The latest signings to ATP/R are Sleepy Sun, whose otherworldly cosmic rock takes the torch once held aloft by Comets On Fire and runs blindly into a sea of shimmering, colour-shifting motor oil: one big, beautiful BOOM.
Hailing from San Francisco, their smoke-trailed epics dip and dive between lavish layers of guitar heaviness – not the kind to break a neck to, more the sort that a mind wanders to the sound of, pleasantly lost in a fug of forgetfulness, embraced by warm tones and blasts of furious dissonance. As their label notes, this is music that can both wake you up in the morning AND send you to sleep at night. It’s like Dead Meadow playing in the middle of a pillow fight.
The sextet release their debut album ‘Embrace’ in May, and play live at the Fans Strike Back ATP festival on May 8-10 in Minehead. Ahead of that, some ATP Week Q&A…
(Listen to their song ‘New Age’ via the audio player above.)
How did you come to work with ATP in the first place?
We were offered to play the ATP festival in Minehead this summer. They later approached us with an offer to release ‘Embrace’ before they had seen us play live. They were very helpful with getting our record off the ground before we’d even met. Sleepy Sun and ATP were officially introduced in Austin at South By Southwest – it was love at first sight.
What do you think the label’s reputation is, amongst the music-buying public? What does it ‘stand for’?
The ATP band roster is across the board – I think this keeps the label from becoming pigeonholed with a certain genre of music. Their festivals are similarly versed: many bands with a plethora of sounds. They don’t necessarily mesh sonically, but this allows for a colorful affair.
Do you feel the label stands alone from the festival, or should the two be seen as connected? Could one exist without the other?
The two work well as a partnership yet could also stand alone.
You’ve not played at ATP yet – what do you expect the experience to be like?
The Fans Strike Back, in Minehead, will be our first ATP festival experience followed by ATP New York in 2009. The Fans Strike Back fest is an awesome idea – why not let people vote for a few acts? Maybe more of these modern festivals should try this system…
Does working with ATP give you a degree more freedom than another label might, do you think?
We have nothing to compare to since this is our first record label. So far, so good!
Can you tell us about your forthcoming release for the ATP label?
This release is our debut, but we have plans to record our second album this spring. There are some concise songs, a few doodlers and a side-dog here and there. Maybe some reverb.
Do you have an appreciation – a love, even – of other act/s on the ATP label, and if so did their involvement with the label lead you to signing with ATP?
We were only familiar with a few of the other bands on the label when we signed. There wasn’t a specific band on their roster that persuaded us to go with ATP – I think the appeal came with its musical breadth.
If ATP didn’t stand for All Tomorrow’s Parties, it would stand for… what?
Awesome Time, People.
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‘Embrace’ is released on May 11. Find Sleepy Sun on MySpace HERE and see them live in the UK as follows…
May
7 London Rough Trade (in-store)
8-10 Minehead ATP Festival – The Fans Strike Back
11 Coventry The Tuns
12 London Luminaire
Find the official ATP website HERE.
More ATP Week content…
* Apse Interview
* Alexander Tucker Interview
* The Drones interview
* Interview with the first ATP curators, Mogwai
* Fuck Buttons Interview
* Deerhoof Interview
* A Brief History: interview with ATP founder Barry Hogan
* ATP: A Beginners Guide
Tomorrow: Super Furry Animals, HEALTH, Grizzly Bear and more.
