DEERHUNTER
LOCAL 506/CHAPEL HILL
WORDS: AW HENDERSON
APRIL 30, 2007

Deerhunter's vocalist Bradford Cox sat crouched on the edge of a bench at Chapel Hill, N.C.'s Local 506 ripping CDs into his laptop and discussing the process of writing lyrics, discovering sound samples and the state of affairs in indie rock. Fighting too-loud background music, he partially de-Crypted the band's 2007 breakthrough album:

'Sup: The liner notes for Cryptograms are not the same as the lyrics. They're obviously relevant, but they're not directly the lyrics of the album. What do they mean?

Bradford Cox: It's like a stream-of-consciousness impression of the record. Some of that stuff is just stuff from notebooks that I had around while we were making the record, ‘cause I don't really, like, write lyrics in advance. I do the lyrics pretty stream-of-consciously. I do write down stuff in notebooks a lot. I'm really into Patti Smith, and she used to always do stuff like that. I'm really into the idea of liner notes, not necessarily a lyrics sheet, which is kind of boring and de-mystifies the whole thing. I wanted to do something to mystify it more, you know?

The way the first half of Cryptograms is sequenced with the ambient and the rock songs back and forth contrasts with the second half, which is more uniformly rock. Is that something you planned or did it just happen while recording?

It was recorded in two halves, not knowing that the two halves would be grouped together, necessarily. When we recorded the first half we were in a totally different mental state, and the second half was done like a year later. So naturally we're going to be in a totally different vibe. But I think the two halves reflect a lot on each other. They're kind of like mood swings: up and down. To me the first side is more built on depression and anxiety, and the second side is more, not ''up'' but…at peace with itself.

I get a really strong ''Treefingers'' vibe on the first side's ambient tracks. Is there anything you were aiming for in those songs?

Those were basically just attempts to create a certain atmosphere. They kind of seem like natural breathing spaces for the rest of the songs. They kind of punctuate the rest of the songs. They kind of create a trajectory. A lot of people think they make it lose momentum, but I like'em.

Where did you record the running water sample at the beginning of the intro?

I found a tape at a thrift store called ''Backyard Stream.'' Somebody put a tape recorded by a stream in their backyard and there was something about that I thought was really interesting. I think it's become a clich?© thing to use field recordings now, but I think it was really interesting that somebody had a recorder‚Ķwho knows what year or when, and just put it by a stream in their backyard, pressed record, labeled the tape, put it away somewhere and then gave it to a thrift store, you know? It's really interesting that someone would have that memory and discard it. Where was this stream, you know?

I read that you said you thought music isn't dangerous enough anymore.

I don't do this band or this music for any other reason than because I feel like it's dire. It's not necessarily upbeat—it can be pretty depressing sometimes. But the thing I feel in a lot of music it seems like a lot people to do it, in a static way. I miss the urgency of punk rock, you know? I miss the self-destructive elements as well, and I don't mean in a stupid way.

Do you think any bands these days have that element to them? I saw you open for the Liars. Do you think they're dangerous?

Yeah, the Liars are like that. Liars can be absolutely frightening. There's something ritualistic about what they do that I really admire. It's very, very impulsive.

I saw you were recently added to the Pitchfork festival. What is it like being a band before and after the big Pitchfork hype hits?

It's not like they created our band. They've become friends with us because they like our music, which was created before anyone knew us. It really doesn't change that much; we're not like a super-hyped band. Pitchfork hasn't really changed our lives or anything…everybody asks that question. You'll see tonight, the shows aren't really any more packed than they were. I think the people who like us like us regardless.

What kind of music do you listen to now and how has it changed since you've been in the band?

I don't know if it's changed. I've always listened to a lot of electronic and minimal music. I like Echo & The Bunnymen and stuff like that, too. I think the thing about all of us that we share is that we're all into odd, weird things that are all kind of separate, and then when we get together we're all also really into pop music. Ambient stuff has been a huge influence. That's what I listen to like 90 percent of the time, since I discovered it in high school.

Where did the title of your new EP, Fluorescent Grey, come from?

Things like titles and stuff usually just pop into my head, then I figure out ''What does that mean?'' To me…have you ever seen, like, a dead body? And you're kind of shocked at the color? Or even like a dead animal…the skin is grey but it's almost glowing, it's so radiant in its weirdness. Anything that's shocking in its absence of color, the fact that an absence of color can be almost fluorescent.