LESS BOMBASTIC, STILL WEIRD

When you’re talking the hottest band of the last 12 months, there are few vying for the title with better credentials than Brooklyn natives MGMT. The duo of Andrew Vanwyngarden and Ben Goldwasser have not only stormed the charts and saturated the music networks with their outstanding ‘Oracular Spectacular’ LP, they’ve also provided a soundtrack for millions of fans.

Currently in Malibu recording the next chapter of the MGMT story, Goldwasser is enthused about the new work Vanwyngarden and he are currently producing. “We’re feeling good about this stuff, it’s going to be really nice to have some new music to play. It’s just going to be a lot more fun (recording) this time because the band is more evolved and the recording process - we’re thinking more about how it’s going to translate live. There’ll also be time to go back and re-work some of the older songs in a different style.”

Residing in a house just a lazy walk away from the beach, the American duo have set up a recording studio and are looking to capture something “different” than the vibe that was showcased on ‘Oracular Spectacular’. “I’d say there’s more influence from classic 60s pop music,” muses Goldwasser. “Like The Beach Boys and The Beatles; a lot more basic arrangements so far as, I don’t know - it’s a lot less bombastic and a little more stripped down but it’s still going to be weird. It’ll be a little different but it sounds like the same band. “We’re trying really hard to get it out by the end of the year, hopefully in the Fall. We’re scheduled to mix it at the end of June and we’ll be definitely playing a lot of the new stuff on the road and when we play at Splendour in the Grass we’ll be playing a lot of new stuff.”

Different and weird are two words easily associated with MGMT. Blazing onto the scene in the later half of 2007, the New York City outfit were tagged by Rolling Stone as a Top 10 “artist to watch in 2008”.
It wasn’t long before their hallucinatory brand of underground pop and psychedelic musings had them rubbing shoulders with the likes of Radiohead and Conan O’Brien as well as playing on stages at Glastonbury, Reading Festival, T in the Park and the Roskilde Festival. As Goldwasser admits, it has taken a little while for Vanwyngarden and himself to adjust to the spoils of success. “It’s been really crazy. I think we were, I don’t know; we weren’t prepared for any level of success. Like we didn’t think too many people were going to hear our album and we didn’t expect to be touring that much and then things kinda took off in a crazy way.

“We’ve had some time to take it all in and assess the last year; we’ll be a lot more prepared this time around for all the craziness of (releasing and touring an album). I think we’re really trying to push ahead and try new things. We don’t want to stick to a formula or anything like that.

“(But) we’re getting really excited to go back on the road; we are a little bit nervous about it because the last year was the hardest year of our lives; just adjusting to a new life and travelling all the time.”
Another element of their success has been the contact they’ve had with fans; both sane and freaky.

“In general we really enjoy meeting fans, I don’t know, they tend to be really cool people. But sometimes they get a little freaked out by it, especially fans who assume we’re not normal people and treat us like something else. I don’t know how to say it, it’s great to interact with fans on the level of just hanging out and talking, like normal people do. But I think it makes us a little uncomfortable when people elevate us to some level of fame.”

MGMT will be joined by The Flaming Lips, Jane’s Addiction, Bloc Party, Hilltop Hoods, The Specials, The Gutter Twins and many more at Splendour in the Grass, Belongil Fields, July 25-26. For more details, take a peek at www.splendourinthegrass.com ‘Oracular Spectacular’ is out now thru Sony Music.