By: Lisa Steinberg
Photo By Sophie Koterus Korting
Q) How would you describe your sound?
A) Beige garnish
Q) Who are some of your musical influences?
A) The Books, Worldpeace DMT, Queen, US Maple, Alex G
Q) Talk about the story behind your new song “Punch Drunk Love.”
A) I wrote it on an acoustic guitar. I never really do a lot of fingerpicking and I gave that a go. With two fingers, I think. It was a nice way for me to hop back and forth from a bassline with my thumb to a melody with my index finger. The shuffle and the fact that it’s three or five times four bars instead of the regular four most of the time, it feels like you stumble into the next chord that catches you, I think. The words are a little more story-like than 90% of my stuff. It’s just this one person you follow, I think.
Q) What do you think it is about the song that fans connect to?
A) I haven’t spoken to fans yet, as we haven’t played. There’s people that have come up to me that make stuff I like, who have said they like this song a lot – which is cool. But I wouldn’t call them fans, I think? They also didn’t say why they liked the song and I didn’t ask them because that would feel a bit awkward. We do get some comments and messages online, but those are often more Emoji-based or three words or something. Or like “Loving the new track <3 when are you coming back to Newcastle”-ish.
Q) How does the video for the track play into the message behind it?
A) There’s not a very clear message behind the song. And I think that also goes for the video. I spoke to the director, Thomas Foster, about wanting to try something with a drone in that setting because my bandmate Mart [Boumans] knew someone who could fly one really well and thought we could record at the lovely Vereeniging in Nijmegen – where it is shot – without it being too costly. Mart had also built this big fake piano for our live show that we wanted to showcase a little bit in it. So, the drone felt good for that. And I suggested it could be cool to have the drone fly into the shots, which Thomas took a little further by making it one of the main characters of the video.
Thomas is all about real film, analogue stuff. I see the appeal and liked for him to be able to do his thing. I think it turned out great. The girls killed it I think! I say “little girl” at some point in the song, so I suggested we could check if we could find a little girl who would be down to help out: turns out Mart’s twin nieces Ava and Suzy are both into acting. Totally killed it both, I think.
Q) Your LP Human Assholes is due out in September. What are some themes you’ll explore on it?
A) Love, passion, depression, music, and heartbreak.
Q) What made the track of the same name also the perfect title for the LP?
A) I had that song pretty much ready, except there were no finished words. I decided on the title for the record after I’d made a big portion of the album. I put the two together and wrote/collected words for that music on the beach. So, the track name came after the album title.
Q) What is your song writing process? Do you need music before you can create lyrics?
A) It differs really, but most of the time the music comes first and I mumble some things. Later I turn it into actual words (most of the time). But I mix it up sometimes.
Q) How much of a hand do you have in the production of your music?
A) I’m pretty much there from start to finish and I get the final say. It’s basically my record.
Q) My favorite tracks on the LP are “Scrambled Egg” and “A Letter From a Scentless Realm.” Which tracks hold a special place in your heart and what makes them a standout for you?
A) I like “Bone” – I think that’s a nice one to listen to on big, nice speakers. It gets really big and there’s some cool things happening instrumentally and spatially. I listened to a recording of our rehearsal yesterday and liked “Tempo” as a song. I think it’s a pretty catchy pop song with a nice structure. It doesn’t really scare you off like some other tracks may do, except for the over the top, tense and slightly off vocals maybe.
Q) What songs off your LP are you looking forward to performing live?
A) I love playing “Human Assholes” with the band. I don’t have to sing for the second half, which is very freeing. I can really get in the zone, and there’s a lot to listen to and play into.
Q) What do you hope listeners take away from listening to Human Assholes as a whole – either as an emotion or message?
A) Their own thing. It’s finished and not mine anymore.
Q) You’re headed out on a UK & EU Tour this Spring. What can fans expect from a live Personal Trainer performance?
A) We’re bringing a cool stage prop and we’re playing a lot of new material with two new band members who are both great musicians.
Q) Who would you most like to collaborate with on a song in the future?
A) Keenan Mundane.
Q) What artist/musician are you currently listening to and why do you dig them?
A) From 2. They are a great new band from Amsterdam and around, who make pretty guitar music with some emotional group vocals and a lot of different interesting textures. A bit like Yo La Tengo with iphones.
Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?
A) We’re playing a bunch of shows, you can buy tickets here:
www.personaltrainertheband.com/live
And you can pre-order our record Human Assholes. Thanks for the support.
All Questions Answered By Willem Smit