Start Listening To: Pastel Blank
Walk away from discomfort to the psyched-up vigour of ‘Terracotta Sunroom’.
“Like Stephen Malkmus and David Byrne huffing glue then playing table tennis while Prince skulks the perimeter, occasionally offering commentary,” says Angus Watt on Pastel Blank’s sound that could be created only as a result of a higher order’s inner chaos. By accident, the revelation got transmitted to the Watt’s brain and nothing has ever been the same. Struck by the head-nodding, stick-in-the-ass attitude of gig-goers, he wanted to force them to let loose and go wild to groove-inducing tracks.
A few years and band members later, we can dance away to their disco inferno of the new single ‘Terracotta Sunroom’ and soon to come debut album. Today the mastermind behind the band, Angus, runs with us through their story so far.
Can you tell us who you are, where you’re from and about the music you make?
My name is Angus Watt. I’m from Victoria, British Columbia. With Pastel Blank, I make rock music that’s funky, playful, and a bit wonky.
How did it all start?
I started Pastel Blank as an entirely different band in 2017, but when the other members went to school or got busy with other projects, I decided to wipe the slate clean and start over sonically. I wrote most of what would become Pastel Blanc, our upcoming album, in my parent’s basement in 2018.
At the time that I was writing these songs, I realized that nobody was dancing at any of the local shows I was going to. In the crowd, there were often a lot of pensive, cross-armed head-nodders, but not many people letting loose or visibly enjoying themselves. This seemed antithetical to the whole point of going out on a Friday night. So, in turn, I wanted to make music that would get people grooving away from self-conscious discomfort.
From the beginning, Pastel Blank has been a rotating lineup of collaborators and players. Oliver [Hollingshead], who plays drums in the band, has been a writing partner/production wizard since the early days and was also a really big part of bringing Pastel Blanc to fruition.
Can you tell us a bit about your new single ‘Terracotta Sunroom’?
I wanted to make a song that would be perfect to walk to, à la ‘I Wanna Be Your Lover’ by Prince or ‘Solid Slider’ by Tatsuro Yamashita. There is something truly beautiful about stepping out on a sunny day, popping in your earbuds, and strutting in sync with your soundtrack. So with the metronome blasting on my monitors, I started working on the song by walking around the basement to various tempos, trying to find the right cadence.
At the time, I was pretty obsessed with Flannery O’Connor’s work, so the lyrics were largely inspired by Hazel Motes and Asa Hawkes from Wise Blood. I had this image in my head of fervent street preachers going into ecstatics in order to sell their brand of belief. The lyrical themes steered the tone of the song towards a slightly darker, gothic-disco sorta vibe.
You’re about to release a debut record later this year. What’s the concept behind it?
We wanted to make something that stayed true to the spirit of the original demos.
Basically, the demo/writing process was this: I would go hermit-mode for a day or two, writing and recording at the same time, capturing the immediacy of ideas as they arose. Oliver would then write the drum parts, and help tighten up arrangements. I wrote and arranged the songs on the album mostly on my own, with the notable exception of Picture Perfect (Oliver wrote the string arrangement in MIDI - without a MIDI controller. Pure click and drag, psycho stuff).
When we started recording with David Parry, I emphasized that I wanted to limit ourselves to something like 3 takes per track, max. It was important to me that the performances should feel like the person playing is stumbling through a new idea for the first or second time, rather than us spending a bunch of time trying to get technically “perfect” takes.
I think most artists have experienced the disappointment of trying to reproduce a demo all shiny and new-like, only to totally lose the magic of the original recording. Plus, I figured a conscious lack of perfectionism would be helpful for finishing the album quickly. Ironically, the album ended up taking a year to finish (started recording December 14th 2019, received masters on December 14th, 2020), and until summer 2021 to start releasing, mostly because of global events we’re all sick of talking about. Haha.
If you were to describe your sound to someone who’d never heard you before, what would you say?
Like Stephen Malkumus and David Byrne huffing glue then playing table tennis while Prince skulks the perimeter, occasionally offering commentary.
What inspires your music?
When I’m writing for Pastel Blank, my hope is to give occasion to joy and elation. So in turn, I’m inspired by art that is able to pull me out of my head and into my body. All of the aforementioned artists (Talking Heads, Pavement, Prince) are big inspirations - so much playfulness in their music. I was also listening to a lot of Women, St. Vincent, Deerhoof, and Television when we were making the album.
Whatever I’m reading usually tends to sneak its way into the lyrics. I think the authors that were most inspiring while making Pastel Blanc were George Saunders, David Berman (Actual Air specifically), Flannery O’Connor, and Viet Thanh Nguyen.
What advice would you give for anyone trying to achieve a similar sound to your band?
Use guitar as a compositional tool to write things that you can’t play on your own. Write a riff, then break it up into 2 or 3 different parts, and then hardpan the shit out of those so they’re all ping-pong-like. Think of your voice as a rhythmic tool, not just a melodic one. Befriend a really good drummer.
If your music were a film or TV show which would it be?
The Big Lebowski, probably. Kind of confusing narrative arc, character-driven, full of lots of little details noticed upon repeated listening/viewing.
Name an album you’re still listening to from when you were younger and why it’s important to you?
Kaputt by Destroyer. It’s shamelessly easy to listen to, and I love how fully Dan Bejar commits to the bit. The whole album sounds like he’s in a white suit, slurring out barstool poetry to a room made of smoked glass walls. You’re not quite sure what he’s talking about, but you know it means something to him.
What do you hate right now?
Anxiety.
What do you love right now?
Sea otters.
What comes next in the Pastel Blank’s story?
We’re recording our next album this spring.
What upcoming 2022 music releases are you most excited about?
I’m not too tuned in on upcoming releases, but my favourite 2022 releases so far have been SICK! by Earl Sweatshirt and Dragon New Warm Mountain, I Believe In You by Big Thief.
Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers?
Nope!
