Interview: PHOX - GigslutzGigslutz

With the release of their eponymous debut album this week, Wisconsin sextet- PHOX – have been receiving a mass of well deserved acclaim of late. Their enchanting, lyrically rich folk-pop has been ruling the airwaves, and their latest single ‘Kingfisher’ has been one of The Guardian’s ‘Best New Tracks’ of the week. Gigslutz caught up with Matteo from the band to talk inspirations and palm trees…

It’s been a long time coming but tell us a little bit about your debut album?

Well, it’s an album that might qualify as a greatest hits in that it’s a collection of some of our very first songs and some of the songs were written a couple of months before we went into the studio.

From what we’ve already heard from the LP does the rest follow the trend or can we expect anything a little different hidden away?

I like to think the album takes some unexpected turns throughout its course. We don’t have planned styles or feels for the songs; it’s something that develops while we are learning and working through the songs. I think the result is an album with hills and valleys…hopefully it’s interesting!

Zach Johnston said ‘Kingfisher’ is a track about the infatuations you experience in your head, has that track been inspired from an experience of one of the band members or is it just speaking in general terms?All the songs lyrics come from the mind of Monica, and generally these come from life experiences. The songs are personal stories, but I think they have a universal value to them. For example, in Kingfisher, the story is that of someone who is building a relationship or situation into a mountain when in reality it’s more of a mole hill. Though it was inspired by a specific relationship of Monica’s, I think almost anyone can relate to this.

The album is filled with a mixture of soft and mellow natural sounds. How would you describe the blend you have created?

We are all terrible at describing our own music, but we all come from different musical camps and I think the sound reflects that collaboration. Some of us studied classically, played in hardcore bands, and grew up on jazz classics. Despite all growing up in the same town and being friends, we all had pretty significantly different musical influences and tendencies, and I think smashing all of them through the filter of democracy is what makes our “sound.”

You sound completely different to anything I’ve heard before, where do the band’s influences come from?

Like the above, we have varying influences, and I think they poke through in different amounts and at different times. Monica loves classic jazz and contemporaries like Brandi Carlile and Fiona Apple. Jason grew up on choral music and wound up playing in hardcore bands, and adores top 40 pop music. Matt and Zach bonded through ska and punk, forming a punk band together. Nowadays they draw upon artists like Sufjan Stevens, Beirut, or Dr. Dog. Matteo(me) and Dave grew up together on classical music and eventually found themselves listening to a lot of experimental rock like Circa Survive and The Mars Volta. Dave has an ear for production and finds inspiration from that world often, and Matteo definitely tries to apply some of his classical knowledge to the mix. It’s a bit all over the place when you try to examine where we all draw inspiration from.

To receive such great reviews as you have, what does that mean to the band?

It’s honestly really surprising. We started this band more or less accidentally, and had never expected anything to come from it. We named it “PHOX” if that tells you anything about how seriously we took ourselves initially. So to read reviews of our music in media or publications that we knew growing up or our parents adored is amazing and sometimes shocking. I’m not sure if any of us quite have a grasp or understanding of what is happening “out there.”

You’re going to be doing your first UK tour in November, are you nervous?

We are so excited to be touring Europe in November! Honestly, every time we have come over we fall in love and want to stay forever. There is perhaps some nervousness in that this is our first European headline tour, but we have experienced some of our best and most memorable shows on this side of the pond. It’s incredible how kind and genuine the audiences have been to us here, and we can’t wait to be back!

Do you have any plans for after the tour?

Well, we are going to keep chugging along. We have some other tours in the works, and we will continue working on promotion and all of that good stuff. No rest for the wicked!

And, finally, Desert Island Disc – which one album could you not live without?

Oooo. This is a tough one…I can’t speak for anyone else, but I think Sufjan Stevens’ “Illinois” would be a front runner for most of the group. It’s such an immaculate album, and I think it’d go strangely well with the lapping waves and swaying palm trees.