INTERVIEW 57. karibean

As you from the North welcomes the closeness from the rays of sun - commonly known as summer - and your days tend to get dark around 10pm, probably some of your musical habits may change. You let the more introspective things aside and go to more sunny, warm, outdoor-sy and upbeat places of your music library. And talking about sunny and upbeat: do you know Karibean?
To welcome the summer - even though I'm wearing double layered socks and a beanie - I decided to publish an interview with my favorite indiepop trio from Italy: as I said it before - Karibean.

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Last year, their first ep called 'Love Tears and Spiritual Blessings' caught - not only - my attention with its beautiful melodies soaked in sun, beach, DIY, 60s pop and late 80s/early 90s indiepop.
The EP was first released independently (and for free download) and later was reissued - also as a free download - via EardrumsPop.
Among the songs, 'Gregorian Spring' stands out as the track of the EP and could (should!) be considered an indiepop hymn for its uplifting effect, combining melody, harmony and an outstanding and moving dialogue between vocals and backing vocals.



At the moment, they're preparing the release of their new ep - Andersen - (out in 4 days - June, 27) in collaboration with MATTAlab and We Were Never Being Boring Collective.
'Off the Lip' is the first single.


Check the interview below!

01. Tell us about the origins of Karibean... how did you guys got together? And why the name Karibean?
Hi Felipe, we’ve been playing together for about one and a half years, but we’ve know each-other for a lot longer, as we’ve all gravitated (some as customers, some as workers) around a music club in our area. The name of the band was inspired by some weird Benetton 012 t-shirt.

02. If you're music was a planet or landscape how it would look like?
I wouldn’t know about a planet, I know very little about astronomy. A landscape would certainly be Big sur, in the Baja California region.

03. Your music has an easy listening, playful atmosphere with hints of groups from the 60's (take the Beach Boys-esque opening track 'Xmas Vibration'), jangly pop from the 80's and surf pop. Tell us about your references... what inspires you?
I love oldies, especially Hondells, Zombies, Beach Boys, Sky Saxon, but also the  Ramones, the Smiths, Beck, Girls in Hawaii, Surfer Blood, Beach Fossils, The Oh Sees and a lot of other stuff.

04. Let's talk about 'Love, Tears and Spiritual Blessings' your debut EP, released last year. How was the making of it? What were your ideas while creating it? And now that's been almost a year since you released it, are you happy with the public reception?
It was born mainly out of the need to overcome some painful situations. I wrote some songs, I played them to Corrado and Luca and we arranged and recorded them together, in an almost surreal climate of harmony and collaboration. I am very satisfied with the common language we have developed amongst our group and with the reaction the public has toward it.

05. Your sense of melody is one of the things that stands out. Not only melodically, but the way the vocals and backing vocals create a 'dialogue' is absolutely brilliant. The best example is 'Gregorian Spring': the song has everything that I consider necessary to be labeled as 'perfect pop'... catchy, timeless, melodically uplifting and gives goose bumps in every listen. What is a perfect pop song for you? 
Woooow I am flattered and very happy you like it. It’s hard to write down a recipe, I can tell you that I really like songs that contain sonic rainbows, frantic, electric and surfing, but still convey the mystery, the spookiness of Christmas, and the obsession for lost time.

06. The EP is available for free download on your bandcamp page. Why's that? What are your views on music distribution nowadays?
The first ep is free and was a complete DIY opus. Now we have co-produced a second EP with WWNBB and MATTAlab, which is titled “Andersen”. We will surely share some stuff for free on the web, and some other things will be available for purchase.

07. Perfect time and place to listen to Karibean?
A spring sunset at the base of Monte Conero, an iced Varnelli, hang-gliders flying above your head, and long, relaxed waves rolling in from the south-east.

08. What's next for the band? Live performances... new songs...
We just finished working on our second ep, “Andersen”, and that will be out very soon. We want to play anywhere they’ll have us and let people hear the new tracks. As for the gigs we just played the beautiful Romapopfest, and we hope to play the Handmade festival in Guastalla, which was postponed because of the recent earthquakes in central Italy.

09. Italy has a very vivid independent scene, even though international blogs don't pay much attention to it. Any bands we should know about?
I really like A Classic Education, Welcome Back Sailor, Husband and North. Then there are  Winstonmcnamara and the Chewingum, who both sing in Italian, and are super.

10. Anything else you feel like saying?
I wanted to say hi to the guys at the Surf Rider Foundation, and remember to always support the Denver Nuggets!