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| Limbs |
| carving it out their own way |
| by
Tascha van Auken |
The three members of Brooklyn trio, Limbs are soon to release their first, as of yet untitled, full length. On their 2006 EP, “Suspension,” not only do the ups and downs of their music transition smoothly, but the lyrics are simple and carefully strung throughout the songs. Playing together since the early part of 2005, Oisin, Chris and Jeff have figured out their own way to do things. As if being in a band isn’t already enough work, these guys self-record, have self-released two EPs and also like to organize their own shows around NY. You guys often curate your own shows, how is this beneficial? We see it as another part of being in a band. We try to play with people that we can relate to as much as possible, often you just have to set those shows up on your own. Do you have any favorite local bands right now? Proton Proton, Villa Vina, The Forms, Print! Do you have any favorite places to play in New York? Some of the alternative spaces are nice for shows, although we haven’t played most of them, just attended. Cake Shop is a favorite for what they are doing on Ludlow St. of all places. It’s probably easier to say what our least favorite venues are, but that’s not really necessary. You’ve played a few shows outside of the city, does this give you any kind of perspective on New York itself? You realize you’re missing some of the things that people have in other places, but we’ve kind of figured out how we want to make this work here. We have space and peace of mind to develop as a band, which is what we’re really intent on. What is the writing process like for you guys? Sometimes we spend a lot of time arranging to get something to sound natural, other times things happen quickly. Lately we’ve been latching on to the core of an idea early on and letting it expand and contract into something concise as we arrange with it, its kind of combining both ways that we’ve written in the past. Your lyrics are poetic; sometimes abstract. What are your songs about? Most of the songs deal with that idea of committing to a reliable perspective. They’re about trying to relate or adapt and finding a logical place to stand. What kinds of changes have you noticed as you’ve been writing, recording and playing more and more? Oisin and Jeff both play guitar and bass so we’ve been switching and writing in some different ways, lately with two guitars. There’s a noticeable shift in dynamics when we change roles, the vocals and melodies are laid over differently and we each play the instruments in our own ways. Also, we’ve been working with alternate time signatures for a few months, but we try to make our use of them as streamlined as we can. What do you feel like the biggest benefits would be of being on a label, what kind of things would you look for in a label? Down the line having a tour set up for us would be ideal, being in good company, feeling like we’re not totally on your own… those are the kinds of things that come to mind when we think of a label, It’s not something we discuss too much at this stage, although it has come up now that we’re finishing a full-length. We’ll probably try and open a dialogue with this one if we can. Musical influences aside, what else contributes to your approach as a band? Being friends foremost and knowing what’s happening in each other’s lives. Walking into our practice space and being excited to be there together. It’s hard to understand how some bands can manage without that.
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