Band Of The Week #212 - Mamalarky
This week’s Band of the Week is Atlanta based group Mamalarky - who have just released their new album ‘Pocket Fantasy’ via Fire Talk.
The band's off-kilter guitar-pop brims with energy and tales of friendship, hinting at influences from the likes of Deerhoof, Animal Collective & St Vincent whilst rooted in the contemporary Atlanta and LA scenes in which the band was formed, with members of the band touring as live members of Cherry Glazer and White Denim.
They took a moment to talk to us about how the album came together.
Hey there Mamalarky - how are you? So your album is out now - how does it feel to have it out there in the world?
Freeing! I’m so happy to release this thing that was our whole lives up until the point it was finished. - Livvy
Shit always felt so far away and it really crept up on me! - Noor
I know! It feels like it both took forever and that it came up in an instant. - Livvy
It is called ‘Pocket Fantasy’ - what is the meaning behind that?
We wanted to highlight the portability we have with music, how it’s a little fantasy world you can access whenever you’d like. You’re welcome to visit anytime you need. - Livvy
Where was it recorded? Any behind the scenes stories from the creative process you are happy to share with us?
We recorded most of it at our home studio in Atlanta- built inside what used to be a dentist’s office from the early 1900s, with these massive vaulted ceilings. The basic tracking for Frog 2, Shining Armor, and It Hurts, we did the instrumentals with our friends Ian Salazar and Joey Oaxaca.
We spent one hot afternoon in Austin recording sandbags and brooms and stomps in the garage below Ian’s studio- samples which found homes sprinkled around different tracks on the record, particularly Mote Controller. Audio was also taken from a video of Noor’s nephew Rayan screaming his head off, which makes an appearance on Dance Together.
Frog 2 was maybe the most unique recording moment from the LP— as we were packing up to leave Joey’s studio after a day of overdubs, Livvy insisted on getting a recording of me improvising on an old Casio keyboard they had set up there. We ran the thing in parallel through a sub-octave pedal going to a bass amp, noodling along with the keyboard’s little onboard drum machine, and that session became Frog 2. - Michael
What are the key themes and influences on the album?
There could be a beautiful marriage between technology and organic things. You can go out and walk around the woods and mycelium, take it back to your synthesizer and capture it to share to so many people. - Livvy
If the album could be the soundtrack to any film - which one would it be and why?
I honestly don’t watch many movies, but I’d love Frog 2 to be in a in E.T. The ending shots in the music video really bring that to mind. - Livvy
Do you have a favorite lyric on the album - if so, which one and why?
My first instinct is ‘how can I introduce myself I am a collection of cells’ - Noor
I agree Noor, my favorite lyrics are in Frog 2. I really captured how I genuinely feel just moving about life in that song. Like a stray organism trying to assimilate into proper society. - Livvy
Now the album is out there - what next?
A whole lot of touring, leaning into our live sound, and meeting everyone who is kind enough to give us the stage to do this. Thank you, forever! - Livvy
