Dan Hartman and Charles Ingram of beautifully strange indie-rock band the impliers have a creativity pact that dates back to their high school days. The pair came up as bratty teenage punks in the storied Greenville, North Carolina scene. There, the twosome’s can-give-a-f#@$ indie-rock band was welcomed into the rarefied underground scene populated by members of now-iconic bands such as Future Islands, Valiant Thorr, and Municipal Waste. At 15, the guys vowed to not be like the adults they saw whose love of music got buried over by life.
Many years later, Dan and Charles are honoring their boyhood promise as puppeteers of the impliers. Their multi-media artistic explosion features sprawling psychedelic, electro indie-pop, comedic infomercials, cleverly hilarious visuals, and playfully tripped-out music videos. The Denver band’s debut LP, cocoon, out August 19th, is a fearlessly honest, introspective concept album with topics ranging from mental illness and relationships to mortality. cocoon will be the first record in a multiple-album concept series.
“It’s some Disney movie stuff—making good on our teenage dreams,” Dan says with a good-natured laugh. He continues: “One day, I just sent Charles a text, saying ‘we have a band now, it’s called the impliers, this is what we’re doing.’”
In this interview spotlight, I chat with the impliers about living the dream…and other stuff, too!
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Where are you from and how do You describe your style of music?
We are from Rocky Mount/Greenville, North Carolina but currently reside in Denver, Colorado. Our style is Psychedelic, Electronic alt-indie.
How did you get here? As in, what inspired or motivated you to take on this journey through music and the music biz?
We started out playing music together when we were 15 years old in a punk rock scene and played a lot of punk/metal shows as an indie-rock band. Then, we moved to different states and continued recording music separately. After years of exchanging our home recordings with each other, we decided to create the impliers, produce music seriously, and put it out into the world. Like, for reelz.
How does your latest project compare/contrast with your previous release(s)? Were you setting out to accomplish anything specific, follow a specific theme, or explore different styles of creation?
The latest endeavor of the impliers cocoon is the most focused, dedicated, and professional recorded music that we have ever made. Cocoon is a concept album that encompasses a range of human experiences, which carry personal meaning and are open to the listener’s interpretation. We have developed different styles throughout our estrangement and brought them to merge together into one cohesive sound.
Name the biggest challenge you faced as a creative?
The major challenges we have faced creating this record involve the PR sector, dealing with 3rd parties in the production process, and having our entire business hacked and shut down temporarily. Fortunately, with GRIT, our creative fires have never diminished.
What was the last song you listened to?
“Roller Disco” by Black Moth Super Rainbow was the alarm clock on my phone this morning. It’s pretty cool.
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? 8-tracks? Cassettes? CDs? MP3s? Streaming platforms?
Cassette tapes because they sound the best and last forever.
Where is the best place to connect with you and follow your journey?
It’s best to follow us on Instagram, but any social will do. We’re currently not engaging on Twitter due to the uncertainty & distractions. But, find us here: bio.to/theimpliers
I really appreciate Your time. Anything else before we sign off?
cocoon is one part in a series of concept albums. The upcoming albums will be released in designated segments of the time space continuum.
