AMFM have released the spacious and poetic track, “This Town”. The single is the first song to be released from the New York City group’s upcoming Brevity EP and gives a strong indication of the next stage of AMFM’s rich soundscape development. This soundscape first came to attention on 2016’s self-titled debut EP, and in the period since then AMFM have refined and elaborated on the sound that gained praise from Groundsounds as “addicting” and Punchland as “wild and weird goodness”.
AMFM was born as the studio moniker for David Caruso’s self-written and self-performed compositions and, on Brevity, he once again takes complete control of all performance elements on this EP. To fully realize the sound, Caruso teams up with producer/engineer Harper James (Eighty Ninety)], based at Brooklyn’s Degraw Sound Studio (the same partnership that reaped such strong results on the AMFM EP). The outcome of this creative pairing is, as now expected, another sublimely realized slice of patient pop tempered with introspective indie rock.
In this interview spotlight, I chat with AMFM about the latest release, motivations, challenges and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
I write everything for AMFM and when I am writing i’m all over the place in my head style-wise, mostly because I love almost all music. I grew up surrounded by all the great 80’s pop music that was coming out so that is very much in my musical DNA. From this I took away a deep love for synths which is a big part of my sound and arrangements. I have been playing guitar obsessively since I was about 8 and played jazz gigs for about 10+ solid years prior to staring AMFM. All of that really contributed to what satisfies me harmonically, but it makes getting to the end result of finishing a song difficult. I tend to think about a song for a long time while i’m writing it. I doesn’t come quick 1,2,3. Also every morning I start the day listening to the NYC classical station at home for couple hours. Totally inspiring and huge feelings in all those compositions. It gives me a feeling or mood and try to write to that or capture it harmonically. But in the end, really, its coming out as guitar/synth indie rock. I think the roots of rock are evident but i wont shy away from a slick idea in the studio if it fits.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to stay the course?
I got into music at a very young age…like at 4yrs old or something i wanted to be Elvis Presley. My mom said I wanted to dye my hair black! I picked up guitar in 4th grade and i was off and running. Playing and transcribing sort of came naturally to me which made it very exciting and encouraged me to keep going. I got into playing sports a lot too growing up, but music always was there and took up most of my free time. If I was watching TV i’d have a guitar in my hands and my attention span was short when it came to other things.
I have been so grateful for being able to make music throughout the years. These days I seem to get inspiration from the people I’m around or something I just heard. There is nothing better than some sort of inspiration that makes you want to write a song when there isn’t one in your head at the moment. I don’t think there will ever be a time when I’m not writing songs regardless of what happens….its just in me. I’m always amazed when I meet people that say that they “used to be” a guitar player or whatever. For me i think music brings me sanity.
How is Brevity different than your debut? Did you set out to accomplish anything specific?
I think my sound has changed a bit and my writing is simpler, you know? Having played jazz for all those years made me fear the I-IV and i felt that things always had to be more than what they needed. I used to write something and then feel that it was done but that maybe i should add another part or break. Now I really don’t care about any of that. The song could be one chord if thats all it needed. The first single “This Town” off of Brevity is like the first chord progression that you learn on guitar, but there are a billion songs in that progression! A few years ago i think i would have denied myself from writing with those chords. Every album captures a moment in time for the artist so as long as the records or songs are moving in a new direction its all good.
Do you face challenges as an indie musician in a digital age? How has technology helped you (assuming it helps)?
I think that for indie musicians like myself technology is a big plus. no longer do you need to gig across the county with your record hoping that people will listen to it (although the gigging part is awesome!). It quite easy to share music online with people these days and bands have certainly gotten creative on how they do it. Socials are super helpful and I should admit that i do love Instagram. I love seeing other people out there and that I can share whatever I choose with fans or followers.
The challenge exists because I just don’t like maintaining our socials that much. I really just want to make music so I have to force myself with updates and other stuff, but in the end I’m always happy after its done. Also there is SO much good music available to listen to online that a band can easily get buried in the mix. Its hard to stick out.
Where can we connect with you online and discover more music?
The bands website is www.amfmtheband.com where you can find everything. Our music is on Spotify, Apple, and Soundcloud.
Anything else before we sign off?
Yeah we are going to be playing some NYC shows before the years over so if you’re in town look us up and come on out.
