Post-Rocking in Beijing: An Interview with Macondø
Macondø, a Beijing-based post-rock outfit that was formed in China in 2015, has been making waves in the local scene as of late with their exciting musical elements across many genres. Thanks to DJ BO, I was able to speak with guitarist/vocalist Scott Slepicka, keyboardist Gerald Van Wyk, drummer Jake Nimer, and bassist Fred Shi about their musical backgrounds and musical journey in Beijing.
How did you guys meet? How did this band come into formation?
Slepicka: Matt, the previous drummer, and I actually met at PBD Pizza Bar in Weigongcun. One night, we had a few drinks at Temple Bar with our friend Sebastian who plays bass. Then we asked Sebastian if he wants to come and jam with us. That was how he became the first bass player for Macondo, but he left in the early stages of the band. And Fred, our current bass player took over from him. Then Gerald came to our first gig at Chill Bar (also known as The Drum and Bell), which is next to Andingmen, and he joined us. Then Matt moved back to the UK so Jake then joined to take over the drums, however we already had the drums recorded for our second album. Jake has been our drummer now for almost two years and we are currently working on new music for our third album.
Where do you guys all come from?
Van Wyk: I grew up in the west coast of South Africa. I spent most of my life in Cape Town.
S: I grew up in Minnesota. Then I moved to Korea. I lived there for four years and have been in Beijing now for nearly eight and a half years.
Nimer: I'm from a small town in the north east of England called Middlesbrough.
When I was 18, I moved to a bigger city called Sheffield. and lived there for six years until I moved to China. And Fred is a Beijing local. But he studied abroad in the UK for five years.
How do you think your hometown has influenced your sound and how you all carry yourselves in Macondø?
S: I grew up in the Midwest and in Minnesota which is famous for being where Prince is from. When I was in Junior High School, there was a big thing called the Midwest emo. One of the most iconic bands at the time was called American Football. There's not a whole lot to do in the Midwest except hanging out in a Walmart parking lot, or going for a drive or run in the suburbs. Pop punk and emo punk was very popular in my hometown. I took a lot of those influences. Since we don't have a lot to do on the weekends, you would just go to the video rental store and rent a bunch of movies and watch them with your buddies. We would drink Mountain Dew and eat Doritos until we hallucinated. Eat a bunch of junk food and watch movies like Terminator and Blade Runner. A lot of the cool '80s sci-fi movies have a really cool electronic synth, which is where I get my influences for Macondø.
N: I can kind of speak for Matt as well. In England, we're known for just amazing rock and roll bands. Personally, my parents were both musicians and I grew up listening to old '60s and '70s music all the time. We would go to festivals and see these bands play. On the weekend you would see bands like the Rolling Stones playing. In English culture, we go out and we enjoy live music and we dance and we party. So, in terms of the drumming, obviously, Matt wrote the previous drum lines. But yeah, I think that if you listen to the two albums that Matt played, the drums are really technical and groovy. It's a privilege to actually play them live with the guys as well. But yeah, England is like rock and roll heaven, you know?
VW: I grew up in a very, very small town. Where I stayed, it was actually difficult to access music. But as soon as I went to college, I was quickly exposed to a lot of music scenes, especially hardcore, punk, and even some reggae bands, so mainly that was where I came from.
Let's talk about your newest single, “the Monster.” What was the inspiration for this song?
VW: The name says it all. It's kind of Frankenstein. It was like having little pieces of Lego blocks and then putting them together. You can find a variety of sounds and lots of changes. It's kind of very convoluted.
How would you say 2022 has treated this band so far?
S: We were grateful to be able to finish the album. It took a few years for us to record it. We spent about a year in post production, and three or four months mixing it. Our mixing engineer, Jack Milaszewski from mixattic based out of Poland was able to stream HD audio from his workstation just like we're in his studio. It's not something that would have been possible five years ago. It’s very cool to be able to have that kind of technology.
DJ BO of Critical Music Club will hold an online discussion with Macondø about their newest album, II, on Jul 31 at 8pm. For more information and to RSVP, contact DJ BO by adding him on WeChat at 13818937693.
READ: Paddy O'Shea's Owner on Staying Afloat Amid Covid
Images: Courtesy of Macondø, DJ BO , Simone B, Paul
