Interview - Gothic Tropic

Gothic Tropic

LA’s very own three-piece Gothic Tropic released debut EP ‘Awesome Problems’ in early September 2011. Taking inspiration from the likes of Sonic Youth, Magazine and The Talking Heads, there’s no task in seeing why this EP is such a sweet, hard-hitting trip. The four tracks are chocka-block full with bliss drenched, mellifluous riffs and sprinkled in an obscurity of cloudy vocals. It’s loud, it’s gutsy, its full with the kind of jams you’d have on at a beach party. Gothic Tropic’s ‘Awesome Problems’ is an exploration of rhythmic passion and bubble-gum pop.

TTWR: Could you start by telling us what Gothic Tropic are all about?

Gothic Tropic: We evolved from some of my solo loop station jams into a collaborative freeform project, and we just build off each others’ instincts. It’s a very pure project, everything we’ve done so far has all come naturally. We’re not trying to do anything except share our brains, whatever it ends up being.

TTWR: As pointed out by many others, the name Gothic Tropic is somewhat matched to the sounds delivered on ‘Awesome Problems’ – was this something you put thought into, or a chance happening?

Gothic Tropic: I think there’s a magic that occurs when everything is instinctually progressing, putting as little thought possible into conceptualizing a record or a sound always happens to yield a surprisingly well fitted product, so I think that’s what happened. The name Gothic Tropic kind of came as a joke because I love dark and twisty vibes and I love jolty bright party-happy vibes, so that’s just a sandwich of the two. I think the way I write (the EP came before we got to collaborate as a band) is just a natural combination of dark and light & that just kind of feels most right.

TTWR: You recently got to play alongside Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Foxygen and Wampire at The Echoplex, LA– how was that for you?

Gothic Tropic: Super fun! Those guys were great, and the bill really made a lot of sense to me. I think we all have a love for Krautrock & weirdness that doesn’t get acknowledged very often by bookers, so it was a really special show for us.

TTWR: How has the crowd reaction been at live shows for you so far?

Gothic Tropic: Our crowds have been insanely supportive, and enthusiastic. We have a really raw & inclusive vibe on stage and I think people are responding to how transparent we are, there’s a lot of bands right now with backing tracks and tons of ear candy, and I think what gets people going at our shows is the punk energy that exists for us on stage. There’s a lot that happens live that may not happen again too, so people go crazy when we improvise, I love seeing it. I’m totally with them too, I love laughing and shaking my head in disbelief any time Daniel or Lia shred some random part I’ve never heard them play before, and everyone’s in on it too.

TTWR: Was there any particular experience/s that influenced the end product of
this EP (Awesome Problems)?

Gothic Tropic: The name “Awesome Problems” was kind of a comment on the year I had, and how everyone has their own biorhythm that aligns with this idea. Which is; you reach a new low in order to reach a new high. Shitty things happen right before your situation improves ten fold, so just always remember that. It works like a fucking clock, it’s the most reliable life occurrence I’ve ever experienced, it happens like this approximately every 2 years, and I think a lot of people can identify with that as well.

TTWR: ‘Awesome Problems’ is a positively upbeat record; was this something you strived to achieve?

Gothic Tropic: I was feeling stoked on discovering the loop station which was when I wrote the tracks on Awesome Problems so maybe that’s why haha. But it was just a mood. The songs we’re about to record are tunes we all wrote together so there’s going to be a different vibe indeed, but still a mixture of that light and dark.

TTWR: What did the EP making process involve?

Gothic Tropic: 1 day on a loop station, I wrote Monkey Bars, Kitty Baby, and Flesh Dance. Then the next day I wrote Stigmata & Kill Lloyd Opus. The only song I put a little more thought into was Kill Lloyd Opus, I listened to some Bassekou Kouyate (West Africa) for inspiration.

TTWR: Could you reveal a little something about the new album and what we are to expect?

Gothic Tropic: We’ve been writing together for the past year, and this album represents 3 minds who happen to think very similarly, and we all have a special style and language we’re contributing. It’s more mature, and we’re putting a little more thought into the compositions and tones. It’s going to have the ‘shreddy’ party tracks, some fun punk tracks, and some dark intense thoughtful tracks, but they all have the same balance so we’re stoked to start revealing.

 TTWR: Are there any plans, once the new album is out, to tour it over in the UK?

Gothic Tropic: We’d love to, we’ve already been asked to tour out there & play a couple festivals in the summer, so if the resources allow we’d love to. If any UK folks out there feel inspired to help us out, we’d love to play!

We here at The Two Way Radio would like to take this opportunity to thank Gothic Tropic for their time!

You can download ‘Awesome Problems’ on their Bandcamp or buy a physical copy here!

-Luke Bartlett