FORCE PUBLIQUEÂ
GOLDEN BOY PRESS INTERVIEW #235
Meet FORCE PUBLIQUE, an experimental duo with witch house vibes that are taking over. Â We thought we would try to stay consistent with a theme that has a soft spot in our hearts, glitch music. Â Weâve fallen in love with their cover of The Smashing Pumpkins âTodayâ, which can be watched here (https://vimeo.com/66211080), and fell even deeper when we put on our headphones and listened to their first official project, âPure EPâ. Â Trying to provoke the feelings of happiness, sorrow and discomfort in their work, they aim to make the listener emotional and offer a tool to help reflection take place. Â They make the glitch genre their own and have a unique outlook on the process of creating electronic music. Sit back and listen to their rad music while you read, enjoy!
Could you introduce yourself? We are Cassie Graves and James Wayne of Force Publique, a duo based in Portland
Why music? Â What sparked your passion for this medium of expression? Cassie: I canât remember a time that I didnât sing or play music, my dad is a musician so music was always around. Because I am a girl, people doubted my abilities in music and I was motivated to prove them wrong.
James: At some point, I became fascinated with inorganic sounds and textures. I listened to a lot of weird rap records and synthy new wave stuff, and I wanted to learn how to make sounds that you canât create with traditional instruments.
How did you two meet and decide to create FORCE PUBLIQUE? James played bedroom beat music and I was in an all girl high school band, and we decided that we should start making music together after we met in college. The name was inspired by my history class, learning about Force Publique of the Congo and how authority can turn people against one another.
Whatâs your life philosophy? Â How do you try to apply that to your work? Trying to feel all emotions in life. Being inspired and moved by the happy, the sad and the uncomfortable. We try to provoke these feelings with our music as well.
Could you tell us one change you would like to see in the music world? It would be nice if the listeners had more say in what music gets popular.
You have a very specific style, in music and image. Â Have you always had this bold style? Musically the contrast of electronic, beat-based music and grunge songwriting was very natural because it was what we were playing separately before we came together. Â Aesthetically we have always had an interest in darker imagery, and our styles are very much influenced by the music we make.
Do you mind telling us about âPure EPâ? Â Whatâs the story behind it? Pure EP was our first official EP that we ever released, and it was an attempt to blend our disparate influences into something cohesive. The lyrics focus on the idea of impermanence and the fragility of life.
Would you mind walking us through the thought process of writing one of your songs? Luckily each of us has what each other is lacking musically. James does the sounds and rhythms and I will do the melody and composition. We are always trying to challenge ourselves to create new types of music, which sometimes can make people that stick to one genre a bit uncomfortable.
Who are a few of your music inspirations? Â Do you mind telling us why those specifically? Music that has pushed the boundaries and made a new sound are bands that I find most influential. My Bloody Valentine, Bjork, Nirvana, Salem, Burial, Shlohmo. All these bands are emotive and original. When musicians try to make music that sounds like music that has been made before, it can be regressive to music evolution.
If you had to choose one word to describe your music, what would it be? Honest.
When you go back to listen to your older work, what are your immediate feelings? Â It can make you nostalgic, remembering the specific place you were in at that time, whether it be good or bad.
Whatâs something youâve learned over the years about the music industry that will stay with you for the rest of your life? You canât wait around for someone else to make things happen for you - being a musician means dedicating all of your time and thought and energy to your art.
Where do you find sanctuary in the rush of the music world, where do you find peace? Playing music and creating sounds without writing. Just repeating a loop and approaching it with different rhythms - itâs therapeutic.
Are there any other projects you have your heart set on for the future, that you donât mind sharing? We have a 6-song cassette, Bloom, that will be coming out soon, as well as a few video projects. Weâll also be touring and playing dates in different cities across the US this year, which will be fun.
What makes you happy? That moment when a song syncs up perfectly with something youâre looking at. This morning, I saw an old woman crossing the street while I was listening to Future, and it was just incredible.
Any closing comments? We document our lives in VHS on our blog - check it out:Â http://forcepubliquemusic.com/
POI
