Fans of the alternative music have been witness to a wave of female-led electronic groups coming into the scene. Groups like The Naked and Famous, CHVRCHES, and BANKS have not only become heavyweights in the alt world, but have also successfully (and uncompromisingly) crossed over in the mainstream.
Amongst these groups are Phantogram, the insanely unique duo from Greenwich, NY that have become a staple of the genre since first hitting the music scene as Charlie Everywhere back in 2007. Made up of childhood friends Sarah Barthel and Josh Carter, Phantogram have since released two albums (Eyelid Movies in 2009 and Voices which dropped earlier this year), and have toured with acts such as M83, Metric, and The xx.
When I first heard the group’s single “Fall In Love” for the first time I was instantly blown away. The speakers in my car couldn’t get any louder. It wasn’t just the catchy hook, it was Sarah’s hypnotic voice over this addicting beat that made me want to buy the album immediately and listen to it on repeat. It’s not surprising the song became one of the top tracks of 2014.
Recently, I got the chance to speak with Sarah Berthel about the band’s influences, their hard-hitting live shows, naming songs after famous actors, and the weirdest thing that’s ever happened to the band on tour.
I’ve talked to bands that have met on Craigslist, and at restaurants, but I have never really spoken to a band that has known each other most of their lives. What is it like to be in band with one of your childhood friends?
Sarah Barthel: Oh man I don’t know. I don’t know any different. I don’t know what it would be like to play with someone I wasn’t as close to with. It’s a pretty good deal. We have a good understanding of one each other and a lot of respect for one another. We work really well together.
How did you come up with Phantogram’s unique sound?
SB: We had some ideas in mind. Josh had some beats and song ideas that in mind that kind of had the blueprint of the idea of what we wanted. Basically we were just interested in figuring out a way to incorporate all of our influences in one kind of sound without sounding like a mash up. We kind of figured it out in that way. We wanted to be fresh, to do something new, but we also had a lot of older influences as well like Motown, old soul, underground hip hop, shoe gaze; we have a whole bunch of influences so we have a lot to work with. We just experimented until things sounded right.
There’s a four-year gap between your debut album and the latest EP, Voices. Was their anything you specifically you wanted to do differently on the second album?
SB: We released Nightlife in 2011, but EP’s don’t get recognized as well as albums. That was also a progression from our first album, Eyelid Movies. From there we toured and learned a lot of our sound and where we wanted to grow just from touring all the time. We developed a little bit heavier, hard hitting, more bombastic sound live so we kind of incorporated all of that into voices.
On Voices, there’s a track titled “Bill Murray.” What is it about the mysterious American icon that inspired you to name a song after him?
SB: The song has more to do with one of his characters or some of the characters that he plays. We are very visual songwriters, we come up with colors and scenarios in our heads when we are writing songs and it moves along with the lyrics and just the mood in general. That song in general has to do more with Bill Murray’s character in Rushmore when he jumps off the diving board and he sinks to the bottom of the pool. He just has this look that gives you sad goose bumps. We have a strong connection to those characters that he plays and it works really well with the emotion that the song brings out so we just ended up naming it “Bill Murray.” It was just an idea that we had as a demo because that’s what we kept hearing in our heads we just write Bill Murray” for now and it stuck.
Do you have any pre-show rituals?
SB: We usually like to get the four of us in a huddle and say what we are grateful for and realize to one another that we are pretty god damn lucky to be playing shows and love what we are doing. We connect with one another before we get out on stage.
While we are on the subject of touring, what do you and Josh do on days off between shows?
SB: Depends on what city we are in. Sometimes we stop in random cities or on the side of the highway so it’s whatever is near the bus. Sometimes we will see movies, but mostly work on music while on tour.
You have played a ton of music festivals this year. Do you prefer the large outdoor fests or smaller intimate venues?
SB: We like them both. They’re completely different. You get your own production when you’re headlining shows. You get a room compared to rushing on stage and hoping that it sounds all right. Sometimes you get a sound check at festivals, but it’s usually more hectic. It’s worth it because you get to play in front of a ton of really excited people and their energy comes out during festivals. I think the more intimate shows are just as great. You have the full attention of the audience compared to festivals, which is always nice to take advantage of. We have a really cool light show that we have been working on and developing for the past year, so we like to always show it off. It’s worth coming to check us out in a venue.
Do you ever think about where the band might be if you kept your original name?
SB: [Laughs] I think we would be in the same place. I’m not sure. That was a super quick decision of making our name Charlie Everywhere because we were playing a bunch of shows. I mean I liked the name. It had a cool visual aspect to it. We would still have the same aesthetic and everything.
What are your plans for the rest of 2014?
SB: Are plans are to finish this tour then potentially do some more shows. It’s kind of open right now, but we are always touring and working on new music. We are definitely going to start getting that going for the next album. We are going to work with Big Boi i think for the EP that hopefully will be released in 2015. So we will probably head down to Atlanta for a few days and do that. Just keep working away.
Now I read that you had met Big Boi over Twitter, is that correct?
SB: Yeah.
That is probably the strangest way two musicians have ever met each other.
SB: Yeah tell me about it, especially one of your biggest idols.
What’s the strangest thing that’s happen to you on tour?
SB: Josh got roofied once that was pretty awesome. That was sarcastic [laughs]. He was roofied in Wisconsin. It was by some random crazy guy, but yeah he was definitely roofied.
Phantogram performs Saturday and Sunday at Union Transfer in Philadelphia, PA. Click here for Sunday tickets.
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Al Mannarino is the music editor for Pop-Break as well as the host of the News Over Brews Podcast. He graduated Rowan University with a degree in Radio/TV/Film & History and is currently a Promotions Assistant for Clear Channel Media + Entertainment. When he isn’t writing he is either trying to build his own TARDIS or taking a nap. Follow him on Twitter: @almannarino
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