EIC'S10Q'S w/Telefon Tel Aviv

The beginning of 2009 started on a sad note with the loss of Charlie Cooper, EIC had the amazing oppurtunity to chat with Joshua Eustis about what lies ahead for..

Telefon Tel Aviv

Sound sculptors with a neoteric intuition..

Telefon Tel Aviv Bio:

New Orleans, LA experimental electronic duo Telefon Tel Aviv — high school friends Joshua Eustis and Charles Cooper — formed in 1999. After a four-song demo made its way to John Hughes III's Hefty label, the duo issued their debut album, Fahrenheit Fair Enough, in September 2001. This was just less than two weeks after the limited Midwest opening of New Port South, a film written by Hughes' brother James that featured material from the album, in addition to recordings by John Hughes III's TTA-assisted Slicker project and Eustis' solo alias Benelli, and a TTA remix of Nine Inch Nails' "Even Deeper." 2004's Map of What Is Effortless, not a retread of the debut's impressionist and fractured-yet-melodic instrumentals, brought in productions that were both tougher and more dramatic, as well as inspired modern R&B elements — several vocal contributions came from Lindsay Anderson and Damon Aaron. Four years later, after surviving Hurricane Katrina, TTA reappeared with their third album, Immolate Yourself, on Ellen Allien's Berlin-based Bpitch Control. It was a precisely layered set of dark, synth-driven pop.

Hello, how are you?
Terrible. But getting better, I think.

Your music has gone from IDM to “R & B” to Shoegaze, etc. Does your “style” change with whatever you are currently listening to?
Well, honestly, that's a bit of an over-simplification. Our music has borrowed from all of those styles, but we've never fit into any of them. There are IDM influences on Fahrenheit, R&B influences on Map, and some shoe-gazy influences on Immolate, but how can it really be shoe gaze if we aren't holding guitars and looking down at our feet?

What are you currently listening to?
A shitload of Ariel Pink, John Maus... going back to all that stuff again. A healthy dose of bad Italo as well.

You recently signed with Bpitch Control. How has that label been treating you?
Good, I guess? They seem to know what they are doing, and I like them a lot on a personal level.

Your latest album, “Immolate Yourself”, is astonishing.. How do you feel about the outcome of it?
Bittersweet. I'm pretty happy with it. It's exactly the record we wanted to make. Whether or not it's exactly the record other people want to hear, well... different story entirely.

The recent loss of Charlie Cooper is a horrible tragedy. How will this change the future of TTA? Do you plan on continuing TTA without him?
I would think that HOW it will change the future of the band is very obvious. BUT - maybe it won't matter. Every one of our records has been completely different from the one before
it, so who cares if I decide to make another record as TTA and it sounds totally different from Immolate... it won't really matter, will it? As far as giving a definitive answer to that question, I'm not making any serious decisions yet. Time will tell.

I hear you’re about to play some shows with your friend Fredo. Is this sort of a trial basis that could possibly turn into a full blown US tour?
No, it's not a trial basis. It's the way I want to do it, for now. Fredo has co-written several songs with us, and played live with us many, many times. We'll do a full US tour later this year. It's being planned as we speak.

You have the chance to open for any musician/band you want…who is it?
Manuel Gottsching

Are you living your dream?
No, but I am dreaming my life...

Thank You Joshua!

Telefon Tel Aviv will be touring Europe for a bit, after that a US tour, after that...?