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Hailing from Auckland, Collapsing Cities are best known for their edgy yet playful lyrics. A new band, they played their first gig in May 2006, but have quickly gained the confidence necessary to play at the Great Escape this year and tour with Black Kids this June. In this year alone, they have consistently been compared to Pavement, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, and other such successful American and Canadian indie bands.
Their debut single, 'Fear of Opening My Mouth' was released 26 May and their debut album, 'Elixir Always', will be released later this year.
Steve from the band has answered our same six questions. |
Q1 How did you start out making music?
Playing bass guitar in my high school rock band called Mofo. We were terrible! Funk bass lines, power chords, R&B vocals and a drummer who just did fills. I played slap bass in two songs. Lucky we never recorded anything!
Q2 What inspired your latest single?
A series of failures, regrets, good times, opening my mouth when I shouldn't have and girl frustrations. The line "Threw coffee at the bouncer after a dress code dispute..." actually did happen after a wild night out in Auckland. I got chased round the block and the bouncer was too fat to catch me. Lucky for me, he had the look in his eye of "if I catch you I will probably kill you". I was a telemarketer for about a year whilst studying. It was a terrible experience.
Q3 What process do you go through in creating a track?
Write some basic music, add lyrics, re-work with the band, discuss, record demo, re-record in studio.
Q4 Which artists influence your work?
We all collectively agree on New Order and Daft Punk being a major influence. Yo La Tengo are a band that me and James Brennan (guitarist) really like, and personally I am a big fan of Blur and Smog. Bill Callaghan just has the coolest voice, impeccable cool vocal delivery and the best lyrics around. Damon Albarn has always been one of my favourite song writers since I was a kid.
Q5 What would you say to someone experiencing your music for the first time?
Let's get the party started! Music that you can sing along to, dance to and relate to. Good old fashioned story telling with jangly guitars, off beat bass lines and disco beats.
Q6 What are your ambitions for your latest single, and for the future?
Release our album 'Elixir Always' throughout Europe, tour with as many bands in as many cities as we possibly can, drink a lot, eat a lot, have fun, and make girls dance!
published june 2008
