SeagateCreative Interviews Thumpers During SXSW 2014

Formed in 2011 and based out of London, Marcus Pepperell and John Hamson, Jr., Thumpers are an Indie-pop band we had a chance to talk with about music, gear and creativity during this years SXSW festival. Check it out!

SeagateCreative: Is there a particular piece of gear that’s is your favorite for sparking creativity?

Thumpers: Since we produce ourselves, we’re freer to find inspiration in more household stuff such as using knitting needles and balloons, which feature as percussion on the album. Our songs aim to capture moments of spontaneity so grabbing whatever’s handy is a way of life for us.

SeagateCreative: How has your choice of gear evolved since you first started in music?

Thumpers: Recording on the fly – and using that process, as a part of our writing method is relatively new to us so we’re excited by that whole world now. Previously, we’ve been in bands that write in rehearsal but we couldn’t imagine making music now without being able to loop drum, guitar and vocal samples.

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?

Thumpers: Because we grew up learning our instruments together and have a real close musical relationship, our priority is finding someone who’s comfortable slotting in with that.

In terms of studio stuff that’s meant an additional producer/mixer, we look for someone who is totally able to move quickly with our improvisations. We worked with David Kosten on finishing our debut record and his ideas worked so seamlessly with ours. It was oh so right.

SeagateCreative: Walk us through the steps you took to record a favorite track.

Thumpers: Our songs generally start with recording a vocal sample, a riff or something that will go on to make the backbone of the song. Then we’ll layer up more vocal layers to form the basis of the song’s chords and melodies. Recording the rhythm part will then take priority for a while until we find a pattern that really speaks to us and to the sentiment of the song – we’ll go crazy with tracking different sounds. In the case of Sound of Screams, the bass and keys sounds all contribute to that impression of overloaded rhythms.

SeagateCreative: What about storage – how do you use hard drives in your creative work?

Thumpers: Although we like to record in intensive sessions it’s not always possible if we record outside of the studio. Backing up field recordings – like the concrete boardwalk sample that opens our record – is essential to us. We have to have total confidence in coming back to our previous work exactly as it was taken down and to be able to do that quickly.

Be sure to follow Thumpers on these channels.
Official Site
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram

2014-04-18T11:10:24+00:00

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