image//james mcdowell words//dillon buss
The up-and-coming Brooklyn based electro-psychedelic soul group Body Language just finished their “Speaks” EP. Band members Matthew Young, Grant Wheeler, Angelica Bess, and Ian Chang create playful and melodic tunes that will brighten up your day. We had the pleasure to speak with Grant about the band, the instruments, their process, and sandwiches.
How did such a good name like “Body Language” come about?
There certainly wasn’t any “Eureka!” moment. Matt came up with name. The meaning is probably something a little different to each of us, but generally refers to our kinetic performances with both the crowd and us moving with little forethought; all instinct.
Surprisingly, there were a billion songs named Body Language but no band. Finders keepers!
Where are you guys from?
Broooooklyn. Bedstuy if you wanna get specific. We might find ourselves over in Bushwick in the next couple months.
How did this whole thing start?
It all started in a little ol’ Hartford, CT. We spun a weekly party at a dive called “Vegas BLVD,” and were coming up with pop remixes to play at the event. We were quickly bitten by the dance bug and started writing originals too, to spin in as well.
What are your influences?
Early influences came from our Vegas BLVD days and prior, which was riddled with dance music, Chicago House, and Detroit techno. Names that come to mind are Green Velvet, Other People Place, Metro Area, Elecktroids… tons of DFA artists. At the same time, there is a lot of more songwriter-driven artists that are really pulling our style towards a middle ground, like the Beach Boys, Otis Redding, Roy Ayers, Little Joy, St. Vincent, Animal Collective, and Grizzly Bear.
You just finished touring with Zero 7. What was that like?
Wonderful–we got to play for really enthusiastic crowds, and much bigger venues and more people than we’ve got to play for previously. We loved them and they loved right back.
But we’d also say challenging because we didn’t get to take Ian (our drummer) along for every show, due to the sheer size of Zero 7′s stage setup. Without that raw energy that Ian brings, we just had to convey that between the three of us. It meant we had to freak out three times harder than usual.
I was in your basement once and was enthralled by the mass collection of musical instruments you had. What would you say is your favorite?
Would you pick a favorite child? Well, you might but you would never tell them. [laughs] Anyway, all of them have a special purpose and could never tread on the other’s tracks. If we listened to each one of our tracks, I would say one or the other was a particular favorite because it made the track–it was the keystone, if you will.
Most used?
Probably the ones we use live and for recording; those being the Wurlitzer 200A and a Dave Smith Poly Evolver. The Poly Evolver is the most versatile for programming. Another poly synth we use all the time is a Juno 60. It can be big old lead and it can thread the needle on a mix. Either way, it’s the funk/the soul/the butter.
Most rare?
This one kind of just reminds us of a grandpa: a 1955 Clavinet II. Can’t stay in tune for more than a couple hours and doesn’t get used very often, but suddenly it comes out of left field saves the day… and then goes back to eating raisins and watching Love Boat re-runs.
Most epic?
Probably would have to say the Oberheim OBXa. A flagship 80′s synthesizer, made very famous by the likes of Prince, Queen, and New Order. In fact, it’s the same size as Prince himself and if they ever fought I’d definitely bet on the Obie because I think it weighs more than him. Anyway, it makes the most gigantic leads and basses you’ve ever heard. No big deal.
How the hell did you get that grand piano down there?
Four guys. One dream… and there’s a cement staircase leading into our basement. We learned how to actually move a grand piano from a friend of ours. Halfway down the stairs and like an hour into the process, it got stuck in cement overpass in the stairwell, wedged so we couldn’t move it any farther. After listening to drunk bums walking up and telling us to do this and that, our hopes diminished and we were preparing to just leave it in the stairwell overnight. Like some angel from a Disney movie, this guy walks up and is like, “Hey, I used to be a piano mover. Here’s what you gotta do.” So he helped us move it down the stairs in this suicide style, if-it-slips-one-of-us-dies fashion and, 10 minutes later, it’s sitting on the basement floor. We could only equate the experience to child birth.
There’s this one song you guys made that’s about meeting up on the dance floor and making sandwiches. It’s very sexual… how did that song form? It’s so catchy.
“Sandwiches” is originally by the Detroit Grand Pubahs. However, we only took a loosely interpreted version of the lyrics for that one. It started off as a simple Detroit style track instrumental, and we started playing it live during a band practice, just goofing around. We were spitting out ideas for lyrics and sandwiches just came out and fit to the cadence and rhythm to the track. As an afterthought for the recording, we added a lot of the twists and turns.
Was your process similar for “Huffy Ten Speed”?
It wasn’t the same, no. We started out playing live drums in a room with others playing aux percussion, and recorded the entire thing with one well-placed room microphone. The feel of that one unique drum loop we created just set off the entire composition. The main riff, written on a Farfisa organ, spoke pretty loudly in lieu of the drums, and then all of the accompaniment fell into place. The whole song idea was basically done in one session. The vocals were written more or less how Tom Waits says he writes vocals–it just started with
vocal sounds that didn’t make any sense. Phrases like, “Get on,” appeared out of the fray and then “Huffy Ten Speed” came after. [laughs] I think those are the only words in the song…
Body Language – Huffy Ten Speed
Who have you guys collaborated with, made remixes for, etc?
We’ve worked in the studio with the likes of Machinedrum, Passion Pit, Niia, Theophilus London, D Gookin, and Bluejay. We’ve done remixes for Passion Pit, Toro y Moi, Machinedrum, Marina and the Diamonds, Jesse Boykins, and Yes Giantess, and are working on a couple for Neon Indian and Zero 7.
Any spot in Brooklyn that I have to check out while I’m around your turf?
Castro’s on Myrtle Ave, our go-to spot for Huevos Rancheros and other Mexican deeelites.
What’s next for Body Language?
We have a whole album worth of songs we’re finishing; we’re playing most of them live at this point and prepping the rest to play. More remixes in the works, setting up shows for SXSW, moving our studio to larger commercial space, and getting ready for the long crazy haul of taking this full time.
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To listen to, or see what’s new with Body Language, check out their MySpace page.