During this years SXSW festival, we had a chance to catch up with indie-rock band Now, Now to chat about the songwriting process and creative collaboration. Check it out!
SeagateCreative: You guys are in the process of recording the follow-up to your acclaimed album, Threads, how’s that coming along?
Now, Now: We’re still quite deep in the demoing-writing process. It took us kind of a while to unwind from two years of touring and to be in the right mindset to think clearly about what we wanted to do with this next record. We’ve been recording in Cacie’s basement, nothing fancy, but it’s comfortable and available 24/7. That was kind of a requirement for this demoing; we needed to be able to work without distraction.
SeagateCreative: Do you have any rules in the studio, like is there anything “forbidden?”
Now, Now: The one thing that is forbidden is being scared to speak up or taking things too personally.
SeagateCreative: What is the band’s process for collaborating on the songwriting process?
Now, Now: It’s been a bit different so far for this record. I’ve been creating tracks and sending them to Cacie to write on and then she’ll bring something back to me and I’ll give her any critiques of her vocal parts that I have.
SeagateCreative: When you look for a collaborator to help on a project, how do you hope they help in the creative process?
Now, Now: The main thing we look for is someone who will be an outside perspective. Someone who can take us out of our own heads for a moment and be like “look, you’ve been totally missing this opportunity to make this part of the song this much better.” We had that on our last record, and it totally brought it to a whole new level.
SeagateCreative: What gear or equipment has helped you discover or create a breakthrough in your art?
Now, Now: I’ve been working with the Elektron Octatrack and Analog Four a lot in the past year and they both act as my favorite piece of gear to go to when I need to spark something. If I’m feeling stuck I’ll just go make a loop on those machines. They’re kind of endless in their possibility of sound, so I can start with a simple sample and get lost in ideas stemming from that one thing.
The thing about the Elektron gear is that it’s completely hands on. There is no computer screen or keyboard or mouse, you have to twist the knobs, punch in the patterns, and just listen.
SeagateCreative: How do your rough mixes get shared with the rest of the band or team to review – Hard drive? CD? Online?
Now, Now: Usually online, we have been emailing or creating online playlists.
SeagateCreative: During the recording process, what’s a telltale sign that you’ve created something special?
Now, Now: You can just feel it. When you feel excited about a moment in a song that you’ve just made you kind of forget about everything else for a minute and soak it in.
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Be sure to check out Threads Remixed now available on Amazon/iTunes and follow Now, Now through these online channels.
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