Lo-fi pop phenom Ariel Pink has made the first imprint on Animal Collective's Paw Tracks records to come from a non-collective member. His new record, "Haunted Graffiti 2: The Doldrums," is a beautifully baffling collection of observations and love songs, from the eyes of a guy who sleeps all day and never leaves his apartment.
The Eagle: Where did you get the idea for vocal based drums?
Ariel Pink: That's the standard rock lineup. Guitar, bass, drums, vocals, keyboards. A drum kit is really hard to get. In order to not sound like you have a ramshackle garage band, you have to laboriously mic your drums. You can't be low rent and do it on the fly.
I actually cultivated stuff like a little kid. Doing mouth drums like kids do when they sing to themselves. I just kind of got good at it. And I discovered that I could use the rhythm tracks that I was hearing in my head and actually mic them like a perfect outlet. And they actually ended up sounding closer to the sounds I wanted to produce. They sounded like dated drums that I heard on classic rock albums that were actually produced.
Eagle: What kind of backdrop does Los Angeles have on your sound?
Ariel Pink: Well, I don't know. I've never left until recently. Yesterday was my second gig outside of LA ever. I don't really know yet. I'm just kind of feeling it right now. Over the next few weeks I'll have a better idea of where LA fits into the whole thing. But it's all that I know.
Eagle: Some people gravitate toward lo-fi music because they love the imperfections.
Ariel Pink: Honestly, I'm not a natural musician. I never got lessons. I just try to get my chops down and that's hard enough. I'm just trying to make it sound passable. If people appreciate the imperfections, I guess more power to me. But it's definitely not the thing I'm striving for. I'm trying to become a good, well-rounded musician on as many instruments as possible.
Eagle: What is your typical day like?
Ariel Pink: Well lately, I've been just watching a lot of TV. I haven't had my 8-track for about a year now and it's been driving me crazy. My MT8X 8-track machine is busted and I couldn't afford a new one. I got Pro-tools for a while but I lasted about two weeks with that. It doesn't feel real. The whole idea of storing and saving things on the computer, it doesn't take space in the world. A cassette tape feels like I'm actually doing something.
Eagle: What kind of TV shows specifically?
Ariel Pink: Prime-time hours, because that's generally when I wake up. You got your "Elimidate," "Blind Date," "Maury Povich" if I'm up for it, "X-treme Dating." A lot of Conan O'Brien because I'm up late. I just get what is on the local channels because I don't have cable.
Eagle: What kind of observations do you make when watching these dating shows?
Ariel Pink: It's the same thing I observe when I walk to the corner and go anywhere. It's a bunch of retards. I guess it's mildly amusing but it boils my blood about the state of the world. Then I have to turn the TV off for a while, and start humming to myself and mouth drumming. It's the same thing you feel.
Ariel Pink's first-ever D.C. appearance will be at the Warehouse Next Door on Sunday.
