Interviews

Interview: The Drift

When the plan to tour Europe was laid out it would have seemed insane to most - it included 5 countries in 5 days - but something tells me The Drift didn’t bat an eyelid. They pretty much have their own way of doing most things as we found out when we caught up with their guitarist/keyboardist Danny Grody at their recent Cambridge gig.

Is the band named after the Scott Walker album, is it just a clever way of describing the music you create, or is it something else?

The latter. We formed before the Scott Walker album came out, but it’s nice because it actually led me onto his music and now I’m a fan. It has more to do with our tendency to “drift” when we work on material together. We kind of string things together and aren’t concerned with beginnings or endings until things start to take form.

The new album, ‘Memory Drawings’, is superb.

Thankyou.

Where did you record the album and how long did it take?

We recorded it over two weekends, about four days total. Two days of which were tracking, two of which were mixing. So, a lot condensed in a short amount of time. We recorded at the Tiny Telephone studio in San Francisco which is run by a friend of ours called John Vanderslice. He’s also a singer-songwriter but he also runs this amazing, mostly analogue, studio that is set up like a living-room. It’s super-warm and nice and an inspiring room to record in. It has old keyboards, and amazing mics and a 24-trackboard Neve console. We worked with this guy, Jay Pellicci, a friend that we respected; he’s also a drummer. When we first started recording with him there was this chemistry going on. It was like he was an extension of the band, y’know? He records Steerhoof and plays in a band called 31 Knots - a really talented guy.

How did you go about recording the album? Did it have a concept behind it or was it more of a collection of jam tracks?

It’s definetly not a collection of jam tracks. We definetly wrote the songs with an intention of how we wanted to shape the music. A lot of the concepts with the song names and the art we ended up using came afterwards. That’s usually our natural progression. We collectively absorb ideas and work those into it. The name ‘Memory Drawings’ comes from the artist who drew the cover with a pencil called Colter Jacobsen. He’s especially interested in drawing from memory. So the images that we used were drawn from a memory; firstly from a photograph and secondly from the image that he drew. It was a simple idea that we relate to as a band because a lot of what we do comes from memory so it was a good parallel.

Can you give a brief description of the instruments, effects and amps that you use on the album?

We have keyboard, guitar, upright bass, trumpet and drums, no vocals. I play guitar through a Fender Amp, an old-style Showman head, it’s a two-peg. I have an old-analogue crunchy organ-sounding Wurlitzer keyboard which I play through a basic bass speaker, something with a little oomph to it. I use Boss effects pedals like DD5 delays and reverbs and a Line 6 pedal. Those things are great but they’re built shitty so they break all the time but I still recommend the Line 6. And then our trumpet-player [Jeff Jacobs] uses the same effects but with a sampler which he messes with. [Jeff uses two Boss RC-20 pedals.]

The most stand-out instrument is the upright bass. Is it important to have that deep pitch on the bass?

The music is very percussive and groove-based so having that element in there helps anchor that more abstract stuff between Jeff on trumpet and me where we jump between structured melodics and then more out-there stuff. It keeps everything on the ground. We’re lucky we got to bring it on the road ‘cos it’s pretty cumbersome, costs a lot of money and is very delicate. It’s totally integral to the music with the character of that instrument adding a whole new dimension to the music.

The trumpet’s sharp sound is very much in opposition to the bass. Do you ever have trouble adapting it’s harsher qualities into the ambience of the music?

Contrasts are good! The trumpet is good because it can be somewhat abstract, because Jeff uses so many effects, and doesn’t have to be the traditional lead instrument which trumpet tends to be. But we’re not a traditional band! (Laughs). We’re not interested in that but it can go there if we need it to, so it’s really dynamic.

Listening to the album there’s a sense that the trumpet is where the vocal would usually be. Not necessarily as a replacement for it but do you think of it that way at all?

Mmmm… I never have until this record but a lot of people have made that observation which is not a bad thing. It gives something for the listener to hold on to or brings a theme, and he tells a good story, I think.

Who are your main musical influences and what are your favourite albums?

Oh no, not that question! (Laughs, then a long pause). Um, personally, I would say, erm, in jazz, Miles Davis; in experimental rock, This Heat; in folk music, John Fahey; in afrobeat, Fela Kuti; traditional African music, Toumani Diabate. The list goes on and on but there’s no way to narrow it down. These are my influences, they are not necessarily the band’s.

Are there any bands that are similar to you back home?

[Enter Safa Shokrai, the upright bass player]

Danny: There are bands that we have a kinship with. Like, the Numbers.
Safa: Tussle.
Danny: There’s a new band called Mi Ami that are into steady-heavy grooves, with guitars that have melodies that can be dissonant at times. They’re great.

You’ve just done five countries in five days which must be tiring! Is the tour going well?

Both: (Tired laughs). Yeah, definetly. It’s going well.

Any favourite gigs recently?

Danny: Paris, last night. Krakow was incredible.

Was it the fans, the music?

Safa: The fans were great. Everyone seemed dour at first so we thought they must not like it and then everybody bought a record (Laughs).
Danny: The first show in Poland was in a cultural centre and everyone was sat down. It felt like you were playing in a school or for a school event. It felt almost formal.
Safa: Town elders! (Laughs all round).
Danny: Yeah, the local priest came to the show and then a bunch of kids too. Definitely people came because something’s coming to town. The town’s called Wolow, just north of Krakow, and apparently it has a very strong musical community so the promoter never has a problem putting shows on because people are always interested. But, like Safa said, they’re very dour and hard to read and at the end of the show, it was like… I don’t think we sold more CDs on any of the nights so it was pretty amazing.

Which support band have you most enjoyed listening to?

Danny: This guy, C.J.Boyd. (Laughs). He’s been helping us on this tour, he’s been driving us. He’s a solo bassist and uses a loop pedal. It’s fucking amazing! So, C.J. BOYD! He’s fucking great!
Safa: Phoebe [Kreutz]. She played really cheeky, funny.
Danny: Absolutely. Singer-songwriter. Had nothing to do with our music but everything to do with a great night. She warmed the whole audience up. She had confidence, really witty, her songs were super-funny. Was her last name Curtis? Krutz? Something like that.

Your profess a love of Indian food. That must be pretty hard to get in San Francisco?

Danny: Not at all. It’s a big food town. Lots of different cultures.

We love it here in the UK too. What’s your favourite dish?

Danny: Baingan Bhurtha. It’s, like, eggplant.
Safa: Vindaloo, all the way. It’s pretty damn good.

Coming from California, are you all into beachlife and surfing?

Danny: Rich [Douthit, drummer] is the surfer, dude! (Laughs all round). Where I grew up was Southern California and it’s like totally quintessential beach culture. The water during the summer/late spring is, like, you can jump in and it’s no problem. But in San Francisco you have to wear a full wetsuit and booties, or whatever. And there’s great white sharks. It’s not necessarily your ideal place to surf.

You’ll be looking for a new drummer soon, then!

Danny: Ah, don’t say that. (Laughs all round).

Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions.

Both: No problem. Thank YOU.

Band links = The Drift

Thanks especially go to Danny for helping set this interview up in the first place.

Photos by John Van + Rich E

Buy The Drift’s new CD!

Tags: interview, drift, the drift, memory drawings, ambient, dub

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