#####Gem Club is one of the East Coast's most melodic and achingly beautiful best-kept secrets. For as long as I've known their music I have been absolutely perplexed by their near-total obscurity on the New England scene. The Boston duo, made up of vocalist/pianist Christopher Barnes and cellist/vocalist Krysten Drymala, write fantastically breathtaking songs that seem to scream for widespread attention but continue to elicit only cult following in the states. Certain factions in Europe have been more attentive to Barnes' & Drymala's work (NoFearofPop's editors placed the pair's release Acid & Everything in their Best of 2010 year-ends, and Delicious Scopitone was an avid supporter of the group early on) but the overall response remains relatively hushed in comparison to the group's obvious merits. Perhaps Gem Club's music is too hushed, even too pretty, for most folks' tastes nowadays. It seems to me, though, that one well-aimed placement of the duo's work in any number of dignified motion pictures could easily break this band. Witness Brianna Olson's riveting video for 'Animals' and see which side of the Gem Club fence you fall on:
EOL: What musicians most inspire you, or your work within Gem Club?
Christopher: Well I really can't give away all my secrets, then there's nothing for us to talk about when we've run out of things to talk about. Here's some stuff I've been listening to: Aaliyah, Carissa's Wierd, Cat Power, Opal, Gas, Grouper, Holy Spirits, Kate Bush, Aphex Twin, Lower Dens, Tindersticks, Picastro. Girls. I think you can tell from this list that I love girls' voices, and Aaron's voice of course.
EOL: You've been working on a new record recently. How is this next release going to compare to your previous EP (2010's Acid & Everything)? Any changes to the formula?
Christopher: I wrote and recorded the EP very quickly. The whole thing took about two weeks and there was no time to really stress out over any of the things that I normally stress out about. This time around I've had more time with the songs. There's more space on this record. It takes its time. There's also some new instrumentation and Ieva. Ieva is new-ish.
EOL: What do you set out to accomplish in writing your songs? What's the Gem Club approach?
Christopher: Jared and I were talking in the car the other day about how absolutely dispensable music has become today. We were more talking about stuff you find on the radio and how quickly it comes and goes. Culture of immediacy, blah blah blah. I've always been drawn to writers and performers who were able to create music that you could keep coming back to and still feel moved, even if the trends or whatever have changed. I guess I'm trying to do that. I don't know. I don't really think about it too much to tell you the truth.
EOL: Gem Club describes itself (within promotional copy) as making 'minimal pop songs with piano and cello.' How do you see what you do as 'pop'? Is this more a reference to structure and tonality, or do you feel some deeper alliance with 'pop music'?
Christopher: I've always had a difficult time describing the sound. Even when I was just performing by myself around Boston. People would ask me what my music sounded like and my response always sounded really disparaging: "its slow, its sort of sad, its quiet." So when someone said soft-focus pop it sounded like the simplest way to describe the sound. I've never really thought about it as pop though. To me pop seems more targeted towards a younger audience. Like teen girls or whatever. I think yes I do theme and variation, and the structure is sometimes similar to what you'd hear in a pop song, but pop as in like "popular appeal"? I don't really think so.
EOL: On that note, where do you see the sound of Gem Club, or the songwriting within Gem Club, heading in the future?
Christopher: Some days I want to change it completely. I want it to be a larger sound. More grand. Other days I want it to be slower than it is. I want it to be less than it is. I'm really looking forward to meeting and working with more people. And maybe either or both of those will things happen.
EOL: How did it feel to get some serious attention for 'Animals' and it's accompanying video? Was that a surprise?
Christopher: The whole thing has been sort of crazy. I put some songs up on the internet and Emmanuel from Delicious Scopitone wrote and asked if he could write about them on his blog. From there it sort of just went. I remember calling BriAnna Olson from my bedroom to see if she'd be interested in doing a video and I was super nervous. I don't know. We had only talked briefly online. She had this idea where she was like 'I'm thinking about school girls and marriage and dogs'. Then she sent me a picture of herself wearing a clown nose. That was it. When Bri came to shoot the video we were hunting all over Boston for a location, trying to rent a studio space to film the girls. We ended up filming it in my backyard. That backyard is gone now though.
EOL: Have you received any attention from record labels yet? It astounds me that you are still unsigned.
Christopher: Hmmmm. Maybe...
EOL: How many attendees, on average, are at your shows? On a good night?
Christopher: Its weird you know. Lately we're not playing as many shows locally. We don't bring a crowd here in Boston. Maybe it's the city. Maybe it's not what Boston's into right now or whatever. Boston is kind of a strange bird. We've had some really successful shows in NY.
EOL: Are there any particularly memorable/significant Gem Club shows that come immediately to mind?
Christopher: We played a living room / loft space in Brooklyn for a great crowd. People actually listening. That's the kind of audience I love to perform for. Holy Spirits had this idea where they wanted to play a set with Nathaniel Whitcomb's (ThinkorSmile) work playing behind them and they wanted us to play alongside Brianna's videos. I don't get to perform to Bri's work very often, so those shows mean a lot to me.
EOL: I've always been curious, how many people cry at your concerts? Is this a regular thing? It should be. Thoughts?
Christopher: Um. No one I hope. Or if they do let's say they keep it to themselves. That wouldn't be what I would want to do on a Friday night--go have a good cry. You?
Christopher: Well I really can't give away all my secrets, then there's nothing for us to talk about when we've run out of things to talk about. Here's some stuff I've been listening to: Aaliyah, Carissa's Wierd, Cat Power, Opal, Gas, Grouper, Holy Spirits, Kate Bush, Aphex Twin, Lower Dens, Tindersticks, Picastro. Girls. I think you can tell from this list that I love girls' voices, and Aaron's voice of course.
EOL: You've been working on a new record recently. How is this next release going to compare to your previous EP (2010's Acid & Everything)? Any changes to the formula?
Christopher: I wrote and recorded the EP very quickly. The whole thing took about two weeks and there was no time to really stress out over any of the things that I normally stress out about. This time around I've had more time with the songs. There's more space on this record. It takes its time. There's also some new instrumentation and Ieva. Ieva is new-ish.
EOL: What do you set out to accomplish in writing your songs? What's the Gem Club approach?
Christopher: Jared and I were talking in the car the other day about how absolutely dispensable music has become today. We were more talking about stuff you find on the radio and how quickly it comes and goes. Culture of immediacy, blah blah blah. I've always been drawn to writers and performers who were able to create music that you could keep coming back to and still feel moved, even if the trends or whatever have changed. I guess I'm trying to do that. I don't know. I don't really think about it too much to tell you the truth.
EOL: Gem Club describes itself (within promotional copy) as making 'minimal pop songs with piano and cello.' How do you see what you do as 'pop'? Is this more a reference to structure and tonality, or do you feel some deeper alliance with 'pop music'?
Christopher: I've always had a difficult time describing the sound. Even when I was just performing by myself around Boston. People would ask me what my music sounded like and my response always sounded really disparaging: "its slow, its sort of sad, its quiet." So when someone said soft-focus pop it sounded like the simplest way to describe the sound. I've never really thought about it as pop though. To me pop seems more targeted towards a younger audience. Like teen girls or whatever. I think yes I do theme and variation, and the structure is sometimes similar to what you'd hear in a pop song, but pop as in like "popular appeal"? I don't really think so.
EOL: On that note, where do you see the sound of Gem Club, or the songwriting within Gem Club, heading in the future?
Christopher: Some days I want to change it completely. I want it to be a larger sound. More grand. Other days I want it to be slower than it is. I want it to be less than it is. I'm really looking forward to meeting and working with more people. And maybe either or both of those will things happen.
EOL: How did it feel to get some serious attention for 'Animals' and it's accompanying video? Was that a surprise?
Christopher: The whole thing has been sort of crazy. I put some songs up on the internet and Emmanuel from Delicious Scopitone wrote and asked if he could write about them on his blog. From there it sort of just went. I remember calling BriAnna Olson from my bedroom to see if she'd be interested in doing a video and I was super nervous. I don't know. We had only talked briefly online. She had this idea where she was like 'I'm thinking about school girls and marriage and dogs'. Then she sent me a picture of herself wearing a clown nose. That was it. When Bri came to shoot the video we were hunting all over Boston for a location, trying to rent a studio space to film the girls. We ended up filming it in my backyard. That backyard is gone now though.
EOL: Have you received any attention from record labels yet? It astounds me that you are still unsigned.
Christopher: Hmmmm. Maybe...
EOL: How many attendees, on average, are at your shows? On a good night?
Christopher: Its weird you know. Lately we're not playing as many shows locally. We don't bring a crowd here in Boston. Maybe it's the city. Maybe it's not what Boston's into right now or whatever. Boston is kind of a strange bird. We've had some really successful shows in NY.
EOL: Are there any particularly memorable/significant Gem Club shows that come immediately to mind?
Christopher: We played a living room / loft space in Brooklyn for a great crowd. People actually listening. That's the kind of audience I love to perform for. Holy Spirits had this idea where they wanted to play a set with Nathaniel Whitcomb's (ThinkorSmile) work playing behind them and they wanted us to play alongside Brianna's videos. I don't get to perform to Bri's work very often, so those shows mean a lot to me.
EOL: I've always been curious, how many people cry at your concerts? Is this a regular thing? It should be. Thoughts?
Christopher: Um. No one I hope. Or if they do let's say they keep it to themselves. That wouldn't be what I would want to do on a Friday night--go have a good cry. You?
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