Telekom Electronic Beats

The Drums – Searching for Heaven

The Drums - Searching for Heaven Three days to go until the Electronic Beats Festival in Warsaw, and one of the bands we are most excited about seeing are Brooklyn indie upstarts The Drums. We caught up with the Jacob, the band’s synth player to ask him some questions about life, love and their favourite girl groups.

If you want to see the band in Warsaw this Friday, you just have to follow this link to grab your tickets.

Hello, please can you introduce yourself?
I’m Jacob from The Drums. I play synthesizer for the band.

What was the last piece of music you listened to?
The end title theme from ‘Summer of ’42’ by Michel Legrand

How did you find the process of recording your second album Portamento?
Fine. It was recorded in much the same way as our first. In our apartments, on our own.

Where did you find the cover image? is there a story behind it?
It’s an old photo of Jonny. I don’t know if that particular photo has any story behind it. I think it’s more of a glimpse into someone’s childhood and perhaps one they don’t have many fond memories of.

You supported Erasure on tour – how was that? Are you fans?
Jonny’s old band, Elkland, supported Erasure on tour. The Drums have not. I’ve never been a fan of Erasure. It’s always been difficult for me to understand how I feel about anything Vince Clark does, because I really appreciate his methods, I’ve just never liked the product. To me there doesn’t seem to be a lot of romance in his sound. Everything is so dry and cutting.

You are influenced in part by girl groups of the sixties – what is your ultimate girl group song?
Yes, we certainly are. My ultimate girl group song is Out In The Streets by The Shangri-Las. It seems to have a little more depth than girl groups often allowed themselves.

Are you looking forward to playing in Warsaw – do you have any experience of the city?
I have no experience of the city. I hear the name thrown around a lot but I know nothing about it. I look forward to playing anywhere we’ve never been before but I don’t particularly enjoy traveling so it is a double edged sword!

Where do you write music – do you compose together as a band?
We just write in our homes. Sometimes we compose together, some time not. For example, I wrote and recorded all the music for ‘Searching For Heaven’ at my apartment and then Jonny wrote and recorded the vocals somewhere else.

Do you find that the process of writing songs gets easier or harder?
It’s hard to say. I suppose some aspects get easier and others get harder. But the reality is that once you finish a song you’re happy with, after a brief moment of utter joy, you suddenly become depressed because now you must start again. And every song that isn’t as good as the last one you were happy with get’s thrown away until you nail it again.

What has been your biggest achievement so far? ( that you are most proud of)
I don’t know. Probably not playing ‘Let’s Go Surfing’ anymore.

What other bands are you currently listening to?
Xeno & Oaklander, Suzanne Ciani, League of Nations, The Innocence Mission, Blonde Redhead.

Anyone we should be keeping an eye on?
Meryl Streep.

Published November 30, 2011.