INTERVIEW PANDA BEAR
Thursday 24 November 2011 at 12:01 am
Words by Brenda Bosma. Photos by Nuno Barroso
Panda Bear released his fourth solo album Tomboy at the beginning of this year. It got great reviews, some even quite wordy. We called him on an off day in his house in Portugal and talked about Fado and juxtapositions. And we finally cleared the adobe slab-thing!
So which underground kid drawn to your mix of heavy reverb, sun-woozy synths, droning kraut-surf-ambient-pop songs, high childlike voice, and psychedelic-cum-nostalgic sleeve art do you reckon might one day be heir to your throne of the chillwave nation?
I'd like to think that everybody has their own thing and their own voice. I guess that just as I wouldn't really want to imitate somebody else, I hope that nobody would ever do that kind of thing to me either.
Then you'll stay lonely at the top?
Well, in my opinion it's more that everybody is at their own top or in their zone pretending their own thing.
What kind of subgenre will you come up with next? Chill Hair Metal? Dub Reggaeton? Minimal Gregorian chants?
I've started to think about it a little bit, but I don't want to reveil too much. I feel like it hits harder if it's a surprise. I have been thinking about trying to do something really different for the next album though.
How are the band dynamics within Animal Collective now that most of you have embarked on solo projects?
We've known each other for a long time. We make music together, we've traded tapes and done all sorts of things for so long now. I feel like we are all just trying to support each other. As far as I can feel, there's certainly no envy or competition going on. We like to get each other excited about what we do. In that sense we challenge each other, but we all are our own critic.
So do you think that Geologist is now finally triggered to release his own solo album?
As far as I've talked to him, he's not really interested in doing music on his own. He likes to work of off other people's ideas and vibes. I believe Deakin to have something up pretty soon.
You've been living in Portugal for quite some time now. Is Fado slowly seeping into your music? Or maybe it has always been latently there?
For 'Tomboy' I consider, even though a lot of people here would find that ridiculous, Fado an indirect inspiration. Fado singing to me is close to being over the top. It's emotive and very forceful. Before 'Tomboy' I hadn't really tried to sing like that. I like it when you hear somebody singing like that. They seem passionate and sound like they really mean it. It's almost as if listening to Fado music slaps you in the face. I wanted to write songs that have that attitude.
About the song “Benfica”. Do you hope it will one day be the soccer club's stadium anthem? Or are you more the American football type?
I would be really happy about it if they did, but I have the feeling the supporters of the club wouldn't really appreciate it. I don't know if Portuguese people are into my music. As for the types, I'm both if that's possible. I grew up with an older brother who was really into sports. I used to love to play with him. Since music took over my life I don't participate in sports that much, but the level to which I keep track of what's going on in sports is vastly increased in the past ten years or so.
Maybe you could say being on tour is also a kind of sport?
Performance-wise I always found parallels between how I feel and how I prepare for a show and, let's say, a basketball game. The state of mind is very similar. It's not so much strategy as it is a mental focus. There's all this fear and pressure. Getting above that, controlling and harnessing that energy is what it's all about.
Does that include feeling the need to win and stay on top?
Winning in the musical performance sphere is all about doing what you came to do, playing in a way that feels acceptible to you. It's a little more vague. One of the things I like so much about sports are the clear rules about winning and losing. It's a lot more complicated with music.
Is a Tomboy a Young Prayer who likes to eat Strawberry Jam? What's with the title? It seems more bleak than Person Pitch or Sung Tongs.
It's definitely a bit more bleak. 'Tomboy' was a symbol for a lot of the things I found myself singing about. Things that were kind of opposed to each other, but existed in me at the same time. The most clearcut example of where the name came from is in the song 'Tomboy' which is essentially about the different aspects of my life and how these conflict and how they work together. There is my musical life, which is my work life, and my home life. For example, my job connects with crowds of people whereas in my homelife I feel like I'm a very shy person. When I am around lots of people I get really anxious. That's the simplest way of putting it. I found myself addressing a lot of juxtapositions in my life with a lot of the songs.
Do you have any fun facts about panda bears when for instance you find yourself sitting around a campfire?
The only thing I know about panda bears is that they look like sweet animals, but that in fact they can be really vicious and violent. Actually they represent that tomboy-thing in the sense that they seem like they are one thing, but are a totally different thing at the same time. I wish I knew more about panda bears. I've seen a couple of them at the zoo once, but that's about it. I just think they're really cool looking animals. I love the fact that they are black and white. Talking about juxtapositions.
Has anyone ever make you sniff some sneezing powder while they were holding a camera in front of you?
I have a collection of panda stuff I got from various family members. There are all sorts of panda cuddly bears lying around the place. Would be a “pleasant” surprise to receive some sneezing powder for a change.
Did you succeed with the adobe slabs for your girls? I still am not sure what it means. Is it a toy made of clay, or is it a Photoshop thing, or what is it?
I liked how that word sounded in the song. It's a material they use to make roofs around here. And I was mistaken. The roof I'm looking at right now, seems to be made of ceramic. It's cool to think of it as toys though. A little girl's gotta play.
I'd like to think that everybody has their own thing and their own voice. I guess that just as I wouldn't really want to imitate somebody else, I hope that nobody would ever do that kind of thing to me either.
Then you'll stay lonely at the top?
Well, in my opinion it's more that everybody is at their own top or in their zone pretending their own thing.
I've started to think about it a little bit, but I don't want to reveil too much. I feel like it hits harder if it's a surprise. I have been thinking about trying to do something really different for the next album though.
How are the band dynamics within Animal Collective now that most of you have embarked on solo projects?
We've known each other for a long time. We make music together, we've traded tapes and done all sorts of things for so long now. I feel like we are all just trying to support each other. As far as I can feel, there's certainly no envy or competition going on. We like to get each other excited about what we do. In that sense we challenge each other, but we all are our own critic.
So do you think that Geologist is now finally triggered to release his own solo album?
As far as I've talked to him, he's not really interested in doing music on his own. He likes to work of off other people's ideas and vibes. I believe Deakin to have something up pretty soon.
You've been living in Portugal for quite some time now. Is Fado slowly seeping into your music? Or maybe it has always been latently there?
For 'Tomboy' I consider, even though a lot of people here would find that ridiculous, Fado an indirect inspiration. Fado singing to me is close to being over the top. It's emotive and very forceful. Before 'Tomboy' I hadn't really tried to sing like that. I like it when you hear somebody singing like that. They seem passionate and sound like they really mean it. It's almost as if listening to Fado music slaps you in the face. I wanted to write songs that have that attitude.
I would be really happy about it if they did, but I have the feeling the supporters of the club wouldn't really appreciate it. I don't know if Portuguese people are into my music. As for the types, I'm both if that's possible. I grew up with an older brother who was really into sports. I used to love to play with him. Since music took over my life I don't participate in sports that much, but the level to which I keep track of what's going on in sports is vastly increased in the past ten years or so.
Maybe you could say being on tour is also a kind of sport?
Performance-wise I always found parallels between how I feel and how I prepare for a show and, let's say, a basketball game. The state of mind is very similar. It's not so much strategy as it is a mental focus. There's all this fear and pressure. Getting above that, controlling and harnessing that energy is what it's all about.
Does that include feeling the need to win and stay on top?
Winning in the musical performance sphere is all about doing what you came to do, playing in a way that feels acceptible to you. It's a little more vague. One of the things I like so much about sports are the clear rules about winning and losing. It's a lot more complicated with music.
Is a Tomboy a Young Prayer who likes to eat Strawberry Jam? What's with the title? It seems more bleak than Person Pitch or Sung Tongs.
It's definitely a bit more bleak. 'Tomboy' was a symbol for a lot of the things I found myself singing about. Things that were kind of opposed to each other, but existed in me at the same time. The most clearcut example of where the name came from is in the song 'Tomboy' which is essentially about the different aspects of my life and how these conflict and how they work together. There is my musical life, which is my work life, and my home life. For example, my job connects with crowds of people whereas in my homelife I feel like I'm a very shy person. When I am around lots of people I get really anxious. That's the simplest way of putting it. I found myself addressing a lot of juxtapositions in my life with a lot of the songs.
The only thing I know about panda bears is that they look like sweet animals, but that in fact they can be really vicious and violent. Actually they represent that tomboy-thing in the sense that they seem like they are one thing, but are a totally different thing at the same time. I wish I knew more about panda bears. I've seen a couple of them at the zoo once, but that's about it. I just think they're really cool looking animals. I love the fact that they are black and white. Talking about juxtapositions.
Has anyone ever make you sniff some sneezing powder while they were holding a camera in front of you?
I have a collection of panda stuff I got from various family members. There are all sorts of panda cuddly bears lying around the place. Would be a “pleasant” surprise to receive some sneezing powder for a change.
Did you succeed with the adobe slabs for your girls? I still am not sure what it means. Is it a toy made of clay, or is it a Photoshop thing, or what is it?
I liked how that word sounded in the song. It's a material they use to make roofs around here. And I was mistaken. The roof I'm looking at right now, seems to be made of ceramic. It's cool to think of it as toys though. A little girl's gotta play.
Catch him live at Le Guess Who at the end of November.
