We catch up with Luke Munn, one half of Auckland duo The Ribbon.
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Been around since?
2007.
Current line up?
Luke Munn and Campbell Birch.
Tell us about your sound?
Fairly wide ranging - from ambientsoundscapes, to glitches and static noise, and tropical infused pop tracks, but generally hits some grey area between indie and
electronica. We've been compared to Animal Collective, The Knife, and Bjork so far from listeners.
What were you listening to back in high school?
Radiohead, Bjork, Godspeed You Black Emperor!, Smashing Pumpkins.
What are you currently listening to?
TV On The Radio, The Field, Air France, Radical Fashion, Deerhunter - Campbell has impeccable music taste and loans me all the latest albums.
Your dream collaboration?
Working with Danger Mouse or David Sitek as producer, or perhaps some collab with Karin Dreijer Anderssonfrom The Knife.
What's your writing process?
A transparent variation of the 'exquisite corpse' process - I sketch up a track idea on the laptop and take it to Cam at rehearsal where we play live over it and restructure it. We'll go back and forth like this refining and listening to previous rehearsal sessions to see what we like and don't like.
The state of music in NZ is…?
It's too easy to critique and put down. Music here, like other areas, is always going to be on a smaller scale. Personally I think it's a really exciting time to be small, innovative and independent. We've recorded, mixed, and mastered our own album, and can make digital versions available to fans in the US and Europe - all without a major label backing.
What's your favorite place to play?
The Whammy Bar on K'Road puts on a lot of great acts, local and international, with a good amount of space and a very central location.
What was your favorite show so far?
We actually played a short set before Box Wars at Cross Street Studios recently, an artist run space which hosts exhibitions, discussions and film nights. Every square inch of the place was covered in cardboard and some of the participants did some improvised dances to our songs.
What is your recording process?
When we're sketching out new material we're always going through the laptop anyway, so just record everything and gradually refine tracks, cutting and splicing, or adding effects if needed.
What's been your best recording experience?
This album process has gone really well overall - I think we've been able to capture some energy and looseness in the takes for the more 'live' type tracks, as well as cut, paste and mashup recorded material for some of the soundscape/electronic pieces.
What's been your worst recording experience?
For a while we rehearsed and recorded in my inner city apartment. We were working on a very repetitive electronic track when the neighbour came over and told us to either 'turn it down, or - you know - play some other note'. We rehearsed at Campbell's place after that.
When and where can people get their hands on your new album?
We're releasing it through our own label, Nude Records, in an extremely limited run. CD Baby are distributing print copies in the US, as well as making it available via iTunes and other online music stores. Locally we'll be setting up a simple electronic deposit and mail it (Trade Me style) system. Or alternatively grab it at a show.
When is your next show?
Friday, November 28th at Galatos Basement. We'll be playing a range of material from the album. Also onthe bill that night are Boyfriend and Street Beat, both really interesting new groups playing dreamy pop and tropical type stuff. Pig Out! will be finishing off the night with a DJ set of classic electro and techno tracks, so we're really looking forward to it.
The Future holds…?
I really respect prolific artists who maintain their integrity and vision - Deerhunter, Lucky Dragons, Radiohead, Trent Reznor. So I'd like to keep creating and releasing
new music consistently.
