The Nashville-Based Indie Duo APOLLO LTD Discuss Their Latest Music, Favorite Tours and More!

Photo Credit: Catie Laffoon

Nashville indie duo Apollo LTD recently premiered their new track “One In A Million” which merges sweeping synths, arena-ready guitars, and a hypnotic hook evocative of Achtung Baby-era U2 with a clever catchiness.

“Big concerts have always captivated us. That is the starting point in anything we create; that energy is addicting and what we are drawn to as well as the great artists of our time who had something to say. The likes of Bob Dylan, Kendrick Lamar, and U2. We are influenced by everything. We have a hard drive of 36,000 gigs of various sounds to play around with when recording.” – Apollo LTD

After logging years together in a band, the Nashville duo – Jordan Phillips and Adam Stark – emerged in 2015 with their independent self-titled EP. It garnered critical acclaim from the likes of Consequence of Sound, The Atlantic, and syncs on Grey’s Anatomy as well as other major networks. As they shared the stage with Panic at the Disco, DNCE, The All-American Rejects, and most recently, Kesha, the guys recorded new songs that will be featured on their upcoming 2017 follow-up EP and further unlocked the dynamic nature of their pairing: Adam the consummate trained musician and Jordan the primal and passionate poet.

In the end, Apollo LTD continually fulfill a shared dream to venture into new musical territory and they do so by connecting with each and every song.

Follow Apollo LTD:

Facebook | Twitter |Instagram |  YouTube | SoundCloud
www.weareapolloltd.com

Learn more about Apollo LTD in the following All Access interview:

Where does this interview find the band today? – In Nashville in our studio space.

Is there music playing in the background? What is it? – Yes… currently “nobody speak” by DJ Shadow and Run the Jewels…. its a jam

 What is one song that you are all loving right now? Mac Miller/Anderson Paak “DANG!” and Portugal “Live in the Moment” 

What is a song that you all disagree about loving right now? Adam hates “psychic city” Classixx remix…. i kinda love it. Cant help it.

How does 2017 so far compare to last year? Pretty strong showing thus far

How differently did you all approach this year then you did 2016? We are getting better about just letting things happen…. we work hard but also trust that everything happens in due time. Patience, patience.

What all are you most excited about for 2018? Falcons super bowl win.

Can you recall the moment you all realized that you could really make music together and be this band? We have been making music with each other for a long time… 2004 roughly. So this band happened pretty naturally.

Why do you think your name truly represents this group and the music that you create? – the Apollo program was birthed out of a desire to do something we had never done before as a country. I suppose when we started the band we wanted to make music that we hadn’t ever made prior. It was new and fresh… it was our version of going to the moon in a tin can.

Where did your name come from in the first place? – My uncle was an astronaut growing up. So I have always been enamored by space (its made its way into a lot of our material over the years… even in different bands.) Pair that with the above stated reasons and throw in some legal advice to add some letters or other words to “Apollo” and you have Apollo LTD!

I always like to ask artists how their hometown has been an influence on the kind of music they make and really what kind of a band they are today. So how do you think your home of Nashville has affected you all and the music that you create? – That’s a good question. This is a great town for being a creator. The community of musicians/writers/producers is amazing…. it is definitely a different vibe than Los Angeles. I’d say our city has influenced us to be better and better songwriters. Nashville is a song town. If you can’t grab an acoustic and sing your song and get the point across then maybe you can do better.

I’m curious how you think the music that you create as part of Apollo LTD is different or similar to the music you produce for other artists around Nashville? – As writer/producers we have no agenda whatsoever except expanding on the vision and ideas of the artist we are working with. We look at our role in that department as a service. We both try to remove our ego from the equation completely and want people to feel comfortable to be expressive and be honest. I love diving headfirst into someone else’s world…. its freeing for us i think. It also gives us energy to dive back into our own artist world.

What was the inspiration for your latest single, “One In A Million”? How is it different than anything else you have previously released as Apollo LTD? –  We came home from a great vacation with our wives and in 2 hours had “One in a Million”…. we should vacay more often.

How is it different than anything else you have previously released as Apollo LTD? – its a love song…. we don’t do too many of those things…. if you say I love you too much it means less.

You have shared the stage with so many amazing artists so I would love to know who you have learned the most from? – DNCE put on a show…. its bonkers but super entertaining. Shameless entertaining and I have a ton of respect for that. No apologies you are who you are. Do yo thang.

What bands have really shown you the most when it comes to performing? – We haven’t toured with U2 and Coldplay (watch out 2019) but we’ve both seen them and I feel like that is the standard. If an alien came to earth and wanted to go to the Garden for a concert I’d take him/her/it to see U2 or Coldplay. Its church but with LED lights. Matt Shultz from Cage is a bad-ass as well…. one of the greatest lead singers doing it right now. I kind of answered your question!!

Do you have plans to play out live this fall a lot in support of your new music? – Yep! Its gonna be a blast.

What has been a favorite show of yours in the past? – We played a pretty rad show with Panic! At the Disco to a pretty packed arena.

With the summer over now, what was your favorite part about it? –  Looking back at the summer, one of the highlights that sticks out was going to see the U2 Joshua Tree tour. Biggest. Screen. Ever.

What was something fun that this group did or tried for the first time? Have you ever tried a sensory deprivation chamber (float tank?) Adam did. He now understands all of the secrets of the universe.

We are living in a crazy and at times rough world right now so I am curious how you think being in this band gives you the most joy in life today? – Creating gives us joy. Being with and loving people gives us joy. Being in a band is just a tiny part of who we are. Its a blessing though for sure.

Do you think that new music being created today is going to reflect these hard times? –  I hope so…. music as a reflection of culture will always exist…. but music to escape culture will always exist as well. We need both…. we need NWA and we need the Beach Boys. But right now we are primed for a reflection of ourselves. I think artists like Kendrick are tapping into that.

Who are some of your favorite artists? – Beatle’s, Led Zep, Fugees, Beck, Paul McCartney, Beach Boys, The Killers

Is there anyone that you would still love to work with in the future?  – What would be a dream collaboration for this band? – So many people we’d love to work with. Mark Ronson is one of our fave producers, Jack Antonoff is a genius. Pharrell, Kendrick, Anderson Paak, Beck, Justin Meldal-Johnsen we’d love to work with just about anyone. Major Lazer… whatever

What do you hope is the message of your music? – hopefully its a sense that we are all doing life together. Understanding who we are as people and dealing with what we know as the human Condition is something that all of us experience.

What do you hope people continue to take away from your songs? – comfort in the reality that we aren’t alone.

What advice would you give to a band just getting started? –  Become a doctor.

Or even to someone young that is thinking of becoming a musician one day? – take your time… be patient. Everything worth doing takes time.