Consisting of duo Max Lewis and Mirza Ramic, Arms and Sleepers are steadfast proof that one needn’t only look toward Europe for excellent post-rock and melodic electronica. Although I’ve arrived late to this New England band, I was right in time to bask in the rainy day brilliance of Matador, their new full-length. Here Lewis and Ramic collaborate to pinpoint their listening preferences and highlights of the last twelve months.
SCQ: What have been some of your favourite records of 2009? Gush away!
Both Max and I have really enjoyed Why's "Alopecia". This record came out in 2008, but we didn't really get into it until this year. It's definitely been one of our favorites of the past 2-3 years. We have also really enjoyed Uzi & Ari's "Headworms" (from late 2008), which has been more available in Europe and Japan and less so in North America. I've been listening to Hauschka's EP "Snowflakes and Carwrecks" a bunch too!
SCQ: Be it from the radio, lost on Myspace or from your roster, what songs could you not stop spinning?
"Good Friday" by Why
"Bad News" by Owen
"Tipoli" by Pinback
"Left Side Drive" by Boards of Canada
"Tema De Amor Ciego (1)" by Alberto Iglesias
"Sweet Love" by Anita Baker
"Ballskin" by DOOM
"Belarus" by Low
"Une Bonne Nouvelle" by Mathieu Boogaerts
"Papercuts" by Uzi & Ari
SCQ: Seldom celebrated but crucial to The Album’s identity is cover-art. Can you offer any shortlist of personal favourites from the past year?
Biffy Clyro – "Only Revolutions"
Caspian - "Tertia"
Rachel Grimes - "Book of Leaves"
Do Make Say Think - "Other Truths"
Russian Circles - "Geneva"
SCQ: When you look back on what transpired this year, what will stand out as your most memorable professional moment(s) of 2009?
I think playing an event in Boston called "Split/Signal" back in May. A bunch of local artists played for 10 minutes to short films/visuals done by local filmmakers, which was a great idea by the event's creators and turned out to be a truly memorable night for everyone. We played alongside The Books, Caspian, Roger Miller of Mission of Burma, and a bunch of other great artists. The event sold out, and I think we ran into everyone we could possibly think of that is involved with music or art in general in the Boston area, which was really cool!
SCQ: Most of us probably haven’t thought as far as New Years Eve plans but still, looking forward, what do you have on the horizon for 2010?
Well, we know for sure that we'll be on tour in Europe starting on Dec. 28. For New Year's Eve we'll be somewhere in the UK, playing a show (most likely in London, I think). We played a show in Berlin on New Year's Eve 2007-08 which was incredible, so hopefully this one will be as good as that!
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