Graveyard Club recorded a collection of haunted, synth-laden songs in a 19th century mansion in St. Paul, Minnesota in the fall of 2013. These songs would comprise the group’s lo-fi debut EP Sleepwalk, released in January 2014. Founding members Matthew Schufman (vocals, synths) and Michael Wojtalewicz (guitar) began the project inspired by a unique list of shared interests: the classic short stories of sci-fi author Ray Bradbury, the music of Ryan Gosling’s little-known band Dead Man’s Bones, and a fascination with both 50’s crooners and 80’s pop music.
In the latter half of 2015 and early 2016, Graveyard Club wrote and recorded their sophomore LP, Cellar Door at Humans Win! studio in Minneapolis. The album stays true to their dreamy new-wave sound while venturing into more ambitious sonic territory.
In this interview spotlight, we chat with Graveyard Club about the new project, influences and more.
Full Q&A, links, and streams available below.
https://soundcloud.com/graveyardclub/diamond-city
Let’s dive a little deeper into You, the artist and your music. What attracted you to this genre(s) or style(s)?
I’ve always been into 80’s synth sounds. As a kid, I had a couple cheap Casio keyboards that I would play with and just get lost for hours. As a teenager, I got into a lot of British bands that used darker synth tones – bands like New Order, Depeche Mode, and The Cure. Over the years, I played in a lot of guitar bands, but always wanted to explore a darker synth sound.
What led you into this journey with music? And further, what drives you to push it out to the public?
Songwriting has always been close to my heart. As an introverted person, sometimes explaining something in plain English is more difficult than writing a song. Songwriting is a way to admit things, confront things, and grieve things in a way that was/is therapeutic to me. I think when you love something so much, you want to try to share it out and make connections, and see if anyone else responds.
Who or what influences your creativity? Have your tastes in music changed over time?
I think our creativity is influenced by almost everything; physical environment, weather, art, pop culture, travel. As a band, I think we are most influenced by other bands we hear that resonate with us. Personally, my tastes have grown with time but I still have my all-time favorites that will always be.
Were you trying to accomplish anything specific on this new project? Creatively or otherwise?
With Graveyard Club, the band and I wanted to create a distinct vision and stick to it. We knew we wanted to focus on synth sounds, but also wanted to incorporate some oldies sensibilities and horror themes.
What was the last song you listened to?
I’m listening to “Everywhere” by Fleetwood Mac right now 🙂
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
I love a good album on Vinyl, but I would have to go with MP3’s. Its kind of amazing to be able to have a bands entire discography in your pocket….
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
We probably use Spotify the most out of those, because its so easy…but Bandcamp is probably the best for artists trying to be compensated for their work.
Other than the digital era overwhelming us with access to an abundance of music, what is the biggest challenge you face when trying to connect with or find new fans?
We just finished our first tour, so we’ve had limited exposure to audiences outside the Midwest. I think having the time and resources to write, record, and tour have been our biggest challenge, but we are working hard to change that!
Where is the best place to connect with you online? Discover more music?
We’re active on most social media platforms – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat. We’re also on Spotify and Soundcloud, and those are probably best for checking out tunes.
Anything else you’d like to add before signing off?
No, thanks for the questions!
https://soundcloud.com/graveyardclub/nightcrawler
