Photo Credit: Gina Canavan

With each successive release, Los Angeles band Girlpool redefine themselves through exciting new approaches to their sound. Their most recent single from March, “Like I’m Winning It,” is the latest example of this: a moody, beat-heavy synth-pop jam that’s a bold new step for the project that once began as a spare DIY guitar pop duo.

Continuing their exploration of the sound on this track, Girlpool released three new remixes of the song earlier this week, retitled as “Touch Me (Like I’m Winning It).” With fresh takes on the song from Porches, Lydia Ainsworth, and Devonté Hynes (aka Blood Orange), these remixes highlight the various striking elements of the song with compelling new angles.

Shortly after these remixes were released, we talked with Girlpool members Avery Tucker (he/him) and Harmony Tividad (she/her) to learn more about the process behind the song and its remixes.

Allston Pudding: To talk about the song as it had come out in March, what was the process of making “Like I’m Winning It”?

Avery Tucker: We were working on it for a while and got it to a place that we liked and just kind of wanted to put it out immediately. I had written it and just wanted to build it up with our friend Zach [Fogarty] and add Harmony’s part to finish it. That took a minute, but once we did, we just wanted to put it out as soon as possible, so that’s why we just dropped it as a single.

AP: Something that I think is really striking about the song is how the verses are done as a duet, which feels like a new approach for you as a band. What was it like to work with that dynamic compared to how you’ve done your vocals in the past?

Harmony Tividad: I think we were just excited to explore us playing as opposing characters rather than as a unit. Historically, we’ve been singing about the same thing [on past releases]. But on “Like I’m Winning It,” we each get to play an opposing commentary on each other. I think it’s a funny space to explore, because that’s usually not the outlook of our songs.

AP: How did the remixes for this song come about? Were they your idea after the song had been released or had these artists come to you with their ideas for remixing the song?

HT: It all started because I had been listening to Lydia Ainsworth’s music and our manager Brandon [Stosuy] works with her. I just thought her stuff was so trippy and different and I really thought it’d be cool if we tried something with her. So, initially, it was just Lydia remixing “Like I’m Winning It.” And then we thought it’d be cool if we tried having a couple other people remix it, just because we thought the song had so many different ways it could have been seen. We kind of round-tabled it and got Dev and Aaron [Maine of Porches] on board, and that was really cool.

AP: Was the idea to let each person go off and take the remix in whatever way they wanted, knowing their approaches to doing things?

AT: Yeah, we just kind of said, “Here’s all the stems, do whatever you want.” Some people stuck with a similar structure, and then Dev — for instance — just created a whole other world and combined it [with the song] in a really cool way. They’re all really unique and were really exciting to receive.

AP: Yeah, I think one of my favorite things about the remixes is how it’s clear each artist is drawing from a different element of the song and building on it to give it their own spin. Was there anything in particular with the remixes that surprised you or built on the song in a new way that you hadn’t thought of initially?

AT: For me, they all did that. It’s like if you told everybody to make pumpkin pie. I was excited because I knew the challenge and, then when we got them all, I knew kind of what to expect. It wasn’t just like, “Hey, listen to this new song.” It’s cool to receive someone else’s interpretation of your song because you have such an intimate connection with it already and the stakes are already emotionally there. It’s like seeing your kid do musical theatre. You’re like, “Woah! My song is being performed! My child is performing!”

HT: [laughs] Love that.

AP: It sounds like that’s one of the strengths of having already worked with Dev and Aaron before and knowing what their approaches are and trusting in them to take it where they want to take it.

HT: Yeah, totally.

AT: For sure.

AP: With this and the demos you had released for What Chaos Is Imaginary, I think it’s cool that you’re starting to release more of these alternate cuts or different takes on the songs that make it to your studio material. What does the process of opening up your releases like that signify for you, and do you want that to continue to be a regular thing for you as you continue as a band?

HT: I’ve always been a music nerd and I’ve always appreciated alternate takes from people, and I know Avery has too. I think we both imagined it would be exciting. Historically, for me, it’s been exciting to listen to other people’s songs that have meant a lot to me in different ways. I think it’s a really cool thing to be able to do, to share the process that a song takes, because I think it’s really empowering to see. Studio sessions kind of change songs and make them sound almost inaccessible, and I like that releasing demos shows how accessible writing and creating music is. Music recorded in a studio can sound like it’s inaccessible or something you can’t do, but really, it’s just an idea and anyone can have access to creating an idea, and I think that’s what’s really powerful about sharing things like that. So I think we’ll probably continue to do things adjacent to that.

AP: Yeah, it sounds like a powerful way of opening things up and revealing what’s under the hood of the music.

HT: Totally.

AP: How would you say your approach to collaborating or working with other musicians has changed over time?

AT: I guess we just started doing it more, right?

HT: Yeah, I feel like, initially, we were so safe with working with each other that working with other people felt a little threatening or sounded intense, because we weren’t sure what would come into the court. When you’re working with the same person, you know what you’re dealing with. But it’s been really rewarding to work with different producers and creative people and get their different takes on things. It’s so weird because art is this amorphous thing and we think there’s this unanimous decision of what something good or cool is. But, in actuality, everyone has their own nuanced take on what beauty is and I think it’s really valuable to get other people’s perspectives.

AP: How would you ideally like to see the sound of “Like I’m Winning It,” either from the song you made or its remixes, continue to be present in your evolution as a band or mark where you go next?

AT: What’s interesting about this one was that the song was simply about lust and it was kind of a straightforward song about one specific feeling. I feel like it was relatable in that way, where — historically — a lot of Girlpool songs have been more abstract and more interested in the poetry of describing a feeling in words. It was fun to just put out a song where everyone could relate to that feeling and it was loudly saying that thing in a clear way. I don’t only want to make songs like that, but I think it was cool to break that ice in Girlpool. And I think that some of our new songs prioritize the feeling in the music. The music in “Like I’m Winning It,” I feel, has the same energy as what the song is about, and feels kind of like a hit or a slap in the face of that feeling. So I feel like we were exploring more of sonically matching the energy of the song in the sound, if that makes sense. [to Harmony] Does that make sense? It’s kind of weird.

HT: Yeah. [laughs]

AP: It sounds like a way of boldly opening things up for new territory.

Both: Yeah.

HT: Beautiful.

Stream both “Like I’m Winning It” and its remixes by Porches, Lydia Ainsworth, and Devonté Hynes below via Bandcamp.