Interview “It’s gonna be a rowdy show” - Deap Vally prep for their Fluffer Pit Party

This year, DIY has once again joined forces with the brilliant team behind Fluffer Records to bring you some incredibly exciting shows. Having already played host to the double-header of JAWS and PINS last month, it’s now almost time for the second instalment of their infamous Pit Party, which will feature the brilliantly riff-some Deap Vally.

The band, who’ve spent most of the summer jetting around the world to play shows, will be returning to our shores for a very special in-the-round show this Wednesday (23rd August) and it’s set to be one hell of a night.

Ahead of their show, we spoke to Deap Vally’s Lindsey Troy to find out how festival season has been treating the duo, what’s it like a year on since the release of ‘Femejism’, and we get the lowdown on their new video. Watch it below.

Hello! Who’re we speaking to and how’re you doing?
You’re speaking to Lindsey. I’m great! Back in sunny California.

So far this summer you’ve played a fair few festivals - how have they been? What is it that you like most about playing on those sorts of stages?
We looove playing festivals. Every one is so different; every crowd is different. It’s such a privilege to be able to play for such huge audiences and to make new fans that way.

What highlights have there been from this year’s festival season so far?
There’s so many! We played to a fantastic audience in Madrid last month at Mad Cool. And we also had a rad time at Secret Garden Party - I was in glitter heaven!

‘Femejism’ has almost been out for a year now. Are you discovering any particular nuances in the tracks when playing them live? What’s it been like translating them to the live environment, after it was an album that was very much brought to life in the studio?
Ya know, songs change and develop the more you play them live. Sometimes I’ll go back to the record and listen and hear something I forgot I did on a song, like an accented note on the end of a riff, or something like that, and realise I’ve been playing it differently for a year. And then I can decide whether or not I want to throw it back in there or not. Certain songs really lend themselves to a live show, others are harder to translate. I really love that aspect of being in a band: the recorded album vs. the live show. It can be challenging to capture the energy of a live show on an album, but that challenge is part of what makes it fun. Then on the other hand, translating a song from record to live can be its own beast.

Talking of ‘Femejism’, you’ve just released an EP of acoustic versions of its track: what was it like putting that together?
It was a surprisingly fun and interesting project for us to do. We were actually sort of shocked at how much we ended up loving the unplugged versions. We pulled everything way back and really reinvented some of the songs. Our friend Andy Stavas, of the band Kiev, played saxophone on three of the songs. He’s one of the most gifted musicians I’ve ever played with. It was such a treat to have him on it.

You’re going to be back in the UK and playing the Fluffer Pit Party next week. How’re you looking forward to it? Have you got much experience with pit parties or playing in the round?
We’ve never done a pit party before, but we’ve heard so much about them and are sooo excited. It’s gonna be a rowdy show 🤘

You’ve also just revealed your new video for ‘Turn It Off’, which features Misha Barton. How did the clip come together? Can you tell us a bit about making the video?
Yes! Mischa is a very close, old friend of mine. She’s been a fan of our band since the beginning and has seen us play all over the world, as our paths tend to cross in different cities. I was so excited to be able to collaborate with her on this video, which is directed by the incredibly talented director John Stavas. We all had fun putting together and decorating the doll house in the video. It was a very hands-on, DIY video and we’re so honoured to have someone as talented as Mischa in it.