anymore did sound like the cocteau twins, not in a way of plagiarism but in a manner of a tribute where the group clearly stated that they wanted to depart from what the robin & liz had done and improve it (don't call me blasphemous, that's how good anymore sounded). a couple months after that, ryan announced that he had another band going on at the same time as anymore (liar, he was dissolving this one already), more influenced by electronica but still blissed with his wife rebecca's heavenly voice. again, i told myself i had to give them a try and bought the album ("we only love you") at their new label, bedazzled.
now, sitting here in cyberspace with me, i'm having the chance to interview the coseboom couple about music and a bit about life in general, too.
totaldominion (td): before we concentrate on halou,
let's talk a bit about anymore (since that's how i got into the coseboom's creations). how
and when did anymore start?
ryan: anymore started after rebecca and i left a band that we
were in together. i switched from drums to guitar, and began writing songs with her.
shortly after we started, we met mikael and (anymore bass player) alex. this was in late
95, i believe.
td: anymore was heavily influenced by the cocteau twins.
which other bands were some kind of inspiration for anymore's music?
ryan: anymore sounds heavily influenced by the cocteau twins.
i think that each song was influenced by something different. a couple of those songs had
been laying around for a while. i just produced 'em and gave 'em to rebecca to add vocals
to. but, yeah, you are right. we liked the cocteau twins. truthfully, i wasn't much of a
guitar player. the first time i picked up a guitar to "seriously" write a song,
was when i wrote 'crushed out' for anymore. each song after that, i just kept getting
better and better at playing, i guess. but the cocteau twins were one of the few bands
that had a guitar sound that i liked. i'm quite a synth geek, honestly. there were years
when i avoided records with guitars on them.
td: anymore released a cd and an ep. how did you manage
diy marketing and distribution in such a restricted market share as ethereal alternative
music?
reb: poorly.
ryan: yeah, we didn't really do much...
td: when did anymore evolve into halou? were you
"pushed" by the electronica movement blooming recently in the us (frankly, it
was about time!)
reb: i think we were more pushed by not wanting to
collaborate with so many people anymore. everything takes so long and is so much trouble.
anymore was something we had to make time for in our lives. halou is just another part of
our lives. it is just so natural.
ryan: well, way before anymore existed i had been playing
synthesizers. they were really my first instruments. anymore was me pretending to be a
guitar player because i thought i had to be in a "rock" band. i thought that to
be in an electronic band would be kind of weird, as i tend to write "songs". a
lot of the electronic music genre is more based on sound than song. i don't mean that in a
bad way, but it seems true.
td: what major changes involved moving from anymore to
halou?
reb: cutting the fat.
ryan: the only times i played the guitar, i was into the
input of my sampler, not my amplifier. : )
td: what equipment are you using with halou?
ryan: briefly... steinberg cubase (sequencer), steinberg
recycle, nord lead 2, korg wavestation, emu esi32, alesis quadraverb2, digitech studio
effect thing (forgot model #), alesis compressors/eq's, adat...
td: which bands, djs or mixers do you listen to for
inspiration?
ryan: well, i don't know about inspiration, but i love
babybird. i also like gusgus. i tend to listen to the same few cds over and over lately.
td: have you heard bands that are now sounding like
halou?
reb: not to me.
ryan: not really. the new love spirals downward record is as
close as i've heard, i suppose. i'm not going to say anything more about that record. : )
[i'll have to check that one! -td]
td: whom would you like to play with on a concert?
reb: anyone in our genre with a bigger draw than us.
ryan: yeah, someone who would expose us to people that might
like to listen to us.
td: i read that you were having distribution problems,
since cargo called it a day. what is bedazzled doing about it?
reb: using multiple smaller distributors and the internet,
sending us on tour, and hiring a publicist who specializes in our genre. the new strategy
is to build up a buzz and sell cds independently.
td: how many halou records have you sold so far?
reb: the album is currently pre-release, so we have only sold
a few hundred to friends of halou and the label.
td: with the electronica movement in the us evolving
faster everyday (i guess in order to catch on the europeans who're still way ahead on this
matter), how long do you think halou's debut album will sound attractive to new ears
before turning into "another electronica/d'n'b album"?
reb: i hope it is the song writing, not the production that
sticks in peoples' minds. if it does, that will be what helps the music age gracefully.
ryan: hmm. not sure. i don't follow the "movement"
closely. what rebecca said is probably true. the more "tuneful" a record is, the
longer its life seems to be. i could probably still listen to things like art of noise and
808 state today, but most of the other stuff that came out that far back, i can't even
remember the names...
td: what can we expect from you in the near future?
reb: touring. a lot of touring, i hope.
ryan: yeah, we are getting our live show together. i have
sort of begun working on the next record. demoing songs. hopefully have it done within the
year.
td: in what cities have you played live as halou?
reb: not many as of yet but we are going on tour again in
april on the east coast.
td: where would you like to play live?
reb: i want to play england, germany, and japan most
especially. i think we would be well received there.
td: have you ever considered the latin american market
as an option? mexico, costa rica, chile, argentina and brazil are some of the countries
that come to mind that have a well-stablished electronica scene. which markets would you
like to reach?
reb: japan.
ryan: at this point, we can't really discriminate. latin
america sounds fabulous. i was unaware that those countries had electronica scenes. i'd
certainly be interested to see what was going on.
td: have you thought of sending your albums to ivo
watts-russell (4ad founder), since 4ad has now moved into this "modern" wave of
artists, such as gusgus, thievery corporation and cuba?
reb: we forwarded anymore to robin guthrie through a friend
of ours. i don't think he liked it. i am sure we've sent something ivo's way before. i
know ryan has.
ryan: well, yeah. you know what, though. 4ad is great mainly
because of reputation and distribution at this point. i never thought i'd say it, but
other than gusgus, i can't really get into anything they've put out in a while. although i
did hear something by 'starrysmooth hound' that i thought sounded brilliant. hope to hear
more from them soon.
td: which are your all-time favorite bands or djs?
ryan: early omd, cocteau twins, babybird, ummm can't think...
reb: slowdive, cocteau twins, sweet trip, lightning seeds,
massive attack, the cure, the smiths, maybe tori amos a little, too.
td: what's the last album you heard (or are now
listening)?
ryan: plaid-"not for threes"
td: what's your favorite book and movie?
reb: "rushmore" and roget's thesaurus
ryan: movie: "city of lost children" and book:
"charlie and the chocolate factory"
td: finally, what does "halou" mean???
reb: recently, on the internet, we found that it means spring
in...japanese (?). it's funny- we thought we made it up.
you can listen to some real audio files of halou and e-mail them if you want to buy their music (which is a good idea, indeed!):
three great halou songs (
format):
1. halfbreath 28.8 kbs or 56.6 kbs
2. loop in blue 28.8 kbs or 56.6 kbs
3. you are one of us 28.8 kbs or 56.6 kbs
if you, as i did, liked this music, feel free to drop the cosebooms a line by clicking here. Tell them you just read their interview in home.totaldominion.com!
you can drop us a line by clicking here...interview questions ©1999 f.j. brenes/totaldominion. answers ©1999 haloucomm. halou real audio files supplied by robert wyatt and halou @ bedazzled.