A Conversation with Fanfarlo’s Simon Balthazar – HuffPost – 7.23.10

Mike Ragogna: Your song “Atlas” is one of the strongest cuts on the Twilight: Eclipsesoundtrack. Let’s catch everyone up on how you got involved with the franchise.

Simon Balthazar: These things tend to be a bit of a mystery in terms of what the mechanics are. But this bedroom recording of the song is a demo that made its way to the people putting together the soundtrack. One day, we had an e-mail saying, “We would really like to use this demo of yours in the film.” And we were like, well, that’s kind of interesting.

I had never seen any of the other films. I like vampire films, so why not. But we figured that their other soundtracks sold in the millions, so it would be a good thing to get those millions of people to hear our song, but we also figured that we didn’t want to use a demo. So, we went into the studio and recorded a version of the song. It was just for a day we were in Austin at Mike McCarthy’s studio. So we went in and recorded a version, and we ended up on the soundtrack.

MR: Nice. Fanfarlo had a debut album last year on Atlantic.

SB: Yeah, it was on a subsidiary of Atlantic called Canvasback Music. The album was calledReservoir and was a delayed debut in the U.S. We had been releasing home recordings before that, and we’d finally gotten around to actually recording an album when, all of a sudden, we started getting played on college radio a lot in the States and getting invited to play a bunch of shows and stuff. So, at that point that’s when we got an American label on board.

MR: Didn’t you have a song on the album featured on Grey’s Anatomy?

SB: I’ve never watched Grey’s Anatomy, and I know it’s a hospital series. We get a lot of questions about it, but I don’t really watch TV. It’s all good for paying the rent.

MR: Most artists do look at it that way because they mostly aren’t involved in choosing the song or any of that. So, what are you working on a new album?

SB: Well, we have had a studio set-up in my bedroom, so we do record and write at the same time a lot. There are a lot people getting into recording now with it being cheaper and more possible for everyone. I think a lot of people do that these days, and it’s something we have always done. But at the moment, we are recording and writing, and we get together in a rehearsal space down the road from my house and try to write new songs for a new record that, hopefully, we are going to record soon. We have been living out of our suitcases since October, and it’s kind of winding down now a bit. We tend to sort of shoot off every weekend to do a festival in Spain or France, and then the rest of the time, we try and write and catch-up with our normal lives back in London.

MR: Simon, are their any other franchises that interest you?

SB: You know, I am not really a blockbuster type of guy. So no, not really. I have a huge interest in film, and I find the way that movies are produced at the moment to be pretty depressing. You know, the endless remakes. I just don’t agree with the concept of a remake at all. I mean, there might be a few exceptions to the rule, but the current film climate is really atrocious, I think. I suppose people complain about the music climate, but it’s the movie climate right now that is amazing. Music has been democratized. But it’s weird, the same thing just hasn’t happened to the film industry, and I find it kind of odd and kind of sad.

MR: People are gathering fan bases in different ways than they have before, obviously, because of the Internet. It’s been essential as the music industry has had to reinvent itself.

SB: Yes. But I think that there are pathways for music. Just look at that we had a pretty shoddy home recording, and it somehow found on its way to the big screen. There seem to be pathways for home recordings and for more cheaply done recordings. Things that are just more real coming from real bands and artists who aren’t produced in any way, and that you really benefit from it just being so available now. There are pathways for real interesting music.

MR: And in the film world?

SB: I think that indie documentaries have really made their way in. With mainstream companies, they are only prepared to play what is real safe, and just go with blockbusters and remakes. There is a kind of weird void there.

MR: Be it an indie or major studio, ultimately, you’d hope it would always be about which track helps support a movie’s scene or message.

SB: Oh, certainly, my music has sort of made its way, but that’s almost symptomatic of how a lot of the major labels are until very recently, making the same mistakes as the very big film companies. Really playing it safe and just going for the popcorn hits. I think the indie music community has managed to side step that in their own way, and sometimes the major labels have no choice but to get on board.

MR: So, you don’t watch TV…

SB: Yeah. I don’t watch TV or listen to commercial radio at all. I grew up in Sweden where there wasn’t even commercial radio until recently. But people are so good at finding their own way, and that has really been democratized and made available to everyone, which I think is great at the end of the day.

MR: Simon, who are your musical influences?

SB: For me, as a band, we have a pretty eclectic span of influences. I listened to a lot of folky stuff stylistically, and at the moment, I am listening to post punk kind of stuff. In our band, we have a pretty bizarre range. We have a drummer who mainly listens to soundtrack music, and a bassist who listens mainly to black metal.

MR: What advice would you give to an up-and-coming act, indie or otherwise?

SB: It’s bizarre because, at least here in London, it doesn’t seem like anybody really needs any advice. When we first started, we didn’t have a game plan. I was just writing songs for the fun of it, and we were playing shows because we had friends booking us at clubs. It seems like everyone is so terrifyingly clued-up on what they’re supposed to be doing because before they even play their first gig or release their first demo, there is already a pack of labels hunting them because they have already cleverly planned everything out beforehand. It’s is a little bit unfortunate because, I think, here in the UK, everyone was constantly looking for the new thing, and there is this one-upmanship between the blogs and labels trying to find the new thing, and I think bands are pretty clever playing that out. But I am not sure if it’s the healthiest music climate.

MR: This is going to be a very interesting period as the music business transits into its next incarnation. It seems like a whole new paradigm could be introduced.

SB: A lot of countries in Europe — certainly in Scandinavia — and in Australia and New Zealand, they have government funding for that sort of thing. They support their musicians. If you can’t afford to tour but you have something going, you get funding to do that. The reason we can go and play small indie clubs in Norway is because they have government support to make those things happen. But, in no way, would it otherwise happen — except for major label bands that have that level of cash.

We were touring with this band Lawrence of Arabia from Auckland, New Zealand. Same thing with them. They have a great thing going, but there is no way they would be able to afford to come over here unless they got a grant.

MR: Imagine if, in the U.S., the government gave grants for musicians and songwriters to support their art. I bet that would overhaul this country’s music community…

Transcribed by Erika Richards