Working with your family can be fun as alt-rock group TEEN is quickly discovering. We had a chance to chat it up with them (Kristina, Katherine, Lizzie Lieberson and Boshra AlSaadi) during this years SXSW festival about music and what gear sparks creativity. Check it out!
SeagateCreative: When you look for a collaborator to help on a project, what kind of person do you look for, and how do you hope they help in the creative process?
TEEN: I often search for those who pay attention to detail but do so while maintaining openness to spontaneity. I would hope that they have the patience to really listen and play something I would never think of.
SeagateCreative: Which piece of gear is your favorite for sparking creativity? What do you love about it? How does it affect your process?
TEEN: My Prophet ’08. It encourages smarter arrangement, as it demands the space to be heard. It sounds better than anything I’ve ever owned. I sit with it for hours and hours tweaking one sound. Still, that’s what pays off.
Lizzie – Minimoog Voyager Performer Edition
Boshra – ’79 Fender Fretless Unlined Bass
Katherine – Zildjian Constantinople Ride Cymbal
SeagateCreative: How has your choice of gear evolved since you first started in music?
TEEN: Piano —-> Farfisa Compact Duo —-> Moog Opus 3 + Fender Music Master —-> Les Paul + Prophet ’08 + Roland SP 404
GarageBand —-> Logic —-> ProTools —-> Logic
SeagateCreative: What’s your process in the studio? Walk us through the steps you took to record a favorite track.
TEEN: The last song on The Way And Color, “All The Same”:
Write song late at night on piano
Flush out + track basic ideas with the band (bass, keys, drums)
Revisit, write lyrics
Sing, write melody
Add a million backing vocals
Add horns
Add claps
Revisit, chop up, run everything through Moog effects pedal chain
SeagateCreative: Taking all of that into consideration, what role do you use hard drives in your creative work?
TEEN: To keep all the ideas, songs, rehearsals, sketches in order. basically for everything. I don’t keep anything on a computer.
Want more? Check out SeagateCreative for behind-the-scenes videos and tips from intriguing artists or watch our SeagateCreative playlist on YouTube and our Creative Professionals page.
Be sure to check out the TEEN’s new album on Carpark Records coming out April 22nd and follow TEEN through these online channels.
Official Site
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