Brooklyn-by-way-of-San Francisco indie dance rockers Lemonade have been keeping a pretty low profile since their debut, 2009's self-titled LP (or long EP, depending on how you look at the six tracks), but that doesn't mean the trio hasn't been keeping busy! They just released a sublime new single called "Neptune" from the forthcoming full-length, Diver (True Panther), which hits shelves on May 29.
We sat down with the guys for our third installment of Check-Up to chat about their travels over the past few years, the non-musical activities they've been partaking in, and how to chow down on the road.
Hometown:Â San Francisco
Describe your sound in two words: Clear water
What was the last city or country you traveled to and why?: The last place we went together was to Brazil to play a handful of dates around the country. We stayed for a month, mostly in São Paulo, sometimes writing music, and often gazing out at the grey high rises, helicopters, and fires. Somehow it was less relaxing than New York. São Paulo looks kinda like a post-apocalyptic Los Angeles... like T2. It was a beautiful month though.
What was the last album you listened to in full (and why did you like it)?: It was perhaps John Talabot's ƒIN. It is not often that producers today reference '94 style Balearic techno and progressive house/proto-trance which is really fun, but when you listen to the record it sounds fresh and modern as well.
Last great book you read:Â Midnight In the Garden of Good and Evil makes Alex wanna visit Savannah, Gergia.
Favorite meal to have while on the go:Â Burritos are the best for this, but if you eat the whole thing you don't really want to go anywhere so it is best to eat half and eat the other half when you get home.
Something you always carry in your pocket:Â Just survival basics like iPhone and keys. Having things in your literal pockets feels awful unless it's the jacket pocket, which is useful for smuggling.
Best way to pass the time while traveling:Â Starting endless amounts of track ideas in Ableton if you are stuck in a van, but, otherwise, the best way to pass the time is to eat and drink and watch people pass by you through sunglasses.
Best (or worst) live performance experience from the last year:Â After reworking our live set so that it was significantly more MIDI-operated we attempted to play a show at the Bowery Ballroom having had way too little practice. Instead of practicing, we were troubleshooting, then instead of sound-checking, we troubleshot some more. When we went to play, it was literally terrifying knowing that we hadn't yet made it through the live set without complication and there were hundreds of people staring at us, expecting us to pull it all off. Somehow, it went okay, as it always does somehow.
Last crazy show you played:Â Lemonade has been barely playing at all and mostly just for money for quite a while, but once people know the lyrics and the drops to this album they are going to match a level of craziness that we haven't felt for a while.
