In Conversation with 

Plumerai

November 2006 

A little background: 

Plumerai are another signing in the long

List of interview done through the excellent

Silbermedia label. First, Remora, Tara Van Flower

Alan Sparrowhawk (Low) and currently Heller

Mason and now the excellent Plumerai – I have

Certainly found Silbermedia one of the most

Interesting, independent record labels I have

Come across in ages. 

And Plumerai are certainly no expection to this.

According to the press release that comes along

With their debut EP ‘Res Cogitans’ – they are a post 

pop band from  Boston who are equally 

influenced by 80’s punk (The Misfits, 

Minor Threat etc), British alternative

(The Cure, Cranes, PJ Harvey) and modern

modern art rock (Radiohead, Gogol Bordello).

Certainly listening to this debut EP, I could certainly

See the shoegazing guitars and lines, with a clear

Patti Smith edge to the vocals, which would appeal

To anybody really into punk from the 80’s or

Shoegazing music from 90’s or more importantly

Just people who enjoy listening to somebody a little

Bit different.

Of course, they were a natural choice to be interviewed

For ‘Setting Sun’ so I contacted the band and the

Enclosed interview followed shortly.

Thanks to all in Plumerai.. I look forward to 

Hearing the full length album.

For more details please contact the band

Through silbermedia on:

Email: silberspy@silbermedia.com 

Website: silbermedia.com

Or the band themselves on:

Info@plumeri.com 

Cheers

AEN 

 

 

 

 

 

Setting Sun:

 

How are things and what’s happening at the moment?

 

Elizabeth:

 

I’m watching judge hatchet

 

James:

 

taking time off to promote the e.p. & plan the

recording of the new album.

 

 

Setting Sun:

 

Can you next tell a little bit about the history of

‘Plumerai’ – What started it off or as I like to say

sometimes – who fired the starting pistol?

 

Elizabeth:

 

I guess it was craigslist. plumerai was looking for a singer and

they put up an ad and i answered.

 

Martin:

 

Plumerai technically had been around in one form

or another since 2004 but it wasn’t until Elizabeth

joined that it actually became Plumerai…and then

when Todd joined and James moved to bass the group

actually became an entity and not just me writing songs

and hoping for the best with who I was attempting to

make music with.  Then Brian from Silber Records decided

to release our EP so we got to work on that and have been

writing, recording and playing little tours and one

off shows ever since.

 

James:

 

I would say martin started it originally. I've always

been around to help & give my input.

 

Setting Sun:

 

Music wise, what are your influences and what have

you been listening to recently?

 

Elizabeth:

 

Faith no more, Atmosphere, Buddy holly, The b-52s

 

Martin:

 

Gogol Bordello, DeVotchka, ViaRomen, Hefner,

Throw Rag, The Cramps and Spermbirds all have been

making the rounds. And I haven’t listened to them much

lately but the Cure is pretty much ingrained in me so

despite how I feel about their current stuff they’ll

probably always be an influence.

 

James:

 

Biggest influences have always been cranes & the cure,

but other faves have always played a part in our

development: hooverphonic, nick cave & the badseeds,

siouxsie & the banshees, lush & portishead. 

 

for the past couple of years bands like gogol bordello

& devotchka have been inspiring although i find myself

listening to a lot of old misfits, samhain & d.r.i. lately. 

will see how this affects the sessions.

 

Todd:

 

I've been listening to the new Blood Brothers album

'Young Machetes' pretty much daily since I got it about

a month ago. Besides that, AFI's 'Decemberunderground',

Blonde Redhead's 'In An Expression Of The Inexpressible',

and I just got Nas's 'Illmatic' like two weeks ago.

That shit is bomb. For real.

 

Setting Sun:

 

I know at the moment, you just about have a

EP / Mini album out called “ Res Cogitans’ which itself

is a great idea for the title of the CD. Can you tell us

a little about the sessions or the CD, and how doing

it live (if you have done it live) compares to this album /EP?

 

Elizabeth:

 

Well, the ep is out and we're working on a full length

which should be out maybe in the summer? as far as

recording it goes, it was a very organic experience

in the sense that we mixed it ourselves so we had

a lot of control of how it sounded instead of having

someone else dictate the feel. as far as doing it live,

there are a lot of intricacies that are on the cd but we

can't really do live cuz we don't have enough people to

play them but we're working it out.

 

James:

 

We had very limited time to track the bulk of the

songs.  we were granted use of a space, but we had

to start after business hours (11pm) & be out by

before 11am when they opened again.

 

it was hectic bringing in all of our own recording

gear & isntruments, set it up, audition &

then perform/record ourselves.  everyone was very

tired.  the remainder of the tracking & mixing was

done at my apartment. the live versions are

stripped down, but with more bite.  we try to make a

four piece band sound like a six piece without using

backing tracks.

 

Todd:

 

It is slightly harder to play live, only in that there

are only three instruments and a vocal melody at

any givin time, so we have to work a little harder to fill

out space.

 

 

Setting Sun:

 

I think my favourite track on the album is the

title track ‘En Vole’ – can you tell us a little bit more

about this track?

 

Martin:

 

Yeah me too.  Not sure what to say really since the

song sort of speaks for itself…but it’s kind of

Spanish influenced.  Can’t really talk about it lyrically

but this song has two of my favourite parts from the EP.

1.)    being the vocals that come in right after the intro

      that’s coming out of the break

2.)    being the accordion part. 

It’s cool to play live although it usually leaves the

pickguards blood splattered.

 

 

Setting Sun:

 

What’s next for yourself? I believe you are

currently working on some new material at the moment?

How does this compare to this EP etc?

 

Elizabeth:

 

It's going to be an extension of the EP. we just want to

keep making music that we like and create songs that

you wouldn't think could be played by one band.

 

James:

 

We plan to spend the next month finishing new songs

& getting everything tracked. except for a show or two,

 

December will be spent mixing & hopefully by January our

new album will be done. the new songs are definitely

catchier than the e.p. tracks.  based on the new songs

we currently play live, the songwriting has expanded

further incorporating new influences & different

arrangements.  so the full-length will be catchier

& more dynamic.

 

 

Setting Sun:

 

A few more light hearted questions to finish off

with… Firstly, what would you be your dream job if you

were not a rock and roll star?

 

Elizabeth:

 

I would either be working on cars or

travelling doing humanitarian work

 

Martin:

 

I’d be a bad MotherTrucker!

 

James:

 

Astronaut

 

 

Setting Sun:

 

What would you like to be doing when you are 60?

 

Eliazbeth:

 

Posing nude

 

Martin:

 

Going to the Jupiter.

 

James:

 

Sleeping

 

Todd:

 

Relaxing in Hawaii with my wife, my dog, a banana

tree, and some pot plants. Still playing music, of course.

 

Setting Sun:

 

What will you be doing when you are 60?

 

Eliazbeth:

 

Posing nude

 

Martin:

 

Rotting

 

James:

 

Sleeping

 

Todd:

 

Probably living under a bridge

somewhere.

 

Setting Sun:

 

Lastly, something light to finish off (Borrowed

from a pal's zine almost) –  Imagine you were ship

wrecked on a desert Island and could have (Clearly

have second sight here – lol) the choice of having 5

records or Cd's with you with a stereo of course- what

would be your desert Island discs?

 

Elizabeth:

 

1)      Something from neil young,

 

2)      stravinsky (fire bird suite),

 

3)      faith no more (album of the year),

 

4)        Thomas Newman

 

5)      The B- 52’s  

 

Martin:

 

1)      Gogol Bordello MultiKultiContra;

 

2) Cure – Disintegration ;

 

3) Pamelia Kurstin live solo set recording;

 

4) Hefner – Best of;

 

5) The Misfits – Legacy Of Brutality

James:

 

1)      siouxsie & the banshees: kiss in a dreamhouse,

 

2)      cardigans: life,

 

3)      cranes: loved,

 

4)      samhain: november coming fire,

 

5)      nick cave & the

5)badseeds: tenderprey

 

 

Todd:

 

1)      Led Zeppelin's 'How The West Was Won',

 

2)      'The Beatles (White Album)',

 

3)      Curtis Mayfield- 'Curtis/Live!',

 

4)       The Vandals- 'Live at The House of Blues',

 

5)       'The Basement Tapes' by Bob Dylan & The Band

5)