Exclusive Interview: Oryx + Crake, Part 2

Ryan Peoples and Rebekah Goode-Peoples

Exclusive Interview: Oryx + Crake (Part 2)
August 4, 2010
by: Chuck Norton

Editor’s Note: This is part two of a two-part interview with Oryx + Crake.

The fertile ground of Atlanta’s music scene is producing a new generation of artists embarking on their trek into the music underground and/or mainstream. These acts are not-so-much following the footsteps of those before them as they are finding their own way.

One of these up-and-coming acts is Oryx + Crake. Named after the sci-fi novel by Margaret Atwood, Oryx + Crake is more a collective than a band. Featuring nine members, they are fronted by the husband and wife duo of Ryan Peoples and Rebekah Goode-Peoples. The collective also includes Matt Jarrard (cello), Karyn Lu (violin), Matt Gilbert (electronic drums, home-made midi), Eric Wildes (electric guitar/vocals), Anna Wildes (banjo/vocals), Keith Huff (bass/vocals) and Chris Vanbrackle (percussion).

The band has drawn comparisons to any number of artists ranging from Sparklehorse to Arcade Fire to Broken Social Scene due to the number of musicians and amount of instrumentation on their album. While such comparisons are just, Oryx + Crake is a band with their own sound, which is evident when listening to their recordings.

(DeadJournalist.com featured the band earlier this year as a “Heard First” artist. That article can be found here.)

Their debut album, Oryx + Crake, will be released as part of a CD release show on August 28, 2010 at The Earl in Atlanta. They will be joined by Venice Is Sinking and Book of Colors.

For more information on the band, visit their Web site: www.oryxandcrakeband.com or follow them on Twitter: @OryxnCrake

Part two of DeadJournalist.com’s two-part interview with Oryx + Crake features an in-depth interview with Ryan Peoples, the band’s lead vocalist and songwriter. (Part one features exclusive background Q&A with all members of the band and can be read here.)

How did Oryx + Crake form? How did you find the musicians that make up the current roster of the band?

RP: A long tale. Ironically, Oryx and Crake was originally going to be a two piece Rebekah and Ryan band. We had it all planned out … Rebekah was going to play a harpsicle and I was going to play the computer. We would both sing. Rebekah was going to wear long, flowy dresses and I was going to wear a jumpsuit.

But then we quickly realized that Rebekah had no interest in learning to tune a harp and I looked horrible in a jumpsuit, so we scrapped that idea.

I had been playing with Matt Jarrard (cello and space cello) for a couple of years and we convinced him to become an ATLien. Eric and Anna Wildes are friends of mine from way back and they had recorded some on the album. The rest of the crew kind of got absorbed into the mix since they were such amazing individuals and musicians that we couldn’t help but want them.

The group got huge but it sounded great – now it’s not good any other way to my ears.

How long did it take to write and record the album?

RP: It took a hectic two years. I was finishing grad school, Rebekah kept having babies, my dad got sick and passed, and the rest of the crew was in Atlanta while we were stuck in Savannah, so it took a while.

Were the songs written specifically for this project? Was there an influence that provided the inspiration for the lyrical content of the songs?

RP: Rebekah and I wrote the lyrics for each track more or less together. She will disagree on this point, but I tend to think that imagination is where the lyrics came from. Rebekah will say that the lyrics are highly personal, soul-wrenching narratives – the words have got to come from experience for her. I am usually happy if what comes out of my mouth fits the meter and sounds smart.

With the release of the band’s debut album about a month away; what plans do you have to support the albums release?

RP: We’re going to make it a special night. We’re going to play our album from start to finish. Two similarly minded bands Venice is Sinking and Book of Colors will be joining us. There are some other goodies in the works, but we’ll keep those as surprises.

What do you see as the next step for the band? What are the biggest challenges you face?

RP: The next step is making better music. I’m proud of this first album, but half of the process was sifting through what worked and what didn’t in the context of this group. I have a much clearer vision now and the rest of Oryx and Crake is getting behind it. We all know and like each other now and have gotten a feel for how to play off each other.

I’ve always wanted electronics to play a more central role, and Matt Gilbert and I are working away at making that happen. Finding him was a Godsend. It’s exciting times for us.

The biggest challenge will be scheduling. Obviously we have a lot of members, and all of them average about three bands a piece right now. Also, trying to figure out how to introduce ourselves outside of Atlanta is challenge. Rebekah and I have two kids and Eric (lead guitar) and Anna (utility lady) have a kid, so touring is going to be tough.

With nine band members, three kids, and whatever adventurous babysitter(s) we can get to come along with us, we’re going to need an entourage of buses to tour. We’re going to do it; we just have to figure out how.

For someone hearing about Oryx + Crake for the first time, what would you want them to know about the band?

RP: One of the things I think is most interesting about this group is the combination of electronics, live electronics, and the acoustic elements. We have cellos, violins, autoharps, etc. but we also have three laptops on stage with a bunch of strange MIDI controller devices helping run them.

This is leftover from our original concept for the band where we wanted to combine an organic, traditional instrument (the harp) with a modern digital instrument (the laptop). That’s also the thought process behind naming ourselves after Margaret Atwood’s novel.

We continue using electronics on the strings in our band. Matt Jarrard (cello, space cello) have been playing together for a while, and he’s gotten great at making the cello sound completely different than what a cello is “supposed” to sound like. We are going to be going to be exploiting this part of the band more and more for the next album which is already under construction.

How do to the songs on the album translate to the band’s live performances? Does the band try to maintain consistency from performance-to-performance do you like to experiment with the sound and theatrics of each show?

RP: So far it has been pretty consistent from show to show and pretty consistent with regards to the recordings. This is something I would like to get a little more flexible, but this group as a whole has only been playing together for a few months. Getting to know one another and learning how to play in a nine piece band without stepping on any toes is a difficult feat for just a few months together … that this band has gotten really good at.

Which to you enjoy most? Writing and recording or performing?

RP: If I could be a Brian Wilson type figure, working exclusively in the studio while the band went around the world, I would be a happy man. I don’t want to be misunderstood, I love meeting people who like what I do, but the studio is a magical place. I wish that I could experience that magic more often.

And as much as I love going to live shows, I get way more out of listening to albums. Listening to an album in its entirety is when bands as artists are really put to the test.

At what point did you know that you wanted to be a musician? Is there an artist (or artists) who has most influenced you?

RP: I’ve been playing music for a long time now, but oddly, I only recently (and reluctantly still) started referring to myself as a musician. Don’t know why … still feels weird. Maybe because I didn’t study music?

As far as influences there are really too many to recount. It seems redundant to say I was influenced by bands like The Beach Boys. But more modern influences like Dangermouse, Arcade Fire, The Knife and Joanna Newsom might be interesting to mention. These bands have been able to make music unlike what we’ve heard before which is difficult in its own right.

I don’t see why some great bands out there put all of their creative energy into trying to sound like bands from another era. I would like to make something new. Furthermore, a few of those bands I listed can really give you a sense of space and time that is outside of where you actually are.

I would like that, eventually, to be said about Oryx and Crake.

Is there an artist that you’ve encountered recently that you’ve been recommending to your friends?

RP: The Books. Amazing. They are sound collage artists but do it differently than the others I’ve heard. Simply brilliant.

What were you listening to in 2000?

RP: I was really getting into the lofi stuff. Smog was probably my biggest obsession. His music was so strange and he could say so much with so few choice (simple really) words. I was into Palace Music (or whatever Will Oldham’s preferred moniker was in those days) as well, but I think he’s only gotten better with time.

On the flip side, I was really getting into some modern composers. Phillip Glass and Steve Reich would stay at the top of my CD stacks with along with all that indie rock stuff. The Thrill Jockey label out of Chicago was also up there in 2000 for me.

Still wish for more Tortoise albums.

Which do you prefer: MP3, CD, Tape or Vinyl?

RP: I teach audio production, so mp3 is a dirty word. Tapes are just incovenient. CDs sound terrific and are convenient because I can play them anywhere but my first choice is vinyl – not so much for the sound quality (although they sound great) as for the experience.

I love putting that huge disc on, flipping the arm, and seeing things move.

What’s the answer to the question that you’ve always wanted to be asked in an interview?

RP: I was young … I needed the money.

Web site(s) you read regularly?

RP: Gotta love The Onion.

One Drink; One Movie; One Album:

RP: Any Chimay, Inception, and The Books new one The Way Out (which is pretty much a recap of my last week).