Checking in with Secret Mountains
Here's Splice Today editor Zach Kaufmann with a Q&A with Secret Mountains:
Along with Weekends and Lands & Peoples, one of the best bands to come out of Baltimore in the past year or so are indie rockers Secret Mountains (formerly The Owls Go).
Their first EP, Kaddish, released late last summer, drifts back and forth between dreamy folk pop and wailing anthemic post-rock, all held together by Kelly Laughlin's beautifully gentle vocals.
After their recent show with Vetiver, I checked in with Kelly via email to see how everything was going:
How do you think the music you're making now differs from what you were doing with The Owls Go? Is the process very different?
The songs we're playing now are a lot fuller and more dynamic since it's not just vocals and guitar. We're constantly exploring different styles and have been reworking some of the songs we played when it was just Jeff and I in The Owls Go. The process hasn't changed drastically -- Jeff or I will come up with a basic version of the song, work with the lyrics and then add onto it, only no more doing handclaps over GarageBand. ...
We've been working with a decent amount of new material recently, so there's definitely been talk about an eventual full length release but nothing set in stone. I think we're all pretty focused on really solidifying our current and more recent songs before rushing into any recording.
Who are your main influences? Who do you keep coming back to and listening to again and again?
James Brown! And post-modernism.
What do you look for in a song? What really draws you in when you're listening to something new?
I'm always into a modest fusion of a variety of musical styles: folk riffs, drones, funk, some groovin' percussion, interestingly woven vocals.
5) Any plans to do some touring in 2010?
West-ward dreaming all day every day. I know for a fact that I cannot wait for tour. We're planning on another August trip, fingers crossed for a solid two weeks and a visit to the west coast, if all goes as tentatively planned.
(Photo courtesy of the group's MySpace page)
Erik Maza is a features reporter at the Baltimore Sun. He writes for several sections of the Sun paper and contributes weekly columns on music and nightlife. He also writes and edits the Midnight Sun blog. He often covers entertainment, business, and the business of entertainment. Occasionally, he writes about Four Loko, The Block, the liquor board, and those who practice "
