Last October, the almost Californian BØRNS came to visit us in the très chic Hoxton Hotel and told us about his second record, out this month. An espresso in his hand, he told us about the success of his first album, about his fantastic inspirations and reveled us some secrets about the new “Blue Madonna”.
Hey Garrett, it’s been two days now that you’re in Paris, what are you up to?
Garrett Clark Borns: Yeah, I flew from Los Angeles and I’ve just been on shows. Stella McCartney yesterday, Thom Brown today. I did like a listening party yesterday at a Bodega and I played some of the new records to some fans that were out there. It was cool and super chill. I’ve just been walking around Paris too, it was raining , so romantic. That’s actually so nice.
So your first album was released in 2015, can you tell us a little more about the post “Dopamine” time?
Garrett: After “Dopamine”, I toured it for two years. So it was kind of a pretty extended tour and longer than I expected it to be. It was cool cause I’ve got to travel a lot and make it to Paris a few times and it was just kind of a lot of learning since Canada tour life, like how to be a performer and all that kind of stuff. I think I also learned so much about the kind of music I want to make and how to perform to a crowd. A lot of travel and just learning about myself. The first record was kind of just “alright let’s make a record, but I don’t know what it is gonna sound like” but by the end of it, it all came together. This time, I had a clear idea of what I wanted to make and it was kind of new for me.
So you also did a bunch of festivals, like Coachella or Lollapalooza. How was it?
Garrett: Amazing. Coachella was crazy. I’d never been so I didn’t really know what to expect but it was just a kind of insanity. And I had the perfect time set, right when the sun was going down and it was cooling off. About that time, everybody started changing into nocturnal creatures we. They were getting a little wild. It was a fun crowd to play to. People were ready for something and it kind of gave me step up. The performance was really cool.
The first single of your new album, “Faded Heart”, was released on July 28th. Can you tell us a little more about what made it a single?
Garrett: I recorded the whole album with a friend of mine, Tommy English, who produced the whole album. So it’s all me and him, pretty much. And we just wrote that song really quickly and kind of forgot about it. And when it came the time to play songs for the label, they really liked that one and thought it was a fun one. They made me felt that would be the first single. I wanted to write something just like it was for a movie soundtrack, like for Grease. That was the inspiration, kind of 50’s music-hall, that sort of things.
And in the music video you appeared to be this crazy quite possessed guy, are you that kind of guy in reality?
Garrett: Occasionally, if I’m provoked or if there is certain drinks involved, the right combination of substances. (laughs) Yeah I mean, not even that, maybe if it’s just like a full-moon or something.
This has been shoot in Los Angeles, right?
Garrett: Yeah, we shoot it in this town in Los Angeles. I would always drive passed by this motel, and everyday I was “I got to shoot something there”. It has this really weird vibe, something about the neon signs with palm trees. So it kinda came from that. There is also this marionettes theater, original puppets from the 50’s that this guy hand made. And it’s kinda secret theater in Los Angeles. I was starting going to shows there and it was pretty amazing. They still do the same shows and use the same soundtracks that they did back then. Puppets theater is a lost art today. So it was just inspiring to see that, that’s mostly why I used these skeletons.
You came from Michigan. We hear a lot of artists saying that Los Angeles is the best city for inspiration. Do you feel the same? Is it really THE city for an artist?
Garrett: Yeah, I mean it’s definitely inner water there, it’s definitely saturated: a lot of artists, and music, and cinema obviously. So I think just being around that is inspiring cause you’re constantly running into people that are working on a project. The collaborations are very possible there, that’s what I really like about it. Most of the people aren’t from L.A., I feel like a lot of people that I worked with there are actually from were I grew up, in the Midwest. I’m always kinda like “can you believe we’re here making music”. Yeah it’s crazy. I never expected to live there. I still feel I’m on a vacation.
You wrote each of your new album songs there, right?
Garrett: Yeah, everything was written and recorded in L.A., in a little guest house.
There are a lot of different movements in this album. There are some really sunny ones, some other a little darker. Can you tell us a little more about the mood of the new album that wasn’t in “Dopamine”?
Garrett: I think there is a sunny side and a kind of dark side in L.A.. There is this haunting nature around that city and I think one band that really catches that was the Beach Boys, they captured what Lana Del Rey called “Summertime Sadness”. I feel like it’s crazy how orchestrated the Beach boys’s songs are. Nobody writes pop songs like that today. Their music and even the instruments that they have on there were really crazy for the time. I wanted to challenge myself, even if it had to be painful to write something that’s not instantly gratifying or making sense. Take two things that shouldn’t go together and try to match them. That’s what the Beach Boys did. And something about that is really haunting. In the new stuff of my album, I incorporated lifestreams, some orchestration and there is a theremin on one of the tracks, it’s an old instrument of the 20’s that sounds amazing. Nobody really knows it. The hole electronic music from today comes from it. It’s the first electronic instrument in fact and it looks like a piece of hood with to metal stuff that come out. You don’t have to touch it, you play with the tension between your hand and the instrument and it makes a kind of reaction. It’s weird, just like a strange human voice. It’s probably the most difficult instrument to play cause you don’t see anything, you don’t touch it, you just have to play with the reactivity. It’s not really common today anymore.
You begin to tour at the end of the month (ed. of October), passing by the US, Canada, Russia and a lot of European towns. Are you ready for this all big thing that’s coming?
Garrett: Yeah I’m really excited! Mostly for Russia. I played in Moscow last year and it was one of the best shows I ever played. It’s a beautiful town and the public was really cool. They knew all the songs, it was amazing.
Are you more a studio or a stage artist?
Garrett: I feel like I’ve two faces. Today I’m ready to go back on the road, but at a time I really needed to go back in the studio. This part of me was hibernating during the first tour.
And how this new album will work on stage?
Garrett: We are a group of five. There are two different members now. There are all really amazing! Now there are three girls in the band and they all sing harmonies and play instruments. And then my friend Connor who plays guitar. It’s really nice to have these partners. I’ve always wanted to have three partners to play harmonies at my shows, so they’ve been killing it. That’s great. They play two instruments and also sing, that’s crazy. They’re all really talented. I’m very lucky that I found them.
You told us that you already made listen some of your news songs to a public. What were the reactions?
Garrett: We did play some of the songs but I wasn’t in the room. I get really awkward when I listen to my own music. It was a casual thing, you could have a drink and walk in the back of the room. I always like to let people experience it for themselves.
Do you have a favorite song to play live?
Garrett: We didn’t really play the new stuff, but I’m really excited to dig in some of that. I think that there will probably be a few of my favorites songs in it. But the old record, I think the song called “Holy Ghost” is really fun to play live. “Electric Love” also, people sing along to that which is good cause it has to have these layered harmonies and vocals.
Is the whole album made for live?
Garrett: There are some of the songs that I don’t play, that I recorded on my phone or my laptop and that are just not made for it. Sometimes, I’ve been doing more video work, and those songs just become the soundtrack of the video so I don’t play them.
Can you tell us a little more about the creative process, is it the idea first and then everything kinda follows it?
Garrett: I guess a lot of the time I’m kind of forget that I have to do it live so I don’t take that in consideration. So when it comes the time to play it live, I’m like “Oh, I didn’t think about that. How are we gonna do then?”. Which is kinda fun challenge. Cause of course, I’ll never been able to tour with an orchestra or a theremin player. But maybe for a selection. But yeah I think that for this album the creative process was gathering a lot of subject matter that I found inspiring for music. Which came from these old science fiction albums that I found, some 70’s Playboys, some paintings of the Renaissance like some portraits of Carlo Dolci, some photographies I took, and a lot of things! A lot of things related to mortality, and supernatural phenomenon, and where the sensation of love comes from. Is it really between just two people or is there external factor involved? Just the kind of things I’ve been thinking about creating this album.
There is a lot of love in your songs. Do you feel like with what’s happening in the world today, singing love could be a way to fight this hatred?
Garrett : Yeah, I mean there’s definitely a vibration, there is always room for that. Giving a message to humanity which is the only reason we’re here is because… we’re here. But also, I think there is a twisted darkness that can be fixed. We are our worst enemies, as people. Things that we create can also destroy us. I think as much love can be put into music is gonna slowly and hopefully disintegrate the darkness. But that’s just one step I guess.
Your album seems to create this kind of alternative world to the reality.
Garrett: Yeah that’s the world I wanna live in! That’s what I always wanted to create. This alternate universe, very healthy, blissful, natural and free.
So what did you plan to do in Paris after that?
Garrett: Well… Today is my last day in Paris, sadly. It’s always too short, mostly in Paris. Gonna go to a few shows, and then I get on a train to London. I’ll be back here soon!
As we told you, our webzine is called “RockUrLife”, and to not betray the tradition: what rocks your life?
Garrett: What rocks my life? There are a few thins. (long silence) I let you with your imagination. (laughs) What rocks my life… An expresso in Paris, definitely. That’s a good question. A really good pop song. Parachute pants. But also just a good conversation with a drink. That’s all I need.
Website: bornsmusic.com
