Shy Hunters… Still honing their camouflage technique
Interview: Shy Hunters
Published on September 12th, 2012 | Jonny Abrams
Brooklyn duo Shy Hunters are currently working on their debut album, so Rocksucker fired some questions over to Indigo Street to find out a little bit more about the operation. First, though, check out the video for their broodingly urgent second single “Time Bomb”…
What’s the line-up of the band? How did you meet, and how long has the band been going for?
The core of the band is a duo (Sam Levin and Indigo Street). We create all the music together. Sam plays drums and keyboards (often simultaneously), and I play guitar and sing.
We’ve been touring with a bass player we love, C.J. Boyd, but he doesn’t live in the same city as we do, so sometimes we play duo shows. Shahzad Ismaily is an adjunct member, playing moog on the recordings and live whenever the timing works out. Sam and I met at an improv session in Brooklyn, and played together in a noise/improv band called Blast Off!!! for a while before branching off to start our own project.
CJ and I met in Iceland about four years ago. I saw him in the audience of a show I was playing, and thought, whoa, they’ve got some cool-looking Iceland dudes over here… Shy Hunters has been in development for over a year now, although we recorded our first two tracks in January 2012, and played our first gig in April.
How would you describe your music, if pushed?
Someone in the press called it ‘Avant Dream pop’, and if forced to use a genre-tag I’d say that’s the best one we’ve heard so far. We strive to create pop music that doesn’t bore us to death… It’s all about making something as clean and clear and melodic as possible, while retaining an oddness, a mood and complexity that keeps the material honest and interesting to perform, night after night.
Where are you based, and what do you use to record with?
We’re from Brooklyn, but just moved a couple hours north to live in the woods, be around nature, and have more space for music. So far, our method has been to demo everything at home on the laptop then bring it into the studio to replace drums and guitars, and mix.
Is there a full album in the works? If so, what can you tell us about it? (Feel free to be as abstract as you like…)
There is an album in the works. Taking a month off to tour has been a great break, and we’re eager to get back to work on it with fresh ears. I don’t want to say too much about it just yet, but I will say that people can expect the album to be an extension of the single… slow moods and tight beats…
Where can we hear your music online?
The two singles we’ve released so far are available on our Bandcamp: http://shyhunters.bandcamp.com
And the video for ‘Time Bomb’ can be seen here: http://vimeo.com/m/44986096
Which have been your most exciting gigs and/or overall moments so far?
Hearing the first two songs mixed was really thrilling. You work so closely on something, and try to craft it to have a certain effect, but until it’s mixed you can’t really be sure it’ll be successful. That was really a happy day for us. We kept looking at each other in disbelief from across the control room, like, “It sounds good! It really sounds good!”
Got any more coming up? (Gigs, that is…)
9/3 Kung Fu Necktie – Philladelphia, PA
9/7 Zebulon – Brooklyn, NY
9/26 Glasslands – Brooklyn, NY with Love Inks
9/28 Duke Coffee House – Durham NC
09/29 Dunes – DC
Are there any obscure and/or up-and-coming acts that you’d like to recommend or give a shout-out to?
Aaron Roche is doing great stuff and has a record out this month: http://www.aaronroche.com/
Finally, if you were forced to spend the rest of your days in solitary confinement, but were allowed to bring the entire works of five different artists along to tide you over, whose would you choose?
This question is causing major division in the ranks, so this list is full of bitter compromise :)
Mark Hollis/Talk Talk
Miles Davis
Michael Jackson
Captain Beefheart
Beethoven
Indigo Street, thank you.
For more information please visit shyhunters.bandcamp.com
About the Author
Jonny Abrams Editor of Rocksucker and the website's founder, Jonny is passionate about the music he listens to, both good and bad, as well as interviewing his favourite musicians.
