News ERAAS: ‘Sometimes We Need To Imply Rather Than Showcase’

On October 2nd Brooklyn outfit ERAAS released their self-titled debut album through the brand new Felte Records. It’s a record that successfully delivers maximum atmosphere through restrained minimalism and subtle, almost subconscious complexities. As a composition it is a rare thing these days to find an album that flows together as fluidly as ERAAS’ debut does. The release has also been timed to perfection to provide the kind of endless haunting soundscape that suits the Autumnal period so well.

Although the mood within their music comes from an entirely different angle, their approach to realising their music - both in the studio and the live arena – calls to mind the attention to detail of the dearly departed LCD Soundsystem. The emergence of ERAAS could again be the product of good timing as Brooklyn looks to fill the void left by James Murphy & Co after their orchestrated demise. With that in mind, Neu caught-up with Robert Toher from the band to find out more.



Who are the core members of ERAAS, and who was involved in the making of the album?
The band is Austin Stawiarz and I (Robert Toher). Live we perform with 2 others.
The two of us made the record, which was culled from various odds and ends that I had laying around and some new ones that he and I introduced. We took it all and added/removed/layered and altered until we got something we were happy with. We don’t really write parts and then go and record them knowing ahead of time where we want to go. I think that’s dangerous, at least for us. If I’m too set on something having an exact sound I tend to try in vain for too long to steer it toward what I had in mind, often ultimately realising that it’s been begging this whole time to be something else instead. Better for us to embrace what it is and see what it becomes rather than steering it too much in a pre-decided direction.
I think the trouble for us comes more in what not to put in - but what to take out. I have a rule that’s like, just because something is beautiful and/or strange and engaging if even anomalous, it doesn’t mean it should make it into a final recording. Just because a sound or section, etc - is exotic or compelling or pretty doesn’t mean it works in the composition at hand. I think it’s something you learn - how to part with all the bits that you really love if your better judgement is urging you to admit they’re more about novelty and are mostly decorative in the scope of a composition.
Sometimes we need to imply rather than showcase - other times it’s discerning what elements are implied, that should actually be emphasized instead. Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt’s Oblique Strategies comes to mind. Not that we have the deck on hand in-studio when we work (though I do have a physical copy and it’s really wonderful), but the overall approach and voice that it brings is something I’m fond of. Applied to working on music here, but ultimately to any kind of creative thinking.

How long have you been making music together?
When we were teenagers we played in some punk bands together, covering Minor Threat and The Germs and stuff like that. Later, during a middle period of my old band APSE, Austin joined us for a while and we did some European tours together. It also marked the first time we collaborated in the ‘studio’ or whatever. But from that point we realized we work very well together. After a few years apart, I think we’re both pleased to be working alongside each other again, in all regards.

How would you describe your record to someone who’s not yet heard it?
Thus far critics seem to harp on how dark the record is. I think it’s funny in a way. Sure, there are some darker atmospheres at hand. But importantly, we’re living in a time where something like this is considered to be ‘serious’ or ‘dark’ in relationship to what else is coming out now - and because we’re from Brooklyn, it’s in relationship to specifically what else is coming out of Brooklyn these days. I feel like here a lot of ‘bands’ are making the kind of music that’s saying ‘everything is OK - so let’s party dudes.’ If you’re making music that’s romantic, spiritual, and that touches on the kinds of things that I feel a lot of people can relate to in their hearts, though they may not be quick to acknowledge - suddenly you’re making ‘dark music.’ The thing is, everything is not OK. We live in a fucked up world which has to do with everything from government, wars, economies, the changing social arenas in which we’re a part of, the environment and the ailing earth.
If I had to drag adjectives into it, I’d get into ambient music, orchestral and chamber music, krautrock, and punk music - especially when we perform live.

You’ve been playing some live dates in the U.S. to support the release of your album. Who have you most enjoyed playing with, and which show has been your favourite?
We’ve done shows recently with The Soft Moon and Holograms. Those were probably the best, recently. There are lots of shit bands in Brooklyn playing a laptop and noodling over it, trying to look the part, but they don’t feel it. Makes sense considering the age we’re living in. The music being made by the privileged suits what the privileged want to listen to. I’m not a purist, maybe I’m just old, but it seems like ‘backing tracks’ and such don’t make a difference to people going to the shows - if they even know how much of it is going on. If they do, they embrace it. To say the least, we’re not impressed with bands that play with half or more of their ‘live performance’ being made up of pre-recorded tracks on a laptop. If someone has a ton of outboard gear - drum machines and the like, SPD-S or similar drum pads, that’s a whole different story.

The album is predominantly an electronically produced record. Are there any differences between how you made the record and how it’s performed live?
I wouldn’t call the record very electronic, but it does unquestionably have electronic elements. I suppose in some ways it was produced electronically, though we use various means to capture and create sounds and a range of things make up the palette on this record outside of those considered to be ‘electronic’ in the way that word is used in contemporary music lexicon.
Additionally, and to answer your question, it’s much different live; much heavier, more visceral. It’s very physical; we have 2 drum setups, more feedback and delays, a heavier rendering of the fundamental components of the songs.
I think when we write and record we just do what we want and then when it’s time to do the live versions with the full band we readdress everything again then. We take the songs back, make them ours again. I love this process and this is how I’d like to continue to work. I hate going to see bands and it’s just them doing something that sounds just like the recording. It’s so much more exciting and engaging and moving, to me, when bands change things up and do things differently live. A new arrangement of a piece you know a variation on a theme..
There should be venues in Williamsburg where people can go to watch bands that play to a ton of backing tracks and do very little over it. Like watching someone at their birthday party where they act out being the star for the night. I’d rather see real bands playing real music that they care about, that they’ve written and are creating then and there in front of everyone. That’s the energy I respond to. Then they’ve earned it, that’s when it truly has everyone’s hearts and minds. I’m not a purist, but I feel the bar is so low now, bands have it so easy. I could start a dozen bands in different styles where a laptop would be the cornerstone of everything that happens on stage. What a fucking bore man.
‘Watch me hit play on my laptop - then me and my pal are just gonna play guitars over it and sing, cool?’ That’s not art. It’s Karaoke.

When can we expect a visit the UK to play some shows?
I think we should be doing some UK and European shows in the first half of next year. We’ve a booking agent for the region now and are in the process of setting up a tour. We’re looking forward to it.

Which other bands and artists are you both listening to most at the moment?
Typically chamber music, HTRK, Burial, A Winged Victory For The Sullen, BEAK> and also old school Hip Hop (and a lot of sample-based music).
I also personally love the new Tame Impala record. I think Kevin Parker is making thoughtful music and I’d love to have a chat with him (laughs). Though we’re worlds apart and ERAAS will probably never make a record that sounds anything like Tame Impala, I have a lot of respect for Kevin as a contemporary.
Other than that, ESG has been on the turntable a lot, if for no better reason than Martin Hannett’s production on it. Of course also, in the autumn months I tend to gravitate toward fall classics like Cabaret Voltaire’s Micro Phonies, and Drinking Gasoline, The Sound’s Jeopardy, and of course Disintegration, Faith, and Pornography, among other records of similar ilk.
For me the autumn months are really the only time of year I listen to those records heavily and I look forward to it every year. Dare I bring up Joy Division?! I’ve loved Unknown Pleasures and Closer since I was a teenager - and even then, in the nineties, I was a latecomer. What a shame that in 2012 their name is synonymous with a king’s ransom in consumer media bullshit. I wouldn’t be surprised if the cover artwork of Unknown Pleasures were on a fucking apron at this point, available online through Urban Outfitters. I guess this was inevitable somehow. So it goes…