Fast tempo arrangement, a playful guitar line with a hint of jazzy-swing vibe plus a small dose of psychedelia. Refreshingly pleasant! Read our interview with The Magnificent Electric below!
Describe your sound in three words please!
existential indie psych.
How did the band meet and start recording together?
We’ve all been on the scene in Brooklyn for a few years, meeting at jam sessions and mutual friends’ gigs.
Marco Frey (our drummer) and I have played together in a couple other projects. There was a point in 2019 when he really pushed me to lead the charge with my own songs, this band, essentially he believed in me when I was still doubting myself. And I’m incredible grateful for that.
Choosing from your own songs, which one reflects your personality best?
Tough call, but I gotta say, Far East Side, the single that drops this month. That track and Seismograph (on the album coming out August) were the two tracks I worked on the hardest. And Guns Are Useless Without Cameras is another song off the album that’s very special to me.
When I was writing Far East Side, I felt like I didn’t consciously know what I was writing about when I wrote either of those songs.. but then I’ve found, several times, that my lyrics have answered my own questions about life in unexpected ways. It’s like… wisdom from my past self.
One of your album songs was recorded remotely due to COVID-19 social restrictions. Could this part-time work from home approach work for musicians? Did you identify any benefits?
Because I’ve got a home studio set up in my apartment, being stuck at home was a strange blessing in disguise. I got into a good routine where I’d finish work, do a little yoga, eat dinner, and have a solid 3-4 hours to record, edit, what have you, and still have time to crack open a beer and read a book at the end of the night.
Not being able to play live shows was interesting too. My experience has been that playing live and playing for a record are quite different — it’s like acting for stage versus acting for the camera. So with no live shows on the calendar I focused on the recording in a deeper way that I probably wouldn’t have otherwise.
Best album of the previous year?
“I Was Electrocuted Seven Times and Now I Can See the Future” by Jesse and Forever. The record was co-produced by Nick Hakim. It’s trippy and off-the-wall and beautiful and intricate and personal.
I will also always think of “Don’t Tell a Soul” by the Replacements when I look back on this time. Obviously I’d heard of the Replacements and checked them out before, but it was during deep quarantine last year when that record really spoke to me.
What is the best place to be on a Friday night?
If I’m forced to plan ahead… drinking a beer in the park or on a rooftop somewhere. But lately I’ve been way into being spontaneous and random, just leave my place and wander alone on foot or on my bike and see where the night takes me. I like people watching, being an anonymous face in the crowd, and I like making new friends. And I really missed these experiences over the past year.
What are your future plans? Are you looking forward to playing some new songs live?
I can’t wait for the album release show on August 20th! We’re playing at Pete’s Candy Store, one my favorite venues in Brooklyn.
I’m also looking forward to starting kinda fresh to make my second record. I feel like there’s nothing that can prepare you for the process of making an album besides… making an album. So I’m looking forward to actually knowing what I’m doing the second time around. And I’ve got all these little ideas that I’ve been posting to Instagram reels that I can’t wait to flesh out into full songs!
Tell us something about you that not many people know about!
I’m really good at thumb war. Like, I’ve met exactly one person in my adult life who I couldn’t beat.
Thank you!
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