[SKOA Premiere & Interview] Bedroom Debuts a Stream of His New Album 'Vivid' and Talks Instrumentation, His New Akai MPD26, and Favorite Movies
Bedroom, aka Noah Kittinger, has been a SKOA favorite since we premiered his Toys EP back in February, and since then our musician/blogger bond has grown much stronger. That isn't the only thing that has grown, as Kittinger's talent and abilities have come a long way over the course of five months. He has been experimenting in his bedroom, taking the sounds he established with his debut EP and tinkering with them, expanding them. The result is Vivid, the debut LP from Kittinger, who is now signed on Furious Hooves Records. The LP sees him exploring darker territory, delving into a myriad of instrumentation that evokes a sense of addictive tension. As a whole, the album is a captivating piece of work, one that finds thoughtful provocation in its simplicity, and we here at SKOA are pleased to premiere the debut stream of Bedroom's Vivid. Listen to the album in its entirety below, and make sure to head over to Bedroom's Bandcamp in a few hours to download it for yourself.
Along with the premiere stream of his new album, I took the opportunity to interview Kittinger, asking him a number of questions that have been on my mind these past few months. In the interview, he and I discuss his song-making process, the progression from his EP to his LP, the possibilities of live performances, as well as which movie in The Mummy trilogy is best. Read the interview in full after the jump.
Adrian: The Bedroom music project has always, to me, evoked a nostalgic quality. What is it that you want to portray in your music, and how do you achieve this?
Noah Kittinger: I just want an outlet for my thoughts and experiences. I write music about my thoughts or situations I find or have found myself in. Other than that I just love making music and sharing it with people. I think I achieve that by just being honest with myself when I write. I don’t write something and think “oh is it too this or is it too that, Do I need to change this to make it sound like that” or anything. I just make everything the way I hear it in my head, I don’t try to make it sound a certain way. Music can be received in different ways for different people. For instance, you find my music to be nostalgic, which is awesome. Someone else might find my music to be completely different. It’s cool to see how people take in my music.
A: Each of your songs carries with it a certain mood, and it generally comes across in the instrumentation. What goes into your song-making process, and how much importance do you place on instrumentation as opposed to, say, lyrics and vocals?
NK: When I make a song, I usually start with a melody of some sort and begin to build somewhat of an instrumental, and I add in vocals later. Like for my song “Trees,” I had that done as an instrumental for like three weeks and one day found a vocal pattern I liked and wrote lyrics up on the spot and recorded them. That’s really how I do each of my songs. Some vocal patterns come easier than others, some don’t. My song “Cmptr” was intended to have vocals in it, but I felt it sounded better with none. I’d say both the vocals and instrumentations are at the same level of importance to me. I give each an equal amount of energy. My lyrics aren’t really that deep or anything, if anything they’re extremely simple and plainly put. Like I said, I write them on the spot and they come from whatever I’m dealing with or thinking of at that moment.
A: Your Toys EP is special in that, no matter what, it always reminds me of childhood, of simple times. Vivid, your debut LP, on the other hand, is much darker in its tone and sound. Describe the differences between the EP and the LP, and the progression of your music between then and now.
NK: I feel like the LP is more experimental than the EP. I tried a lot of new stuff on this album, such as recording techniques and even some field recording of people talking and stuff. I’d say the progression is pretty much just experimentation. Both releases were recorded in the same way, just me and some recording equipment in my bedroom. I think the EP was kind of just me finding my sound, and the LP is me capitalizing on it.
A: What went into influencing this new album? Whether it is life, friends, school, or other musicians, lay it all out there.
NK: A lot influenced the album. Hard to point them all out actually, but I know summer had a pretty big influence on it. The people I’ve sent it to say it has a beachy vibe to it. I dunno. But I also listened to a lot of electronic music while making it. There’s a label in Orlando called Relief in Abstract records, and they have some incredible stuff on there. XXYYXX, GRANT, and Fortune Howl. I got really into that whole scene during the recording of the album. I’d say that influenced me in some ways, to use more electronic sounding drum kits and stuff I guess.
A: Now that the debut full release is out, what is it that you hope will come of it, and how do you hope fans and friends will respond to it?
NK: I hope this album just brings me more listeners and that people will really enjoy it. I made the album I wanted to make. I just hope people dig it haha. I have a pretty good feeling about this album, though.
A: I know you’ve been tinkering with the idea of live performances, even getting your hands on Ableton and an Akai MPD26. How will you be applying your music to a live setting, and what excites you about the idea of performing live?
NK: Yeah I got that. I’ve been practicing using it in a live aspect, and will hopefully play some shows soon. Like house shows and such, whatever I can get, I’ll take it. I’m excited to just take each song and re-create it live using my MPD. So far it’s working out pretty well.
A: If there is one goal you want to achieve musically, one major aspiration, what is it and why?
NK: I just want to tour and meet people, meet fans. I think it’d be cool to tour and see the aftermath of what the internet does for me.
A: Growth is an important part of music, so if there is an area that you wanted to improve in or a genre or style you wished to explore, what would it be?
NK: It’s hard to say as of right now. I’m always listening and getting influenced by different types of music. I mean I could say in this moment that I wanted to make an acoustic based album, but over time I’d probably end up finding new artists and not be interested in making an acoustic based album anymore you know? So it’s really hard to tell. But, I’d like to make more beachy sounding music. (I’ve been listening to DIIV’s new record haha). I dunno. Time will tell.
A: Finally, just going to end on some quick-fire questions. Go.
Favorite musician? Hmm.. Either Baths or Youth Lagoon.
Favorite movie? Gummo or The Pursuit of Happyness.
Favorite TV show? Man, I’m not sure. I don’t watch TV much anymore. Like not much AT ALL. But, I do enjoy watching Adult Swim. There’s some funny stuff on there. I think it’s cool how they’re releasing music now too (laughs).
The Mummy 1, 2, or 3? 2.