Spencer Robinson talks about the new line-up and the new album of his band BLACK MARKET HEART.
Can you introduce the band?
The band is me, Spencer Robinson on guitar and vocals. Tina Brugnoletti on bass and vocals, and Shawn Medina on drums/
Can you tell us about the recording of “What Happens In The Dark”?
After Tina joined the band, we started working on new material, and eventually went into the studio to record 4 songs. We worked with Paul Roessler, who was in The Screamers and 45 Grave, and who is a kickass producer. We did the 4 songs in 1 day, and it was an amazing experience. Paul knew how to get raw, high-energy performances from the band, and we just tore though the material so fast. When we got those 4 songs mixed, the tree of us talked about how we wanted to release them. I eventually said “I could write some more, and we could go back in to record a whole album,” and that was that. I dug into my vault of lyrics, and also wrote some new ones, and just started demoing songs at home to bring to the band. We eventually went back into the studio with Paul for one more day, and recorded the rest of the album. It just happened so fast.
You have a song called “Don’t Fit Anywhere”. Do you feel that way with BLACK MARKET HEART?
Haha, I guess the band does walk the line between a few different genres. The song is really about not appreciating something good until you do something to screw it up, and how that can leave you feeling completely disconnected. It’s one of those songs that I wrote in less than an hour total. It just came pouring out.
Have you played a lot of shows so far?
The band has been around for a bit, and we played a number of shows with the old lineup. With Tina being the newest member, and with a lot of time dedicated to writing the material on this album, we recently started playing out with this incarnation, and I’m really excited to play more.
Can you tell us about the choice of the two cover songs on the album?
If I’m going to cover a song, I love to do something really different with it. Girl Dreams is a song that Beck took from The Carter Family, and reworked it. It’s on one of his early folky records, and I’ve always loved it. We’ve been playing it live for a while now, and I was really excited to finally get our loud version down.
Give Me Power is one of those old Reggae songs that has just a killer groove to it. It’s beautifully simple in its structure, and if you take it out of the Reggae realm, feels like some kind of great 60s pop song. It was pretty easy to make the leap from there to amping up the feedback, and playing it like The Jesus and Mary Chain would.
There’s some cinematic moments on the album and in your videos. What kind of movies/directors do you like?
I could sit here and list hundreds of movies that I love, but I’ve always felt like this band would fit well in something stylized like a Tarantino movie, or weird like something for Yorgos Lanthimos.
Have you read any good books lately?
I read a ton of books. Most recently, I read the latest book in Gregg Hurwitz’s Orphan X series, which is a lot of fun. I also read Syrup from Maxx Barry, and that was fantastic. I just started Orwell’s 1984, which I realized I’ve never read, and (not surprisingly) I’m loving it.
Will you release the album on vinyl/CD/Cassette?
Yes! We are finalizing the packaging for the vinyl release, and that will be available soon. Really excited about that.
What are your favorite bands in Los Angeles at the moment and what are your favorite places to play there?
There are a lot of great bands here, and I’m sure that’s not a shock. I’m loving Primitive Ring right now. The Mainliners are really blowing up, I love that. Just a great punk band. There are a lot of smaller clubs on the East side that are all great. Places in Downtown LA, Echo Park, Highland Park. So many good spots over here.
Do you still play in other bands as well?
I do, yes! I play bass in a psyche band called Black Honey Cult with some of the guys that I played with in The Lords of Altamont. We have a record out on Heavy Psyche Sounds, and people should check it out.
Any plans for touring in Europe?
That’s a good question, and I don’t have an answer yet. The new record is starting to get some play in parts of Europe, so I guess we’ll have to wait and see how that all goes.
Veglam 
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