- Hi and welcome back to Europe soon, how the devil are you?
Very good! Really excited to be coming back to Europe.
- What influenced the writing on this album and is the creation of a new song, a whole band process?
It's hard to say what influenced the writing on this album; it really can be a number of things. Each song starts out coming from one person, an idea or something complete, and then we all work on it together.
- What is the best part of the album cycle, writing, recording, promotion, playing live?
It would be a tie between writing and playing live for me. Writing can have such a peaceful, cathartic sense about it, because you are getting a lot of creativity out of your brain and making something that you are proud of (that's the goal at least). Playing music live is just amazing. It's loud, it's moving, it's magical.
- The album came out in the States last year, have you had fun touring it?
It has been really fun touring this album. The shows have been really great and it's really cool to see our relationship with fans growing.
How did you find your way on to the Barsuk label? [please note that this is not the label that the new record is coming out on in the UK] -
It was a standard beginning, looking for labels to put out our first album and what not. We met the fine people of Barsuk and liked their take on things, so we became part of the family.
-You have a European tour on the horizon, do you have any festival appearances this summer and what do you think about festivals like CMJ and SXSW?
We are playing some festivals this summer. Ottawa Bluesfest and Fujirock being a couple. Festivals like CMJ and SXSW can be chaotic, and overwhelming...but they do provide two opportunities. For one, you can see A LOT of bands in a relatively small amount of time. Secondly, it really allows bands the opportunity to find industry people that are interested in working with them on a business level, which can be important to a lot of bands.
- Is there any downtime in this business and if so, what are your favourite pastimes?
We all love the outdoors a lot. The boys like hockey so there is a lot of street hockey during downtime. Hiking is also a favorite. Becca and I love to run. Cooking is a big deal, we are all kind of foodies so there's a lot going on when we have a kitchen to use.
- How would you rate the current music scene in the U.S., Anyone we should be looking out for?
To be honest, I am not up on the "current" scene, but we were lucky enough to do two tours with a wonderful band named Givers. They are amazing live, super talented musicians and wonderful people to boot.
- If you were to wear another band’s t-shirt on stage, who would it be?
Fleetwood Mac
- What has been the highlight of your career so far?
I think going to Japan was a real highlight for us. We had kind of a make believe list of goals when we started, because it was never our intention to actually be doing this for a career. One of those goals was going to Japan. So when we did, it was one of those moments where you realize how awesome and ridiculously lucky we are to get to do the things we do.
Thanks to Alexandra for taking the time out for our interview.
Ra Ra Riot’s latest single ‘Too Dramatic’ is out 9th May via Brine and Barnacles in the UK. You can watch the video here:
Ra Ra Riot then head out on a European tour on the following dates:
May 17 - Garage, London
May 18 - Ruby Lounge, Manchester
May 19 - Audio, Brighton
May 20 - Maifield Derby Festival, Darmstadt
May 21 - London Calling, Amsterdam
May 23 - Trix, Antwerp
May 24 - Blue Shell, Cologne
May 25 - Molotow, Hamburg
May 26 - Comet, Berlin
May 27 - Immergut Festival, Neustrelitz
May 28 - Seewiesen Festival, Kleinreifling