You might not have heard of Mitch Davis yet, but you have definitely heard his band Orba Squara. Yes, you sitting there, eyeballing that iPhone idle on the corner of your desk pretending to ignore the hole its first bill burned in your pocket. We all remember the gleaming simplicity of those first iPhone TV commercials, and we all remember the Orba Squara song that chimed delicately in the background. Apples iPhone commercials rocketed its product -- and Daviss song -- into the hands and ears of millions. Talk about a grand debut. By a seemingly effortless stroke of brilliance, Davis turned what could have been merely a jingle into a whimsical term of endearment for an entire generation of romantic, indie-rock consumers.
Like fellow singer-songwriters Sam Beam (of Iron & Wine) and Devendra Banhart -- both of whom have had their music featured in major ad campaigns -- Orba Squaras Mitch Davis has emerged from amongst the wooly beards and threadbare sweaters of the introspective, indie-rock scene, and prettied up the mainstream with lilting, sunshiny songs. Or, in Davis case, "sunshyness" songs.
Sunshyness, Orba Squaras full-length debut, is a magical collection of songs to dream to, and that iPhone track, Perfect Timing, is only one of its many gems. SuicideGirls called up Mitch Davis in New York for an afternoon chat about how music that began as a personal artistic outlet became part of a worldwide phenomenon. Soft-spoken and sincere, Davis filled SuicideGirls in on all things Orba Squara, including his ever-growing collection on vintage instruments and the bands follow-up album, due later this year.
You can listen to the music of Orba Squara by visiting the bands iTunes page here.
Erin Broadley: So how are you?
Mitch Davis: Im doing great.
EB: Since the release of your song Perfect Timing with the iPhone campaign youve dealt with a whirlwind of popularity and publicity not to mention the cesspool of mainstream entertainment [laughs]. Is it overwhelming yet?
MD: Its okay. It takes a lot to overwhelm me. As long as its good then I just keep doing my thing. It doesnt really change what Im doing; Im just talking to a few more people and playing in front of a couple extra people.
EB: So you know how to handle yourself in moments of stress.
MD: Yeah, Ive done it. Ive been through it a million times. Im holding up okay so far.
EB: Yours is the classic, DIY rock-and-roll love story. Your website says about your music that, even the sad songs make you come away with a smile. Was this part of your intent?
MD: Yeah. Without passing any judgment on other music, I do feel like a lot of music out there really does take itself very seriously. I like the idea of making music where even [with] something that might be a heavy topic, you can do it in a way that is still pleasant to listen to. Because in the end, music is entertainment. You want to be entertained and feel good, even if its somewhat negative subject matter.
EB: Yeah, there is so much dark stuff that we deal with constantly as people; its nice to give a glimmer of hope with music.
MD: Yeah, definitely. You show that you can relate to their hard times but in the end you can still have fun relating to each other.
EB: I read that originally you released sunshyness yourself and, simply by giving it out to friends, it worked its way up to Universal by word of mouth and thats how you ended up with the iPhone TV campaign.
MD: Yeah. I dont have any record deal or anything like that. Universal just kind of picked it up and that whole thing worked out. From making music myself and getting it around, thats how Universal found out about me and it just went from there. Its also good that Im able to make the music I want to make. Our association with them happened in a way that was really perfect because they dont try to change anything Im doing.
EB: No one is hovering over your shoulder telling you to change your music.
MD: Yeah, so thats good. Thats the only way Id want to do it. The only reason I dont have a record deal is I feel like Im making [music] for me stuff that I want to do. If I were to be making music based on somebody elses direction then I might as well just have a regular job.
EB: Well, the most recent news Ive dug up on you is that, not only did Apple pick up Perfect Timing, but nearly the whole record has been picked up and licensed out as well?
MD: Eight of the 10 songs have been used; a couple before the iPhone and some after. Someday maybe the whole album will be used for stuff.
EB: Whats really interesting for me is that, for so long theres been this indie-rock snobbery where if you license out your songs to commercials or such then youre selling out, or considered being untrue to yourself as a artist. But now, with the digital overthrow, it seems there is no room for that snobbery anymore. Its a moot point because like, for you, its not being untrue to yourself as an artist; its just another way to get your songs heard by as many people possible. Would you agree?
MD: Yeah, definitely. If it werent for the iPhone commercial we wouldnt be talking, probably. I think theres a difference, you know. One thing I wouldnt do is if someone said, Oh, I love your song for this commercial but just change it so it does this instead. I dont want to do that. If I feel that they like it the way it is, and they think its something theyd like to represent their product with, and something I feel comfortable with it being used for, and as long as I am able to retain the integrity then Im fine. I think there are certain things Id prefer to be associated with than not. I prefer the commercials that are a little more artistic looking and that let the music shine through.
EB: How do you choose outlets that are worthy of your music, whether its TV commercials or whether its concert venues? Your website says, Each of these songs would feel equally at home on mainstream radio or included in an indie film soundtrack or as part of a homegrown mixtape for your love. Where would your songs not feel at home?
MD: With TV stuff, I like something where the music would have a chance to come through and it wont be just, Buy this, buy that, buy this. With anything, like I said, as long as I dont have to change the music, as long as the commercials arent too message-y or anything... thats why the iPhones nice.
EB: Whats cool is that the better commercials have become little artistic statements in and of themselves. They have artists and graphic designers working on these otherwise typical canvases and theyre doing some great stuff creating little short films, short animations or music videos even.
MD: Yeah, theyre very visually based like little short films. Its really nice and a lot of people who make these commercials are directors and writers also, so some are really quite artistic.
EB: Another thing you wrote on your website is that sometimes you just need to step back and simplify. Can you elaborate some on the feelings that led to this statement?
MD: Yeah. Actually, before this album I was doing a lot of electronic stuff and other more aggressive music stuff that was very, very different from this. It just got to a point where it became a race as to who can do the most or the loudest album or the fastest or the most avant-garde thing. After awhile it came to a point where, for any kid starting out making music, its all electronics. [Electronics] have become the starting point, whereas before you used to start out with an acoustic guitar and then just build up. Now, when people hear a guitar theyre like, Oh what synth is that making that sound? And its like, Its not a synth; its just a guitar.
EB: [Laughs]
MD: I feel like, to go further, you actually have to go backwards to the instruments people arent using anymore the natural instruments that the synths are emulating. That felt like my way to go forward. Nothing against [electronics] Im a big electronic fan, Im a big synth collector its just one of those things it felt like the right thing to push [my music] forward. It wasnt even something that I expected would turn into an album or that I would be performing live with. It was just one of those things for myself that let me do something thats totally different from what I would normally do. I made one song and the others started flowing out. And now its become something I feel really good about.
EB: Its like creative spring-cleaning, when you can do something like that. Theres just such a heavy bombardment nowadays with how many new tools are available for musicians sometimes its good to simplify. I mean, for example, Im a photographer and I learned on film. Now all the dark rooms are shutting down and Ive lost that access so for the most part Ive switched to digital. But with all the new fangled Photoshops and programs and all these amazing things that digital has allowed, sometimes its just healthy to go out there, slap a role of film in the camera, and remind myself what a chemical process is and how it lends itself to the photograph, in order for me to get rid of all the clutter.
MD: Mhmm. It seems like an analogy to film also, with Photoshop you have all these filters and this and that you have the filters that make it look like it has film grain and a roughness or vignette, meanwhile you dont know that the photograph has this vignetting because of a certain way the film is held in there or that its grainy for a reason. People dont always realize that those filters came from something else, a chemical process [Digital] is kind of the same thing and you get that effect but when you go back and use the real camera, its so different it has so much more dimension to it.
EB: That leads me to the next thing I want to talk about which is your use of all these organic instruments on this record. Lets talk organic versus electronic and the dimension you get with instruments that are really pushing air to make a sound instruments that arent just sound effects on a keyboard. Can you share some more about your decision to use such a range of instruments like the dobro, mandolin, glockenspiel and so on?
MD: I played everything on the album [and] Ive had a collection of a lot of these instruments around but I wasnt using them as main instruments in my records or anything. I wasnt sure, sometimes theyre just nice to play around with. Rather than a new shiny instrument, I always prefer the beat-up crappy instruments. They always have more character.
EB: They have a history.
MD: Yeah. I just picked them up and started playing and as I started making this music, I started acquiring more instruments that were older and crappier and using them to make songs. It just developed on its own in a very organic way. I picked up an instrument and played, and whatever came out of that instrument would influence me to play whatever next. Most of the songs were done in one or two takes. I wanted to get really inspired performances where even if I made a mistake, that would be part of the song.
EB: A lot of great songs and riffs and melodies started as mistakes [laughs]. Again, in photography there is this technique called Solarization which was pioneered by Man Ray and Lee Miller its this halo effect you can create on a photograph in the darkroom and it was only discovered because, one afternoon, Lee Miller was in the dark room and a mouse ran across her foot so she inadvertently flipped on the lights while the photos were developing. A huge mistake but it led to this really progressive technique that became signature of the Surrealist photography movement in general.
MD: Yeah! Its the same with distortion on guitar. It was an accidental overdrive of an amp or whatever. Things like that. So many things came from mistakes.
EB: Youve got to leave room for them; you never know what might happen.
MD: Exactly. Thats what gives things personality. What makes one drummer sound different than another is because they have their own internal clock that makes them have a certain swing to them. Once you start taking all that out, then everything sounds the same. Thats why the idea of doing everything pretty much in one take not only has a more inspired sound to it, but its also the closest I felt I could come to experiencing the music for the first time myself. Thats the one thing I feel is missing when you make the music yourself you cant really be surprised by it. You know whats coming next. I like when I make mistakes, like, Oh I didnt know that was coming! [Laughs] I like that part of it the best. Whats really fun about music to me is being surprised. When I listen to music and hear some change coming like, Oh thats amazing. I would have never expected it to go there. If Im writing it, then theres no mistake unless I say its a mistake. Whatever I do its like, Well thats the way it was supposed to be. You know? It may be a horribly wrong note but maybe thats how its supposed to be. If thats how the song is supposed to go then its the perfect expression of that song. However I record it is the exactly way it should be.
EB: How far back does your music making go. Since you were a child? Do you remember the first song you ever wrote?
MD: Oh, jeez. [Laughs] No, I dont remember one of the first songs I ever wrote.
EB: [Laughs]
MD: I can tell ya, they would have been in the metal genre. My early songs were very angst-driven, too serious Ill try to find those tapes. Im sure theyll be amusing [laughs].
EB: Well, dont you dare get rid of them!
MD: I wouldnt get rid of them, thats for sure. Theyd be hilarious to listen to. Never get rid of anything.
EB: So you picked up instruments as a kid?
MD: Yeah. Thats pretty much how I did it. I started playing guitar way back when, took lessons for a long time, and then everything else I just picked up myself. I think the fact that Im not properly trained on a lot of instruments is what gives me my personal character. Which is why, actually, in my live band I made sure to use people who, the instruments they play in the band, are not their normal instruments they play. They are people who are great musicians but, like, the other guy who is playing guitar and mandolin now, hes really a saxophone and flute player.
EB: Its like musical chairs [laughs].
MD: Yeah, and to me, thats what makes it sound interesting. Youre hearing him do an innocent take on an instrument. Its not mechanical, its not slick, hes just learning and figuring it out and I think that gives it that first take quality in the live show, same with the recordings.
EB: I think that lends to the personal feeling the audience gets from it. Everyone wants to think they have a unique interaction or that they hear something special in a band, but when its been polished and perfected beyond a certain degree, to the point where you know that every other fan in every other club across the country has heard these same songs delivered in the same way, it robs the audience of that personalized, intimate experience.
MD: Totally. Thats also why were trying to change up the songs live and do different versions to keep it sounding fresh like that. Just change things around. It keeps things fun and interesting. In a live show, I like to hear things interpreted a little differently than the album, rather than something that sounds like I could have just sat at home and listened to the record. The most fun part is when you see someone make a little mistake and they can just laugh about it.
EB: Instead of storming off stage [laughs].
MD: [Laughs] Yeah, and smashing their guitar. Its interesting because a lot of people who I would expect not to like the songs, seem to like them. On MySpace I get messages from metal kids and they say, Oh youve made me want to start an acoustic thing now. Theyre inspired by it. I guess people can pick up on the fact that its not really trying to be anything so much it doesnt really alienate anybody. Thats probably my best guess.
EB: Well, lets talk about the follow up record. Youre nearly finished recording it, right? Do you have a title yet?
MD: Yeah, Ive been working on the follow up. Its nearly completed and its different enough from this one but, once again, its kind of the same process with the sunshyness album. Every song I do Im like, Oh thats a great song. Ill probably never be able to do that again! And then, you know, I do it again. Im always like, Oh this is the last time Ill be able to write like this. Will I be inspired again? But then I just make them without thinking about it too much. So its the same mindset but its a progression, using different instruments and some more layers. I tried to use different instruments that are in the same families as the last ones. Thats one of the big differences that I changed my group of instruments to a new group.
EB: But they share the same bloodline.
MD: [Laughs] Yeah, they share the same bloodline. Like, instead of the glockenspiel Ill use a marimba instead. Im trying to move it in a direction without creatively trying to change it, and letting a new set of instruments [pick its direction] because the instruments are really what inspire the songs. As with before, Ive been collecting a bunch of new instruments to inspire me well see where they take me.
Look for Orba Squara on the road throughout 2008, as well as a new record in stores later in the year. For updates and more information check out www.orbasquara.com and www.myspace.com/orbasquara
Like fellow singer-songwriters Sam Beam (of Iron & Wine) and Devendra Banhart -- both of whom have had their music featured in major ad campaigns -- Orba Squaras Mitch Davis has emerged from amongst the wooly beards and threadbare sweaters of the introspective, indie-rock scene, and prettied up the mainstream with lilting, sunshiny songs. Or, in Davis case, "sunshyness" songs.
Sunshyness, Orba Squaras full-length debut, is a magical collection of songs to dream to, and that iPhone track, Perfect Timing, is only one of its many gems. SuicideGirls called up Mitch Davis in New York for an afternoon chat about how music that began as a personal artistic outlet became part of a worldwide phenomenon. Soft-spoken and sincere, Davis filled SuicideGirls in on all things Orba Squara, including his ever-growing collection on vintage instruments and the bands follow-up album, due later this year.
You can listen to the music of Orba Squara by visiting the bands iTunes page here.
Erin Broadley: So how are you?
Mitch Davis: Im doing great.
EB: Since the release of your song Perfect Timing with the iPhone campaign youve dealt with a whirlwind of popularity and publicity not to mention the cesspool of mainstream entertainment [laughs]. Is it overwhelming yet?
MD: Its okay. It takes a lot to overwhelm me. As long as its good then I just keep doing my thing. It doesnt really change what Im doing; Im just talking to a few more people and playing in front of a couple extra people.
EB: So you know how to handle yourself in moments of stress.
MD: Yeah, Ive done it. Ive been through it a million times. Im holding up okay so far.
EB: Yours is the classic, DIY rock-and-roll love story. Your website says about your music that, even the sad songs make you come away with a smile. Was this part of your intent?
MD: Yeah. Without passing any judgment on other music, I do feel like a lot of music out there really does take itself very seriously. I like the idea of making music where even [with] something that might be a heavy topic, you can do it in a way that is still pleasant to listen to. Because in the end, music is entertainment. You want to be entertained and feel good, even if its somewhat negative subject matter.
EB: Yeah, there is so much dark stuff that we deal with constantly as people; its nice to give a glimmer of hope with music.
MD: Yeah, definitely. You show that you can relate to their hard times but in the end you can still have fun relating to each other.
EB: I read that originally you released sunshyness yourself and, simply by giving it out to friends, it worked its way up to Universal by word of mouth and thats how you ended up with the iPhone TV campaign.
MD: Yeah. I dont have any record deal or anything like that. Universal just kind of picked it up and that whole thing worked out. From making music myself and getting it around, thats how Universal found out about me and it just went from there. Its also good that Im able to make the music I want to make. Our association with them happened in a way that was really perfect because they dont try to change anything Im doing.
EB: No one is hovering over your shoulder telling you to change your music.
MD: Yeah, so thats good. Thats the only way Id want to do it. The only reason I dont have a record deal is I feel like Im making [music] for me stuff that I want to do. If I were to be making music based on somebody elses direction then I might as well just have a regular job.
EB: Well, the most recent news Ive dug up on you is that, not only did Apple pick up Perfect Timing, but nearly the whole record has been picked up and licensed out as well?
MD: Eight of the 10 songs have been used; a couple before the iPhone and some after. Someday maybe the whole album will be used for stuff.
EB: Whats really interesting for me is that, for so long theres been this indie-rock snobbery where if you license out your songs to commercials or such then youre selling out, or considered being untrue to yourself as a artist. But now, with the digital overthrow, it seems there is no room for that snobbery anymore. Its a moot point because like, for you, its not being untrue to yourself as an artist; its just another way to get your songs heard by as many people possible. Would you agree?
MD: Yeah, definitely. If it werent for the iPhone commercial we wouldnt be talking, probably. I think theres a difference, you know. One thing I wouldnt do is if someone said, Oh, I love your song for this commercial but just change it so it does this instead. I dont want to do that. If I feel that they like it the way it is, and they think its something theyd like to represent their product with, and something I feel comfortable with it being used for, and as long as I am able to retain the integrity then Im fine. I think there are certain things Id prefer to be associated with than not. I prefer the commercials that are a little more artistic looking and that let the music shine through.
EB: How do you choose outlets that are worthy of your music, whether its TV commercials or whether its concert venues? Your website says, Each of these songs would feel equally at home on mainstream radio or included in an indie film soundtrack or as part of a homegrown mixtape for your love. Where would your songs not feel at home?
MD: With TV stuff, I like something where the music would have a chance to come through and it wont be just, Buy this, buy that, buy this. With anything, like I said, as long as I dont have to change the music, as long as the commercials arent too message-y or anything... thats why the iPhones nice.
EB: Whats cool is that the better commercials have become little artistic statements in and of themselves. They have artists and graphic designers working on these otherwise typical canvases and theyre doing some great stuff creating little short films, short animations or music videos even.
MD: Yeah, theyre very visually based like little short films. Its really nice and a lot of people who make these commercials are directors and writers also, so some are really quite artistic.
EB: Another thing you wrote on your website is that sometimes you just need to step back and simplify. Can you elaborate some on the feelings that led to this statement?
MD: Yeah. Actually, before this album I was doing a lot of electronic stuff and other more aggressive music stuff that was very, very different from this. It just got to a point where it became a race as to who can do the most or the loudest album or the fastest or the most avant-garde thing. After awhile it came to a point where, for any kid starting out making music, its all electronics. [Electronics] have become the starting point, whereas before you used to start out with an acoustic guitar and then just build up. Now, when people hear a guitar theyre like, Oh what synth is that making that sound? And its like, Its not a synth; its just a guitar.
EB: [Laughs]
MD: I feel like, to go further, you actually have to go backwards to the instruments people arent using anymore the natural instruments that the synths are emulating. That felt like my way to go forward. Nothing against [electronics] Im a big electronic fan, Im a big synth collector its just one of those things it felt like the right thing to push [my music] forward. It wasnt even something that I expected would turn into an album or that I would be performing live with. It was just one of those things for myself that let me do something thats totally different from what I would normally do. I made one song and the others started flowing out. And now its become something I feel really good about.
EB: Its like creative spring-cleaning, when you can do something like that. Theres just such a heavy bombardment nowadays with how many new tools are available for musicians sometimes its good to simplify. I mean, for example, Im a photographer and I learned on film. Now all the dark rooms are shutting down and Ive lost that access so for the most part Ive switched to digital. But with all the new fangled Photoshops and programs and all these amazing things that digital has allowed, sometimes its just healthy to go out there, slap a role of film in the camera, and remind myself what a chemical process is and how it lends itself to the photograph, in order for me to get rid of all the clutter.
MD: Mhmm. It seems like an analogy to film also, with Photoshop you have all these filters and this and that you have the filters that make it look like it has film grain and a roughness or vignette, meanwhile you dont know that the photograph has this vignetting because of a certain way the film is held in there or that its grainy for a reason. People dont always realize that those filters came from something else, a chemical process [Digital] is kind of the same thing and you get that effect but when you go back and use the real camera, its so different it has so much more dimension to it.
EB: That leads me to the next thing I want to talk about which is your use of all these organic instruments on this record. Lets talk organic versus electronic and the dimension you get with instruments that are really pushing air to make a sound instruments that arent just sound effects on a keyboard. Can you share some more about your decision to use such a range of instruments like the dobro, mandolin, glockenspiel and so on?
MD: I played everything on the album [and] Ive had a collection of a lot of these instruments around but I wasnt using them as main instruments in my records or anything. I wasnt sure, sometimes theyre just nice to play around with. Rather than a new shiny instrument, I always prefer the beat-up crappy instruments. They always have more character.
EB: They have a history.
MD: Yeah. I just picked them up and started playing and as I started making this music, I started acquiring more instruments that were older and crappier and using them to make songs. It just developed on its own in a very organic way. I picked up an instrument and played, and whatever came out of that instrument would influence me to play whatever next. Most of the songs were done in one or two takes. I wanted to get really inspired performances where even if I made a mistake, that would be part of the song.
EB: A lot of great songs and riffs and melodies started as mistakes [laughs]. Again, in photography there is this technique called Solarization which was pioneered by Man Ray and Lee Miller its this halo effect you can create on a photograph in the darkroom and it was only discovered because, one afternoon, Lee Miller was in the dark room and a mouse ran across her foot so she inadvertently flipped on the lights while the photos were developing. A huge mistake but it led to this really progressive technique that became signature of the Surrealist photography movement in general.
MD: Yeah! Its the same with distortion on guitar. It was an accidental overdrive of an amp or whatever. Things like that. So many things came from mistakes.
EB: Youve got to leave room for them; you never know what might happen.
MD: Exactly. Thats what gives things personality. What makes one drummer sound different than another is because they have their own internal clock that makes them have a certain swing to them. Once you start taking all that out, then everything sounds the same. Thats why the idea of doing everything pretty much in one take not only has a more inspired sound to it, but its also the closest I felt I could come to experiencing the music for the first time myself. Thats the one thing I feel is missing when you make the music yourself you cant really be surprised by it. You know whats coming next. I like when I make mistakes, like, Oh I didnt know that was coming! [Laughs] I like that part of it the best. Whats really fun about music to me is being surprised. When I listen to music and hear some change coming like, Oh thats amazing. I would have never expected it to go there. If Im writing it, then theres no mistake unless I say its a mistake. Whatever I do its like, Well thats the way it was supposed to be. You know? It may be a horribly wrong note but maybe thats how its supposed to be. If thats how the song is supposed to go then its the perfect expression of that song. However I record it is the exactly way it should be.
EB: How far back does your music making go. Since you were a child? Do you remember the first song you ever wrote?
MD: Oh, jeez. [Laughs] No, I dont remember one of the first songs I ever wrote.
EB: [Laughs]
MD: I can tell ya, they would have been in the metal genre. My early songs were very angst-driven, too serious Ill try to find those tapes. Im sure theyll be amusing [laughs].
EB: Well, dont you dare get rid of them!
MD: I wouldnt get rid of them, thats for sure. Theyd be hilarious to listen to. Never get rid of anything.
EB: So you picked up instruments as a kid?
MD: Yeah. Thats pretty much how I did it. I started playing guitar way back when, took lessons for a long time, and then everything else I just picked up myself. I think the fact that Im not properly trained on a lot of instruments is what gives me my personal character. Which is why, actually, in my live band I made sure to use people who, the instruments they play in the band, are not their normal instruments they play. They are people who are great musicians but, like, the other guy who is playing guitar and mandolin now, hes really a saxophone and flute player.
EB: Its like musical chairs [laughs].
MD: Yeah, and to me, thats what makes it sound interesting. Youre hearing him do an innocent take on an instrument. Its not mechanical, its not slick, hes just learning and figuring it out and I think that gives it that first take quality in the live show, same with the recordings.
EB: I think that lends to the personal feeling the audience gets from it. Everyone wants to think they have a unique interaction or that they hear something special in a band, but when its been polished and perfected beyond a certain degree, to the point where you know that every other fan in every other club across the country has heard these same songs delivered in the same way, it robs the audience of that personalized, intimate experience.
MD: Totally. Thats also why were trying to change up the songs live and do different versions to keep it sounding fresh like that. Just change things around. It keeps things fun and interesting. In a live show, I like to hear things interpreted a little differently than the album, rather than something that sounds like I could have just sat at home and listened to the record. The most fun part is when you see someone make a little mistake and they can just laugh about it.
EB: Instead of storming off stage [laughs].
MD: [Laughs] Yeah, and smashing their guitar. Its interesting because a lot of people who I would expect not to like the songs, seem to like them. On MySpace I get messages from metal kids and they say, Oh youve made me want to start an acoustic thing now. Theyre inspired by it. I guess people can pick up on the fact that its not really trying to be anything so much it doesnt really alienate anybody. Thats probably my best guess.
EB: Well, lets talk about the follow up record. Youre nearly finished recording it, right? Do you have a title yet?
MD: Yeah, Ive been working on the follow up. Its nearly completed and its different enough from this one but, once again, its kind of the same process with the sunshyness album. Every song I do Im like, Oh thats a great song. Ill probably never be able to do that again! And then, you know, I do it again. Im always like, Oh this is the last time Ill be able to write like this. Will I be inspired again? But then I just make them without thinking about it too much. So its the same mindset but its a progression, using different instruments and some more layers. I tried to use different instruments that are in the same families as the last ones. Thats one of the big differences that I changed my group of instruments to a new group.
EB: But they share the same bloodline.
MD: [Laughs] Yeah, they share the same bloodline. Like, instead of the glockenspiel Ill use a marimba instead. Im trying to move it in a direction without creatively trying to change it, and letting a new set of instruments [pick its direction] because the instruments are really what inspire the songs. As with before, Ive been collecting a bunch of new instruments to inspire me well see where they take me.
Look for Orba Squara on the road throughout 2008, as well as a new record in stores later in the year. For updates and more information check out www.orbasquara.com and www.myspace.com/orbasquara
erin_broadley:
You might not have heard of Mitch Davis yet, but you have definitely heard his band Orba Squara. Yes, you sitting there, eyeballing that iPhone idle on the corner of your desk pretending to ignore the hole that its first bill burned in your pocket. We all remember the gleaming simplicity of those...