Interview: Know Your LA Bands with Divisible

BeatCrave brings you duo, Divisible, as part of our Know Your LA Bands series. After meeting downtown, Shola AV and Albert Sadia started creating music that accompanies the huge city feeling with the ability to pinpoint hidden feelings that are going on in a million souls. Shola’s mellifluous vocals that coat the soothing melodies and throbbing beats on their debut album, The Alchemy EP, have gotten music lovers to notice them, and they haven’t stopped there.

Their first full-length album, Less Than Lion, comes out in April 2009, and we can’t wait to hear what they’ve carried over and added onto the new record. They also have a show on March 1st at The Knitting Factory. If you can’t wait till either of those things happen, check out our exclusive interview with Divisible’s Shola AV below! She unveils the truth in regards to being an LA band, her personal triumphs, and more.

How did you two meet?

I was playing with another guy, a singer and bassist, and we needed a drummer. He found Albert and brought him in for an audition, and the moment Albert and I played together it was clear we should be bandmates. We ended up parting ways with the original bassist, but we’ve stuck together for many years now.

We know Albert is a poet, but Shola, what did you study at Harvard?

I studied Cognitive Neuroscience, which is a fancy Harvard way of saying Psychology. I think it’s fitting because I’ve always loved people and tried to understand what makes them tick. I go back and forth because sometimes people do things that make me feel like we can’t possibly be the same species, and sometimes I get very reclusive and don’t want to be around anyone for a few weeks. However, I always return to the same place, which is this very deep fascination with the human mind.

How did you decide on the name, Divisible?

The original bassist and I were both mixed – he was half Japanese and I’m half black. My dad is Ghanaian and Nigerian, and my mom is white. The name has meant different things to me throughout the course of the band though – these days I think of it in a scientific way, with people being Divisible into all these strange little molecules, but still it’s the larger picture that is the most interesting and the most important. I like to think of our art in that way – many little parts making up a greater whole.

Congrats on finishing your full-length, Less Than Lion! It’s described as a blend of Peter Gabriel, PJ Harvey, and TV on the Radio on your MySpace. It’s rare to see a band describe their own album with just three bands. Did you have this specific of a sound in mind before you started recording it?

Thank you! We did try to be more focused on this record, compared with our EP. Not necessarily those bands, but more a focus on the feel of the songs. When I was young, my dad would have all these dance parties in our basement, and he’d play West African music, mostly juju, some afro-beat, some African hip-hop. But the parties were always seedy and dark, and I wanted the songs to be reminiscent of the movement – tribal, sensual, desperate. Kind of something that tugs at the back of your psyche.

How was working with producer, Tommy Walter?

It was great working with Tommy, he brought good perspective to our music. We had been invited to Germany and we wanted to record some new material to bring with us. We did three songs with Tommy, and all three ended up on the record, although they kind of took on a different form. Tommy has a great flair for arrangements and melodies, and he’s got a lot of fun stories. He had gone on tour opening for Garbage and he said one of the toughest things was the row of girls in front who were just screaming for Shirley Manson and didn’t want to see the opening band at all. It was good advice, since we were on an opening slot in Germany for the Cliks, who also have a very loyal fan base. Tommy also fixed our computers, which was great. He’s an Apple genius.

Do you think your music will always have a sound that is reminiscent of your African ancestry?

I do. I spent a lot of time grappling with that half of myself. I was called an oreo growing up – and when I went to Harvard it was the same. I never fit in great with the black kids, and always felt a little uncomfortable. Now that I’m older, I finally came to terms with my dad, and in embracing our relationship, I discovered the joy, musically, in including that aspect of myself in the songs. Not to be racist, but I love bass, and I always joke that it’s because I’m black. And I love all the rhythms that Albert comes up with, but especially the ones that are more tribal, which he’s extremely creative at. I don’t think it’s a choice to include it or not, it’s really just being honest, maybe for the first time.

Do the songs follow a time-line of some sort on the album?

No, they don’t – they cover the spectrum of emotions that I went through in dealing with my dad. The first one, “Living with a Ghost” talks about how easy it should be to love, and it is very aggressive and maybe even a little angry. That song does fit a time line, and it had to be first. It was an anger I had to release before I could move forward with the rest of the record. And the last song deals with death, and it’s an acoustic piano and vocal track. That one, too, had to be last because it kind of wraps everything up.

What inspires you guys to do short films? Are they specifically for your performances or are they other works you do together that just happen to go well with your music?

They are specifically for the performances. The record just ended up being very cinematic to me, and I had all these pictures in my head. I wanted other people to see what I was seeing. Also, our lyrics can be pretty cryptic, and since a picture is worth a thousand words, I thought the images would improve the audience’s understanding of the songs. For me, communication is the most important thing in art.

Has becoming a band in LA been easy or hard?

Hard. Absolutely hard. I think a lot of bands don’t want to admit it, they want to seem like they just coasted into success. But the truth is, LA is a tough town, and on top of that we don’t necessarily fit in with any scene. I think this may be the theme of my life – I never fit in anywhere! But we’re trying, and we’ve made some great band friends here, and we’ve enjoyed every minute of it.

What’s one of the things you like about the LA music scene?

I like the sense of surprise. I’m not sure if that’s the right word – but there’s this feeling that anything could take off at any time. And when you go see shows, there’s always this crazy chance that your next favorite band is playing, and you didn’t even come to see them. I grew up in the Midwest, and generally you saw a few pretty terrible bands. But here, the next great band can be playing for 5 people at some hole in the wall. Anything could happen here.

Quick-Fire Round:
What is your favorite album of all time?

Oh man, is that tough! Let me just say sorry to Jeff Buckley, Radiohead, Shudder to Think, and Mansun. But the winner is… Under the Pink by Tori Amos. It was the first record that I just listened to and listened to, and the reason I started writing songs. No big singles, just a lot of really touching moments.

What is your favorite music venue in LA?

The Silverlake Lounge. It’s a strange space, but we have the best time there. We did our EP release party there, and we’ve been back a few times. When that room fills up, the energy is unbelievable.

What are some other short films you recommend?

Last year there was a live-action short nominated for an Oscar, called “At Night” about three women in a cancer ward. Forget Beaches, this one is the tearjerker to end all, and I think it’s less than 20 minutes long.

What’s your guilty pleasure?

Oooh, should I confess? I have so many! I don’t feel guilty though – there’s nothing wrong with pleasure!! Okay, hmmm…fashion blogs. Not the high-class ones though. The ones that rag on the stars. So shameful.

Tell us one thing about yourself we probably don’t already know.

I was on the gymnastics team in high school.