The following is an interview done with Benjamin Curtis (ex-Secret Machines) from School of Seven Bells.  Along with identical twins Alejandra and Claudia Deheza the band are due to play a Trocadero gig on Wednesday February 18th, opening for Fujiya & Miyagi.  The band has gained momentum over a short period of time, touring with M83,  Blonde Redhead and Prefuse 73 over the last couple years.  Their full length, Alpinisms is out now on Ghostly International.

ME: What are your non-musical influences?

Ben: Probably our lives.  Just… I mean our points of view, really.  It’s a boring answer but I guess that’s all I can say.

ME: What do you like about making music?

Ben: You know, I don’t even know anymore, that’s all I’ve been doing for so long.  I guess sometimes it can be the pleasure in the result, but that’s not really it, because I have fun doing it while I’m doing it.  I don’t know, it’s just what I do.  It’s all I’ve done (chuckles) for a really long time.  I find it hard to put any perspective on it.

ME:  Well, you’re still a very young band.  Is the whole process just too raw right now?

Ben: Yeah, for sure.

ME: Who produced your record, and where was it recorded?

Ben:  We did it all ourselves, at our own studio in Brooklyn.

ME: What inspires your music, feeling or thought?

Ben: More feeling than thought.  We don’t really speak when we’re writing, we don’t really discuss it much.  We’re much more impulsive than we are analytical.  On the micro level we each have our own unique perspectives, but on the macro level we all come from the same place musically.  It is a collaborative process.

ME: How would you describe your own creative process?

Ben: It’s really kind ofa scatter shot.  I lay down a bunch of ideas, and kind of go without any intention in mind.  Ideas pick of speed of their own merit.  Bad ideas just kind of die off on their own.

ME: what record or artist changed your life?

Ben: A big moment for me was at a Fugazi show, I grew up like most kids on punk rock.  This band called Bedhead were opening and they were this super quiet slow, slow band; beautiful music.  It was such a jarring experience for me.  There was something intrinsically rebellious about them (playing a Fugazi show), just beautiful and calm.  That was an important musical moment for me.

ME: How would you describe your music, to someone who has never heard of your band?

Ben: I guess would just say that we do our best… and are unashamed to be beautiful and textural.  Rhythm is very important to us too.

ME: Any Philadelphia bands you’re particularly fond of?

Ben: Umm… that’s a good question.  I can’t recall any offhand.

ME: I could throw some out for you: Man Man, Dr Dog…

Ben: I haven’t listened to them much, but I really like the band Icy Demons, but they’re probably more a Chicago band.

ME: Favorite book/author?

Ben: favorite book is the Charles Mingus: Triumph of the Underdog.  My favorite author is Jorge Luis Borges.

ME: Favorite Film?

Ben: The director I find most skillful is probably Sergio Leone.  Movies just my favorite movies are dumb ones, I’m not like an archivist, I don’t have an encyclopedic knowledge about movies.  I try to watch as much as I can.

ME: Favorite recent record?

Ben: Yeah, Fever Ray, the singer from The Knife, her solo record.  Been playing the shit out of that.

ME: What would you be doing if you weren’t a musician?

Ben: I don’t know, it’d definitely be somehow–it’s a good question.  Never really considered the option.

ME: Would you be doing something in the creative arts?

Ben: I think so, I’m not really great at administrative stuff.

ME: Yeah, that’s soul crushing work.

Ben: (laughs) I meant, I probably wouldn’t be very good at it, period.

ME: Any offbeat story from a past tours?

Ben: Yeah.. well that’s a tough one.  Every night is a weird adventure.  We recently played NYE in Tokyo.  We played at this banging techno dance club, we didn’t know anyone there and were unsure if the crowd had ever heard of us even though we’d been invited to come.

ME: In Shibuya or Roppongi?

Ben: Shibuya, at a club called Unit.  We got there quarter to 12 went downstairs took a cab over to the club, and in the dressing room we could hear the crowd losing their minds to this techno music, and then the countdown happened and everyone blows right through it.  We didn’t know anything about how we were going to go on in the middle of this, y’know how they were going to shut down the music and have us start.  It was crazy, we went up there at 12:30 and the crowd went nuts.  We didn’t even see the crowd, when we get up on stage.  The place is like sold out, and they’re singing everywhere.  We felt so lucky, we thought it was going to be a disaster.  Turned out to be the best show we’ve ever played.

School of Seven Bells are playing w/Fujiya & Miyagi @ The Trocadero on February 18th.  Doors at 7pm, show at 7:30pm.

-Karan (Sunjay) Rampall