Phantogram with Junk Culture, Sesshin No-Fi
Where: DC9, 1940 Ninth St. NW
When: 8:30 p.m. doors, 9 p.m. show, Monday
Info: $8; 202-483-5000; www.dcnine.com
When Josh Carter and Sarah Barthel decided to record an album they hoped it would sell well around the Capitol District of New York State.
Instead “Eyelid Movies,” has won critical and popular acclaim from alt-rock/new age music fans throughout the United States.
“I’d say it’s a mixture of Polly rhythms and beat driven and very atmospheric and kind of arpeggiated guitars, and spaced out synthesizers,” Carter said when asked to describe the band’s esoteric sound. “You know our influences are very wide ranging and we just kind of take the elements of what we like and try to create a sound we like.”
The recent release is the culmination of a friendship that began in high school in Saratoga Springs and reignited in 2005 when the two had each moved back to the area. When the two collaborated they quickly discovered uncommon synergies.
“She was really good at singing and plays the piano and I asked her to help me finish some of my demos and lend a hand with vocals,” he said. “They turned out awesome and we began collaborating.”
The two recorded their effort at a farm in Easton, N.Y., which they turned into a makeshift studio/practice space.
“As far as equipment, I had been building a home studio for about five years. I did it to work on my own music, for my own pleasure,” he said. “When we started making music together and playing out, though, we still [needed money for equipment and other purposes] We were both waiting tables and trying to write music and play out as much as we possibly could. There was a lot of juggling going on.”
Juggling also involved listening to and incorporating various elements of music into their own sound.
“I think we introduced each other to a lot of different music,” he said. “I have always had a very diverse taste and so had she. I was into Indie Rock and around the time we started, Sarah was into underground Hip Hop music and we traded music a lot and started making music we would want to hear. That’s kind of how we forged the sound.”
On this tour, the duo plays plenty of music from its recent release and also new songs that they’ve developed.
“We also have different variations from songs on the album,” he said. “We just are focusing on promoting this album as much as we can.”
