In "SOUND CHECK", we check in with some of our favorite musicians.
Dreamy electro-pop band NO CEREMONY/// is one of OC London's most recent discoveries. In the past year alone, the band has Euro-toured, played for The Pixies, and recorded their track "Heartbreaker" with Pixies guitarist Joey Santiago. Below, see what the band had to say about the ups and downs of touring, the slashes in their name, the best burgers they've ever had, and more.
Fill in the blanks:
Our band is NO CEREMONY/// and our music is like a volcano under the ice.
How did NO CEREMONY/// start?
From the outset, we've been really lucky; we all share the same drive and ideals of what we want to achieve with this band. It was one of the things that brought us together so strongly in the first place, and it's still one of the things that keeps us inspired and focused on working well together.
If your most recent album were the soundtrack to a film, what would it be?
Monsters, Inc. or Requiem for a Dream.
You just toured with the Pixies. How was that?
We first played with them at the iTunes Festival in September so it was great to catch up with them again. Unfortunately Joey couldn't perform with us onstage this time, but nonetheless the shows went down really well. It was such a pleasure to see such a seminal band in such incredible form. Plus, it's pretty surreal to share a few pints of Guinness on a 4AM ferry during a force 9 gale with such icons.
What's your favorite Pixies song of all time?
"Hey", particularly the take from the live at the BBC session.
What inspired the name NO CEREMONY///?
It was really an effort to convey the attitude we had towards making and releasing our music. We'd sit in front of a computer and make music, and we decided to put something online. We really had no interest in doing any of the usual appendages that supplement a "music release." We didn't see the point in doing press shots, writing bios, or making any of the expected "content," as it's glibly referred to by the industry at large, as if you're filling space in a student magazine and not making something that's meant to be lasting or beautiful. Everything we do is an attempt to communicate real meaning. We tried to reflect that in the name.
What's the reason behind the slashes?
We were always interested in presenting our music in an unconventional way from the very start of the band, giving away our music for free and letting it stand on its own without needing to explain ourselves. We made all our own artwork, videos, and websites was because we wanted to convey this attitude throughout our creative output; it was just as important to play with the form and function of the visual and aural elements of the band. This attitude persisted all the way through, from the slashes in the name to the capitalized one-word track titles.
You're from Manchester. What are your favorite places to hang out there?
To be honest we don't spend as much time in Manchester as we'd like. For music, there are some great venues like the Deaf Institute and the Soup Kitchen, where we played last Monday. The Now Wave boys [music producers] always seem to have good nights on, as do Hear Here [the pop up radio station]. We went to see Frank Black [of The Pixies] do a Q&A with Dave Haslam [the writer and DJ] at the ne
Dreamy electro-pop band NO CEREMONY/// is one of OC London's most recent discoveries. In the past year alone, the band has Euro-toured, played for The Pixies, and recorded their track "Heartbreaker" with Pixies guitarist Joey Santiago. Below, see what the band had to say about the ups and downs of touring, the slashes in their name, the best burgers they've ever had, and more.
Fill in the blanks:
Our band is NO CEREMONY/// and our music is like a volcano under the ice.
How did NO CEREMONY/// start?
From the outset, we've been really lucky; we all share the same drive and ideals of what we want to achieve with this band. It was one of the things that brought us together so strongly in the first place, and it's still one of the things that keeps us inspired and focused on working well together.
If your most recent album were the soundtrack to a film, what would it be?
Monsters, Inc. or Requiem for a Dream.
You just toured with the Pixies. How was that?
We first played with them at the iTunes Festival in September so it was great to catch up with them again. Unfortunately Joey couldn't perform with us onstage this time, but nonetheless the shows went down really well. It was such a pleasure to see such a seminal band in such incredible form. Plus, it's pretty surreal to share a few pints of Guinness on a 4AM ferry during a force 9 gale with such icons.
What's your favorite Pixies song of all time?
"Hey", particularly the take from the live at the BBC session.
What inspired the name NO CEREMONY///?
It was really an effort to convey the attitude we had towards making and releasing our music. We'd sit in front of a computer and make music, and we decided to put something online. We really had no interest in doing any of the usual appendages that supplement a "music release." We didn't see the point in doing press shots, writing bios, or making any of the expected "content," as it's glibly referred to by the industry at large, as if you're filling space in a student magazine and not making something that's meant to be lasting or beautiful. Everything we do is an attempt to communicate real meaning. We tried to reflect that in the name.
What's the reason behind the slashes?
We were always interested in presenting our music in an unconventional way from the very start of the band, giving away our music for free and letting it stand on its own without needing to explain ourselves. We made all our own artwork, videos, and websites was because we wanted to convey this attitude throughout our creative output; it was just as important to play with the form and function of the visual and aural elements of the band. This attitude persisted all the way through, from the slashes in the name to the capitalized one-word track titles.
You're from Manchester. What are your favorite places to hang out there?
To be honest we don't spend as much time in Manchester as we'd like. For music, there are some great venues like the Deaf Institute and the Soup Kitchen, where we played last Monday. The Now Wave boys [music producers] always seem to have good nights on, as do Hear Here [the pop up radio station]. We went to see Frank Black [of The Pixies] do a Q&A with Dave Haslam [the writer and DJ] at the ne