Hybrid Territory: ASHRR & Lovefingers talk indie leanings

The album was marked and announced by the release of a single called ‘Sway’ which was remixed by fellow Los Angeles based musician and DJ Lovefingers, who is best known as the founder of ESP Institute.

The trio share a number of similarities and mutual interests with Lovefingers who has always danced between the world of indie and dance music – connecting the dots across numerous projects and records.

We asked the parties to dissect their influences and the spirit behind their musical philosophies.

Read below:

Lovefingers: You’re based in Los Angeles, but like most LA residents, you’ve probably spent parts of your lives in other cities before putting down roots here. I’ve spent some time reminiscing with Josh about early 00’s NYC. What is the brief geographic story of all the band members, where and how did they align, and what do you think each of those stories brings to the band in terms of musical influence?

Josh: Ethan has been rooted in Los Angeles for quite a while, while I started out in New York City, spending two decades there before moving to Nashville for a few years. Eventually, I made my way to L.A., where Steven joined me shortly after. Despite both of us having lived in NYC for a long time, our paths never crossed until we were both out here. Ethan originally hails from West Texas, then lived in New Orleans before making the move to L.A. in the early 2000s. Steven and I were in NYC for years, and then I moved to Nashville, where I met him for the first time. We both ended up moving to L.A. in 2015. Steven has done it all, from headlining big rooms with big band standards to writing for film and TV. I started as a jazz pianist, mentored by the late Dr. John, and became known for New Orleans-style music before branching out into pop, rock, and country as a songwriter. Ethan, a Grammy-nominated engineer, honed his skills at Kingsway in New Orleans under Daniel Lanois, later joining Gram Rabbit and working with artists like Ben Harper, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and Mavis Staples. Our diverse backgrounds across various genres really showcase what makes us unique. We love post-punk, funk, dub, world music, soul, jazz, electronic music, and that combination of influences, coupled with our voices, defines our music.

Lovefingers: Your music falls into what I consider “hybrid” territory. The lanes have certainly merged more over the years, but what aspects do you keep in the live “performance/instrumentation” realm vs. machine/sequenced/sampled, and how do you combine them in your live show?

Josh: We are a 5-piece live band with Ethan on guitar and vocals, Steven on vocals, and me (Josh) on keys, guitar, and vocals. We also have a bass player who plays bass synth and a drummer/MD who runs our Ableton sessions, covering a lot of the extra percussion and sonic elements we need for our live show.

Lovefingers: Your album is being released on 2020Vision, which is hugely respected in the UK. Ralph Lawson, who is responsible for Leeds’ iconic Back To Basics since 1991, is nothing short of legendary for us rave kids. How did you link up with him, and how do you feel working in a largely electronic/dance context affects you as a “band”?

Josh: Funny story! We had finished our song “Fizzy” and wanted to do a remix. We loved the Khruangbin Mordechai Remixes, especially “Time” by Felix Dickinson. I reached out to Felix and sent him the track to see if he was interested. Next thing I know, his manager Annie—who we didn’t know at the time—was intrigued by what we were doing. She’d managed Khruangbin for years and asked to hear more of our music. Even though our album wasn’t finished yet, we decided to send it her way. After listening, she immediately recognized its potential and told us, ‘You need a good label.’ That’s when she introduced us to Ralph Lawson at 2020Vision. Annie’s belief in our work and her connection with Ralph opened doors for us that we hadn’t even anticipated, giving our project the push it needed.

Lovefingers: What DJs and/or club nights stand out in your memory? Are there any life-changing epiphanies you’ve had on the dancefloor?

Josh: I remember some pretty awesome nights at Limelight in the early ’90s in NYC. Well, now that I think about it, I don’t remember that much, haha. There was this one show in Boston with a bunch of UK acts like New Fast Automatic Daffodils, Chemical Brothers, etc., and I recall being on the dance floor, mesmerized by the energy, lights, and sound. It was something I hadn’t seen or felt at rock concerts I normally attended, and it made me realize there was a real movement happening at that time.

Lovefingers: In the “indie” era (sigh), there was always this idea that US bands would go to the UK early in their career to marinate, often drumming up a grassroots crowd through the cool smaller venues before breaking more substantially onto the US scene. Of course, today’s technology has flattened the globe a bit, but there’s still something romantic to me about a live band from LA releasing their album on an underground UK label and doing lovely press like this Ransom Note feature! Do you plan to spend much time in the UK around the album launch? Are there any dream venues, festivals, or situations in the UK/EU you see for ASHRR?

Josh: Yes! The plan is to head over to the UK for the summer festival season next year and perform as a band as well as with our hybrid Soundystem DJ sets. Primavera Sound, Glastonbury, Jools Holland show, BBC, etc.—we’re ready!

Lovefingers: Three desert island records?

Josh: Impossible to answer that, but we’ll try:

Rejuvenation by The Meters
Clube Da Esquina by Milton Nascimento & Lô Borges
Ziggy Stardust by David Bowie

Steven:

Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd
Avalon by Roxy Music
The Complete Recordings by Sinatra/Jobim

Ethan:

Laughing Stock by Talk Talk
What’s Going On by Marvin Gaye
London Calling by The Clash

Josh: What made you decide to open your incredibly diverse ESP imprint, and how do you select artists and releases for the label? How has it changed over the years?

Lovefingers: In the 00s, I was a DJ about town in NYC, and as a side project, I started a website called lovefingers.org, where I shared one track per day. This was before streaming and social media, and it gained a pretty cult following, which introduced me to many like-minded music freaks. After years of traveling across the US, Europe, Japan, and Australia to DJ, I found myself among a very talented (and international) variety of musical friends. So, I decided to parlay the lovefingers.org process of digging and sharing obscure old tracks into a record label for new music by those friends and called it ESP Institute. Over the years, the ethos and criteria have remained the same—if I like it, I get excited, often obsessed, and must get it physically out into the world at any cost. But the process of searching for and signing new music has shifted a bit. There are new artists pumping out amazing work nonstop; it’s impossible to keep up or hear it all, so I trust the universe more these days.

Steven: As a drummer, when you’re working on a new remix for a project, do you always start with the drums? What is your workflow?

Lovefingers: I wouldn’t say I always start with drums, but often. I grew up playing drums in lots of bands, so rhythm is definitely my comfort zone when it comes to performance. But because I’m not sitting down and improvising with bandmates much these days, I usually have a fully realized song in my head, which materializes as a production obstacle course. The best music, for me, is written while daydreaming, usually in the shower, on the shitter, or while driving. My voice notes app runs deep. When it’s a remix, I listen to the track a bunch, internalize the essence, then put it away and let it mutate in my head, typically ending up pretty far from the original. I’ve always been inspired by the way people like David Morales, François K, or Justin Strauss pushed the boundaries of remixing, sometimes adding totally new instrumentation or vocals.

Josh: When you first heard our track “Sway,” what was it about the song that made you want to remix it? I know you went through a lot of sketches at first—all of them great—so what made you ultimately decide which direction to take? You nailed it, of course!

Lovefingers: With “Sway,” I listened to it for a week, then mentally dissected it for another week, which resulted in transposing the vocals over totally different music. I know it’s obvious, but the chorus lyrics really were the driving factor, as they lend themselves to dancing. But as I mentioned before, I let the parts run away in my head. So, after a week of working on the Rimini Mix, I took a break and came back with something totally different in mind, largely piano-based. I called in my friend Dan Hastie to jam over it, then spent another week comping and editing that into the Lechuza Dub. You know that feeling when you’re too close to a project and can’t tell if you even like the idea anymore? Well, that happened, of course, so then I just muted all Dan’s keys, leaving only their dub/effects tracks to play over the drums, and voilà, the Skeleton Dub. Sometimes you have to dress something up only to strip it down in the end.

Josh: What is one of the best nights of your life on stage?

Lovefingers: I don’t really consider DJing to be an “on stage” thing, at least not the way I prefer it. I love the crowd to be focused on the music and not me, but of course, you have to roll with the times. That said, for an epic “on stage” memory, I’d say one that stands out is Meredith Festival in Australia 2010. I got to share a stage with some insane artists and personal heroes, including The Fall, Dirty Three, Broadcast (their last show before Trish Keenan passed away), and, of course, this was the show where DJ Harvey notoriously smashed the turntables and mixer at 7 a.m.

Steven: You’ve done some legendary remixes, including LCD Soundsystem and David Holmes. What do you have in the works currently?

Lovefingers: It’s been a nice year for me remix-wise, and David Holmes has been a mentor/guardian angel. I’ve remixed his singles “Necessary Genius” and two versions of “It’s Over Now If We Run Out Of Love” (the latter in collaboration with my partner Heidi Lawden). I also did a 15-minute version of Mildlife’s epic song “Return To Centaurus,” which included pedal steel by ESP artist Raymond Richards. There are still a few surprises left before the end of the year—one of them is a dream-come-true, working with a band I grew up on. I can’t announce it just yet, but trust me, you won’t be able to wipe the smile off my face when it drops. I really love remixing when the idea is there and am looking forward to more next year. I’m also working to get my own album out in early 2025—it’s getting there!

Josh: You and our friend Heidi Lawden perform together—how do you decide what songs are going in the set? Is there any pre-prep, or is it all on the fly? How many songs do you have on your USBs, lol? What is your favorite kind of set to do, and why?

Lovefingers: The best part about playing together with Heidi is that we don’t plan anything. Maybe we’ll say “let’s get silly” or “let’s get devilish,” but usually, it’s just shouting in each other’s ear mid-set. We follow our noses, and because there are two of us (usually playing two songs each), there’s double the amount of time to make quick decisions. It’s not always roses—one of us will usually side-eye the other’s track choice or even slap the other’s wrist off the EQ, and don’t get me started on the battle for the closing track. But what would it be without a little drama?