I became a fan of Atlanta based prog-experimental-jazz group Identikit as soon as I saw the video for their single Stargaze.
The group released their album Mind’s Eye Meteorology on March 1st and I was fortunate enough to grab some of their time for the below interview.
Full Q&A along with music, a music video and links 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.)
We’re based in Atlanta and make music that is, for better or worse, inarguably and unabashedly new. We fuse genres from klezmer to prog metal to salsa to orchestral rock to hip hop to, to, to; anything that comes our way that we can make a part of our expression will be in there.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?
Identikit’s origin is largely reactionary, the result of listening to a few too many guitar bands. Not that there aren’t plenty of guitar bands we love. The underlying question is something like this: If, as a musician, I can use *any* sounds to express myself, doesn’t it seem pretty unlikely that the most ubiquitous sounds are also the ones that represent me best?
How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?
“Mind’s Eye Meteorology” is our first full-length release, and since part of our shtick is incorporating a lot of different kinds of music in our songs, it shows off that element of our music better than the two shorter EPs we’ve released previously. Our songwriting and arrangement has also developed quite a bit since those EPs, which we released back in 2017. This album also features our most topically relevant lyrics, including songs concerned with religious hypocrisy and the absurd national gun violence epidemic.
Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this oversaturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?
I have no complaints about technology – if I had to write all the sheet music for this band out by hand, I’d… well, I’d be much better at writing sheet music, I guess. I’m not sure. Obviously, it’s really easy not to be noticed or sought out by strangers online when digital music is ubiquitous, but it’s just the nature of making music in 2019. The world doesn’t owe us listens, likes, follows. It’s up to us to get our music out there.
What was the last song you listened to?
“Clubland” – Elvis Costello
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
I’m pretty practical – love me some big vinyl record cover art, but digital files and streaming win for convenience. We have considered releasing our music on player piano rolls. They’ll be back in vogue in 2020, calling it now.
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
Bandcamp is great because we have complete control of how the music is distributed. Beyond that, so long as it plays music, it’s good in my book.
Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?
Spotify and Bandcamp are the best places to listen to us; Facebook and Instagram are best to keep up with our shows, updates, and attempted witticisms. Links:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/69nhY7BOTu0827ksy3hDyl
Bandcamp: https://identikitatl.bandcamp.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/identikitatl/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/identikitatl/
Anything else before we sign off?
It seems unlikely that our grandmas will see this interview, but just in case any of them do – Hi, Grandma!
