Except for those winters!!!
W: Can you recommend us bands we should listen to from your hometown?
Alvvays, faith healer, Laser, junior boys, jason colette, lowell…so many…too many to name.
W: You guys describe your music as “melodramatic pop song”, we found this quite unique, because, to us, your songs seems more happy-go-lucky vibe in your songs rather than melodramatic. Can you explain the experience you guys want to build for listeners of the albums?
We are kitchen sink music. If you’re driving to your mom’s funeral or doing the dishes or breaking up with someone, we want to be there. Life is alternately incredibly dull and incredibly romantic and exciting. We want to capture that idea I guess. Simply put, we want to be there for you, through the good and bad, through the melodrama and the fun; we’re a band that wants to be useful.
W: On January 2016, it is announced that Stars will be releasing a cover song every month for all of 2016, any particular reason behind this? can you tell us about what kind of song that will be a part of this project?
Nothing more complex than fun, really; it’s cool to work on other people’s songs because it teaches you a lot about songwriting and what makes a song work. As for what kind of songs…we have a loooong list! And we just argue about it until somebody wins! But generally I think we are looking for songs with strong melodies and songs that suit both male and female voices together, you know? Cuz that’s what we do.
W: What should we be expecting form Stars in the near future? Any new albums in the works (aside from the monthly covers)?
We are already working on a new album, there will be more covers, and just basically, more art! We love what we do a lot; it has taken us all over the world to places we never thought we would have the chance to see; like Jakarta! And that is an incredible blessing. We feel very lucky to have the kind of listeners we do; so loyal and open minded. And so we just want to keep going for as long as people will listen!
W: Thank you, guys!
Thank you so much! See you soon!
