We got a chance to sit down (electronically, that is) to chat with Providence electronic duo JAVELIN, in attempt to wring some insights out of this veteran musicians. They shared their love of old school hip-hop, recording vs live performance, and the appeal of an old ship.
Catch Javelin play Boston TOMORROW (Oct 13) at Wonder Bar in Allston with Malportado Kids and Rich People Food – see yall there!
BOSTON HASSLE: What type of sound/energy were you trying to create when Javelin started?
JAVELIN: The creative energy of early hip hop, its spirit of unpredictability and no rules, really inspired us. The freedom to sample or create music in whatever idiom we felt like is what we were aiming for.
BH: How do you think sampling has affected the way people make music?
J: Collage, pastiche, and the concept of ready-mades were brought into musical artform. And it allows people to incorporate the exact reference of their inspiration… Which is awesome… Although great things happen when you try to emulate your source of inspiration and wind up mistranslating it in new and interesting ways.
BH: How do you think Javelin would have been different without sampling?
J: I think we would have been a different band!
BH: How did you construct the idea of your short film, Canyon Candy, and what was the inspiration?
J: Our friend Mike Anderson was working on a desert inspired film idea at the same time we were making the album. The idea grew out of our shared visions — Mike really spearheaded the film, and we just stuck to the music. The whole thing was shot soundstage style, with fake painted sunsets and rocks represented with paper and spray paint.
BH: *******HI BEAMS***** was not your first release, but your first studio record. What was the turning for the band to move into the studio, and how did it effect the music?
J: The songs on Hi Beams were of a different sort than we had been making previously, and we wanted them to be sonically rich, clean, and huge, which we knew we would have a hard time achieving on our own. It was fun working with a third party (Seth Manchester, Machines With Magnets in Pawtucket), and at times it felt like we had written a movie script and now we had to shoot the movie / make the album, in which we’d have to count on good performances and make editing decisions on the fly. It was definitely improvisational — we came up with a lot of it while we were at the studio, in the moment.
BH: What do you love about playing live and what do you feel makes a good crowd?
J: We love the connection with the audience, good vibes, dancing, high energy, etc. Something magical happens when people are just really into the experience of just being in the room– it’s hard to explain. It’s like a slightly heightened view of regular life. They’re comfortable but really excited and engaged. Like a good party I guess.
BH: Where is the weirdest/funkiest/most random place you have ever played a show?
J: Maybe on an old naval vessel turned night club in Bristol, England?
Javelin play in Boston 10/13 (tomorrow) @ Wonder Bar in Allston. MORE INFO HERE
