CUT COPY TALK “ZONOSCOPE” AND THE IMPENDING DEATH OF ALBUM ART
Dustin recently sat down with Cut Copy to discuss their third major release Zonoscope that is available in stores now. Check out the entire post for the full interview and some great photos of drummer Mitchell Scott wearing COMUNE.
We love the new record. It’s classic Cut Copy yet it defines the your chapter and a natural progression. When making Zonoscope did you feel any pressure to cater to pop sentiments much like a fashion designer has to cater to what’s considered trendy?
We wanted our record to be well received but its pointless worrying too much about what people would want us to sound like. We decided very early on that we wanted to make a record that sounded somewhat different for us—by producing ourselves and trying new ways of songwriting. We felt it was the most honest way to approach recording by setting out to make music that was interesting to us rather than trying to make something commercially or culturally palatable
- Mitchell Scott
One of our favorite mixes of the last decade is the Irving Plaza Soul Sessions. It’s a nostalgic return to an exciting time for dance music. Where are your heads at these days with regard to record selections for mixes and DJ sets?
For me it feels like we’re into more obscure stuff. It’s almost like the more you delve back into the history of dance music or music in general you realize there’s such a wealth of forgotten gems. I guess I was a little disillusioned with where some of the more mainstream dance stuff had headed, and listening to older stuff was a lot more inspiring. We try to play a mixture of stuff when we DJ these days; playing a balance of old and new stuff.
- Dan Whitford
Can you talk a little more about “Artificial Interpreter” (the documentart) and how that came about?
When we were in the studio making the record we began to realize we’d wound up in a really cool space and wanted a way of documenting that part of the process. It also seemed like a good idea to give people an insight into what we were working on in the leadup to the record being released. Our good friends Krozm were able to shoot it for us, and being friends of ours we were relaxed and normal around them so they were able to get a good representation of what it was like for us.
- Mitchell Scott
Dan, being a graphic designer, do you feel the public at large are losing an appreciation for album art?
I think it’s true to some degree. It wont be long before the vast majority of people are buying MP3s. It’s just a fact that the main medium for buying music these days is one where the artwork doesn’t really exist except for a tiny postage stamp sized graphic. But we always try to push the things we like about old school music culture, like the idea of listening to a record from start to finish or buying a vinyl album because it has interesting record artwork. Record art might become less of a feature than it used to be, but I dont see it dying out.
- Dan Whitford
* Cut Copy’s third major release Zonoscope is out now on Modular records.
** Also check out drummer Mitchell Scott wearing COMUNE.
We love the new record. It’s classic Cut Copy yet it defines the your chapter and a natural progression. When making Zonoscope did you feel any pressure to cater to pop sentiments much like a fashion designer has to cater to what’s considered trendy?
We wanted our record to be well received but its pointless worrying too much about what people would want us to sound like. We decided very early on that we wanted to make a record that sounded somewhat different for us—by producing ourselves and trying new ways of songwriting. We felt it was the most honest way to approach recording by setting out to make music that was interesting to us rather than trying to make something commercially or culturally palatable
- Mitchell Scott
One of our favorite mixes of the last decade is the Irving Plaza Soul Sessions. It’s a nostalgic return to an exciting time for dance music. Where are your heads at these days with regard to record selections for mixes and DJ sets?
For me it feels like we’re into more obscure stuff. It’s almost like the more you delve back into the history of dance music or music in general you realize there’s such a wealth of forgotten gems. I guess I was a little disillusioned with where some of the more mainstream dance stuff had headed, and listening to older stuff was a lot more inspiring. We try to play a mixture of stuff when we DJ these days; playing a balance of old and new stuff.
- Dan Whitford
Can you talk a little more about “Artificial Interpreter” (the documentart) and how that came about?
When we were in the studio making the record we began to realize we’d wound up in a really cool space and wanted a way of documenting that part of the process. It also seemed like a good idea to give people an insight into what we were working on in the leadup to the record being released. Our good friends Krozm were able to shoot it for us, and being friends of ours we were relaxed and normal around them so they were able to get a good representation of what it was like for us.
- Mitchell Scott
Dan, being a graphic designer, do you feel the public at large are losing an appreciation for album art?
I think it’s true to some degree. It wont be long before the vast majority of people are buying MP3s. It’s just a fact that the main medium for buying music these days is one where the artwork doesn’t really exist except for a tiny postage stamp sized graphic. But we always try to push the things we like about old school music culture, like the idea of listening to a record from start to finish or buying a vinyl album because it has interesting record artwork. Record art might become less of a feature than it used to be, but I dont see it dying out.
- Dan Whitford
* Cut Copy’s third major release Zonoscope is out now on Modular records.
** Also check out drummer Mitchell Scott wearing COMUNE.
