Brooklyn-based indie pop band, Via Audio recently released their sophomore release "Animalore" [Undertow Music Collective]. The band formed in 2003 at the Berklee College of Music and released the critically acclaimed record "Say Something" in 2007. Spoon drummer, Jim Eno produced the first record and worked with the band again on the follow up. I recently had an opportunity to ask Via Audio a few questions and the band's bassist, David Lizmi, was kind enough to give us some insight into the world of Via Audio.
Congrats on the new record – it sounds great. One thing that really caught me by surprise was the wide range of sounds on this record. Is it something you guys set out to do or does the writing just come out this way?
It's not something we consciously try to do. We all listen to a wide variety of genres and time periods so it comes out in the songwriting. We forget that not everyone listens to Phil Spector immediately followed by Tibetan field recordings of a Yak Caravan running through a village. The artist is Geir Jenssen if you are curious to check that out.
The band got together while you were at Berklee in Boston. How was your experience at Berklee?
I think the general consensus is
that school is as good as what you make of it. The best part is being in a
concentrated place of 3000 musicians is everyone wants to jam and dork out.
There is bound to be at least 200 dudes that you connect with musically, which
is quite a lot in the grand scheme of music.
The new record is called “Animalore”. Why?
We combined the word Animal and Lore. Lore meaning: all the facts and traditions about a particular subject that have been accumulated over time through education or experience. We happened to write a lot of songs about animals so "Animalore" felt right.
There was a ton of buzz around your first record, “Say Something”. You worked with Spoon’s Jim Eno on that record and worked with him again on this record. How did you guys hook up with him initially?
Jess went to a Spoon show and after the show she shook his hand and gave him our EP. He actually listened to it and actually contacted us on his own. Magic is real ladies and gentlemen.
What do you think it is about Jim that really brings out the best in the band?
He really knows how to bring classiness and restraint to the band. We can be goofballs with a thousand different ideas going in a thousand different directions. So its good to have a guy that understands the power of space and minimalism.
What does the future hold for Via Audio?
We will tour until we drop. We are revving up the engines and wanna go full power until our van explodes. We will then get another van and stick with our plan.
Thanks again, David. For more on Via Audio check out www.viaaudio.net
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