ACL Interview: Beat Connection
Moving along with our coverage for ACL is yet another interview with a band we’ve talked about quite a bit in the past. Today our spotlight and interview comes from the boys in Beat Connection. Band member Reed Juenger was kind enough to answer our burning questions and you can find his answers after the jump.
ATH: So you’ve recently finished up a new album (pre-order here). What’s in store for everyone?
Reed: Yeah we been on this one for a minute already and we couldn’t be happier to be sharing it. We wrote so many songs for this record and the 11 that made the cut are all tracks that we are super proud of and that fit together in a narrative arc. We spent a ton of time trying to build a record that was immediately catchy but left a whole bunch to be discovered on the 2nd, 3rd, 4th listen.
ATH: We’re always curious to know how an album came together. What was the recording process like for this one? When were the songs written?
Reed: As I mentioned we wrote tons of songs in the creation of this album over the span of nearly two years. So it was a long process that was highly collaborative. Everything that made the record is something that we all stand behind 100 percent. We wrote and recorded the whole thing in our studio/practice space up in Seattle. Some songs came together really quickly and others we returned to and worked on sporadically. We mixed the record at Different Fur Studios in San Francisco which was our first time really diving in at a proper studio. Honestly, you could say the process was typified by working aimlessly until a happy accident lead to a moment of inspiration.
ATH: Loving the new video (go here for that). How did idea to focus primarily on the dance moves of Brixx come about? That guy is made of elastic.
Reed: Yeah no kidding haha. The credit for the treatment and the incredible direction for that video goes to Fernando Vallejo who shot the whole thing by himself around NYC. And the moves and choreography go to Brixx who is unquestionably amazing to watch. We talked about how different mediums of art and expression influence us as a band and how they can all cross pollinate and this is what came out of that; trying to use cinema and dance to create an analogous expression of the song.
ATH: You guys have been into Austin many times before. What do you look forward to when you stop into our little town?
Reed: We got our spots now, its true! We seem to always end up at Easy Tiger and Cheer Up Charlies, and we are always trying to track down the actual best BBQ spot.
ATH: Speaking of, have you had the chance to check out the ACL lineup yet? Anyone you might be looking forward to seeing or hanging out with?
Reed: Trust we will be singing along to “Hotline Bling” at Drake’s set and I will hopefully have all the lines from What a Time to Be Alive memorized by then haha. Hoping to see Future and Drake do something together considering they are both on the bill. Also really looking forward to Tame Impala, we all love “Currents”, as well as Lion Babe, Vince Staples & Gabriel Garzon-Montano.
ATH: On that note…. With festivals offering fans so many options for on musical choices. Why should someone come by your set rather than some other band?
Reed: We do it big time fam! Whether its 25 or 2500 we gonna be doing it up, every time.
ATH: Give us a band catch phrase… GO!
Reed: Industrial Condo Sadness
ATH: What new music is spinning in the tour bus/van?
Reed: Been listening to all sorts of stuff. Leon Vynehall is my go to zone music. We have also been digging into a lot of older Samba music. Not to say we don’t check up on the radio every once and a while though.
Beat connection will be playing Sunday, October 11th at 12 on the Homeaway stage.