Music

[Interview] Earphunk Exclusive on “Right Where I Belong”, Tour and More

Earphunk Right Where I Belong Interview - Florida Music Blog

When one tries to define New Orleans, what do they think of? Mardi Gras, debauchery, and a stellar melting pot of culture with music being the ultimate igniter. Earphunk was birthed in this great collective of musical talent and has been ascending the ladder of recognition since their inception in 2009. Through an expert ingenuity of sound with the likings of Funk and Jazz, with a touch of Prog-Rock, the quintet has captured the heart of the masses. Right Where I Belong carries with it a next level of Earphunk’s musical aptitude and a cohesiveness of the band not yet seen. We sat down with Paul Provosty and Mark Hempe to get in-depth with the band’s ascension to this point.

Over the past few years Earphunk has been gaining in popularity like a wildfire, sweeping the Southeastern region and beyond. Along with your dedicated fan base, what would you say has contributed to that success as a whole?

Paul: Heavy touring for sure.

Mark: Heavy touring and hitting our good markets consistently. Putting out music consistently.

George Clinton on Earphunk: “Ya’ll ain’t your average white band!”

Paul: It was a compliment to say the least.

New Orleans, a mecca of Funk and Jazz music, is where Earphunk calls home. Originating from such a melting pot of adept musicians must be intimidating, yet inspiring. How has your setting affected your maturity as musicians, and the evolution or progression of the band?

Mark: It’s like having a real life Youtube channel that is dedicated to awesome funk music. You’re getting to go out every night of the week and see a different grouping of some of your favorite artists. Having endless resources to go watch and go learn.

Paul: From the beginning of your life too, which is different than most cities. In New Orleans you’re told that Jazz is their Folk music. Funk as well. The Meters, Doctor John, et cetera, it all comes from here. So at a young age, going to Mardi Gras at the age of three, you hear Mardi Gras music, and you get inundated with that from a very young age. Or even Jazz Fest at a young age.

Looking back at the past, Wakarusa 2013, a tumultuous weekend not to be forgotten, you guys were one of the fortunate bands who actually got to play. Thank the weather gods because that killer Daft Phunk set was not to be missed, and forever remembered. What drove your inkling to formulate such a feat of emulating that duo, and how has this alias of sorts progressed since then?

Paul: Well, it was our manager Alex Bowen’s idea initially in 2012. We first played it in Baton Rouge at the Spanish Moon and that iteration was different because I actually used a talk box. Remember I did ‘Around the World.’

Mark: It was a guitar talk box that I was using too.

Paul: And a synth talk box. Eventually it changed and afterwards we did it at different venues and we finally came up with the current lineup, the way it’s set up now, and really polished it up. Wakarusa was definitely the peak, after we did a lot of practicing, and kinda chipped away at it and made it a perfect emulation.

It was packed out, under that tent, everyone was there.

Paul: Yeah I think a lot of that has to do with the anticipation because a lot of people’s favorite bands got cancelled the night before and then leading up to that they got cancelled too. Our set was at like 10:30 [PM] or something, so people were just waiting and waiting, and then finally we were the first band to play on that stage. People were just so ready to go see some music and then they were just blown away.

So Sweet Nasty, released in 2014, was definitely a huge success with nearly 600K downloads on BitTorrent. The album took a tour through Earphunk’s dexterity of musicianship; prog-funk with a hint of electro, in addition to that melodic and funky jazz vibe you emulate so well. Speaking on that, what can we expect from Right Where I Belong to be released October 7th? How has the band evolved as a whole, technically and otherwise?

Mark: More bare bones, more just kind of a raw feel to the album in general. No horns, you know not many over-dubs or anything. We recorded straight to tape for the first time. It’s going to be a bit more rock-y-er. Still sounds like us for sure, but it’s taking a turn in a bit rock-y direction. It turned out awesome.


Hear the newest single from “Right Where I Belong”

Tell us about recording with Steve Albini, and the influence he’s had on Earphunk and Right Where I Belong.

Paul: I mean what can you say…it’s great. I don’t know if people know much about Steve Albini, I know I didn’t going into it. What I gained from the experience is, his whole goal in life is just to capture authentically what a band sounds like in that moment. He doesn’t try to steer you in any direction. He doesn’t try to influence your music in any producer type of way. He’s strictly an engineer. So his main goal is just to see what you sound like, and just capture that authentically. And I definitely think he did his job.

Mark: [He] also helps you preserve it [the music] at the same time because he’s recording with tape, and usually the people that do that are going to come out with a record on vinyl. So he’s very interested in just the preservation of physical copies of music which is really cool.

Paul: He has a whole thing about how in a hundred years are you going to be able to listen to what’s on Spotify? We don’t know. He literally believes in two-inch magnetic tape, you know you can bury this thing in the ground, 400 years later someone could pick it up, and this is what this band sounded like in 2016.

Is there any significance behind the name of this album? Maybe as a metaphor to how far you’ve come?

Paul: To a certain extent all of our albums have kind of marked a certain period in the progression of band and our lives and everything. With our first album being called Comin’ Up, that’s how we felt at the time, you know, coming up. We discovered our sound, and know what Earphunk is to a certain extent. Maybe beforehand in some earlier recording we couldn’t pin-point it as well because didn’t know yet. We were just musically an open book, which we still are of course. It’s just after playing for seven years together we know what we sound like, we learn each other, and know what works. Right Where I Belong captures that whole thing.

As of now Earphunk is at the fresh beginnings of an extensive fall tour stemming from the heart of the Southeast, to the Northeast, through the Midwest, and all the way to Portland, Oregon and California. Being an album release tour, is there anything else you guys vision from this expedition of music? Any cool plans in mind on your days off?

Mark: There’s a few parks we have our eyes on.

Paul: A lot of times when we’re stuck in New Orleans we just want to get out and see some new terrain. And a lot of touring; traveling and playing music is getting able to see some of this stuff we probably wouldn’t see otherwise. So it really is a blessing being able to check out all this environment. Really the whole terrain of the United States is just beautiful which we definitely prioritize getting out to.

Right Where I Belong will be released in its entirety October 7th, but be sure to check out Earphunk’s Kickstarter to pre-order your copy of Right Where I Belong and if you’re lucky enough, go sailing with the guys! 

VIEW PHOTOS FROM JACKSONVILLE SHOW AT 1904 MUSIC HALL HERE

www.earphunk.com

2016 Tour Dates for Earphunk
08/26/16 – Druid City Music Hall – Tuscaloosa, AL
08/27/16 – The Dollar Box Showroom – Hattiesburg, MS ^^
09/02/16 – Vinyl Music Hall – Pensacola, FL ^^
09/03/16 – 1904 Music Hall – Jacksonville, FL ^^
09/04/16 – The Pour House – Charleston, SC @
09/07/16 – New Mountain Theatre – Asheville, NC
09/09/16 – Great North Music And Art Festival – Minot,ME
09/10/16 – Nectar’s – Burlington, VT
09/13/16 – StageOne – Fairfield, CT !!
09/14/16 – Brighton Music Hall – Boston, MA !!
09/15/16 – Mercury Lounge – New York, NY !!
09/16/16 – Jammin’ Java – Vienna, VA !!
09/17/16 – The Foundry @The Fillmore Philadelphia -Philadelphia, PA
09/20/16 – The Southern – Charlottesville, VA **
09/21/16 – Visulite Theatre – Charlotte, NC **
09/22/16 – Terminal West – Atlanta, GA **
09/23/16 – Exit/In – Nashville, TN
09/24/16 – Martin’s – Jackson, MS  **
09/30/16 – Bear Creek Bayou – New Orleans, LA
10/07/16 – Proud Larry’s – Oxford, MS
10/08/16 – Stickyz – Little Rock, AR ^^
10/14/16 – Old Rock House – St. Louis, MO ++
10/15/16 – Martyrs’ – Chicago, IL ++
10/18/16 – The Frequency – Madison, WI ++
10/20/16 – Vega – Lincoln, NE ++
10/21/16 – Cervante’s Other Side – Denver, CO ++
10/22/16 – Aggie Theatre – Fort Collins, CO ++
10/25/16 – Town Square Tavern – Jackson Hole, WY ##
10/26/16 – Neurolux – Boise, ID
10/27/16 – Doug Fir Lounge – Portland, OR
10/28/16 – Volcanic Theatre Pub – Bend, OR
10/29/16 – Lost On Main – Chico, CA
11/02/16 – Crystal Bay Club – Crystal Bay, NV
11/03/16 – The Chapel – San Francisco,  CA
11/04/16 – Winston’s – San Diego, CA
11/05/16 – SLO Brewing Company – San Luis Obispo, CA
11/11/16  The Bottleneck – Lawrence, KS
11/12/16 – The Outland Ballroom – Springfield, MO
^^ Gravy supporting
@ Trongone Band supporting
** Atlas Road Crew supporting
++ People’s Blues of Richmond supporting
## Sneaky Pete and the Secret Weapons supporting
!! Madaila supporting

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