“My Life Is A Film”. “Goosebumps”. “Levitate”. “Make Out Jams”. These are however just a few of the myriad mood-based Spotify playlists that American indie legends Cigarettes After Intercourse discover their music a becoming a part of.
Greg Gonzalez, the band’s frontman and sultry voice, has lengthy been a conjurer of their melancholic reveries, with each monitor oozing with their signature seductive pull that has spoken to the center’s deepest recesses for a lot of. His voice has typically been described as androgynous, with a haunting smoothness to it, and stays the band’s defining id.
Decided to be a part of one thing greater than himself, Greg based Cigarettes After Intercourse in his hometown in 2008, alongside along with his bandmates, bassist Randall Miller and drummer Jacob Tomsky. Quick-forward 4 years, and their debut EP, I., emerged from the unlikeliest of studios — a four-floor stairwell on the College of Texas at El Paso. Cigarettes After Intercourse has since carved out a groundbreaking area of interest inside the indie music panorama.
Their newest opus, X’s, launched final month, affords a contemporary palette to their unmistakably dreamy sound — a lustrous mix of ambient pop, shoegaze, and the form of languorous rock that seems like a smoky after-hours rendezvous. This third studio effort continues their exploration of vulnerability however with a brand new texture that marries the sounds of alternating a long time: ‘70s dance pop and ‘90s nostalgia.
India has lengthy been a receptive viewers to the band’s moody serenades. From their debut on the Bacardi NH7 Weekender in Pune to their most up-to-date set at Lollapalooza India in Mumbai, the connection has been electrical. Now, the much-anticipated X’s tour gears up for performances in Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru in January subsequent yr.
With the tour on the horizon, we sit down in dialog with Greg to unravel the thought behind producing X’s and discover the magnetic attraction of their music that appears to wrap even essentially the most strange moments in velvet.
Excerpts:
From what I’ve heard to date, X’s appears very bittersweet, and also you’ve beforehand talked about the way it explores the highs and lows of a relationship. Was there a specific second or reminiscence you discovered most difficult to relive whereas encapsulating it in music?
Greg: It’s at all times tough for me to confront a reminiscence, even when it’s a candy one, as a result of a cheerful reminiscence can really feel unhappy later. You felt a sure means at a sure time, after which in a while, issues might need modified. So, that reminiscence feels unhappy as a result of all of the goals you had didn’t come true.
There’s a music known as ‘Goals from Bunker Hill’ that was arduous to write down. I completed it a lot later, after the romance had ended. It felt actually unhappy to speak about transferring in along with this particular person and stuff like that for the primary time. Every part was so glad once we first moved in. That music used to make me cry loads once we completed it; it nonetheless does once I play it, which makes me extremely unhappy. However, you realize, that’s what it’s imagined to do.
We’ve come a good distance since your debut album, and Cigarettes After Intercourse has been evergreen. What components do you consider are important to reaching this timelessness that’s so quintessential to your music? And the way do you guarantee every new album maintains that aesthetic whereas additionally exploring new territories?
Greg: It’s unusual that the band has stayed profitable, however it’s what I at all times envisioned. I studied music and thought, why is Beethoven’s ‘Moonlight Sonata’ nonetheless so highly effective? There’s a sure feeling to it that by no means will get previous. It’s so completely finished, so easy, so melancholic, and emotional.
I needed our music to be like that — easy, extremely emotional, and melancholic, coping with romance actually. But it surely ought to nonetheless be pop music, with verses and choruses that folks need to sing alongside to. It shouldn’t be obscure. The songs are written to be traditional, imitating these traditional songs. The honesty about relationships and romance helps folks really feel one thing particular, whether or not it helps them sleep, dance, sing, miss someone, or share it with others. It’s meant to serve love and be romantic to the core.
Greg Gonzalez performs reside
| Photograph Credit score:
Krists Luhaers
The band’s title has at all times evoked a selected vibe and picture. From spearheading the mood-based playlist motion on Spotify to producing a definite model of musical erotica, do you are feeling these perceptions of Cigarettes After Intercourse ever prohibit the variety of your music?
Greg: It doesn’t seem to be it has. Early on, report labels informed us that if we modified our title, they might signal us. They stated the title would create roadblocks. And possibly it did, however it felt extra sincere to maintain it. The title felt like lightning placing, like a path had been revealed. And If I hadn’t taken that path, it could have been disastrous, so I needed to belief my intuition and say, “This appears attention-grabbing; it’s a fantastic feeling and a fantastic assertion.”
I do know it’s slightly jagged however in essence, it [Cigarettes After Sex] is definitely a really candy factor, about sharing one thing intimate. It may have been like Intercourse Pistols, which is a extra vulgar title, however it didn’t restrict them. They have been influential and vital. So, I figured our title wouldn’t restrict us both.
You’re additionally an enormous movie buff; how did your early publicity to cinema affect your method to songwriting, notably in creating music with such a dreamy and evocative high quality?
Greg: I grew up with an enormous closet of VHS tapes as a result of my dad labored in video distribution. We had one million motion pictures, and I performed music impressed by them. I needed to make songs that appeared like these motion pictures. I needed listeners to listen to a music and film a film of their heads. When a music creates a scene in your thoughts, it’s one in every of my favorite issues. I needed Cigarettes After Intercourse to have that energy.
All these footage in your thoughts are what movie creates. Movie impressed me to make music that seems like a film. Through the years, I’d watch movies and suppose, “This film evokes a sense I need to seize in music.” This occurs repeatedly with the films I watch; I feel, “This movie feels unimaginable — possibly I can write a music that captures this sense.” That’s how movie and music work collectively for me.
Have you ever ever thought of dabbling in scoring or composing for motion pictures?
Greg: I’ve thought of that. There are lots of nice composers who have been in rock bands first, like Danny Elfman, Johnny Greenwood, and Mark Mothersbaugh. However I assumed I ought to do one higher. I need to direct motion pictures. So, if Cigarettes After Intercourse ends, I need to begin directing motion pictures and possibly do my very own scores, alongside the traces of John Carpenter, maybe.
India isn’t new to you because you’ve carried out right here just a few occasions already. What are you most wanting ahead to in your upcoming excursions? Has the Indian viewers notably influenced your music or performances over time?
Greg: India has lengthy been a fan base with a few of our most passionate followers. The extent of ardour for music in India is unimaginable. It’s superb to see the viewers’s electrical energy once they hear music in the appropriate setting.
We’ve been attempting to go to extra cities for a very long time. We’ve been to Pune, spent three nights in Mumbai, and performed at Lollapalooza Mumbai. That is our fourth time, and now we will lastly go to New Delhi and Bangalore. It’s thrilling to lastly play in these locations. I’m wanting ahead to seeing new cities in India, experiencing their vibe, and feeling the followers’ pleasure. The extent of pleasure on-line has been unimaginable, so I’m actually excited for it.
Cigarettes After Intercourse will probably be performing in Delhi-NCR on January 24, 2025, adopted by Mumbai on January 25, 2025, and Bengaluru on January 28, 2025. Tickets at the moment are offered out on BookMyShow.
