EIC'S10Q'S w/Rainbow Arabia

"..comparable to Siouxsie Sioux, Gang Gang Dance, Crystal Castles, Klaxons, Mia, Bat For Lashes, Tuxedo Moon, Talking Heads, Kraftwerk, etc. Yeah, that's a pretty impressive list of comparisons, but in all fairness, they deserve the name drops/associations. No matter where they borrow/get their sounds from I want more, and I want it now.."

Rainbow Arabia

Kaleidoscopic Calascence

Rainbow Arabia Bio:

Mixing mesmerizing tribal beats, electro sounds, and Middle Eastern instrumentation, Rainbow Arabia were formed in 2008 by husband/wife duo Tiffany and Danny Preston. The two were married for three years before they started recording together in their Echo Park basement in early 2008. Just prior, Danny had played in the dub-based outfit Future Pigeon, and Tiffany was a member of Licorice Piglet. Influenced by Arabic albums released on Sublime Frequencies and a music class that Tiffany attended (which focused on Middle Eastern guitar), Rainbow Arabia became actively involved in the experimental L.A. dance-punk scene that year. The band gained recognition quickly, and U.K. label Merok (Crystal Castles, Klaxons) made plans to release their first EP (The Basta) and full-length in 2009.

Hello, how are you?

Things are good.

What are you currently listening to?

A lot of dub and African music….and exploring electronic music a little more in depth.

How did the name “Rainbow Arabia” come up?

We knew we liked Rainbow in the name a lot, but there were a few Rainbow band names already so we steered away from it. But as soon as we implemented the middle eastern sound more, then name just made sense and sounded good.

How long did it take you to “find yourselves“ musically?

Actually, we are still in the process in finding our sound. The sounds of our two EPs “The Basta” and “Kabukimono” are very different from each other. We have been exploring different song writing approaches, recording techniques, and instrumentation. I think we will define our sound with our full length in a more thought out manner.

When will the full length album come out? Is there a tentative title?

We are still working on it. Shooting for a late Spring or early summer release date. No titles yet. One will come up as the album is closer to being finished. There’s definitely going to be something African about it.

Have you guys ever considered playing for a cruise ship?

We never considered it, but it would be a nice vacation. Couldn’t deal being on the boat for more than a week.

What’s your favorite instrument to play?

I like to play the mizmar on my Casio At-1.

Will you please tour the Midwest?

Hopefully. Probably, not until the full album release;

You can only keep/listen to ONE album for the rest of your life ..which album would it be?

If we can pick one album each. Neil Young’s “After The Gold Rush” and probably a Bob Marley album. Can’t decide which one.
Are you living your dream?

Not yet, when we can live solely on our music, then that would be pretty close.

Thanx RA/Tim!

Rainbow Arabia are currently working on their first full length, look for that + touring in the near future...