southern records

San Francisco's power-noise duo Tartufi have joined Southern and we have just released their latest album Nests Of Waves and Wire. Much praised for their awe-inspiring live sets and loop-heavy soundscapes, they have taken their sonic vision to the next level on the new record. After three years of experimentation within their performance, both on-stage and in the studio, the band has developed their craft into an art form. Their latest endeavour is a lush and weighty mix of the bands compositional sensibilities and sonic capabilities.Together Brian and Lynne have brought colour and a unique sense of style to the scene and have proven that they know their music and their instruments.

For those of you that still have not heard Tartufi's work, "Dot Dash", the second track on Nests Of Waves and Wire is available to preview.

Brian and Lynne have been oh-so kind in choosing five questions from our list of fifteen for all the fans out there! We're so glad they did... Diamond interview. Proving that they have more than one brain between them, they each chose their own five. Which means we ended up with Take Eight. You do the math.

What would be the ideal listening conditions for someone hearing your new release for the first time?

Brian: Alone, late at night, without interruption, and with a nice set of headphones. We wrote the album as a complete piece. It is meant to be heard, from start to finish, in order.

Lynne: The listener should be placed in a beanbag chair on the deck of an old, old wooden boat rocking gently in the Queen Charlotte Sound. Said listener should be equipped with some excellent, albeit over-priced, Bose-style over the ears headphones, a small plate of cheese, and four to five fingers of Budweiser Beer in a smart little tumbler with some sort of nautical etchings on the side. There will be birds but the listener should not be afraid. It should be about 78 degrees and an umbrella will be available for use in case the listener has a "thing" for vitamin D deficiency. Blublocker sunglasses will be provided - the kind that make everything look just a little better - just a little less...bluuu. At the end of Nests of Waves and Wire, the listener will be invited to do a cannonball or jack knife-style jump off the deck and into the water where - as a special treat - it is discovered that the water in the sound has been replaced with delicious, delicious pudding and the ocean creatures are made of gold and rainbows. The listener will then decide that they liked Nests of Waves and Wire very much, will wipe the rainbow from their face, and go and gather their friends and loved ones and share the tale of this magical experience.

I also hear the album is pretty good in the back of a van, on a bike, in jail, whilst doin' the dirty, in Africa, on the bus, outside a zoo, inside a lion, underneath a couch and over The Great Smokey Mountains.

What is the story behind the name of your new album?

Brian: Because we have a pretty elaborate rig- especially for a duo- and that we are constantly tweaking it and adding to it, while writing Nests of Waves and Wire we often found ourselves trapped and tangled in the eight million billion cables that we run (that's the Wire part). Depending on what we were working on we found ourselves being both pummeled and coddled by our sound (there are the Waves). The studio and our music are our retreat, our Nests. Put them all together and you have Nests of Waves and Wire. Voila.

Lynne: Over the past few years we have been expanding our sound and experimenting with the possibilities of our rig. If you have ever seen us live you will notice the following:

A. Yes, we have a lot of gear for two people. We love hearing about this, especially when loading in, loading out, or getting yelled at for taking too long to set up.

B. It takes us a long time to set up. We have many, many, MANY cables to connect and pedals / microphones to attach.

C. It takes us a long time to break down. We are expert cable coilers.

D. We are a loud band - this is why we provide earplugs for your listening enjoyment.

E. Our sets are often seamless meaning we tend to play straight through for 45 minutes or so without stopping.

As our rig has expanded so too have the number of cables and the magnitude of the sound we can produce. I began to notice that where the cables were once linear, shooting out from place to place, serving their purpose and providing their function, they now have encircled us in a complete three-hundred and sixty degree sphere of sound and duty, not unlike a nest. A nest of what you ask? Waves! Sound waves that is! And wire - meaning cables silly pants!

That is the tale I have to tell of the origins of the open-toed sandal.

Are you more comfortable in the recording studio, or on a stage, and why?

Brian: I think we are pretty comfortable in both situations, but I prefer recording because that is when we are really creating, experimenting, and discovering. Performing can be great fun but you are basically doing what you already know each night. There is nothing quite like that feeling when we are a few days into a recording session as the songs begin to take shape and we are exploring the various options to treat the composition and make it something completely new.

Do you have any routines or rituals (that you can talk about) before recording or playing a gig?

Lynne: Well, before recording we like to rehearse. A lot. We also like to get lost in the hills of the outer mission / excelsior district of San Francisco. Before playing a show I enjoy frantic pacing, bursts of intense pogoing and v-e-r-y awkward conversation with those around me. (Dear Those Around Me Before A Show; Please forgive me. I know not what I do or say. And no, I do not know what is up with the loud gesturing and over-zealous laughter. I am sorry I spilled your drink and then said that thing about your girlfriend. Love, Lynne)

What song do you wish that you had written, and why?

Brian: Devotchka's "How It Ends"- because it is simple, beautiful, and filled with melancholy.

Lynne: Hmmm. That would be a tie between "Orion" by Metallica and "Silver Springs" by Fleetwood Mac. I am not sure a why is even necessary here considering how duhhhh these songs are but I will give it a shot. Becauuuuuuuuuuuse - these songs are amazing and incredible and I can listen to them over and over without getting tired of their beauty. I make everyone at the bar I work at listen to both these babies at least once a shift and we can all mouth-solo the guitar parts in Orion and swirl and twirl in leather and lace like a small gang of Stevie wannabes. in unison - and without an ounce of irony or shame. Also there are guitar parts in a few songs by a band called Giraffes? Giraffes! that I swear I was born with implanted in my very being. I don't necessarily wish I had written these parts but I do feel an intense connection to their existence... maaaaaaaan. Dig?

If you could inhabit the body of another member of your band for a week, who would it be, and why?

Brian: That's a tough one; there are so many options... Let me see... ok, got it. Lynne.

Does making music pay your rent? If not, what's your "day job"?

Lynne: No. No it does not. But I am sure it will any old day now. I have already been out mansion hunting three times this week in preparation. Here are things I like to do for the big bucks in the meantime. I bar-tend, book, and am a sound engineer at a club in San Francisco called El Rio. The club is amazing and the variety of people that move through that space is staggering. I love it. I also teach a rock band class to 4-7 year olds with Brian (my band mate) and our friend Paco. Saturday Morning Rock Out has been in session for over a year now and I am confident the kids we are working with are not only cooler than us, but also have better ideas for lyrics, melody, and personal styling. This is a devastating issue to cope with daily and my ego has forever been damaged... which may or may not be a good thing.

What is the last record that you bought with real cash money? Was it worth the price?

Brian: We are on tour and have completely exhausted the options on our iPods. Desperate for something - anything - new, and without any record stores around we bought one of those compilations on the counter at Starbucks somewhere in Arkansas. Giddy with excitement we returned to the van and put the cd in. Around the third song we stopped the cd and sat in our own quiet, sad silence for the next 250 miles.

How would you save the world?

Brian: I would distribute capes to everyone, everywhere. Capes make one feel powerful and entitled, but also responsible. They blur the line between the regular and the super and conveniently supply the wearer with ample material to clean up their messes. I'm pretty sure if everyone thought of themselves as a super heroes and picked up after themselves, the world would be saved. If that doesn't work, at least we'll all look cool in our capes while the world is exploding.

Buy Tartufi's new album in the Southern Online store.

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