Transparent Records are the most exciting young label in London right now

Since then, label founders Jack Shankly and Sahil Varma have been responsible for thrusting new bands such as Yuck, Summer Camp and Kisses into the blogospheric limelight, garnering praise from Pitchfork and The Guardian’s Paul Lester. With the bulk of their roster based across the Atlantic, they have managed to conduct A&R duties almost entirely via email, and it wasn’t until last month with a visit to SXSW in Austin, Texas that they were able to meet many of their artists face-to-face. Distance has not been an obstacle however, as since September last year, Transparent has overseen an impressive thirteen vinyl releases by the likes of Washed Out and Perfume Genius, each song also available to download for free via the blog. This summer will see the first full album release by Herzog, further singles by Psychobuildings and Myles Cooper, as well as live shows in London featuring appearances from Los Angeles’ Active Child and Chicago glam garage teens The Smith Westerns.

We caught up with three bands making an indelible impression…

Kisses

We spoke with Jesse Kivel, one half of the LA boy-girl duo who released 7” single ‘Bermuda’ on Transparent last week

In your own words, how would you describe the music you make?
I would say that it is dance music with a nostalgic quality that can be found in some long playing disco tracks. Despite this there is an undeniable nod to more contemporary artists like Air France and The Tough Alliance. The initial hope was to make a massive disco production with strings and horns in a studio but I quickly remembered I had no money. So I then decided to record in my garage with limited resources.

Though your sound is pretty sundrenched, do you think it’s fair to say your music is also tinged with melancholy?
That is fair to say. Although I am a fairly happy individual I find that I draw inspiration, especially lyrically from sadder times and themes of love and loss. This sometimes bothers Zinzi because she thinks I am writing songs that are about her, but they’re really not about her, we are a happy couple!

How did you first get in contact with the guys at Transparent?
Actually I was about to email them through my friend Pat and he was going to put a word in for me. Before he could do that they had already emailed me. We had a phone call for an hour or so and everyone was super-nice so we decided to put ‘Bermuda’ out through them.

Kisses: “Bermuda”

Active Child

Pat Grossi, the man behind Active Child, talks us through his project

How did you start making music as Active Child?
Around the winter of 2009 I was living in Denver, Colorado and basically just started experimenting with different sounds, recording techniques, and programs until I stumbled upon something that struck me. I would spend hours in my room tinkering with synth filters and drums reverbs, layering vocal over vocal until I made something that resembled what I was hearing in my head.

In your own words, how would you describe the music you make?
In my mind, my songs lie somewhere between hymns and new wave pop. Sometimes the spiritual side dominates and sometimes the pop side dominates, and occasionally the ingredients are just right so that the two styles combine to make some sort of hymn pop hybrid. Although I am not a religious person, I find spirituality very intriguing as well as the music that usually accompanies spiritual movements, like gospel or chant. Some of this is from my own curiosity and some influence stems from growing up singing spirituals in choir.

How did you first get in contact with the guys at Transparent?
Jack and Sahil reached out to me early on as well, somewhere around last summer. Somehow they came across my music on the Internet and posted ‘She was a Vision’ on their blog. Not long after we discussed a single release and that was that.

Active Child: “Wilderness”

Yuck

Frontman Danny Blumberg was on hand to answer some of our questions

You and Max used to be in Cajun Dance Party, but how did the whole band come together?
Max and I met when we were babies. I met Jonny in the desert in Israel where he was living in a weird date farming commune. We sent him some demos a few months later and he instantly dropped out of college and came straight over here. Mari we knew just from being in London. I was only 15 when Cajun Dance Party started, and was that age when I wrote most of the songs. It feels a world away now and obviously between the ages of 15 and 20 you change so much.

Which bands and artists have influenced your music the most?
I think we go through stages but certainly when we started Yuck, Max and I were listening to The Holy Bible by the Manic Street Preachers, lots of Teenage Fanclub, Dinosaur Jr. and Silver Jews.

How did you first get in contact with the guys at Transparent?
I met Jack and Sahil through a punk band called the Video Nasties. Our relationship was initially based on a mutual obsession with them, but we’ve become friends slowly and beautifully and I just think what they do is incredible. They dig out amazing songs and artists from all around the world that I’d never have heard about otherwise. I guess that’s what all blogs and labels aim to do but they’ve been consistently brilliant.