An Interview With The Post-Punk Band, DROWNERS On Their Latest Album, “On Desire” On More!

This Friday, June 24th, Drowners will release their second album. Called On Desire, it will be released via Frenchkiss.

It was recorded/mixed by Claudius Mittendorfer (Interpol, Johnny Marr, Neon Indian).

Learn about their band and their forthcoming album in the following All Access interview:

Thanks for your time! How’s 2016 been treating you all? What were some of the highlights of 2015 for the band and your music?

2016’s been fun getting a new live show together for the new material – but 2015 was great! We sort of went underground for the year to write the new record.  It was really good, almost necessary, to disappear for a while to discover the direction we were heading.  We wrote tons of new music and got into the studio by October to start recording.  Recording ‘On Desire’ was undoubtedly the highlight of 2015.

How did this group first come to be? Where did you all meet? How did you come up with your band name? What other names were you considering?

We were all kicking around New York City.  Matt moved to New York from Wales a couple of years ago.  He met Erik and Jack just hanging round the downtown music and art scene.  Daniel and Erik have been friends since they were teenagers, they used to play in bands together early on.  We needed a new drummer, and he was a great fit for the group.

Why do you think you all work so well together?

We’ve all got quite different personalities and temperaments.  But we all kind of compliment each other.  Sort of when the puzzle pieces fit together to create the whole picture.   We’ve got really wide ranging musical interests.  Everything from dance and electronic music to melancholy songwriter stuff.  There’s a lot to pull inspiration from.  But we all grew up in punk bands.  That’s informed a lot of what’s at the core of our music.

How would you describe your sound to someone that hasn’t heard it yet?

Term post-punk is pretty broad, but it’s probably the most accurate to what our sound is.  It’s still got the energy that propels you in punk, but maybe it’s grown up a bit.  More multi-dimensional.

In just a few weeks, you will release your second collection, “On Desire.” How do you think you have grown on these tracks? How has your sound changed and/or stayed the same?

Well, ‘On Desire’ is a collaborative record. It came together as a group.  And we intentionally pushed ourselves to grow on this record.  We wanted to pull from a more diverse palette.  Lyrically it covers more ground.  We worked a lot with synthesizers and guitar effects processing.  And everything has a much deeper groove.  We wanted to make a record that people want to get up a dance to.

How creatively involved were you all with the making of your video for “Cruel Ways”?

We were very involved from the beginning.  The vision was a sort of surreal, ‘Lynchian’ type performance.  We were looking for the emotion to come through in color and vibe.  But where is the audience? Where exactly are we? We wanted to keep those things open ended.

Where do you get the inspiration for your music? Is that constantly changing?

Inspiration comes from places you least expect it sometimes.  In New York you never know what you’re going to witness in the street, or overhear in some strangers conversation.  Musically, there’s always to much to dig back through.  We’re all a bit nerdy for discovering old records and bands.  Of course that stuff informs what we’re making today.

Do you have plans to tour much this summer and promote the record?

We’re looking to get out and play the new record as much as we can this summer and autumn.  Things are coming together for tours, both here in the states and overseas.  We’d love to make it back down to South America soon too.

Who are some of your favorite artists? What artists have continued to inspire you and your music?

We’re all really big on the early 80’s English post-punk.  The Factory Records catalogue,  New Order and The Durutti Column.  Early disco hits from Donna Summer.  Also, the 70’s kraut stuff like CAN and Cluster.  And Brian Eno’s catalogue.  There’s a thread that runs through all that stuff.

What do you hope is the message of your music? What do you hope listeners take away from your songs?

There’s something in there about the human condition. Something that all people can relate to.  The record is really a meditation on desire.  In all of it’s difference forms, and how it effects us, what it makes us do.  That’s why we called the record ‘On Desire’.