Rubblebucket – Survival Sounds Deliver Rapture (INTERVIEW)

Over the course of two prior full length albums, Rubblebucket has allured listeners with its dynamic horn driven grooves and the joyous voice of lead singer Kalmia Traver. Now based in Brooklyn via Vermont, Rubblebucket hones many of the area’s international influences with scrapes of Afrobeat and the festive island atmosphere not unlike what Arcade Fire stirred up over the course of 2013/14. It might be easy to coin them as music for urbanites who dig a little funk in their trunk, but still relish music that holds a periodic chilling gasp.

Rubblebucket was formed after Traver and Alex Toth met while attending The University of Vermont and following graduation, the two were joined by Adam Dotson (trombone, euphonium, vocals), David Cole (Drums) and Ian Hersey (electric guitar) and released their self-titled debut in 2009. The groups second full-length, Omega La La was produced and mixed by Eric Broucek (Hercules and Love Affair, Classixx, Holy Ghost).

Their third album Survival Sounds (released August 25th) was produced and mixed by John Congleton (St. Vincent, Modest Mouse, David Byrne) and recorded at Mission Sound Studio in Brooklyn. According to Traver, “This is by far the longest project we’ve ever worked on. For various reasons we were able to hit our stride as a group and settle into functional creative roles…We pushed ourselves creatively, really worked to create lyrics that were the most meaningful, arrangements that hit the hardest and sounds that were the most clarion.”

There’s no denying the number of standout tracks on Survival Sounds including the rapture of “Carousel Ride,” with its winking synth lead mixed with muscular power chords.  The addictive “Rewind” sounds like a Bowie Lets Dance B side with its orchestrated funk and 80’s neo-romantic yearnings.  And there are many other keen experiments from the hip hop flavored shout outs of “Middle” and the various horn palettes on each composition that each serve as a different mood brew.  With the band currently on tour on support of  a huge nationwide tour in support of Survival Sounds we caught up with Traver just prior to the start of it and following the release date of the album, which very does so belong on year end lists.

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 Would you consider Survival Sounds to be your most definitive recording yet. Alex was quoted as saying he wanted to assemble a band with psychedelic indie rock, upbeat dance and left field arrangements all together as one.  This album truly does sound like that – would you agree?

That quote was made up by our old publicist Scott Pollack who’s also a dear friend. If asked, I think Alex would define our intentions more like to make the best and most amazing music ever made!I do think we achieved something definitive with Survival Sounds though. It was the most measured and intentional work flow we’ve ever achieved, and all five of us are happy with the outcome, which may be one definition of group creative success.

Just how much work was involved in making Survival Sounds?  Did all these songs come together over a short period of time or was this a very gradual process?  

The writing for this album spanned more than a year. The oldest song, Middle, is maybe three years old, and the newest song, “Carousel Ride,” was written last December/January just as we were starting to record! Alex wrote the majority of the songs, and presented them to the band as incomplete demos, and we spent a lot of time as a group fleshing out the demos in logic with real sounds, adding layers, tweaking lyrics and arrangement elements. We made about 45 of these and narrowed it down to 15 to record and then to 11 for the finished product.

Why did you decide to go with John Congleton as producer?  Was it a good fit right from the beginning and how did he most challenge you guys musically?

John’s been one of our heroes for years, so we were so excited when he showed interest in working with us. We all got along instantly. We have a similar strange humor that made for an incredibly fun two months of life. John’s a classy mofo, and often felt like a grounding force for all of our overachieving hyperactive maximalist idea storms. Not that he isn’t a maximalist, I’d say he’s a master of capturing rawness and making it sound huger than a giant.

Please take us back to the beginning – what was it like starting out in Burlington?  What was the music scene like there and were there any venues or clubs on Church Street or bands you used to check out that had a significant impact on you and wanted you to pursue this further?

Alex and I met in Burlington and quickly became partners in crime, the two kids on bikes with horns bunji-corded to the back, being the impromptu horn section on as many gigs as we possibly could every night of the week. There are so many talented musicians in Burlington, some of them long-running and amazing acts like Swale, Ryan Power, Rough Francis, Helouise and the Savoire Faire, The Villanelles, Kat Wright and the Indomitable Soul Band, and our every-Tuesday gig for years, Guagua! It’s an awesome place to be from and I miss it every day I’m not there, especially in summer time.

Do you prefer having the label as a “Vermont by-way-of-Brooklyn ensemble” – do you feel noting where a band is from helps project what they sound like or gives listeners a hint at what to expect?

I grew in rural Vermont, and at a certain point when I knew I wanted to be a musician, moving to a big city started to feel inevitable to me. Now, having traveled the country many times, I’ve fallen in love and been inspired by so many countless small communities who have thriving art and music scenes. It absolutely blows my heart open with joy to see successful artists being held up by (and holding up) their communities, and making a life of creativity work for them. Somewhere in my education I sadly unlearned that fact (that it’s possible to have a career as an artist in a rural place). Now I’m relearning it, and somewhat envious of every non-Brooklyn band!

Please describe how Brooklyn has allowed for you guys to take things to the next level in terms of music and publicity?

Brooklyn has been a great place to grow. It’s like living in music school where there’s no class only creative shows, parties, hangs, sessions and collaborations every night you want. Plus the entertainment industry connections and resources to make wildest dreams reality, any time.

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Rubblebucket has come an entirely long way from its days as Rubblebucket Orchestra – where do you see the biggest changes are overall?

We have better fashion sense, we’ve embraced synths, we’re way better songwriters, better dancers, we’ve been through the fire together and have come out with more trust, so we’re probably happier.

If you can choose any artist or band to do a remix of one of your songs- who would it be- what track would it be and why?

I asked Adam this and he said: Matthew My Dear Eraserhead does Daisyflower, can you please have it done by August 16.. thankyou?

What would you say are your strong suits as band – if you had to say you guys kill it at one or two things would be?

Well, you had to ask didn’t you! Not to toot our own horn, but we do toot the horns real good. We’re also pretty nice.

Rubblebucket is on the Communion Records label founded by Ben Lovett of Mumford & Sons. What has he been like for you guys from the beginning in terms of fostering your talent and ultimately getting this record out there?

We met him last year at a Communion Showcase at Rockwood Music Hall in the lower east side and he came up to us sweating and prostrate (metaphorically) and admitting we got him to dance, which was no small feat according to him. His love and support has come from an honest almost fan-like place, which is perfect because we’re Ben Lovett fans! Last November he gave Alex a mission of writing one song a day for a month, two verses and a chorus. It ended up being pivotal for this album. It helped Alex get out a lot of stuff from his soul, and more than half of the songs on Survival Sounds came from the song-a-days!

If it weren’t Communion Records- what have been some other labels you’ve admired and would perhaps consider being on.

I can’t really remember. We had a few flirtations, but we were very determined to stay on our own DIY path until we found the perfect fit. Lucky for us we did!

You just announced a large 40 date North American tour – Are there any particular shows or cities on the schedule you are most looking forward to playing? Are there any markets going in not knowing what to expect?

We’ve never played in Vancouver before. I’m so excited for that. I don’t know what to expect (besides extremely clean streets and amazing Asian food) but I do know that our Canadian excursions this summer have been super fun and loving, so I’m having good premonitions.

When looking at the tour right now and the length of it – what goes through your mind?

This will be the longest tour to date. It is a little nerve wracking. It’s physically and spiritually challenging to sit for so many hours a day, and be deprived of ideal sleeping and eating rhythms. I’m so lucky though, because I get to do it with eight other smart respectful talented bad asses who I love! Also we picked some of our favorite bands to tour with (Body Language, Landlady + Royal Canoe), which means more party-tunities, more load-out mischief, and maybe a few more stick-n-poke tattoos…? That’s what goes through my mind, all that.

So what live performances in the past few years have stood out the most for you  and given you a further sense of identity and confidence?

All our Vermont New Years Eve shows. We worked hard to make them extra special (hiring brass bands, acrobats, face painters etc) and it took so much energy, but it was worth it.

On a final note, if you were to curate your own festival- who would you have on it?

I would have a classical cave, a contradance hall, an arts and crafts room, a slip and slide that goes down a huge hill, and I’d only hire headliners who have backup dancers.

Catch Rubblebucket on  tour now! Find their tour dates here

 

 

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