Vampire Weekend (Interview)

With a rich heritage of live music, Manchester attracts some of the worlds great artists to its city. This my stem from the great home grown talent, or the vast array of live venues on offer, each giving artists a different angle on how to deliver their live performances.

This issue of 4Q has brought you exciting music for our Love and Disaster friends, some home grown talent that you must keep your ears peeled for. The opening of Fac251 is yet another great reason to live in this great city. And, by no means least we have bands like Vampire Weekend coming to perform. I was one of the lucky people able to catch the guys play on 8th of February. To those of you unaware of who these guys are, (to which I’m sure there are very few) let me tell you a bit about the who, the what and the where.

Originating from New York, the band met while attending Columbia University; they self-produced their first album after graduation while concurrently working full-time jobs. The band describe their genre as upper west side soweto, and fusion of African popular music and Western classical music. These contrasting influences are the source of their unique sound. Not long after completion of their first recordings the band signed to XL Recordings, of which the band said in an interview: “Before any labels had contacted us, we actually mentioned XL as the kind of label we’d ideally like to end up on. Just going on their roster alone, they obviously have good taste and support their artists well.” Oh and finally the band derive their name from lead singer Ezra Koenig’s amateur film of the same name.

With the very successful self titled debut album, Vampire Weekend embarked on the writing and recording of their new album titled “Contra”, just two weeks after completing their eighteen month tour promoting the first record. To the band, “Contra” means both “against” in Latin and eight months of their lives. Chris: “We had been collecting ideas for this record for years, little melodies and lyrics. Even during sound check it would sort of progress into something, bit by bit from show to show. Then in January, the four of us got together in a rehearsal room for a few weeks. That was the time when we could really focus on trying stuff.”

Contra brings a new edge to Vampire weekend, it delivers fresh ideas whilst managing to sound familiar. The band have clearly taken much from their vast touring experiences. In March 2009 the band toured Mexico for the first time. In Monterrey they found a kindred spirit in DJ/Producer Toy Selectah, exchanging ideas and philosophies over days spent listening to records in his home studio. They returned to New York energized.

Ezra: “Despite the fact that things change for us as a band from releasing the first one, when we got into the zone of making this album we basically did it in the exact same way. Rostam (Rostam Batmanglij) produced this one, he produced the first one. So you know everything is coming from within the band, song writing, management and production. It still all comes from the four of us. We actually recorded most of it in the studio where we finished the first album, so of course there is some more added pressure. You have more people who are looking forward to this record, I don’t think that many people had heard of us when the first record came out, but we try to look at that as a positive thing, its awesome that people are so excited about it.”

Chris: “This record is kind of prismatic, it has our most fast and furious songs, and our more slowest and quiet.” Ezra: “It wasn’t really a challenge to make them all work together because, they all come in at the same time, and in at the same place. I think for me, the ideal record is one that covers a lot of ground but still somehow is all wrapped up together. I think on this album we accomplished this even more so than the first album. The way I see it is that songs are all about, you know, its a very new age word but vibe. If you wanted to make a very specific political statement, probably the best way to get that across would be in some sort of speech or an essay. I do feel like songs can inspire people and get them excited but in a different kind of way. And one thing I like about it is you have the chance to be ambiguous, but because its connected to the music and the rhythm the words can get into someone’s head before they think about them. So its one of the last places you can have fun with words and make someone care and think about the meaning.

There isn’t a much better way to get the capacity crowd jumping than the eclectic and unigue sound of Vampire Weekend. Having just embarked on their biggest UK tour in support of second album Contra, its great to see Ezra and the guys settling into their performance. With three chandeliers hanging just above the band, it creates a more intimate show and you quickly forget that you’re sharing the floor with 3,500 people. The crowd are all more than happy to get involved, with every yelp Ezra throws at the crowd during the opening chorus, thousands of beaming faces yelp back. The sheer enjoyment the band draws from each live show transcends into their adoring following, and by the time ‘Holiday’ kicks in, any unaware onlooker would be surprised to learn that these songs have only been out for a few weeks.

The band seem keen to keep the crowd and atmosphere moving as they are ask the crowd to practice their “yeeeeiiiiiaaaaaaa’s” before the music begins. “Cousins”, the first single released from Contra, produces one of the highlights of the set. Frantic, riotous and immediately catchy, the crowd becomes a frenzy of flailing arms and stomping feet, cementing Vampire Weekend’s place as one of the most exciting bands of this generation. The new album, seems to bring a new edge to the bands live presence, the crowd seem even more rapturous to these new songs. They have grown their sound, picked up some new instruments along the way, creating a great live production. The new album tracks give the live show much more depth and dimension ‘Taxi Cab’, the bands first attempt at a ballad, sees the vocals take a step down to a lower register, sung over a heavy drum beat. Chris Baio takes to the upright bass, the crowd take a breather, the lights are dimmed, and everyone in the room is captivated by the slow burning, heartfelt lyrics.

Two crowd favourites are played back to back; ‘A-Punk’, and a riotous rendition of ‘Blake’s Got A New Face’. The former is the most recognised and widely known of the Vampire Weekend catalogue, inciting a barrage of wild dancing, tossed beer cups and crowd surfing. The latter, brings the crowd together as we all scream the chorus back at the band. No one is speaking to each other as they become transfixed to the live experience. Its clear that all we see is pure talent, no egos and just four close friends enjoying their passion for great music.

We feel a torrent of sadness as the band leave the stage to relentless applause. We have enjoyed a vast sixteen song set list that has given both the highs and the lows. Its easy to ignore the aching in my legs as I and other await the impending encore. The band are greeted with deafening cheers as the band plays the opening track from the new album, ‘Horchata’; a beautifully performed song that takes on a life of its own in the live setting. ‘Mansard Roof’ and ‘Walcott’ are suitably chosen to bring the night to a close. Most of the crowd leave the Apollo humming the previous two hours of music. I personally find myself rummaging around in the car trying to find my copy of their newest release to make the journey home all the swifter!

Vampire Weekend is a band that you would struggle to dislike. Their song writing ability us undeniable. I personally cant help but find their music infectious. With the music industry bursting at the seams with bands, Vampire Weekend manage to stamp a distinctive edge to each of their releases. If you listen to them on the radio you know who it is before the band and title is announced.

With a great new release on shelves and a long UK tour ahead, its clear that Vampire Weekend are set to gain a much greater following. They make a great addition to any festival line up, trust me, they were one of the highlights of my summer in Lisbon 2008. An open field, a group of friends and a few swift half. The crowds are sure to thrive on every song they play. They are already booked for The Isle of White festival, Benicassim and T in the park. So there are plenty of opportunities to catch them this summer.

Tonight saw a tight, energetic performance to promote a brilliant new album. A triumphant return to a city only too happy to have them!

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