The Seattle based trio So Pitted (Nathan Rodrigues, Jeannie Koewler, and Liam Downey) recently released their debut album ‘neo’. Some say it’s louder than Nirvana, others compare them to METZ’s younger brother; no matter what punk/grunge reference they could remind you of, So Pitted openly declare an intimate affection for 90s pop music, new wave and the ethereal melodies of Cocteau Twins.
It took almost two years of work but the final result is a mischievous sludgy union of scratchy noise and aggressive punk, dressed up in a retro-futuristic outfit. They sound like a Teutonic army on the war path: Koewler’s bass line is as thick as a foggy night in a cold German land where the pounding sound of Downey’s drums reminds of clattering artillery. Rodriguez’ snarling and robotic howls take the battle in a time warp located in an eerie imminent future.
Their music is angular and distorted yet catchy in a dark way, as Koewler says: "we like pop music and we are all creative, thoughtful and compassionate souls". 'neo' is a perfect blend of what So Pitted are; loud and powerful yet bizarre and shambolic. “There are lots of feelings of intense frustration and misunderstanding in our songs," she explains. "However we also have a more playful and weird approach to life that we like to reveal not only in our lyrics but also in our live shows.”
We had a chat with the band right before their London show at the Shacklewell Arms.
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The name So Pitted comes from a funny YouTube video that went viral. Where does the idea come from? What is the meaning of it?
Jeannie: To be honest we just came across the video and we thought it was hilarious. There is no particular meaning behind it, but Nathan…
Nathan: A person who was used to be in our band named it and then we adapted the meaning. I personally think there is something behind just a funny surfer getting excited about riding a wave. If you take the meaning of ‘so pitted’ to abstraction is like when you’re surfing and the wave will turn over and a barrel will form: you can safely ride off the wave or get sucked into the barrel and eventually get smashed. That’s what ‘so pitted’ is. And it’s basically the idea of going through despite you know you are going to get smashed up. It’s the idea of doing what you love.
What inspires your music?
Liam: I love new wave and Devo and I take anything from them. They not only affect our music but also how I act on stage and my outfits. Jeannie loves Cocteau Twins and their aesthetic. We also have a passion for Nirvana, grunge music and bands like Rage Against The Machine, Smashing Pumpkins and Nine Inch Nails. However we never listed these bands as an actual influence. Somehow of course they do, but we have another angle to approach music and we get inspired by anything from films, art, faces I make, objects…
N: We listen to a lot of different music. There are bands that you would never say but they claim Janet Jackson as an inspiration! Also art has a big influence. We are all visual artists and we do arts installations. Jeannie works a lot with lights and does wonderful things.
How did the record come about? How did you get involved with Sub Pop?
N: The story is that one of the guys from Sub Pop came down to one of our shows and at the end he asked if we had anything ready to release. We actually didn’t have much at the time, most of the songs had still to be mixed. Everything came together when we met Dylan Wall, who has become our co-producer. He kept coming to our shows and we knew he worked with some good bands like Weed and Craft Spells. He showed a lot of interest in our music so we decided to team up and do the mixing together.
J: It took a lot of money and a long time, especially the mixing and the conversation with Sub Pop, but it’s totally worth the effort.
Is there a main theme for the album?
L: there is not just one theme. It’s more like different stories. In the song ‘woe’, where I say ‘am I gonna die/ I am not alive’, I talk about an experience I had with mushrooms when I poked myself in the eye and it caused this kind of minor ego-death for a split second which really shocked me. N: I had a similar experience with weed cookies. I have been eating them every day for a month. They changed me and I felt inspired. But of course the album it’s not only about this…
L: ‘Feed Me’ instead it’s about a high school experience I had when a bunch of stupid guys were really disrespectful to one of our teachers. The words those kids said came up to my mind again and I felt like I had to express this feeling.
What is your attitude on stage? Do you feel spontaneous?
N: I feel like we are a really good live band. We feel more confident playing live and definitely more spontaneous. We like to mess around on stage, switch instruments and do some unpredictable things. However we always try to add a bit of professionalism: we never stop when we’re playing unless a major breakdown to the instruments or the equipment occurs. The only thing we care about is to sound good.
L: I like sometimes to express different personalities on stage. When we went to the East Coast I wanted to have an East Coast character: I dressed in different clothes, weird make up and colours. And in Europe as well, I wanted to have another persona, so for example tonight I'm wearing my grandma's tracksuit…
What music are you listening to?
J: I listen to anything from country to folk. I was in an interview a while ago and the guy asked me what kind of music I was listening to and I said Justin Bieber. His reaction was like I said something blasphemous. People seem like they always have to explain or justify what kind of music they listen to but I don’t really care.
N: We grew up listening to Backstreet Boys as much as Nirvana and we still listen to them regardless any judgements about it. There is a lot of stuff that we don’t like but we are always open and try a bit of anything.
L: I was more into Spice Girls… but yeah, I do listen to many different genres, too.
It's the band's first time in Europe. How is the tour going?
J: We toured a lot in California and I really couldn’t wait for this experience. It’s great and very exciting even though really tiring.
N: I thought it was a bit too soon to come over Europe. I was a bit anxious about it but everything is going well and we really look forward to our next shows.
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Words: Stefania Fiorendi
Photography: Stella Asia Consonni
'neo' is out now.
