by tiffany arunarsirakul
photo courtesy of corbu
Corbu is a Brooklyn-based electronic-psych duo consisting of Jonathan Graves and Amanda Scott. Impacted by the works of Le Corbusier, Corbu uses the influences of nature and architecture into their music. This duo was originally a solo project of Graves’, focusing on graphic design, photography, and writing, later becoming the full-life art project known as Corbu. For their latest single “Lost & Found,” they had the chance to collaborate with singer, songwriter, and bassist Jimi Goodwin of Manchester, UK electronic rock band Doves. The Lost & Found EP was released June 4th.
How did Corbu start? What was the inspiration for the name? How did Jonathan Graves and Amanda Scott meet?
Jonathan: “Corbu started as my solo project when I was experimenting with samplers, and moving away from my need to be in a ‘band.’ I was really into architecture at the time, and I’m from Western Pennsylvania, so I’ve grown up around Frank Lloyd Wright’s work. The stuff I was reading about him and Le Corbusier was changing the way I saw the world. I was also obsessed with the music of Boards of Canada, and there was a common idea between them and the architects about stealing ideas from nature. I wanted to try that — to take concepts from nature, from architecture and from other unrelated places and apply them to music.
Amanda is also from Pittsburgh, but we met in Brooklyn through mutual friends. She had never played an instrument before, but every idea she had about the songs was great and made them better. Eventually I talked her into hitting some buttons on-stage, and now she’s playing keys and drums, as well as co-writing and producing every song with me.”
Was the creative field and entertainment field somewhere you envisioned yourself in as a child?
J: “Yeah, almost by necessity. I wasn’t diagnosed with ADHD until college, so most of school was a brutal experience for me. But I sang in a boy choir when I was a kid and toured the world, so being a failure in school was contrasted by the success I had doing anything musically. Eventually all the creative things I enjoyed doing (graphic design, photography, writing) folded into this full-life art project called Corbu.”
How would you describe your music making process?
J: “Amanda and I collect a million sketches over time, and eventually a handful of them get turned into finished songs. They grow up over time. Amanda gets frustrated sometimes with how many times a Corbu song morphs before it’s finally released, but she’s almost as likely as I am to throw an idea into a blender and turn it into something new. A lot of times, I’ll be the engineer and doing technical things forever, and Amanda will hear it with fresh ears, bring perspective to it and tell me what needs to change. Sometimes she’ll take over the writing at that point, or we’ll pass the song back and forth until it settles. It’s a lot of pride-swallowing and a lot of doubt along the way, but we’re almost always happy when the song is done.”
Your "Lost & Found" music video is creatively directed, while also having a psychedelic aspect, as well as other music videos. You are known for psychedelic pop underground music, and the video is filmed in Western Pennsylvania where you are both from. How did it feel to return to somewhere so nostalgic?
J: “In a way, we’ve never left. Both of our families still live in Pittsburgh, so we go back a few times every year. There’s something about the places you experienced as a child that makes you more child-like when you’re there, and that can be nice. The video was filmed in a superficially normal, Middle-American place, but Amanda and I see it through different eyes than most of the people that live there. So this video was a chance to be kids and be weird, and show something meaningful to us the way we see it.”
How was your experience with one of your inspirations: singer, songwriter, and bassist Jimi Goodwin of Manchester, UK electronic rock band Doves?
J: “Working with Jimi has been a dream for us. I’ve been a huge Doves fan my whole life, and Amanda’s been into them for years. I used to be evangelical about their song ‘Pounding,’ and would make everyone I know listen to it. I sent Jimi a fan letter early on, and he came and hung out and even jammed with us when he was in New York. It’s one of those things where you feel immediately comfortable around someone, but it happens to be one of your heroes. We’d love to do more with him in the future.”
With the Lost & Found EP having released on June 4th, what is your number one favorite song that you would recommend from the EP?
J: “Definitely the title track with Jimi. Everything else on the EP is in support of that, though I do love JKriv’s remix, and our Seaside Instrumental version is really fun. It borders on ridiculous in the ending, and a little of that is always good.”
Now with rising Brooklyn indie label Trash Casual, do you have any upcoming plans with your music?
J: “Yes! Trash Casual are good friends of ours, and the whole label is a little family. It’s been great to feel like a part of something.
We have a video podcast coming out this summer called Bad Trip Reports, which is something we’ve talked about doing forever. We’re releasing a full soundtrack of all the new music we’re using for it — it’s our first ambient record, in a way. Every episode has us reading someone's experience with various substances, with Amanda doing color commentary. People can submit their experiences to us, so it has a communal aspect, and it lives in that Hunter S. Thompson kind of headspace. It’s funny and super emotional and raw from moment to moment, like most of the things we’re drawn to.”
What is a struggle you encountered as a duo that has made you who you are today? How did you overcome the struggle?
J: “We had a difficult time with our first label, even though we love them as people. They didn’t believe in digital marketing, and insisted that ‘word of mouth,’ a few radio plays and PR would be enough to break us, while demanding that we become as big as Arcade Fire or Tame Impala... instantly. That all may have been fine in the 90s, but it’s suicidal now. It’s very hard when you’ve worked your whole life to make your debut album, put years and every penny you have into it, and you know it’s being set on fire.
It was heartbreaking, and we almost stopped making music. But it forced us to confront everything about ourselves that wasn’t working, and heal a lot of things that made us flawed as individuals and in our relationship.”
What is a piece of advice you would tell your younger selves if you were given the opportunity to?
J: “Make the music you want to make, but beyond the recordings, embrace your limitations. No one cares that you don’t have a 5-piece live band like some of your favorite artists, and it’s not worth passing up huge opportunities because you couldn’t present the ultimate, perfect version of yourself. Never pass up an opportunity because you’re clinging to your idea of perfection. You never know when that opportunity will come again, and if the music’s great, sometimes it’s enough to just make sure people hear it.”
Is there anything else that you would like to share with us?
J: “We want our music to feel like you’re dreaming, or like it pulls you into some corner of your brain you’ve forgotten about. I think the best way to get into that zone is to dig into our YouTube channel, and watch all of our videos.”