While they may call Switzerland home, experimental rock duo Disco Doom are no strangers to US audiences. In addition to being part of the all-star lineup that is the Exploding In Sound Records roster, the band has been a touring fixture in the US since Built to Spill tabbed them as the support act on their 2009 North American tour.
The band, made up of vocalist/guitarist Gabriele De Mario and guitarist/vocalist/keyboardist Anita Rufer, have a new album out today, and will be touring non-stop throughout 2014 in support of it. Allston Pudding sat down with the band to discuss the new record, how they became buds with Built to Spill, and why missing their show at Great Scott with Pile on 3/30 would be a terrible idea.
Allston Pudding: You have a new record coming out and you’ll be kicking off a US tour soon – do you have a favorite place to play when you head over here?
Anita Rufer: No, not really, it’s just great to tour and meet new people and see all of these places that we’ve never seen before. Sometimes it’s great to play big shows, but it’s also awesome to play house shows – we love the fact that you can find the full spectrum of venues in the states.
Gabriele De Mario: It’s beautiful to drive around the country and see all the different cities. The art, the houses, the social life – we love all of that.
AP: So your new record Numerals is a big departure from your last album (which was instrumental) and sounds a little similar to your first record – what made you want to make that change?
G: When we toured in the states with Built to spill (in 2009) we had Dream Electric out and we played those songs so many times that our second record Trux Reverb was kind of a reaction to that – we wanted to capture a moment, so we recorded that in two days.
After that, Anita and I had a project that was more experimental, and we recorded four songs in an apartment in New York. First we thought of making a record with just those songs, and then we thought about taking those songs and making a full album out of them that would tell a story with a lot of different moods, and that ended up becoming Numerals
AP: Would you say that the songs on Numerals are linked together, like a type of concept album?
G: I think the songs can stand on their own, but together they create a mood. I mean, I love AC/DC and records or bands that have one sound, but I also love artists like Brian Eno and an album like Here Come The Warm Jets. That record is so inspiring because it has so many different types of songs and moods and song writing skills. You can listen to the whole thing and hear a story, but you can also pick up one song and you say “fuck that song is here, and so is that song, and that song”, and they’re just so different.
AP: So there’s a big connection between you and Built to Spill – with Jim Roth producing the new record and you guys supporting them on tours in the past – how did that come about?
G: I think it started in 2008 when we opened a show for them here in Switzerland and they liked it so much they asked us to open on a full European tour the next year, and then they asked us to play in the states with them
A: which was so great – it was a three month tour and it was our first time in the US – I know in Boston we played three nights at the Middle East, we played the Filmore In SF, Webster Hall in NY – just huge places, and for it being the first time we were seeing this country, it was amazing.
G: They are just lovely people, they’ve helped us so much and we’ve tried to help them when they come over to Europe and over the years it’s become a friendship and now they’re really good buddies and good friends.
AP: Exploding in Sound Records is releasing the record here in the US, and it sounds like Dan (Glodin, head of EIS) is really excited about your record. What’s your relationship with him like and what’s it like working with EIS?
G: Dan is the best person you can have as a fucking record label boss (laughs)
A: the great thing is he loves music – I don’t think I know of another person that loves music the way he does
G: And there are so many great bands on the label like Ovlov, Pile, Kal Marks. We’ll be touring with Ovlov and those guys seems to have their hearts in the right place – you can make that connection to EIS because Dan has his heart in the right place
AP: So you guys have this show coming up on 3/30 with Pile and a lot of other bands we love – why should people make sure they show up to see you guys?
A: How could we answer that?
M: We’re bad at selling ourselves
What they didn’t mention is that a show that includes Pile, Ovlov, Disco Doom, LVL Up, and Krill pretty much sells itself, so get your tickets now because they won’t last long. While you’re at it, make sure to check out Numerals, which is awesome, and available for download on bandcamp right now.