My articulated sympathies, however, had a somewhat undesirable affect. I started to lose Daniel as he gazed out of his window onto a sunny spring morning in Germany. Awkward pauses ensued as the acquiescent keyboardist blamed himself for agreeing to a two-hour slog of interviews on a public holiday.
Knowing all too well the decision I would make if faced with a choice between a leisurely sleep in or an interview with me, the topic was quickly changed. After all a lot has to be unpacked when considering the contradictions The Whitest Boy Alive represent. Are they a dance-oriented electro outfit or chilled-out pop group? When we go to see them live should we expect guys tweaking synthesisers or a traditional jam session? Is there some hidden meaning behind the name The Whitest Boy Alive or is it pretty literal? Sunbaking by the North Sea is a bit seasonal, after all.
Despite his eagerness to join those directly outside his house, Daniel was verbose and somewhat reluctant to deal in straight and simple answers. When discussing the band’s slightly bizarre name, I was told to think of a comic character that lives in a north European town. The Whitest Boy Alive’s debut album Dreams was an exploration of this fictitious creation’s dreams and aspirations. Their latest release Rules is about our friend discovering clubs and live music in the big smoke.
A sense of parental satisfaction comes beaming down the phone line as Daniel mulls over the band’s second album. “I think that the music gives every person the chance to find his or her own approach.” Daniel explains. “The art work with its black and white clear lines is open to interpretation. The music gives space to sing along with your own melodies. Use your imagination.”
Openness to interpretation truly defines The Whitest Boy Alive. Each track of Rules is so stripped-back, notes only appear when they desperately need to. It’s almost hard to believe how a band made up of such practiced musicians can produce music so radically simple. Perhaps a national history steeped in industrial efficiency seeped into their subconscious.
In its infancy The Whitest Boy Alive consisted of Erlend Øye and Marcin Oz hammering out tracks on their personal computer. But soon the tedium of performing live in this manner wore thin, so Erlend enlisted the minds of Sebastian Maschat and Daniel to pick up where the electrons left off.
“It was like musicians replacing sequencers. We can always change and interact with each other. A computer can never come up with its own ideas. It’s difficult to tell a machine what to do exactly. If you have a bass player you can talk to him and discuss things. It’s also easier to play live. It’s very free. We can do what we want. We have tracks and a fixed arrangement, but we can improvise and jam when we want.”
Now The Whitest Boy Alive proudly introduces itself as a band without any programmed elements. Writing new material is just a matter of following Erlend’s lead and keeping it simple.
“Lots of the times Erlend comes up with a melody and some chords and then all of the other musicians have to tell what he is playing. Everybody has to look out for their own place in the music. Then I help Erlend to harmonise. Of course with the synthesizers it’s less about chords or melodies it’s more about effects and the energy that comes from the sound on the synth. Going a bit crazy and moving away from handmade music and disco sound and then back to the disco band again. There can never be too little because this music is so minimalistic.”
There can never be too little music? It’s not something you hear very often from a musician. The picture that first popped into my mind was of a four-piece whispering away in the corner of a hotel bar. However, those lucky enough to see the Whitest Boy Alive at Nevereverland last year know better. Daniel and his Teutonic compatriots are all too conscious of amping things up for their live show, whilst maintaining the gentle accessibility of their music for all to enjoy.
“We don’t want to hit people in the face; we want people to come closer and to discover. If you come to a live show this music become punchy and edgy. It leaves space for the instruments. Every instrument on stage has to limit itself to a musical frequency range. The music leaves space for each single one’s projections and grooves.”
While Daniel rushes out to enjoy the sunshine, make sure you check out the Whitest Boy Alive’s Rules out now on Pod through Inertia.
Published @ http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/http://www.inthemix.com.au/
Link: http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/features/18709/Whitest-Boy-Alive.htm
http://www.inthemix.com.au/features/43010/Whitest_Boy_Alive_Pining_for_the_sunshine
