It's probably safe to say that few bands have ever derived their inspiration from living across the street from a C&H Sugar Factory in Crockett, California. It's also probably safe to say that few bands have ever sounded quite like CRYPTACIZE. Making minimalist pop music that is decidedly upbeat (a real rarity in a world of downer indie-rock), the California based trio (Chris Cohen, Nedelle Torrisi, and Machael Carreira) are a veritable breath of fresh, cowbell-friendly musical air. The band's new album, Dig That Treasure, find the trio dishing out sparse, quirky tunes that appear to jump, skip, and stretch out in every possible direction.
We called up Nedelle Torrisi to get some hot gossip on the band. Not surprisingly, she was rad.
SG: What up, Nedelle?
Nedelle: Hello! I'm at home right now. Oakland, California.
SG: That doesn't sound like a bad place to be. I'm in New York right now and it's freezing.
Nedelle: Nope, it's not a bad place. It's beautiful.
SG: I'm sure you've told this story about five bazillion times, but do you guys still live across the street from a sugar factory?
Nedelle: Actually, we don't. We moved back to Oakland and the sugar factory was in Crockett, which is about 45 minutes away from here. We got tired of driving all the time, so we decided to move back here.
SG: What did the sugar factory have to do with the band being called Cryptacize?
Nedelle: Well, we lived across the street from the factory and our apartment was totally tilted. Like, the walls and the floors were totally not level. It was a weird place. We didn't realize that we'd been breathing in all of these weird fumes all the time from the factory. The constant weird smells--plus the tilted floors in that apartment--was making us feel really spacey all the time. One day I just came up with the word Cryptacize and as soon as I said it, we suddenly felt like everything in the apartment changed. It was like a magic word for us. I can't really explain it, but we knew that should be the name of our band.
SG: How did the band originate?
Nedelle: Chris and I started writing songs for Cryptacize while were both playing in a band called The Curtains. That would have been in 2006. Eventually we just decided to dedicate all of our time to this band instead...that was when we found Mike, our third bandmate. I'm so bad with dates.....that was in 2007? We've been writing songs for a long time, basically.
SG: You guys found Mike via a YouTube clip?
Nedelle: Yeah! I guess he had heard that we were looking for another band member, so he sent us some clips of him playing a cowbell. He managed to make this one instrument sound so orchestral and interesting that we invited him to come and practice with us. After one practice session we asked him to join the band.
SG: Did he live nearby?
Nedelle: Yeah, he lived in Oakland but we didn't know him, which is kind of bizarre.
SG: There is such a minimalist quality to what you guys do. It's like there is no sound that gets wasted--you can hear every little thing that's going on in the songs.
Nedelle: That's cool.
SG: How do you guys work? This doesn't sound like the kind of music that comes from, like, jamming.
Nedelle: No, there's no jamming. We're a jam-less band. Chris and I start with little 5-second ideas that we want to expand on. We go back and forth using computers and editing, just playing around with things. Eventually we present it to Mike and he adds his part to it, which usually makes a big change in the songs. Mike really isn't a drummer in the traditional sense, he's a percussionist who has also studied composition.
SG: You guys have always been interested in the idea of minimalism?
Nedelle: Yes. it's kind of a reaction against what's going on in music right now. The trend right now seems to be to make things really big and complicated and heavily-layered. Horns and lots of weird noises or whatever. We just wanted to make something that was aesthetically different from all that.
SG: When you write songs that are so simple, there's really nothing to hide behind. It's not like you're playing power chords or have a really loud horn section behind you. How do the songs tend to go over in a live setting?
Nedelle: Well, it sounds pretty much the same. (laughs) It's kind of hard to play the songs live because there is obviously a lot of space in the songs--quiet moments--and it requires a lot of concentration on the part of the audience. We can lose the audience really quickly if we aren't careful. It's a challenge to play the songs correctly and not rush through them. They are meant to be played slowly and take their time. We're trying to get better each time we play.
SG: If you're playing in the standard rock club that is full of people talking and drinking, it's hard when you play music that is kind of quiet and restrained.
Nedelle: Oh yeah. You know, we don't have a bass player in our band and it's kind of.....well, it's just quieter than most bands.
SG: I'm kind of obsessed with the video for "Cosmic Sing-A-Long."
Nedelle: Really? Wow, thanks!
SG: It's sooo cute. Did you make it yourselves?
Nedelle: Oh yeah. You know, we have very limited resources, so we figured that we'd make a video using still photographs and just edit it together in i-Movie or whatever. Still, it took a really long time because we really didn't know what we were doing. We brought home some lights and we turned our apartment into to this little set. We just hung up fabric for the backgrounds and Chris basically did all the nitty gritty work.
SG: I also love how upbeat your record it. So many records are such a total bummer. It's like most people's default setting is to write something depressing.
Nedelle: Totally! I mean, my own default setting is to be a total bummer too, so it's a real challenge to write music that's not like that at all. I totally understand what you're saying though.
SG: Something very good-natured about your music. Not in a sappy way, but in a really sweet way.
Nedelle: Aw, thanks. You know, it must be Chris' influence on me. I've mostly only written sad music in the past. I think when you write with a partner you tend not to be as self-indulgent and it kind of stops you from writing a bunch of "woe is me" type of songs.
SG: How long have you and Chris been a couple?
Nedelle: Oh, a couple of years.
SG: How is it to be in a band with someone you also live with and are in a relationship with? That must be intense.
Nedelle: It can be, but you know it's great to be able to go out on tour and not have to spend weeks away from your love interest. It's weird sometimes to spend so much time with another person and it can be hard to retain your own individual identity and not be too dependent, but it's mostly great. It feels very natural. It seems more natural to be in a band with your boyfriend as opposed to going on the road with a bunch of strangers. I'd rather go out on the road with someone who I spend all my time with anyway. Know what I mean?
SG: Yep. I think I do.
check out Cryptacize's video for "Cosmic Sing-A-Long" (aka the world's cutest video) on Stereogum.
for more on Cryptasize click HERE
Cryptacize on Myspace
We called up Nedelle Torrisi to get some hot gossip on the band. Not surprisingly, she was rad.
SG: What up, Nedelle?
Nedelle: Hello! I'm at home right now. Oakland, California.
SG: That doesn't sound like a bad place to be. I'm in New York right now and it's freezing.
Nedelle: Nope, it's not a bad place. It's beautiful.
SG: I'm sure you've told this story about five bazillion times, but do you guys still live across the street from a sugar factory?
Nedelle: Actually, we don't. We moved back to Oakland and the sugar factory was in Crockett, which is about 45 minutes away from here. We got tired of driving all the time, so we decided to move back here.
SG: What did the sugar factory have to do with the band being called Cryptacize?
Nedelle: Well, we lived across the street from the factory and our apartment was totally tilted. Like, the walls and the floors were totally not level. It was a weird place. We didn't realize that we'd been breathing in all of these weird fumes all the time from the factory. The constant weird smells--plus the tilted floors in that apartment--was making us feel really spacey all the time. One day I just came up with the word Cryptacize and as soon as I said it, we suddenly felt like everything in the apartment changed. It was like a magic word for us. I can't really explain it, but we knew that should be the name of our band.
SG: How did the band originate?
Nedelle: Chris and I started writing songs for Cryptacize while were both playing in a band called The Curtains. That would have been in 2006. Eventually we just decided to dedicate all of our time to this band instead...that was when we found Mike, our third bandmate. I'm so bad with dates.....that was in 2007? We've been writing songs for a long time, basically.
SG: You guys found Mike via a YouTube clip?
Nedelle: Yeah! I guess he had heard that we were looking for another band member, so he sent us some clips of him playing a cowbell. He managed to make this one instrument sound so orchestral and interesting that we invited him to come and practice with us. After one practice session we asked him to join the band.
SG: Did he live nearby?
Nedelle: Yeah, he lived in Oakland but we didn't know him, which is kind of bizarre.
SG: There is such a minimalist quality to what you guys do. It's like there is no sound that gets wasted--you can hear every little thing that's going on in the songs.
Nedelle: That's cool.
SG: How do you guys work? This doesn't sound like the kind of music that comes from, like, jamming.
Nedelle: No, there's no jamming. We're a jam-less band. Chris and I start with little 5-second ideas that we want to expand on. We go back and forth using computers and editing, just playing around with things. Eventually we present it to Mike and he adds his part to it, which usually makes a big change in the songs. Mike really isn't a drummer in the traditional sense, he's a percussionist who has also studied composition.
SG: You guys have always been interested in the idea of minimalism?
Nedelle: Yes. it's kind of a reaction against what's going on in music right now. The trend right now seems to be to make things really big and complicated and heavily-layered. Horns and lots of weird noises or whatever. We just wanted to make something that was aesthetically different from all that.
SG: When you write songs that are so simple, there's really nothing to hide behind. It's not like you're playing power chords or have a really loud horn section behind you. How do the songs tend to go over in a live setting?
Nedelle: Well, it sounds pretty much the same. (laughs) It's kind of hard to play the songs live because there is obviously a lot of space in the songs--quiet moments--and it requires a lot of concentration on the part of the audience. We can lose the audience really quickly if we aren't careful. It's a challenge to play the songs correctly and not rush through them. They are meant to be played slowly and take their time. We're trying to get better each time we play.
SG: If you're playing in the standard rock club that is full of people talking and drinking, it's hard when you play music that is kind of quiet and restrained.
Nedelle: Oh yeah. You know, we don't have a bass player in our band and it's kind of.....well, it's just quieter than most bands.
SG: I'm kind of obsessed with the video for "Cosmic Sing-A-Long."
Nedelle: Really? Wow, thanks!
SG: It's sooo cute. Did you make it yourselves?
Nedelle: Oh yeah. You know, we have very limited resources, so we figured that we'd make a video using still photographs and just edit it together in i-Movie or whatever. Still, it took a really long time because we really didn't know what we were doing. We brought home some lights and we turned our apartment into to this little set. We just hung up fabric for the backgrounds and Chris basically did all the nitty gritty work.
SG: I also love how upbeat your record it. So many records are such a total bummer. It's like most people's default setting is to write something depressing.
Nedelle: Totally! I mean, my own default setting is to be a total bummer too, so it's a real challenge to write music that's not like that at all. I totally understand what you're saying though.
SG: Something very good-natured about your music. Not in a sappy way, but in a really sweet way.
Nedelle: Aw, thanks. You know, it must be Chris' influence on me. I've mostly only written sad music in the past. I think when you write with a partner you tend not to be as self-indulgent and it kind of stops you from writing a bunch of "woe is me" type of songs.
SG: How long have you and Chris been a couple?
Nedelle: Oh, a couple of years.
SG: How is it to be in a band with someone you also live with and are in a relationship with? That must be intense.
Nedelle: It can be, but you know it's great to be able to go out on tour and not have to spend weeks away from your love interest. It's weird sometimes to spend so much time with another person and it can be hard to retain your own individual identity and not be too dependent, but it's mostly great. It feels very natural. It seems more natural to be in a band with your boyfriend as opposed to going on the road with a bunch of strangers. I'd rather go out on the road with someone who I spend all my time with anyway. Know what I mean?
SG: Yep. I think I do.
check out Cryptacize's video for "Cosmic Sing-A-Long" (aka the world's cutest video) on Stereogum.
for more on Cryptasize click HERE
Cryptacize on Myspace
