Captiva Interview

Interview mit Captiva – „It is important that people respect the work of an artist.“

Im Interview und exklusives Prelistening von Captiva

Das Soundkartell hat der US-amerikanischen Indie-Rock Band Captiva ein paar Fragen gestellt. Zudem dürft ihr hier bei uns die Debüt-EP exklusiv streamen. Also klickt Euch rein!

Captiva zählen für mich definitiv zu den vielversprechenden Indie-Rock Entdeckungen, die ich noch dieses Jahr machen durfte. Jetzt erscheint heute die EP der US-Amerikaner und ihr dürft über das Soundkartell exklusiv die EP streamen. Im Interview sprechen sie über Spotify, den Musikkonsum, ihren Jahreshöhepunkt und ihre Musik. Die EP ist unglaublich abwechslungsreich und macht aus Captiva eine der Bands, die ihr für 2016 auf dem Schirm haben solltet.

Could you please shortly introduce Captiva?

Captiva: „Captiva consists of Jackson „JJ“ Ries, Patrick McQuaid, Nick Riffle, and Hank Wiedel. The band formed out of a high school detention in 2013…the day rock and roll was revived. (Just kidding)“

You are releasing your first EP. How does it feel to release your first stuff and make it audible to the rest of the world?

Captiva: „Our debut EP is the first release we’ve had since ‚Smooth Interrogation‘ back in March of 2015. We are so excited for people to hear the new music because it is a major representation of how far we’ve come since ‚Basement Creations‘.“

What do you expect from the first release?

Captiva: „You can only expect the unexpected. So many great things happened after we released ‚Road To Ruin‘, but we feel that the other tracks on the record are much better than that single. Hopefully people really dig it.“

If we compare the two tracks “Road To Ruin” and the following track “Stimulating Freeze”…where is the significant difference between these two songs?

Captiva: „There is a major difference in both sound, and origin of inspiration. ‚Stimulating Freeze‘ is a much more mellow song, and its message pertains to the longing for relationships on a cold, rainy day. But on the other side of the spectrum is ‚Road To Ruin‘, which is a really driven song that tells a story about falling out of love with someone. Each song on the EP tells a different story, and so we feel that people have so many options to connect with us through our music.“

In which way your debut is something like a very big beat of the drum for the whole year 2015?

Captiva: „The release is a huge way to cap off an amazing year for us, but it is also a major indication of what to expect in the coming years. We’re just getting started…enjoy this party because it never ends.“

For me you are making the typicial old-school indie-rock sound and you are the best example why this genre is still not dead…

Captiva: „Oh stop…you’re making us blush.“

In 2016 you will release your debutalbum “Basement Creations”. Will Captiva go the whole hog?

Captiva: „We plan on doing a re-release of ‚Basement Creations‘, which was a group of demos we recorded back in ’13/’14. However, we are most likely going to release our official debut album before doing that, because we’ve been writing so much new music, and we want people to hear it.“

How important is Spotify for Captiva?

Captiva: „Spotify is a much more important focus now than it has been in the past, because we want as many people as possible to experience the music. We’re stuck between the argument of „money vs. followers“ because we understand how hard it is to sell records, and we want to make a living doing that, but our music has never been, nor will it be, about the dollar signs. We make music and share it with people because we want everybody to experience what we’ve experienced. Life’s too short to give a shit. I’m not using Spotify anymore because I want to consume the music in a fair way for the artists.“

Don’t you think the music is becoming a disposable product with Spotify/Apple Music and so on?

Captiva: „Yes, completely. However, as we mentioned, we’ve never focused on the sales, only the engagement. If people are listening to our songs, and coming to shows, and building this entire endeavor with us, then we’re as rich as we want to be. Bob Marley was once asked in an interview if he was a rich man from making music. His response was perfect: „Possessions make you rich? I don’t have that type of richness. My richness is life, forever.“ The same can be said for us and our music. There is another argument to made, though. It is important that people respect the work of an artist. Whether that mean buying an album or financially supporting their projects, it takes much more than sweat and big checks to create a long-lasting message. It takes pride (or a lack, thereof), humility, and the ability to bring an insignificant thought to life and transform it into something extraordinary to the outside world. For those who purchase songs and support the process behind the music, we commend you.“

Do you hope that in the end quality is more important then the “financial result” of the music the bands are making?

Captiva: „Completely. Absolutely. Fuckin‘ A. At the end of the day, everything in the industry comes back to one thing: the actual song.“

What are your plans for christmas guys?

Captiva: „Continuing our childhood hunt of finding Santa. You are more than welcome to join.“

Hier dürft ihr jetzt in die selbstbetitelte EP reinhören: