Beat Connection's Jordan Koplowitz tells us about his love of cooking

In Reference Points, we ask our favourite bands what inspires them from from outside the world of music. This week, we catch up with Jordan Koplowitz from Seattle outfit Beat Connection fresh from releasing latest album The Palace Garden, who tells us his love of cooking.

Although this is barely a specific thing, learning how to cook has been one of my favorite pastimes these last two years. I’ve spent a great deal of time on the Internet and looking through books and magazines discovering new ways to prepare and present food. Although I’m by no means a professional, I feel that cooking has given me a new respect for patience and time management.

It’s harder to see the consequences of a lack of patience towards friends and social interactions because people tend to hide their feelings. Food is unforgiving. If you don’t knead dough for a certain amount of time or you don’t add a correct measurement of a certain spice, you will immediately be able to know that you’ve done something wrong. And you won’t be able to go back and fix it, you must start over. It’s about patience with yourself as well, knowing that the more a meal turns out poorly, the more likely you are to make it better next time. It’s all about learning from experience.

Having a solid chunk of time to dedicate towards creating a meal from scratch is one of the most peaceful things for me. I love going through recipes and venturing to the store to find new spices and flavor mixtures to experiment with. I find that people take the creativity out of meal preparation, and make it too easy for themselves. Spending time on a meal is often like a work of art and when you can share that creation with your friends and they can literally consume what you’ve created, it’s extremely worthwhile and fulfilling.

- Jordan

The Palace Garden is out now via Moshi Moshi/Tender Age Records.