CRYPTACIZE
The SiS Interview by Mike Randall
Chris Cohen has been in his share of bands. From Deerhoof to The Curtains to his current role in Cryptacize, no matter who is playing alongside him, the one constant has been the guitarist’s complete antithesis to a one-trick pony. Even as the songs have gradually simplified through the years, becoming more concrete and approachable, Cohen has become a master at not unnecessarily filling a measure. His arrangements seemingly never say the same thing twice, but always have something to say.
Cryptacize was formed in the Bay Area in 2007 as Cohen’s and vocalist Nedelle Torrisi’s outlet for freewheeling, surreal indie-pop orchestrations that shun the expected. The Cryptacize lineup was cemented with the addition of percussionist Michael Carreira, who was recruited for 2008’s Dig That Treasure after Cohen and Torrisi discovered his cowbell abilities via You Tube, and has since grown to include bassist Aaron Olson, who joined for the band’s current tour.
With Mythomania, Cryptacize’s latest for Asthmatic Kitty, the songs sound more finished than just about anything in Cohen’s canon, but just as unclassifiable. Relying loosely on a combination of the grandeur of vintage show tunes and off-kilter chamber pop, Torrisi’s sweet, playful voice combines with Cohen’s unorthodox rhythms to create a work that is simultaneously bright yet mischievous.
Despite garnering attention and the occasional double-take for touring with tiny equipment in an old Toyota Corolla, Cryptacize is clearly purpose driven, not gimmicky in the slightest. Cohen checked in with Stranded In Stereo in the middle of Cryptacize’s U.S. tour to let us know which luxurious vehicle is now carrying the band around the country, what he looks for in a guitar sound and who might not be playing with them after the current trip.
SIS: How has your tour been going? Anything exciting to report?
CC: It's been going great! We've been swimming a lot; Nedelle got a little acoustic guitar that Aaron's strumming in the front seat. Touring has become very regular.
Official band news is that we have a 7" that just came out on Slowboy Records in Germany and another Europe tour coming up in the winter.
SIS: Which songs from the new record are you having the most fun playing live?
CC: I'm especially enjoying this one called "New Spell" a lot lately, but it changes pretty often for me. I have fun playing all of the ones that we're playing right now. We've pretty much cut the bad ones out by this point.
SIS: How do you think the band has changed since Dig That Treasure?
CC: Lots of little ways but the most noticeable one is an extra body (Olson) in the car with us. Also, I think we're more focused on the 'macro' now than the 'micro.' We're learning to take our time a little more and try to savor things.
SIS: I think I read somewhere that the band is moving from the Bay Area to Los Angeles? What’s the reason for the move?
CC: We're just moving for a little change. Nedelle, Aaron and me all have some family and friends down there we'd like to be around. Mike unfortunately isn't moving with us, so we probably won't be playing together after this tour.
SIS: At times Mythomania feels like it has a theatrical component. What have been some of your favorite musicals or movie scores?
CC: Well, I don't really know musicals that well, but I do like the Sound of Music and West Side Story. I like Kurt Weill's music a lot. My all time favorite film score is probably Satyricon, the Fellini movie. That one and Juliet of the Spirits.
SIS: This record has a very personal feel to it in the sense that when I listen to it I feel like you’re playing just for me. Did you do anything in the studio for this result? Was that something you were going for?
CC: We are playing just for you, in the sense there is only one mind! We play for ourselves, too. In the studio we just do whatever seems right at the time, then listen back to it about one million times and make subtle changes that the songs ask for.
SIS: There are some very quirky guitar textures on this record – during certain instances I hear a resemblance to Tom Waits’ Mark Ribot. Which guitarists have had the biggest influence on your playing and why?
CC: Well, I like Mark Ribot very much, thanks!
A list of a few of my faves:
Zoot Horn Rollo, Jim Hall, Hound Dog Taylor, Hubert Sumlin, Leigh Stephens, Neil Haggerty, John Lee Hooker, Keiji Haino, Joe Baiza, Greg Ginn, Ed Rodriguez, Aaron Russell, John Dieterich, Andrew Maxwell, and Miroslav Tadic - these people have all had a big effect on me, in millions of subtle ways. I could discuss each one forever!
In general I would say I like people who 'sound like themselves.'
SIS: Your songs are definitely not as simple as they sound – they’re arrangements in the purest sense. There’s typically not verse-chorus-verse and melodies, non-traditional instruments are used and tempos shift at a moment’s notice. What’s the process of turning a musical idea into a song?
CC: The process doesn't follow any prescribed course. We just try and stay open to whatever could be good. I like the idea of music that doesn't sound too complicated because I don't think people should focus on that. I only care about music that makes me feel good, whether it's fancy or simple.
SIS: Despite adding Aaron Olson on bass, you tend to be in bands that start without a bassist. What do you like about not having a bass player in the mix?
CC: I don't like not having a bass especially, I just like playing with creative people, whatever instrument they play, and just using whatever sounds or instruments are available to us. I'd rather sacrifice the frequency range of our music (i.e. not have some supposedly essential instrument) in order to have only people in the band who are really bringing something special. So when we didn't have a bass player available tous, we just did without, and I think that was fine.
Any combination of instruments could be cool. Mike and his cowbell made a lot of sense with what Nedelle and I were already doing but we never thought we needed a cowbell. We just liked Mike. But after that we felt like we needed another person.
SIS: What does Aaron bring to the table that was missing?
CC: Aaron brings the Larry Sanders DVDs! And lots of other good things...
SIS: Nedelle has a very youthful, innocent voice, almost like she’s singing in a choir, which isn’t all that unlike Satomi Matsuzaki from one of your previous bands. What attracts you to a playful vocalist like Nedelle?
CC: I wonder what attracted her to me!
Well, that's weird, I don't think of Nedelle as 'innocent.' More like 'guilty!' Do you really think the two of them sound alike? What attracted me to Nedelle is her beautiful vibrato, it's so gentle and mellow and natural. That is a rare thing of perfect beauty in this world, which I love to listen to every day and I just thought 'we have to do something together.' I told her the first chance I got (we’d get together), which was when her and Deerhoof were on tour together some years ago.
SIS: When you write a song that you end up singing, do you have Nedelle try it first or do you have a certain vocal style in mind from the get-go that only you can fulfill?
CC: We write all the songs together, so sometimes she wants me to sing parts that she wrote. I usually just sing the ones that are in my range and are easy.Nedelle has a much larger range than me so she can sing the tricky stuff. Also, it depends on what instruments are playing. In general I think a voice that sits a bit higher than the music usually sounds best.
SIS: One benefit to your sound is you’ll never need a massive tour bus, although I’m sure you wouldn’t turn it away if the opportunity presented itself. How bad does your Corolla smell?
CC: Hmmm, yeah a little bit bad. And, actually, the Corolla's a bit small for the four of us now if we have to bring our own drums. Right now we're in my mom's SUV, which is pretty cushy for us! But in March we went with four of us in the Corolla and that was pretty tight, let me tell you. But who knows what we'll need to do in the future. In general we're just trying to do whatever makes it possible for us to continue. I tend to be a pretty thrifty guy though, so a tour bus sounds far-fetched.
SIS: Which question do you loathe having to answer more: inquiries about your Corolla or discussing your tiny gear?
CC: Ha! No, I don't mind either, but I do want to stress that those things are just a means to an end. We just wouldn't be able to tour at all if it weren't for our small size. The question I loathe answering more is 'describe your music.'
SIS: You guys all keep busy with so many different projects – you with The Curtains and Nedelle has made some records on her own. How do you decide what song goes to what band?
CC: Right now, Nedelle and I both put all of our energy into Cryptacize. It's pretty hard to do more than one band at a time for me. I wouldn't rule it out completely, but our hands are pretty full for the moment.
SIS: The world just lost Michael Jackson – any thoughts?
CC: I don't think we really lost him, but my feelings for the man? Just love and awe.
|
