It’s no secret that Cindy are this blog’s favourite band. The stark, beautiful truths contained within Karina Gill’s writing frequently find parts of me I didn’t know existed, helping to gain understanding from even the most unfathomable of situations.
Ahead of the release of new EP Swan Lake and a forthcoming second UK and debut EU tour, Karina very kindly agreed to answer a few questions for the blog:
Hi Karina, thank you for talking to heavymetalkids.uk. It’s been over a year since we chatted via the radio show. How have you been? What’s new in the Bay Area? The underground scene certainly appears to be as thriving as ever.
Thanks Fran, glad to talk with you. I’ve been doing pretty well, I think. I’m sure there’s tons of new stuff happening here — far more than I’m aware of. There are a few new projects I’ve had the chance to witness — Cadillac Coquette, Peace Frog, for example. And Cherub Dream Records are really busy. There’s a newish Marbled Eye record. Of course Kevin Linn of Paisley Shirt Records is prolific as always.
Cindy are back with a new line up and EP ‘Swan Lake’. Could you tell us a little about your new bandmates and what they bring to your songwriting and the new record?
I feel extremely lucky to have this configuration of Cindy. The brilliant Will Smith joined Cindy for the UK tour last year and to my relief decided to stick around. Oli Lipton is playing guitar with Cindy now and is a dream come true — artistically as well as personally. Both Will and Oli are behind Now, which is a phenomenal band and I’m quite honored to be playing with them.
Staizsh Rodrigues joined Cindy more than a year ago and has been a huge contributor to how Cindy’s sound is evolving — her vocals have changed how I think about new songs’ ultimate arrangement and how to revive older songs. I admired her past projects, Children Maybe Later and Almond Joy, and feel so lucky that she wanted to be a Cindy.
Having these collaborators has made me feel like I can let my guard down quite a bit — I trust their aesthetic judgement, I feel understood by them musically, and it’s a total pleasure to know that they get it and will elaborate the feeling and idea in a way that is right but that I couldn’t have come up with. I count all three as real friends and having this tight knit group makes all the difference. I don’t know that I would have embarked on another tour without them.
I’ve honestly been blown away by the EP’s pre-release tracks. You seem to consistently hit new peaks as a writer. What are some of the themes/ideas that have stirred your creativity this time out?
Thank you, Fran. That’s kind! Like all Cindy songs, a lot of the themes have been knocking around in me for a long time. They are like little bells that have been ringing for years and I finally put them in the right context when they turn up in a song. All Weekend especially — it absorbed some impressions and thoughts that had been dogging me for a long time and that I hadn’t really known were related. All the details would be more than anyone needs to know — but there was a man (total stranger) in an elevator having some kind of utterly consuming inner experience and he made a big impression on me.
The Bell is more of an expression of a mood and writing the song helped me understand it better. There are two songs on the EP that are partly based in experience from last tour — a walk through a park in Birmingham and the things I thought and felt during that walk. Who knows why that walk stuck?
I was delighted and a little surprised to learn that Cindy are returning to the UK so soon. How did this flurry of Bay Area related tour activity come about? What with you, April Magazine, Chime School AND the Reds, Pinks & Purples heading our way we are being thoroughly spoilt!
I’m surprised we’re touring again too! A big part of the influx of Bay Area bands to the UK is Reuben Myles of Outsider Artists. He took a chance on Cindy last year and now has handled a lot of the tours you just mentioned. For us, we were offered a tour in the EU, which we have not done before, and then it made sense to do a show in London… and then it grew.
Finally, what’s next for you? You always seem to have a new project or idea on the go, where do you think your artistry might lead you next?
I made a short film last year and I would like to make more. There’s something in progress now, a collaboration with my good friend Katiana Mashikian. And this configuration of Cindy offers some new possibilities — we made a demo recently in a new way. I wrote the very bare minimum of a song — a structure of chord progressions and lyrics — and sent it to Will, Oli and Staizsh asking them to do whatever they felt with it. We got together at Oli and Staizsh’s house where they have a great recording set-up and made a demo within a couple of hours. It was very fun and we all really liked the result. So, maybe more of that if I’m lucky.
Swan Lake is released 4th October via Tough Love Records, you can pre-order vinyl/digital here.
Cindy tour the UK/EU this October/November. All dates and ticket links can be found below.
31.10, London, UK: Walthamstow Trades Hall TICKETS
01.11, Coventry, UK: Just Dropped In Records TICKETS
02.11, Halifax, UK: The Grayston Unity TICKETS
03.11, Chester, UK: The Golden Eagle TICKETS
04.11, York, UK: The Fulford Arms TICKETS
05.11, Gateshead, UK: The Central Bar TICKETS
06.11, Glasgow, UK: The Glad Café TICKETS
07.11,Manchester, UK: Rat & Pigeon TICKETS
08.11, Cambridge, UK: NCI Centre TICKETS
09.11, Kortrijk, BE: Sonic City TICKETS
10.11, Amsterdam, NL: Paradiso TICKETS
11.11, Rotterdam, NL: Renée TICKETS
12.11, Berlin, DE: Schokoladen TICKETS
13.11, Geneva, CH: Bongo Joe TICKETS
14.11, Lausanne, CH: Le Salopard TICKETS
16.11, Paris, FR: L’Olympic Café TICKETS
Huge thanks to Karina Gill for agreeing to this interview.
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