Multi-instrumentalist and - until recently - solo artist Dylan Baldi creates ethereal sonic landscapes under moniker Cloud Nothings. He and his newly formed band released third studio album Attack on Memory in January this year and - after a full year of touring - they're heading to New Zealand to play Laneway Festival in January 2013. UTR caught up with Baldi to discuss his musical background, why he settled on the Cloud Nothings project and what his plans are for the coming year.
Hey Dylan, how are you? What have you been up to?
Yeah we finished the tour, we’ve pretty much been gone since February.
Do you enjoy being on the road or do you find it pretty gruelling?
I never want to do it for that long ever again that’s for sure.
Tell us a little bit about your musical background and what led you to the Cloud Nothings project.
Well I’ve liked music since I remember and I started playing guitar when I was little. Eventually I started making songs around the same time I went to college.
And you did an interesting thing where you put the songs online under different pseudonyms to get them out there.
I made a bunch of songs and they all sounded really different so I thought “hey, why don’t I just make a new band every day?” So I was just really bored and thought it would be funny and interesting.
So how did you go from having a series of really eclectic online personas to having a singular project?
Well I made the Cloud Nothings one and immediately this other band wanted to play a show in New York so I thought “Why not, I”ll give it a go”.
You create eclectic kinds of music but would you say there’s anything that identifies the Cloud Nothings sound?
Well I think right now we haven’t followed a style – all three records sound really different. I guess we’re just trying to figure out what exactly is going on. I’m sure when we’re old all of our records will probably sound the same but at the moment that’s not the case.
You tour as a band now but you write and record all of the music yourself, yes?
Yep, except for this last record.
Tell us about transitioning from it being an insular, solo project into working with a band. Did you find it difficult or was it a pretty organic process?
It’s just a lot more fun because recording by yourself is totally lonely. It’s a lot more fun having other people around because you can try different things and take the songs in a direction you didn’t know existed.
Tell us about writing and recording the latest album, Attack on Memory.
Well all I really wanted from it was that I wanted it to sound like a bedroom album because I haven’t heard many records that sound like that. Everything at the moment sounds really produced and I’m not really into that so the main goal was to make something that didn’t sound like those albums. So we produced with this guy Chicago and it turned out great.
Reflecting on the record as a finished product, is there a particular sound or theme that comes across on the record?
Um, yeah I mean as soon as I finished it I saw the thing as really depressing if you listen to the thing the whole way through.
How would you compare it to your earlier releases?
I mean it’s a lot more full and it sounds more interesting.
You’ve been touring for all of 2012, what are your plans going forward into 2013?
We’re recording in April next year and we’re really excited about that.
And you’re coming to New Zealand, are you looking forward to that?
Yeah I’m really excited, I’ve never been to New Zealand.
Do you have any pre-conceptions about the place?
One of my best friends is from New Zealand and is in a band, The Coolies, she told me a bunch of places to go so if everyone in New Zealand is as awesome as her it’s going to be a fun time.
