The Robotanists EP Release Party Downtown LA 04/10/10
(click on images to enlarge)
Ever since I got ahold of their new EP, “Shapes and Variations,” I’ve been a huge fan of the Robotanists. Sure, it hasn’t been a long time, but it’s been a whirlwind of a romance. If you’re a regular TRAffIK reader than you’ve read my glowing musings about Sarah, Daniel, and the rest of the Robotanists. If not, you should do yourself a favor and go read it now before you continue. Go ahead. I’ll wait…..
OK, now that we’re all up to speed….I saw them play this past weekend in a loft setting straight out of “How To Make It In America.” The Robotanists failed to disappoint…unlike that awful HBO turdfest. (Seriously, did we really need an East Coast Entourage) The band’s set list mixed in some old tracks, covers, and a new track that highlighted their rich pop driven sounds and unique arrangements . I expected to enjoy their set, and I did, but after sitting through it I went home with a newfound appreciation for the band. When listening to their recordings it is easy to get lost in Sarah Ellquist’s magnetic voice so it was refreshing to see them live and have other members stand out along with her shining vocals — most notably the driving rhythms Preston Phillips drums and Daniel de Blanke’s guitar solos. Don’t believe me? Check out the video below of them covering the INXS classic “Never Tear Us Apart. (I was going to yell out “Suck on that, Beck!” but I thought better of it. Beck seems like a guy who holds grudges and I didn’t want the Robotanists getting in the middle of that.) They rocked their set and on top of that they couldn’t have been nicer people.
I expect this band to really take off in 2010. If anyone deserves to “Make it in America” it is the Robotanists
Set list:
1) “Close Down The Woods”
2) “Never Tear Us Apart” (INXS Cover)
3) “Lack There Of”
4) “Dance Dance Dance” (Lykke Li cover)
5) “How We Met Before’
6) “Wait A Minute Here”
7) “Subtlety is Underrated”
They’ll be playing a free set @ Spaceland at the end of the month. Go! For all you less frugal/lazy WestSiders (I too used to be like you) you can check them out at the Dakota Lounge on 10th & Wilshire (used to be the Temple Bar) on May 23rd.
Misc Notes:
If you’re looking to become their #1 superfan it is too late. The position has already been filled by the girl who danced throughout the entire set and belted out all the words to EVERY song and coupled them with heartfelt hand gestures that may or may not have been sign language.
The Atlantic Line followed the Robotanists and they were the pleasant surprise of the night. Check out their site where you can download their album for free
The least pleasant surprise of the night: The Blame Andy.Com guy with the shady mustache getting angry with me when I returned form the bathroom and told him he was in my seat. Imagine the Jamie Kennedy bush exchange in Harold and Kumar. It was as awkward as that. I’m still not very sure what www.blameandy.com is and I really don’t want to find out.
Soundtracks to our Summer: Robotanists
all photos by Jessy Plume for TRAffIK
The darlings of our Summer Soundtrack, Silverlake based Robotanists enjoyed a whirlwind season full of sunshine, radio airplay (KCRW), and lots of new friends. Two of the band members Sarah Ellquist and Daniel de Blanke have taken a few moments to bring you firsthand some of the highlights of their summer, as well as how they feel they’ve grown as a band. They even let you us in on what songs they wish they had written.
Robotanists are:
Daniel de Blanke – guitars, keys, songwriting
Sarah Ellquist – vocals, keys, songwriting
Preston Scott Phillips – percussion, drums, iphone
Keith Boyarsky – bass
TRAffIK: Where can we learn more about your band?
DANIEL: Google “robotanists” or go to http://robotanists.com
TRAffIK: How did you come together?
DANIEL: We were all in other bands, and then left those bands and formed this one. The social lubricant was alcohol and a fondness for screaming at the television. That, and Dostoevsky.
TRAffIK: How would you describe your sound?
DANIEL: Up-tempo sad music for amoral intellectuals
SARAH: Make-up sex
TRAffIK: How does the songwriting process work for you? Where does the inspiration come from?
SARAH: Dan and I are a song writing team, but every song is born in a different way, from a different place. I write all of the lyrics, but sometimes, I write the melody and Dan builds harmony from there, or vice versa. If either of us ever thinks that we’ve written a complete song, the other is there to edit and refine. We take everything to the rhythm section for the final seal of approval… and the rest is history. Lyrics come from a very personal place, but I try to craft them in a way that the listener can interpret as they choose. Music is a personal thing, I want listeners to make our music theirs.
DANIEL: I have three thousand song ideas that are half crafted at any given time. I generally force Sarah to listen to them until she starts singing melodic material.
TRAffIK: Lately you’ve been performing acoustically a lot more than we’d seen previously. Do you have a preference for either performing unplugged or plugged in?
SARAH: I think we all prefer the energy of playing as a full band, but performing with just an acoustic guitar is a great way to really showcase our songwriting. It’s liberating to strip things down and just let the melody and harmony dance with each other.
TRAffIK: What started this trend for you?
SARAH: I suppose you could say that most of our music starts out “acoustic” during the demo phase, but we started performing them that way after some friends of ours (the band Vanaprasta) asked us to come to the Bond St. Lounge at the Thompson Hotel in Beverly Hills over the summer and play a few songs. The next thing we knew we were getting weekly invites to perform all over LA. (more…)