Mysterious, cinematic, and lush are three words that come to mind when listening to Phantogram. The electronic trip-hop duo never miss a beat – no pun intended – and are kicking it into high gear with their fifth album Memory Of A Day.
Released in October was Memory Of A Day, and the duo behind it, Phantogram found themselves releasing their feelings from the vault to get there. Their enigmatic lyrics are sharp as ever on this LP and the songs paint a tangible landscape where electronic and hip hop converge. This is nothing new for Phantogram as they continue what they do best since their Eyelid Movies debut back in 2009: be creative artists. Their songs “Attaway,” “Ashes,” “Running Through Colors,” and “Happy Again” off of Memory Of A Day deliver on that creativity. Their hooks and choruses are more memorable and energetic than ever.
When the band began in 2007, they were known as Charlie Everywhere and there was a certain mystique about them. Indie faves with funky beats, Sarah Barthel’s crisp voice, Josh Carter’s swagger, a thumping bass, and a love for music made them an irresistible package. The two rode the wave of independent labels (Barsuk Records) through more of mainstream appeal (Universal Music) before going indie again with Neon Gold Records for the time being. Their audience is as sophisticated as their sound, though, and their fans have been there through it all – from day one to Memory Of A Day.
I sat down to talk to the pair about their latest album, but we also looked back on their genre-bending catalog and career, as well as looked forward on what’s to come.
You two switched from indie record label Barsuk Records to Universal Music, and now back to an indie label again with Neon Gold. What does it feel like to be at an indie label again?
Josh Carter: I think we wanted a change from being under the largest entertainment company in the world. It really feels like you are in a sea of many different artists, and we needed a change and wanted to go back more to our roots.
What was different going into recording Memory Of A Day this time around versus your other albums?
JC: Taking our time in a lot of ways; we weren’t in the studio everyday. This was over the course of two years. We would be writing a couple weeks in a row and then took two months off. We wrote so many ideas for this album and have a lot on the back burner, as well.
Sarah Barthel: We’ve been doing this for a long time and have a lot of experience. We know what we want and don’t want [from] lessons learned. We really knew what we exactly wanted to do, and you can hear it, and we are really proud of it.
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What are your favorite and meaningful songs off the album and why?
JM: My current favorite song is “Attaway.” It was a fun song to write and an interesting song to write. It wasn’t a very typical song to write; the chorus is in threes and a lot of traditional songs are in a four or eight. The end makes the hairs on my arms stand up. It’s soul-crushingly beautiful and sad.
SB: That one is one of my favorites. It changes. Right now, “Ashes” is one of my favorites.
How come there weren’t any music videos from this project yet?
SB: The music world is in such a weird space now. We are trying to navigate through it. I think the world is different. I think there are other ways to get closer to your fans and not put everything in one basket. Making music videos are expensive.
JM: It’s social media, too – I think it’s a necessary evil nowadays. I don’t think people have the same attention span. We just need the time and are getting ready for the tour. I am excited to do what we can do in these times, though.
Do you look back on your career and say, “We’ve come a long way,” or do you think there’s more to accomplish?
JM: There’s a lot more to accomplish! I’m excited about that, but we still pinch ourselves. Our first show was in Saratoga Springs in King’s Tavern. We worked our way up organically. We think about all the milestones we made growing as a band and touring with other artists.
How do you choose what to play live?
JM: We arm wrestle.
SB: It’s really tough. We get really stressed about it. We only get a short time.
JM: You got to think of the audience. I think it would be fun to play the deep cuts, too, and that way we could satiate the mega fans.
Favorite tour memory?
SB: Not my favorite tour memory, but one that I’ll never forget was touring in Russia. We were in Moscow headed to Saint Petersburg. We had to load all our equipment on an overnight train during the winter. We were so tired and had to lug off all the equipment onto the taxis and try to get it to the venue.
What do you want to say to the fans at this time?
JM: I want to say thank you, and thank you for listening. We are really excited about our long-time fans and our new fans.
SB: I just want to say that I love them, and please do not listen to our music on a laptop or phone speakers.
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