Music, Why Not! Caught up with indie group from Latvia known as Carnival Youth during this years SXSW in Austin, TX. They played quite a few venues all over town during that crazy week. Read on as we discuss more about their music, how they became a band, and a bit of random facts.
MWN: So how did you guys like SXSW?
Carnival Youth: It was an adventure to remember. We did not know what to expect, but it was the best – great performances and good times with sun and lots of fun.
MWN: Let’s go back to the roots of you guys as a band. Can you guys give me a little bit of background of how you guys became a band?
Carnival Youth: We met in school and became good friends. We had some musical background from music schools and started playing together for fun and did not have a particular goal of becoming musicians, but somehow with love for music and everything that comes with it, we got sucked up in this beautiful bubble of being a band.
MWN: I think that the music we like at an early age has a lot to do with what surrounds at home, but as we grow into our own states we start developing our own likes. So who would you say are some artist you grew up listening to and also grew into liking on your own?
Carnival Youth: As we grew up in an independent country, all the music was available and our parents had and still have a great taste in music. From early age we have listened to The Beatles , Pink Floyd, Michael Jackson, RHCP, Rolling Stones, Gorillaz and we still like them. Off course some stuff from Mtv and radio that now might seem funny, but still it instantly creates those childhood memories and there’s nothing we can do about it. And as teens we started exploring new world of music through our friends, skateboarding and snowboarding videos and it’s been a bottomless hole since then. Starting with Arcade Fire, Modest Mouse, White Stripes, Sunset Rubdown, The National, Grizzly Bear, Radiohead and on and on.
MWN: As individual musicians who influenced you to start playing music?- was it something in your childhood or a family member?
Carnival Youth: Roberts found his calling in kinder garden’s pop band “Little Dwarf”. We have been surrounded by music since we were kids so it’s hard to remember when it started. We went to music school at the age of 6/7, and it was more of our parents decision, but we did not mind.
MWN: One of my favorite songs from The Propeller album is “Seagulls on Bycicles” I love the undertones and the chorus it is such a catchy song. What was the creative process like for the song?
Carnival Youth: It all started when we found Marc Johns drawing called “Seagulls on Bicycles” and that was the inspiration, the impulse for the lyrical side of the song. When we discussed the song, we thought the weirder the better.
MWN: I also really like “All the Time is mine” and “flowers” I feel like it stands out the most from the album. So when you guys write do you pull more from personal experience or outside world?
Carnival Youth: It’s hard to separate or divide influences, it all starts with a feeling and then we let each song to find it’s own path. As we all write songs, each one of us has a different ideas, experiences, tastes. We are trying to stick to decisions and stuff that is interesting to us and hopefully might be interesting to others as well.
MWN: What do you hope people take from the music you release?
Carnival Youth: It would be incredible if we could create soundtracks to beautiful moments of other people lives and memories and inspire them.
MWN: If you could have a jam session with any artist dead or alive who would it be?
Carnival Youth: John Lennon, Mocart, Spencer Krug, John Frusciante
MWN: What is your favorite love song?
Carnival Youth: The National – About Today, Radiohead – True Love Waits, Sufjan Stevens – To be alone with you, Nick Cave – Into My Arms
MWN: Describe someone else in the band using one word?
Carnival Youth: Roberts – Mama, Edgars- First (born), Matīss – Mcmaple, Emils- Second (born) (twins)
MWN: What is one of the things you would put on your “bucket” list?
Carnival Youth: Fist fight in a bar, a bucket, draw a perfect circle, Try Ayahuasca
Interview By: Maria Limon |Instagram: @shotbylimon exclusively for @Music, Why Not! -All Rights Reserved-
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