Introducing: So So Modern

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Before their gig in Cardiff last week, New Zealand’s masters of bleeps and beeps, So So Modern, chatted to TLOBF about their mammoth recent tour, coordinating outfits and possible plans to be radiation therapists and child educators.

Tell us a bit about yourselves and your band.
Hello. My name is Daniel Nagels and I play drums.
My name is Aidan and I play two synthesisers and sing.
I’m Mark. I sing, I play guitar and synthesisers and push buttons.
I’m Grayson. I do pretty much what Mark does; I play guitar, play keyboards, play the sampler and do some singing, but I look a bit better.
So So Modern is a band from a city called Wellington in New Zealand. We started just before Christmas 2004. We were just jamming with different people at different times in the same city, but the city is so small that you can’t really avoid anyone that displays similar interests as one’s self and so we just got together.

You seem to tour often. How do British/European crowds you play for differ to those at home?
I don’t know really because I think they’re both similar, but we don’t know what to expect from a crowd. It’s cool though, because we get to pick up loads of friends on the way. People are either really into it or repulsed by our music.
The reactions are more extreme now.
I think each show is quite unique because each city has a different response, which is nice.
It is interesting to compare the people to a city’s geography or its context. We’ve been to some cities that are really run down and economically not doing so well, like Chemnitz in Germany, and then we see the people who come to our shows and they’re super optimistic and have visions for the city. Then, at other times in really beautiful cities that would normally inspire us, the people can be a bit blasé. It’s just interesting to get a feel for each city.

On stage, as a band, you seem to go for a certain look, often wearing coordinating outfits and futuristic prints. Do you think your image is important to the band and how it is perceived by others?
I don’t know if it is important to the sound of the band, but I think we do appreciate the whole context of performance, which isn’t limited to just the music itself. We’ve always been primarily focussed on being a live band, and from our early days we’ve managed to collaborate with other artists through different mediums, whether it is fashion designers or other artists or cooks or whatever you can think of. We have friends who work with textiles and make clothes, so we think of our image as part of the context of performance. It involves us with creative people.
There’s nothing more important than image when it comes to creative arts. The role of the poet is to convey a poetic image, and that is the work that we do. What we come across as is what the band creates.

Not all of your songs feature lyrics. For those that do, what comes first – music or lyrics?
Music.
Yeah, unless the song has no music, which has existed on one or two occasions.

What inspires you, both in the music world and outside of it?
People…
Other bands, travelling…
Work, science, food…
Girls…
Guys…
People of all ages…

If you weren’t in a band, what do you think you’d be doing?
Designing and building buildings and teaching and researching and writing and making music.
I’d probably be teaching or tutoring at university and/or working at a record store and/or writing scores for films and/or working for the New Zealand Music Commission.
I’d be working as a radiation therapist.
I’d be in another band or a practising artist.

Are there any bands or musicians from New Zealand that you like and think people in Britain or any other people who read the site should check out?
We have loads! Can we all reel them off, like, one each? Okay!
Disasteradio
Phelps & Munro
The Ruby Suns
Ornithologist
Liam Finn
Frase + Bri
Birchville Cat Motel
Strangers
TeenWolf
Dial
Tourettes
Tommy Ill
Holiday With Friends
Golden Axe, who are awesome
Teacups
Panda Bear. No! Bear Cat! Damn it; I always mix them up!

Finally, why do you think people who read this interview should listen to So So Modern?
So they can have fun.
To find meaning and significance.
Yeah! To find meaning and significance, not that people can’t find meaning and significance anywhere else, but we hope that people will find our music enjoyable and fulfilling.

So So Modern on MySpace