George Lewis, Jr. has a shady past, for a suave new wave Pitchfork icon at least. Before plumping for the Twin Shadow moniker, he had previous in the Chili Peppers-inspired band Mad Man Films while based in the Boston in the early noughties and then working in musical theatre in Copenhagen. No wonder he was so tightlipped.
His record Forget has garnered quite a bit of praise and turned up on many of 2010’s best of the year lists last December. Forget was produced with Grizzly Bear’s bassist Chris Taylor (who was also responsible for the production on Dirty Projectors’ awesome Rise Above) and mines a rich seam of 80s synth-pop in the vein of OMD and Depeche Mode with some Morrisseyesque vocal inflections thrown in for good measure.
I believe that you worked on this album a lot on your own on a laptop – was it a relief to be free from working in band situations and be totally in control?
Yes, it was, but it wasn’t easy, I grew up playing music with other people
How did you come to work with Chris Taylor and what was his input on Forget?
He heard some demos and approached me about doing a 7-inch on his label. Chris cleaned up the record a lot, and he really put his touch on the mixing, making the music really move around and take the shape I had hoped it would take.
Describe your favourite piece of musical equipment and why it is your favourite?
My yellow [Fender] Telecaster. I’ve had it for 10 years now and I owe it some gratitude.
You have somewhat of an itinerant past – Berlin, Copenhagen, Boston, Brooklyn: Do you find any particular place particularly inspiring to write and create music in?
I find people inspiring, the people are what make the places what they are.
Is Forget an intentionally nostalgia-themed record?
No, nostalgia is quite boring in my opinion. I don’t consider this music to be nostalgic.
What (new and old) records are you listening to these days?
Mmmm, just some friends records that have yet to come out, and some Barry White, Gap Band… recently I have just been listening to the radio a lot again, letting someone else decide.
You’ve changed styles a lot – do you think you will continue to do so or do you think you’ll commit to developing this conception of your music with your current live band?
Twin Shadow is all I ever wanted. I’ll do it ‘til I’m a world-renowned painter.
Would you like to do another record with Chris Taylor, or do you have any other collaborators you’d like to work with?
Chris and I are going to work on music together for a long time. We love working together, he will be a part of my future for sure. I want to work with other people too.
What would you like to do differently on your next record?
I don’t know that I’ll do anything too different. I guess I’ll get some help this go round.
Pick a book and a film that relate to Twin Shadow’s music.
On The Water Front – the book and the movie
Give Totally Dublin some badly needed fashion tips for the coming year.
Most important tip: “Do whatever you feel like doing, and if it gets you laid, or gets you a job, or makes some one jealous, or makes someone blush, or makes you feel like god, or makes you feel at peace, or makes you want to live life like a movie, then do that thing over and over again.” If you are bored, change your clothes.
Wise words, mate.
Twin Shadow plays Crawdaddy on February 19th. Win a pair of tickets at www.totallydublin.ie.
Words: Ian Lamont
