Haunted Love are two Dunedin Girls called Rainy & Geva who make bleepy, layered, dark pop. They have just released an album called Spirit Revival on the Round Trip Mars label and are set to play Auckland’s Basement this Friday night the 3oth with support from She’s So Rad. I put together a few questions for the girls, about handbags, drum machines, their funny, dark lyrical material and clothes…
What synths did you use on the album? (question may seem a bit odd – excuse – I am a total synth/programming nerd)
Our fundamental sound comes from the Zachary Enchanter (living room organ 1970′s), But we also used many and various other keyboards from Nords to Casios and a huge beautiful organ of Ed’s called the Thomas Californian.
What programs do you use?
From the Enchanter’s beat repertoire we heavily favor Disco Beat 1 and Rock 2 and recently we’ve broadened our horizons to Reggae. Ed Cake sampled these for use on the album; he chops up the beats in protools. We record drums over the top and from there it’s a mixture of organ beats and live drums. It’s a bit like the 1970′s NY organ based punk band Suicide.
Who plays what?
We like to swap instruments.. Similar to our song writing approach. But most of the time you’ll see Rainy on guitars and Geva behind the organ. Who programs? The Enchanter and Ed. Drum Machine? Organ! Casio!
What is your on-stage set up like?
There’s a lots of wood veneer going on! Rainy likes to be on Geva’s right.
Can you tell me about working with photographer/artist Yvonne Todd?
It was a lot of fun and very relaxed. We worked at her home and made friends with her beautiful cats. Yvonne got out her dress up box and let us wear her clothes. We had a lot of laughs and some bubbles and chippies to round off the shoot. She and her husband Colin are very welcoming and we felt really happy and privileged to meet them.
Why do you think she agreed to work with you?
We think she liked the approach we took to get in touch with her and maybe something about our music resonated. We certainly found it very easy to communicate our ideas to her and she seemed to find our jokes funny – kindred spirits?
The lyrical content is one of my favourite things about Haunted Love. Personal experiences? About present/past relationships? Or almost novel-type situations/made-up stories?
We take story-telling pretty seriously. It’s very different for each song – Apokha started off with just that one word, trying to figure out what it might mean. Most of the time there’s at least a starting point from one or both of our real life experiences. Or we borrow from other people’s experiences if someone tells us something that captures our imaginations.. Alonso Philippe is a song which draws from one part of Geva’s life and one part of Rainy’s – absolutely different stories blended with a hefty dose of stylisation to pull it all together. For the most part we are more concerned with the feeling of a song.
Also I love that you can’t be easily pigeon-holed; it’s a very unique sound. Are you aware of this? – or does this surprise you to hear this? I always end up comparing bands to bands, but I can’t seem to do that with Haunted Love…
Yes, we are aware of that! In fact we have never been able to describe our sound concisely. “Dark Pop” is the closest we’ve come. Our theory as to why we can’t seem to fit in a pigeon hole is that because first and foremost we are about honouring each song for what it should be, rather than being married to a specific image or style.
What are each of your favourite tracks on the album?
We both love Apokha the most.
What do you listen to at home while just hanging out?
Geva has been listening to the Young Marble Giants and The Zombies. Rainy listens to a lot of John Vanderslice and The Bird and The Bee.
Who would you love to support music-wise (you can choose anyone…total fantasy-situation)
This doesn’t quite answer the question you asked but we wish New Zealand was is Europe so we could enter Eurovision – and WIN Eurovision.
Top five essentials that have to be in your handbags 24/7?
Geva: Giant brush for backcombing my hair, an iPod called Toto that Rainy gave me, Moleskine diary, ratty old novels that I find and read and Skerples (budget brand knock-off of Sharpies)
Rainy: I don’t have a handbag! I have a backpack because I am a great big nerd. I don’t feel right without my MacBook called Chippy and I’m inseparable from my iPhone called Audrey. Everything else can come and go. Sometimes I carry snacks for emergencies.
How do you personal styles differ as far as style/clothing/fashion goes?
We have fairly similar tastes although it could be argued that Geva’s look is more Classic/Retro and Rainy’s is more Classic/Contemporary. We both tend to favour a camp, dress-up aesthetic though.
What do you like to wear/buy your clothes/which nz designers do you like?
We both love beautiful dresses that have a sense of fun and quirkiness. It’s been far too long since we went shopping together but we share, swap and borrow each other’s clothes a lot. Where they come from? Everywhere! Second-hand shops, Thailand markets, hand-me-downs from friends, K-Mart Kid’s department, online boutiques. Neither of us have any designer clothes other than vintage stuff though..
What do you plan to do when you are up in Auckland this week? (Apart from play at your release show obviously)
We’re going to have a few “Soundchecks” which is a drink we invented, it’s a pint of beer with lemonade and lime. Hopefully go to dinner at least once at our favourite Thai Restaurant “Kaffir Lime” on Symonds St and see family and friends that are coming from far and wide to see the show. If any karaoke happens to happen, then we’ll call it a perfect weekend!
Haunted Love, with support from She’s So Rad at The Basement. Friday 30th September.
Doors 10.15pm, tickets $10.00 on the door, presales from undertheradar.co.nz
