by martina rexrode
photo by marii kiisk
Based in London, dream-pop trio Night Tapes recently released their latest EP assisted memories, a seven-track project featuring an impressive range of styles. Their rising career picks up in an exciting way this fall when they embark on their debut US tour including stops in NYC and LA. We talked with Night Tapes about the EP, the erratic process put into creating the EP, and their goals for the end of the year and beyond.
Congratulations on your assisted memories EP! What made you choose this specific track as the title of the EP?
Night Tapes: “Thanks! It really felt like it encapsulated the theme of changing from one version of yourself to another and the meaning nicely encapsulates this group of songs. It felt right.”
How does this EP bring listeners closer into the space you currently hold as a trio? Does it introduce any new sides of you that fans might not have seen before?
Night Tapes: “It’s definitely the most direct sounding piece of music we’ve ever made. Richie is singing in ‘drifting’ which is something we haven’t featured before (unless you know a secret track from ages ago). Lyrically with this EP I’m trying to honor and be kind to different past versions of myself. Especially to the young girl who moved to London from Tallinn, Estonia to pursue music.”
What is your writing/production process typically like? Did you try any new methods or styles within this process recently?
Night Tapes: “Our writing process is pretty erratic. We all make tracks individually and we can write together. The annoying, correct answer to this question is ‘every time is different’ ([laughs] I used to absolutely loathe these kinds of answers, but it’s so true). I think it’s good to keep on exploring, there is a saying that applies to art quite well: ‘if you think you know what you’re doing, you’ve killed it.’ Throughout the years we have learned to just make songs happen faster, but switching up approaches like writing with a new instrument or writing to visuals seems to work for us.”
If you each had to choose a favorite track from this EP, which would it be and why?
Night Tapes: “At the moment my fave is ‘easy time to be alive.’ It’s built on this one spontaneous dictaphone recording we did one morning with Max. We found the recording randomly at a session and built everything around it as we couldn’t change anything about it. It turned out everything was there, we just needed to trust the first recording and the first feeling it had.”
This fall, you’ll be on your debut US tour including shows in NYC and LA! Which part of this tour are you most excited for?
Night Tapes: “We are so excited to see all the new cities we’ve never been to before (Chicago and San Francisco). We are also very excited to see the people who have been championing us online.”
What are some of your bucket list venues?
Night Tapes: “Glastonbury Pyramid Stage, thanks [laughs]. Alexandra Palace would be cool. Electric Brixton would be cool (as we are from South London, represent).”
How does it feel to have your music reach such a wide audience outside of where you started?
Night Tapes: “It’s quite surreal.”
What do you want to tell your future, end-of-this-year self? What do you hope you’ve accomplished individually and as a group by December 31st?
Night Tapes: “I would like to tell my future end-of-this-year self that creativity needs order and chaos and I hope she will go to a sunny place this winter to rest, regroup and adventure. I would like to accomplish inner freedom, thank you.”