(Courtesy of nyctaper
Shedding the emotional, sophomoric record they released just last year, American indie rock band Local Natives is currently on cloud nine as they hit the studio again to work on their new album.
Singer and guitarist Taylor Rice said they felt they were in a completely different place at the moment.
'We have different perspective; it's kind of joyous. The music will reflect the situation,' Rice said over the phone from the band's home in Los Angeles, California.
The band, which consists of singer/guitarist Rice, guitarist Ryan Hahn, keyboardist Kelcey Ayer, drummer Matt Frazier and bassist Nik Ewing, was on an ecstatic spell of productivity for the new album, said Rice.
'There are a lot of songs coming out of us these days. We did not write tons and tons of songs for our first two albums,' said the musician, whose group has been praised for utilizing lots of vocal harmonies and flowing melodies in their signature brand of dramatic and eclectic indie music.
Working at a new studio of their own in their hometown, the band found an enjoyable environment for the creative process.
'We're only at the beginning of the new album, but it is coming along very nicely. The new studio has a really amazing set up and it's a big step for us to work there. We are happy to be home and making music here,' he said.
Local Natives made an exciting entrance to the music scene when they surfaced with debut record Gorilla Manor, which featured a blend of Afro-pop guitars, lush vocal harmonies and energetic drum beats, in 2009.
It took them four years to follow up with the sophomoric Hummingbird, the recording of which took them to Brooklyn, New York to work with Aaron Dessner, from a band called The National, at the co-producer's home studio.
According to Rice, their past albums have provided the contextual energy and spirit for the third album.
'We just had all amazing things happen and all of our craziest dream come true with Gorilla Manor. But sometimes life was really difficult and sad, and we had to deal with death in the family, which led us to Hummingbird.
'The last album was a much darker record for us, very personal,' Rice said.
As the band gets better at technical aspects of recording, the preparation for the new album also brought the band to where they were before the debut album release.
'The new studio is larger and we can play together. It reminds us of Gorilla Manor, where we wrote songs together and completed the songs before recording them. With Hummingbird [the sense of togetherness] was lost in the smaller room. We're back to all being in the room together; we can feel the song together,' he said.
Local Natives was founded in Orange County, California, where Ayer, Hahn, and Rice attended the same high school. After graduating from college, they recruited Frazier and their first bassist Andy Hamm ' who left the band in 2011.
In late 2008, they moved to a house in Silver Lake and started work on their self-produced debut album, which they co-produced with Raymond Richards. The band collaboratively produces their art, from songwriting to artwork.
'We're very collaborative; we are all always working together, not just one person writing the music,' Rice said.
Local Natives is set to meet with their Southeast Asian fans as they are scheduled to play at the 2014 Urbanscapes Festival in Kuala Lumpur on Dec. 6.
'It's hard to believe; this would be our first time ever in Malaysia. It's just really still amazing to imagine that we worked so hard on our music and being able to play music all across the world,' he says.
'We can't wait to meet the audience there.'
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