Roden Crater, $1 pizza slice and plenty of drone: Best Fit meets Bear in Heaven

His reaction to the state of Bear in Heaven’s career is no surprise. In receipt of their new album I Love You, It’s Cool the three piece are taking both the real and virtual world by storm, peddling some interesting promotional techniques and generally picking up fans wherever they go.

“We wanted to make an ambient record,” he continues, considering their experiment to make 2,700 hours of drone out of the record, “Technology made it possible. Drone music in general is a major influence. It comes up often.”

So too do technological advances, something Philpot is keen to give credit to:

“We are constantly evolving with technology. We make a strong case for the ‘singularity’ with our live show. It’s really hard to tell where the gear ends and we begin. As a live band, we are bigger, louder, and more intense. Records are for listening to. The live show should be an experience. We want to take you there. We ride a line. Personally, I like to hear bands play songs faithfully but without it being this kind of xerox soulless performance. We like to bend the songs structurally, pull out parts for a three minute bongo solo, or an extended noise crescendo. But the songs, are pretty faithful, you’ll hear what you hear on the record, just with a little extra.”

“Our dream venue is James Turrell’s Roden Crater,” he adds, hinting at the out-of-this-world vibe that often draws people to Bear in Heaven. But the band aren’t laden down with serious noodlings; they like to have fun too, as their I Love You, It’s Cool mockumentary proves.

“Make no mistake. Music is our lives. We eat, sleep, and dream about music. We take very little as seriously. But, I think we’re absolutely owed the right to interject humour where we see fit. Laughter is important, just as important as any art form. We are always joking; it’s the one constant that keeps us going in this giant web of chaos that is being a band.”

Moving on to their recording process, Philpot is sincere. Those who have seen their mockumentary will understand Bear in Heaven’s record space is equal to a broom closet, with wires and cables hooked around feet and the occasional mic stand. Don’t let the chaos fool you, Bear in Heaven know what they’re doing:

“We rented a studio. We wrote songs, made demo versions of them, re-wrote those demos, re-thought every part, edited down, added to. Expanded and contracted parts, lost our minds, gathered our files and then took them to a real deal studio in the Lower Eastside of Manhattan, worked with an incredible engineer, ate lots of $1 slices of pizza and poured our hearts into a record. And yes, drone is always a part of the equation. Whether it’s a violin underneath it all or a looping guitar line, that’s us.”

While they may staunchly put their own feelings and talents down on record, they don’t shy away from musical collaboration, confirmed with a bout of remixes by the likes of Twin Shadow and Crystal Castles.

“Exchanging ideas musically with other musicians is always a win/win scenario,” Philpot explains, “Through remixes we’ve made so many new friends and learned so much. Would never want to force someone to interpret music in a certain way. Music is a personal thing, and we think you should do your own thing, always.”

Bear in Heaven's I Love You, It’s Cool is available now through Dead Oceans.