Backstage Interview
Jun 25, 2024
I Dont Know How But They Found Me: Interview at Melkweg in Amsterdam
Studio Talks is excited to share an interview with Dallon Weekes, the mastermind behind iDKHOW. Andrej spoke to Dallon before his performance at Melkweg on the 25th of June, as part of his European Tour. They discussed his new album ‘Gloom Division’, his collaborations with other artists and Dallon’s current most-listened-to song.
You recently released your new album, ‘Gloom Division’. Can you share something about the creative process and some inspirations for the album?
Yeah, I got to make that record with a producer I've been a fan of since the nineties. His name is Dave Fridmann, and if I had a list of top ten records, he's probably made at least four of them. He's done a lot of stuff with The Flaming Lips, you know, like ‘The Soft Bulletin’ and ‘Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots’. So I had an opportunity to go work with this guy who's made some of my favorite records of all time. So I flew out to where his studio is - it's this cabin in the woods, in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of winter, too. So we would record all day in this place where some of my favorite records were made, and then they would leave for the day, and I would be alone in this big building with all these legendary instruments played by my heroes. And I would just be fiddling around with it all night long. So, a lot of inspiration came from just being in that room where a lot of my favorite music was made.
Well, yeah, it was definitely a haunted, deeply haunted building, but it was great.
What's your favorite song from this album to perform live?
‘SPKOTHDVL’ is probably my favorite song to perform. We've been playing it first on this tour as the opening song of the set, and there's just something really fun about it. It's probably heavier than what I've written in the past. It's based on a guitar riff and a lot of distortion, and it's pretty heavy, but I really enjoy playing it and seeing that that reaction of, you know, something that's sort of unexpected from fans. I like seeing that happen on their faces. So yeah, that's probably the one for me.
You're now in Amsterdam. While on tour, do you also have some time to visit the cities? Are you visiting some sites? And did you have a chance to visit anything here?
It's pretty rare. You only ever really get to see the hotel, the airport, the venue, and the bus unless you have a day off. But luckily for us, we had a day off yesterday, and my wife is here with me, so we got to wander around the city. I've wandered around Amsterdam before; it's beautiful here. I really wanted her to come out on this tour so that she could specifically see Amsterdam because it is a beautiful place. I really like it a lot.
What can fans expect from you in the future? Do you have any other projects, maybe some shows during the summer, or are you preparing some albums?
Well, I'm writing right now and I have just about an album's worth of stuff completed. I was just going to do an EP, but the further I got into the writing process, the more ideas started rolling out, and I've been collaborating with a few people as well. So, I might just make another record here soon, as soon as I get an opportunity to. We have a fall tour coming up, so it's going to be a matter of just finding the time to do it. Another album is just about written and ready to go. I just need to figure out when, and a couple of the songs still need a few screws tightened on them. So it's not entirely finished yet, but there's a lot of material.
You mentioned some collaboration. Do you have a person who is your number one, dream collaboration, that you would like to do? Do you have someone like that?
Yeah, you know, and I'm lucky enough that I've gotten to collaborate with those people several times. I have a short list of go-to people whose work I really admire, who are always open to the idea of me bugging them with song ideas that I'm stuck on or something. Daniel from Joywave is a great example, or a man named Jason Hill, who's in a really fantastic band called Louis XIV, and some local musicians who live around where I live. There's a gentleman named Robert Loud who plays with The Killers, and he lives not far from me, so I send ideas to him. He's a fantastic songwriter, too. So there's this little collective of songwriter friends that I've made over the years. I just happen to be really a big fan of their work, too. And I'm lucky enough that they'll let me bother them with my song ideas like, “Hey, I got stuck on this one. Do you have anything for it?” And sometimes they do, and sometimes they don't. Any time that collaboration happens with that group of people, it's never forced, it's never put together by management. It's always just friends making music, and there’s no pressure to throw an idea at this. If inspiration strikes, than great. And if it doesn't, don't worry about it. That's how I think the music-making process should be. So it's been great to be able to do it that way.
What is your number one listened-to song right now?
‘Is It Any Wonder?’ by Durand Jones & The Indications. It's fantastic; it sounds like an old Motown music straight out of Detroit in the sixties. It's so good. And yeah, it seems like I have that song on repeat every day at some point.
What is one thing that always has to be in your backstage?
Dr. Pepper. Yeah, it's my worst habit, but I'm not much of a coffee man. So that's how I get my caffeine. And it’s too bad that it's full of sugar, and it's probably going to end up killing me one day. But, it is the only soda that went to eight years of medical school, so that's the only one for me.
Follow IDKHOW on Instagram: @idkhow
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