Courtesy of Secretly Canadian’s artist page for Gardens and Villa.
Santa Barbara-based Gardens & Villa took the time to chat with Allston Pudding about creative spaces, cocker spaniels, and finding inspiration. Though they’ve spent their fair share of time in cities across the nation, synth player Adam Rasmussen said Los Angeles, where they spend most of their time practicing and recording, is like “a dream on top of a dream on top of a dream”. And Gardens & Villa stylistically incorporate dreamy, sunny California vibes into their ambient noise-pop.
Rasmussen said the group finds much inspiration through the creative spaces they find themselves in. There’s a trend sweeping through Southern California of people buying out old warehouses and revamping them into practice spaces for musicians and artists. “The warehouse feel is very apropos for the artistic life,” Rasmussen said. “Andy Warhol had his factory, and with these old spaces being reactivated, and having this happen in art spaces is very inspiring for us.” The warehouse vibe is a friendly one, according to Rasmussen. “You could walk into the lobby at 12 A.M., or you could walk into it at 3 A.M. and still be welcomed.” Several artists at a time often share these warehouses, creating a community of artists.
Transplanting from a warehouse in Santa Barbara, the band sought a similar feel and were immediately drawn to a beaten up warehouse in Los Angeles, directly across the river from their previous space. “It was about 14,000 square feet of concrete, with corrugated walls and just…nothing,” Rasmussen explained. The band took it upon themselves to completely rehab the unit. “When we get back from tour we’re going to finish the control room, and have a fully functioning studio.” But he sees spaces like this taking over the future of live music. “I see the dream as this future studio hub. It might be a place for going solo, it might be a place for intense live psychedelic jams.” He laughed and added, “If we build it they will come.”
The discussion turned to underutilized talent in young musicians, and what he believes these kinds of spaces can do for those who are afraid to get their feet wet. “I know so many talented people that are just writing music in their bedrooms, and they’re not recording,” Rasmussen said. “You just have to jump off for the first time into the water, not knowing whether it’s going to be cold, or hot, or turbulent, or placid, and just the act of abandoning whatever you’re holding onto on the cliff, and falling through the air towards something, regardless of the outcome, is part of the way to scratch the surface. You kind have to trust the universe and apply the force concept to your life,” he added, citing Yoda.
In regard to their latest album, Music For Dogs, Rasmussen described it as commentary on the rising Internet culture of today, as well as being inspired by an actual dog.
Back in the creative community at the L.A. warehouse lived a nine-year-old black cocker spaniel, who one night joined in with the band, who had spontaneously begun howling. He described how they had initiated the howling, which the dog ignored at first, but eventually joined in, howling louder than the band to assert its dominance. “[I saw it as a] comment on internet usage, because of animal tendencies.”
“We wanted to make the record that we’ve always wanted to make as young lads in punk bands in small towns,” Rasmussen said on the album. “We achieved that, and I’m really proud of Music for Dogs, and I’m really thankful for all of the energy that was put into it. It felt like a very natural process–we wrote as many songs as we could. This record was intended to be your 14-year-old self through your 30-year-old lens, having a really fun time but also exploring all of the anxieties and freedoms that can only come with experience and wisdom.”
When asked whether he thinks the Internet has had a positive or a negative impact on music culture, Rasmussen said, “It’s both. Everything is a both thing, especially when considering the Internet. Back in the day, if you wanted to see a band, you had to text your friend’s flip phone and ask to meet up at a show, and you’d either show up or not. Now, you have a stream of who’s coming to town, and how many people like that. It’s totally obscured, for better or worse, the way that people find out about music, attend shows, buy records, and talk about how they feel about it. Music is more accessible than ever, [which is] great for bands that are getting started out. You don’t have any excuse to not record something, which can be done very easily for not much money at all.”
“All the tenants of music culture…still depends on the archetype of a fan bringing energy to a show and receiving it, and a band bringing an energy to the stage and the fan receiving it. It’s as old as language–it is a language–that’s purely expressive. It’s a shame to see it exploited but it’s never going to die,” Rasmussen said.
The band plays tomorrow night at The Sinclair. Music For Dogs can be purchased via Secretly Canadian.
(Rasmussen added that if you DM the band on Twitter saying the breed and age of the dog mentioned in the interview, he’ll hook you up with two tickets to the show.)