Recently I was able to schedule a quick phone call with an artist named Twin Shadow before he played a concert at Washington, D.C.’s Lincoln Theatre opening for Neon Trees, in support of his upcoming record called Cadet, that will be released everywhere on November 20th via Dom Recs. In this interview, I asked this talented artist about key tracks from his seventh studio album, plus where he finds most of his inspiration for his art. If you’re enjoying the interview, please consider pre-ordering Cadet here.
Thank you so much for your time today. You’ve been opening up for Neon Trees this month. How have the shows been going for you, and what feedback have you received from concert-goers about your performance?
Yeah, it’s been amazing. Neon Trees. First of all, they’re incredible people. They’re very sweet. That’s always really nice. And then, we’ve got a really nice response from their audience. I love that their audience is like, really, really nice. It’s a really great mixture of people, younger to middle age. And they’ve been really receptive. They love it, mostly when I do guitar solos. <Laughter> I said the other day that I don’t think my guitar solos were ever appreciated in my entire career, until this tour!
<Laughter> That’s funny, because they’re more like pop rock, so maybe there’s not as much room for guitar solos until they see you on stage?
Exactly, yeah!
So how would you describe a typical Twin Shadow concert?
I mean, it varies. It depends on what songs I’m doing, and it depends on the setup of the band. This particular setup is where my friend, Black Paw, and I were where he came out on the road with me, and it’s like a two-person setup. So it’s very electronic. We’re doing a lot of synthesizers and drum machines and stuff like that. But it’s also very rock oriented, because I’m playing guitar, a lot of guitar, and I don’t know…we just try to hype the crowd. We have a very, sort of explosive set for this tour, and I guess it’s sort of a greatest hits <set>. It’s probably my top-streaming songs. So, there’s a little bit for everyone to love.
Yeah, and I absolutely love your current single called “Half Asleep.” Can you walk me through your writing process of this one?
I’ll try to! I’m trying to remember…I’ve worked on so much music this year here in the last two years. I put out this record, called Georgie, last year and then immediately went into making this one. I’ve also been painting a lot, so I have a hard time remembering the process, or whatever. Well, what’s interesting is, it absolutely came from an iteration on three songs that I’ve written in the past. So it’s like there’s an old song called “Gory Parts,” and the idea there’s a lyric in the song that says, ”Maybe I don’t know your story. Maybe you left out the gory parts that make you more human than madness,” something like that. And the lyrics are really about sort of just what we hide from each other and the way that we always sort of leave out a large chunk of who we are when we meet new people. And me, the character, or whoever the character is in the song, is sort of saying, maybe it’s time for us to shed some of the wall, the layers of armor and expose some of our more sensitive or dark parts to each other.
Yeah, that’s really cool. What continues to keep you motivated as an artist. I mean you’re gearing up to release your seventh album called Cadet. So what keeps you motivated?
I’m obsessed with learning. I come from a family of very educated people, and people who are educators. Some of my sisters are teachers. My father was a professor, and Mother certainly is sort of a professor of all things in life. So I was like the black sheep, the uneducated one, because I just dropped out of school and did badly in school, but I think I carry the same hunger for learning that the rest of my family does, and I really think that that’s what keeps me growing as a musician. I sort of didn’t ever believe that I’ve figured anything out, and so I’m constantly in the process of figuring things out.
That’s awesome. And I actually used to be a teacher too. So yeah, it was in my blood to give it a shot because my parents were both educators, so that’s why I kind of connected to that answer too. Can you describe your upbringing as a kid, and what led you to a career in music?
it’s hard to say exactly the moment. It feels like it’s been with me my entire life, in a way, but I remember my dad took me to a Richie Havens concert when I was really young. That left a big impression on me, but I mean, I was certainly obsessed with more music than that before. I was really into R&B groups, like Boyz II Men, and I was into Maxwell and D’Angelo. It’s hard for me to say, because it feels like I’ve been a musician since I was born. But I don’t even know what sparked it.
Yeah, and I think you and I are the same age…I saw on Wikipedia that you turned 42 in March.
Yep!
My birthday is March 5th, and I also turned 42. But, where do you find most of your inspiration when you want to write a song?
I think writing has always been something that I was very timid about when I was younger, and something that I then deeply fell in love with when I was 18. And now, in a world sort of where, I generally believe that AI could write you a pretty decent song that people would actually care about. It’s sort of the thing that we’re up against. That’s what I don’t actively think about. But what I’m saying is I feel that figuring out what it means to meaningfully communicate in a meaningful way in such a strange time in history is still very interesting to me. I wouldn’t say I figured it out. And I wouldn’t say that I have any idea how to do it in necessarily an effective way, but it’s something that I’m constantly trying to do. And I think that word is actually always a word that I love. The word “trying”. It’s so funny, like a lot of people try to distance themselves from a word like that. People are so success-oriented, but I am kind of obsessed with the failure, or trying and failing to communicate things. And somewhere inside of that, there’s some really inspirational elements. It’s hard to put my finger on it, but somewhere there’s a mystery inside of trying. And trying towards nothing…
And that’s a sign of an artist! You’re willing to take risks along the way too and get to the human element, as opposed to AI, like you mentioned before, that’s kind of dominating people’s ears these days. So another question I have for you is, you published a novel in 2012 called The Night of the Silver Sun, I believe, right?
Well, no…this has been a part of my Wikipedia page where it should maybe be modified. So the story with Night of the Silver Sun is that it was written like a short piece of fiction for a magazine, okay? And then I developed that into a screenplay, and was working on turning it into a novel. And I never published the piece, there was a piece of it that was published, and somehow that it might have been like me as a younger artist, just lying for fun, or it was like that I did that, and then it got blown up into this thing.
Yeah, so my main question was about if you’re ever gonna dabble into that type of writing process again as an artist?
I would love to write a novel, but it’s funny. I’ve been reading a lot more recently, and the more I read, the more I realize how hard it is to actually write. Anything that’s like long form and interesting. What I have done is I have started painting a lot, and that’s something that I’m deeply involved in. And people can actually buy my paintings and see the things that I made.
That’s awesome. So what’s the vibe in the DC area like in general? I mean, there’s so much negativity in the political spectrum these days, but what’s the vibe like tonight because you’re in the city today…
It was great. I saw tons of Howard University people out in the streets partying. I always think it’s so funny…there are real world effects of the ridiculousness that is the American government, in general, on both sides of the aisle. But the funny thing is, the internet sort of exploits the hysteria around what is happening, and it makes us think of these places full of tension. And other than the way too many police that I see around, it seems to me that everybody’s having a good time and taking it in stride. It’s always nice to get on the ground and be like, “Oh, this is just normal human beings trying to live their lives without the oppressive force that is waiting in the wings…”
And that U Street corridor, in general, is just legendary for Ben’s Chili Bowl, the 9:30 Club, and stuff like that. So hopefully you’re getting to experience some of that too.
Totally! We had some really good Ethiopian food today.
Oh, sweet! So the last question I have for you is that every artist has a story to tell with their music. What do you hope anyone who takes the time to listen to your unique brand of music will feel when they take the time to listen to it?
I think that the thing that I get from most people is that my music taps into some sort of memory bank for people. Whether that’s a feeling of nostalgia or a feeling of youthfulness, something about childhood experiences. A lot of people really always mention or talk about their breakups and how <my music> helps them through that. So I think there’s like a sentimental nature to my music that people get, and I often hear people talk about that.
That’s great, and I wish you the best of luck for tonight’s show with Neon Trees! I know you’re gonna kill it. It looks like the tour is going well, and I hope it continues to go well for you.
Thanks so much, man. I appreciate it.
Enjoy your evening!