AMAMA is out now!
Image: Melissa Lunar.
New York City-based four-piece, Crumb have delivered their third studio album, AMAMA. We caught up with the band to unpack the record and more.
Congratulations on the release of your fourth studio album, AMAMA. How has your artistry evolved into what you’ve presented on this new body of work?
BRI ARONOW: Thank you! In general, AMAMA feels like it explores a wider range of emotions, sounds, and feels. There are more explosive moments often followed by pauses and more relaxed sections. The album as a whole feels less timid and more carefree which feels connected to our musical evolution.
The album takes us on a dynamic sonic journey that weaves together threads of psychedelia, pop, jazz, and rock. We hear some great piano work, drum samples, pitch-shifted vocals, phone recordings and more laced throughout, How did you craft the overall sonic realm the album exists within?
BA: Yea, it’s a lot of fun to explore textures, different sounds and incorporate recordings from outside the studio. Some are from Lila’s demos and phone recordings and others are studio explorations that involve manipulating acoustic instruments or playing around with pedals and outboard gear. Experimenting during the recording process keeps things fun and it’s cool to see which make it onto the album and which ones don’t quite fit. Always worth taking the time to try it out though.
How did the album evolve throughout its creation?
BA: We recorded this album a bit differently than Jinx or Ice Melt. We recorded AMAMA in two week chunks in between tours for around a year and in two different studios whereas the other two albums were recorded all at once over a period of around two months in the same place. Breaking up recording like that helped guide us to do things slightly differently each time and not get stuck in a loop.
You worked on the album in Los Angeles with Johnscott Sanford and Jonathan Rado. What drew you towards working with them on this body of work?
BA: We’ve worked with both of them before, separately, and we were really excited by the idea of working with them both on this album. They both have very different processes and fill different roles. Rado is a synth and analogue gear wizard. He’s really playful in the studio and is always pushing us to try new things. Johnscott is a close friend of ours who we’ve worked with for over a decade. He is such an essential part of helping us sculpt and make sense of all the layers of the album.
Is there a particular line, lyric or musical motif from the album you find that gets stuck in your head? Or perhaps one you’re most proud of?
BA: “It’s always on my mind, it’s just always on my mind”
You’ve shared some great visuals throughout the album's rollout. How important is it to you to create a visual identity for your music, and how involved are you in conceptualising and bringing the visuals to life?
BA: We work with our friend Abraham El Makawy who is our Creative Director and mind behind all of the visual components of the album.
It’s been just over a year since your last Australian tour, are there any plans on the horizon?
BA: Yes.
GET TO KNOW CRUMB
If you could create the soundtrack for any film, which one would it be?
JESSE BROTTER: AI, Artificial Intelligence [2001]
A song you would love to cover on tour?
JB: Keane’s Somewhere Only We Know.
Album you would listen to on repeat on a road trip?
JB: Janet Jackson’s “Control.”
First concert you went to?
JB: Simon and Garfunkel at Madison Square Garden.
Best concert you have been to?
JB: Charles Bradley, both times. Once, he literally parted the clouds and brought out the sun. People cried with happiness.
First album you ever bought?
JB: The Hampster Dance.
If you were a Spice Girl, what would your spice nickname be?
JB: Ache-y Spice
Most memorable show you’ve ever performed?
JB: Prospect Park Bandshell as a part of New York City’s free Summerstage programming.
Go-to karaoke song?
JB: I realized recently that I want to sing Nat King Cole’s Straighten Up and Fly Right but I never step up to the mic.
Guilty music pleasure?
JB: Corny DSP-generated spa sound playlists, but those are for medical purposes.
Dream location/venue to play?
JB: That dome thing. And Red Rocks.
There’s about six minutes until the world ends, what is the last song you’re going to listen to?
JB: Go To Sleep by Spectrum
What advice would your current self give your future self, for a year from now?
JB: Relax, guy!
The moment you knew you wanted to be a musician?
JB: When I watched That Thing You Do, although I see it as a cautionary tale now.
AMAMA is out now!
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