Dummy Mix 90 // Water Borders
Water Borders are about to drop an LP on the “best indie label” Tri Angle Records next month, and we’ve been bowled over by this group’s sturdy, psyche take on industrial enough to bring you a brilliant mix from them. Amitai Heller and Loric Sih started making music in a San Franciscan dilapidated garage in 2009 and have released on Houston’s Disaro and 20jazzfunkgreat’s UK label, Hungry for Power. Their upcoming release is a nebulous, hazy mix of influences correlating the wobbles and rhythms of UK bass with atmospheric undulating synths and the industrial sounds of the 80s. Its not entirely surprising that they apparently still record in their dim and moldy practice space.
How’s it going?
Things are good! It’s summer in San Francisco which means we are in the coldest place in the United States right now, which is fine with us because we love wearing jackets.
Can you please tell us a bit about the mix?
The mix was made in Ableton. We like to move through genres and time periods and we loop/pitch-shift/time-stretch/dub out a lot. So there’s all of that going on.
You album’s coming out early next month — can you please tell us a bit about it?
It’s called Harbored Mantras and its our first full length. The record is the most congruous nine tracks of the dozens of pieces/sketches/ideas we’ve created in the last year or so. It is important for us to make music in accordance with our personal values, one of them being remaining true to our sense of self in the face of criticism, doubt, and vapidness. If the album, or our live show is a polarizing affair, we will have considered it to be a success.
What was it like working with Glasser?
Glasser, who we collaborated with on our last EP, created the artwork for Harbored Mantras, which we are extremely pleased with. Working with Cameron is always a rewarding experience. She considers ideas very seriously and respectfully. Then all of a sudden something appears. “Where did that idea come from?” “Oh, haven’t we just been talking about it?” “no, but its great”. that’s not verbatim but it’s that kind of creative relationship.
People calling you guys “creepy” and “disturbing” — how do you feel about that!?
It is true that the music we make is dark both lyrically and sonically. But not necessarily deliberately – it’s just how we feel and what we create. Lyrically speaking the music is more about sifting through the murk of social and political relations than it is about any kind of self hatred or ennui, although those ideas are addressed as well. We’re not wrist cutters or luciferians and we like to think that our music retains a soulful, playful vibe.
What’s coming up for you guys in the next few months besides the album release?
Touring both US and Europe is certainly on the agenda. Otherwise we will continue to write and tinker in the studio as we always do – as well as trying to continue pushing the boundaries of our live show.
Tri Angle Records release Water Border’s LP ‘Harbored Mantras’ on the 10th October 2011
