Listen To The Girls - Cody Critcheloe
A chromakey wizard with a fantastic ear for hooks, artist-musician Cody Critcheloe blasted out of a hyper-creative Kansas City, Missouri scene of artists, performers and designers. His band SSION is a funky-punky dance pop outfit that sounds like a blending of Scissor Sisters, Prince and the Germs. Critcheloe also creates immersive hand-drawn visual worlds for the stage shows, music videos and art exhibitions. Boy, the long-form music video film he directed based around material from the SSION album Fool’s Gold, played in galleries like New York’s The Hole and Gramercy Arts Club as well as Peres Projects in Los Angeles and Berlin. Critcheloe applies his visionary flair to other artists as well, directing music videos for Peaches, The Gossip, Tilly and the Wall, and Liars. The new SSION album, Bent, arrives this spring just before the debut of a new performance at P.S.1/MoMA in May, 2011.
When did you start making music?
When I was a teenager, 15 or so. I started SSION. It was more noisy punk rock that we did on a four track. A lot of spoken work stuff and feedback. We were really into No Wave. That’s how it started. And then on the side I would do my own thing that was more heartfelt and serious. Me trying to be like PJ Harvey.
Did you ever release any of that stuff?
No. Actually the noisier, crazy stuff is cooler. We released some of it on cassette. We’ve never actually released anything. I mean, in a real way.
The last record was a real release.
Yeah, but it was so short lived. It was a friend of ours that put it out. I think there were only 200 copies.
Really?! It’s everywhere online and I remember seeing it everywhere.
That’s good, but I would like to do more of a physical thing. I guess people aren’t into that anymore. It’s such a shame.
When’s the last time you bought a physical CD or record?
I bought that Kanye record a month ago, maybe.
Yeah, How is it?
I like it. I bought the CD because I don’t have a record player now, it’s in storage. The packaging is nice. I like the artwork. That’s what kinda sold me.
Which they don’t even have on iTunes. They blur out the George Condo painting.
It’s a cool painting.
Yeah I like George Condo. How is YOUR record?
It’s coming along. We worked on it last night. There’s this one song I really like called “My Love Grows in The Dark.” I did a real pop version of it and then Albert and Ashley enhanced it and made a house version. I just don’t know if I am ready to make house music, you know. I don’t want to get too glossy.
You have such a great pop sensibility. You need to hang on to that. I love your new song “Earthquake.” And you are working on some stuff with Azari and III. I love them too. When are you planning to release this next one?
We are debuting the new show at P.S. 1 in NYC on May 14, 2011. The entire show is going to be lit with digitally mapped video. The stage and all the surfaces will be painted white. The set will be a giant animation. It will be similar to the video for the song “Clown” off the last album.
How was “Boy” conceived?
I submitted a proposal in 2005 to Grand Arts, a not-for-profit arts space in Kansas City. We got the green light to start the movie after we finished the album in 2007. I had already written a basic script for what I wanted to do. But the next film I make, I will not drag it out over a two-year period. I should have shot everything in one month. It was difficult to stop and start. There is something nice about saying, “Ok we are going to block out this month and do this really huge project. And we are just going to live it for this period of time and we are going to lose our fucking minds. We are going to go crazy and become that.” That’s how I would prefer to do it next time, just one big chunk of time in production.
What were the things that were driving you during that period and what’s driving you now?
It was an awesome time. A bunch of different people came together in Kansas City and we had a similar aesthetic and a similar mindset about how to so something, about how to make something happen. I was also doing a lot of speed at the time which made me a little bit delusional which I think was good for the work
What kind of things are you looking at now that inspire you?
I loved the last M.I.A. album because it was so fucking nasty but her live show sucked. Have you heard the mixed tape she recently put it out? It’s really good. She makes good music. I like what she does. It’s just the live show is shitty.
Who did you work with on your record?
I did some stuff with Azari and III. I did some stuff with this dude in London who is in this band called Te3th. And then I did some stuff with this dude Nick in the band Teen Girl Fantasy. I have been talking to MNDR about doing stuff. She is so amazing.
What’s the sound of your new record?
I think I have become a better songwriter. On the last record I didn’t have any way to record the music I was writing. I would just play the chords on a guitar and have the melody and the lyrics and go to Ashley and he would do most of the programming. This time having Garage Band has allowed me to put down any sort of ideas I have had in my head and be able to work with different people on it. I think the songs are better. They are sweeter. Everything is slower too. It’s not straight ahead dance music.
Who’s Ashley?
Ashley Miller is the musician I did “Fool’s Gold” with. We’ve worked together for a really long time. A lot the SSION music I have started with other people for this album and he is helping me finish. Because I want this album to be sort of like a mixtape. I want every song to follow into the other.
What’s going to be the single?
The song I am most excited to make a video for is called “Listen To The Girls.” There was an interview with Will.i.am and he’s in the back of a limo getting ready to DJ at a club and the promoter is in there with his girlfriend. He asks the club promoter what he should play. The promoter says ‘”Dude, just play whatever you want,” and the girlfriend says, “NO! Electro. You’ve got to play ELECTRO.” And then there’s this really dramatic moment where Will.i.am turns to the journalist and says “You gotta listen to the girls, man. Just listen to the them, they always know what’s up.” It’s like a song to myself. It is one of the first songs I wrote for the record to get me inspired, to pick out some muses. It’s a song about fashion.
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