The Kids Are Alright

L+T: Now Matt, I know that your older brother worked closely with Outkast and the Dungeon Family. How has that relationship shaped you as an artist?
Matt: Well, in general, in having an older sibling you kind of get the kinks out of yourself in terms of being a lame person you know. They kind of tease you enough so that you stop being really lame (laughs). I mean because my brother was A&R for Outkast we had all of their songs before anyone else had them. I remember I heard “Hey Ya” about three months before it was released while we were on a road trip to North Carolina. Now you have to remember that the last thing I had heard from Outkast was Stankonia so when I heard “Hey Ya” I was like I don’t know, this is weird. But my brother said this is going to be a huge hit. He insisted that “Hey Ya” was a fun record and that people wanted to hear shit like that and he was right. So I learned a lot from him in terms of developing an ear for music in general.

L+T: So what has the process been like in terms of putting the Purple Naked Ladies album together. Has there been any creative tension? Are there strengths and weaknesses that each of you brings to the table?
Syd: The way it seems to go is that usually Matt will start something or I will start something and then we will go back and forth. I will get tired of working on something and then he will step in or he will get tired and I will step in and by the time we have a basic idea while we are making the beat we will start writing to it and then both of us will start singing melodies. I will then come up with some words and we just flow so naturally. I have never worked with another producer where things flowed so naturally before.

L+T: And for you Matt?
Matt: I don’t know man because I have some out-there ideas and Syd really levels things out because I can kind of get way out there sometimes. Sometimes we disagree on things and compromise but as long we agree that its sounds good at the end of the day then we are good.

L+T: How many records did you all make that did not make the album?
Syd: Well we did not have a lot written songs that did not make the album, but we did have a lot of beats that did not make it.

L+T: You all seem to have been able to create a kind of creative village in your apartment and seem to surround yourself with creative people who are constantly making interesting pieces of art in terms of music, photography and film. What’s that been like?
Syd: Interestingly we now have the money to do exactly what we want. I mean I can now mic my drums and make them sound exactly like I want. I can actually get a microphone that will make everybody sound good. So now I am in a position to be able to share this with everybody that’s been around me from day one. Once we got our apartment we set up a studio in here. I got in touch with some kids I went to high school with and invited them over to start making music. I was fortunate to go to a music academy and work with some very talented musicians. So we try to surround ourselves with smart, creative, and productive people because we are not inspired to make music everyday, but somebody else in our camp usually is. What we are trying to do right now is put together a little side project that’s full of the producers and great musicians that we have worked with who are not members of Odd Future you know. We have been coming up around these kids for the same amount time but we all ran in different circles so its only right that we work collaboratively with folks that we grew up with and are comfortable spending long amounts of time in the studio with.

L+T: So who are people sleeping on these days?
Syd: Quadron and the Boom Clap Bachelors for sure.
Matt: Hal Williams is ridiculously slept on.
Syd: I mean, honestly, the music industry is not really about music these days so most artists are slept on.

L+T: So how has life been on the road?
Syd: Well touring is not really Matt’s and my thing. I mean a big part of it is the dynamics of Odd Future isn’t exactly what people expect. Yeah, we are family, but family members don’t always hang out all day everyday. We come together because we love each other’s music, but we are so different and we all have our little cliques and groups within the Odd Future family.