Recently, Crumb debuted the video for their track “Bones”, an intricate and well thought out display of vibrant visuals. After Reddit latched on to their debut EP last fall, the genre-blending quartet – comprised of Lila Ramani (guitar, vocals), Jesse Brotter (bass), Brian Aronow (keys, saxophone), and Jonathan Gilad (drums) – has been experiencing phenomenal success, their music reaching the masses quickly. And there’s no wonder why, as you can see the talent in their remarkable video and in the words and composition of the song itself.
The video – by the way – almost places a spotlight on how we treat the arts and – in contradiction – technology as a society, bringing up several important questions while you become entranced by the technicolor visuals. Check it out, let us know what you think, and read a little more about it all in our interview with Crumb below!
What is the earliest record you can remember listening to, and who
introduced it to you?
Lila: Cafe Atlantico by Cesaria Evora. My parents used to put it on all the time when they were cooking dinner throughout my childhood. I associate it really heavily with my earliest memories, as well as cooking.
Does that artist or album influence your work now?
Lila: Yea, definitely. I rediscovered her music as an adult and listen to it a lot. It makes me feel a really particular way, probably because it feels super nostalgic. And yea, I think anything I’ve listened to that many times influences the music I write in either a direct or indirect way.
When / how did you decide you would make this video?
A month or so after we released the EP, we got a message on Soundcloud from Haoyan, asking if we had any interest in a music video for one of our songs. We checked out his website and were extremely intrigued by his mysterious online presence and intricate videos. We met up with him at a bagel place in Cobble Hill (he said he’d be the guy wearing “black gloves”) and we really clicked with him instantly…the rest is history. He’s such a strong creative force, and he’s also an amazing person.
Your video for “Bones” is a work of art in itself. Seriously, the
visuals are insane. What was creating the concept of the video like,
and do you have any personal anecdotes from production?
The video concept took a lot of trial and error to fully come together. We did a few full day video shoots, involving phone booths, tootsie rolls, and t-rex suits, that never made it into the video. We did a five hour shoot of pouring sand onto Lila’s feet at different angles, which also never made the cut. Our director, Haoyan, had the whole vision of the underwater shots of Lila paired with the saxophone flying out of water. And yes, she was actually in a tub with live feeder fish for like 3 hours, which was a wild experience. Jesse wrangled the little guys, while holding a UV light; Lila allowed herself to be marinated in kelp and live feeders for hours on end. Everyone made it out of the tub and Jesse got a great pet/friend out of the experience. (Gilbert)
And the track “Bones”. What inspired it, and how do you imagine people listening to it?
Lila: A girl at one of our shows told us that she listens to it every day in the shower, so now I like to think of it as shower music, which makes me really happy. I actually wrote the first part of the lyrics when I was like 19 and the last verse when when we were recording it a year ago, so I think of it as a love song, but for many different people.
So Reddit took a liking to the EP. (Moments when the internet actually
works in your favor, amiright?) That’s so great! What was that
experience like?
That was an unreal experience — It feels so strange to think that there are people out there receiving it at that rate and volume. We’re very grateful to everybody who’s connected with our our music. That kind of blastoff internet exposure gave us a kind of momentum but more importantly, we reached so many amazing people through it. The personal responses that we’ve received from fans all over the world really inspired us to push as a band. We feel supported, and that means so much to us.
What’s in the pipeline for 2017? Or, more eloquently, how do you plan
to follow up the success of the EP in the next year?
We’re releasing another EP this spring and then we’ll be touring the country a bit!
Come find us.
Tour Dates:
3/31 – Boston, MA @ The ER
4/15 – Syracuse, NY @ Space Camp
4/20 – Philadelphia, PA @ All Night Diner
4/21 – Philadelphia, PA @ Haverford College
4/22 – Connecticut @ TBA
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