SXSW Interviews: Teke::Teke

Well this week marks the official 3 week countdown to the fun times we all love during SXSW. Hard to believe that things might be “normal” again this year, but it seems like we may be headed towards live shows and events once again! How exciting for everyone in the music community. Once again, we are trying to prepare you as best we can for the week of music with interviews and previews from tons of band playing the festival. Today I am pleased to share with you my latest interview from Montreal based outfit TEKE::TEKE. Hit the jump for full interview, news and music.

All answers come from the band as a collective.

ATH: What’s the name of the band/group? Where are you from?

TT: TEKE::TEKE, from Montreal, Canada

ATH: Describe your group’s sound.

TT: Japanese Psychedelic Art-Rock with influences from 60s-70s soundtracks, Japanese Eleki & Enka, and music from every corner of the world.

ATH: What was your most recent release? Any planned releases for 2022?

TT: We released our first full-length album entitled Shirushi in May of 2021 with label Kill Rock Stars and plan on releasing new music in 2022 and 2023.

ATH: Everyone’s been focused on the negative aspects of the last few years? What are a few good things that came about for you as an individual or the band as a whole during the last two pandemic-stricken years?

TT: We managed to have a very decent album release despite this abnormal context. We put our focus on creating content (videos, artwork, etc) and learned new ways of doing so in the process.

ATH: Why play SXSW? What’s the draw for the band? What about this festival will bring you to Austin?

TT: First and foremost, we will finally be able to meet our record label (Kill Rock Stars) in person as we will be celebrating their 30th anniversary at SXSW and playing their special showcase. Playing SXSW is really about networking, attending conferences, getting involved, speaking out on different issues and getting the word out there about the band.

ATH: Let’s say your band has booked an official showcase at a pop up venue somewhere in the middle of 6th street. The lineup features thrash metal, hip-hop, spoken word, and you. The sound is horrible, the lineup is not your style, and the crowd is growing ancy. How would your band deal with such a situation?

TT: We absolutely would. We love metal, hip-hop, spoken word. We’ll play in any line-up (the more diverse the better) and were ready to deal with any situation.

ATH: There are tons of bands coming into town, but if you could create your own perfect festival, who would you have playing? Would it have a sick name? Where would it take place?

TT: At this time, we would try to have it happen outside (if the weather allows it). We would have metal bands playing, hip-hop artists, spoken word, rock along with environmental activists and tasty local food. It would be a peaceful event where everybody is welcome. Don’t know about the name though, thats always a tough one.

ATH: What has everyone in the band been listening to, or, what plays in the tour van/car/bus?

TT: Recently and randomly, these artists have been in rotation in our world : Suuns, Ak Dan Gwang Chil, Little Simz, El Michels Affair, Jerusalem In My Heart, FHANG, Asha Boshle, Misora Hibari, Nakajima Miyuki, Paul Jacobs, Chakra, Yellow Magic Orchestra, Goblin, Fugazi, Vovod.

ATH: There’s been a lot of discussion about Spotify and streaming and all that these last few months. Where does the band stand? What’s your solution?

TT: A dream scenario would be to see every single artist on Spotify pull out their music at once and see what happens to the company without the artists and realize why they’re there in the first place but I doubt that this will happen. We’ve all been conditioned and we’re all on there, just trying to reach as many people around the world as possible and hoping we can make moves so that at least they’ll finally give the artists more recognition and more of what they’re entitled to.

ATH: The band gets to create their own food truck to take on the road. What’s it called, and what are you serving?

TT: It would be a fully solar-electric truck serving fresh local food, with lots of organic vegetables and tasty takes on our favorite street food from around the world using only reusable utensils and plates. We would grill something different every day and call our truck “TEKE YAKI”!

Thanks again for making the time to answer our questions! Definitely consider picking up the new album from TEKE::TEKE entitled Shirushi via Kill Rock Stars.

And here is latest single “Meikyu”.

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