Can you tell me a bit more about the band? How did you begin?

We met Robert when me and Emil switched schools in the eight grade. Each of us had some background of music school and some private lessons, but we never really thought about becoming a band. We had a wonderful opportunity to go to the rehearsal space of our fathers, so after school we would go there and just play around and have fun. And then the first gig happened and naturally the snowball got bigger and bigger and here we are.

Is there a theme to the new album? 

In the new album we try to be as honest as ever. Naïve melodies mixed with serious lyrics sometimes create an apocalyptic vibe. Each song has a different source and a different feeling. There is an irony flowing through it all, the melodies contrasting the lyrics. It is about three guys, trying to understand what it means to be human and how the universe works.

Where did the title Good Luck come from?

We were recording the album in Red Bull Studio in Sao Paulo, Brazil and our producer wished us good luck in the next take after we couldn’t get something right. And that’s how it come together, it happened very naturally. And also the name Good Luck could be seen as an ironic phrase.

Can you describe your ‘creative camps?’

Usually we go to the countryside of Latvia and spend the days with ease and no pressure writing new music, every day feels the same. Wake up, eat breakfast, write and record till dinner, watch an episode of a TV series, go back to writing till you fall asleep. It’s great.

What’s next?

Life goes on, we have to survive Good Luck tour first, and then we’ll see.

Check out the tour dates here.

Good Luck by Carnival Youth

The titles of your songs all suggest dark emotions and life turmoil, do you write from experience or interest in this side of life?

Dark emotions perhaps, but not necessarily life turmoil. If the tone is dark, it’s exultant! We are reveling in the night.  We see our songs as being quite pious in a way – offerings to the gods like Kali or Tezcalipoca or Paula Abdul. We feel it’s important to cover all our bases just in case. “A Breath Away” for instance is a kind of ecstatic love and longing song about the Moon. We think she was appreciative, based on her recent astral acrobatics. An important part of our songwriting is storytelling as well. Our forthcoming album will complete the saga of teenage triplets who run away from a cottage in the woods towards the bright lights of the city. Sadly they are attacked and eaten by wolves on their journey, but in the process they become half-ghost/half-predator creatures that both remember being alive and enjoy their new lives as pure-minded killers.  The story is semi-autobiographical. 😉 “It Speaks” is really the seed of the album – the moment of transformation.

Sibling rivalry or support?

Support, to the point of Hive Mind. TwinSpeak. Sympathetic Magick. Pushups. We make kick-ass band meals together. We do high-speed borough laps in the middle of the night banging Berghain techno mixes. We are love.

What is the ghostliest experience to have happened to you? Do you believe we are ‘living in someone else’s past?’

The quote about “someone else’s past” is actually something William Gibson said at a talk we attended (his writing are a huge inspiration to us). We have had many experiences of slipped time, and a sense that the future, fully formed, is looking back on us. Neil DeGrasse Tyson could say it better – but the universe is powerfully haunted by itself.  We hope this means that Beyoncé will somehow live forever.

New York is a city of bright lights – why so dark?

In the dark, the light shines brightest. New York City is our ultimate muse – our home; holy ground.  It lures to devour, and surrendering yourself is the first step of ascension. It baptizes you with poverty, aggression, bad smells and the elements, and you emerge reborn as its fierce offspring. It’s joyous, but very wild. Also Lombardi’s.

Your music isn’t the most accessible – is it a process of creating for fame and success, or an elemental urge?

We respect and honor musical tools like pop and hooks  – they are powerful energy conductors, and some of our songs will demand them. But the songs are people too. Others will need to be a little more liminal, abstract –  maybe a little oblique. We are passionate about stretching out the moment between things – the emotions and colors we don’t have words for. We think these are the truest parts. Fame is never a factor, but we believe in power of a riot.

Are you inspired by visuals and other art forms? It sounds like it… I can imagine glacial landscapes and deep philosophical conversations.

The phrase “Let’s make it sound the way ____ smells…” is not an uncommon statement when we are working. Haha…  All three of us have varying degrees of synaesthesia and therefore mixed metaphors are essential. We’d like put the whole world in our mouths, but for the sake of time let’s just talk about movies. 🙂  In the studio at all times Blade Runner is playing it 1/35th speed. Peter Greenaway, David Lynch, Kenneth Anger, Cronenberg, Buñuel, Jodorwosky, Guy Maddin, Blah blah blah Amen. However our favorite movie might be The Return of the Pink Panther. Or Purple Rain.

http://nyc.thedelimagazine.com/17653/wolvves-interview-enigmatic-brooklyn-band

It’s a Wednesday night in Williamsburg, and one of the UK’s buzziest new bands in town. Despite living in the same city as Palma Violets I have not seen them live, either not being on the pulse enough to catch them before gaining the attention of the masses, or quick enough (and bothered) enough to see them now that they have.

In a dive bar on Kent Avenue, from which you can see Brooklyn & Williamsburg bridges, a diverse crowd gathers for respite from the cold and to catch up and coming acts. If this situation were an equation it would be hipsterᶟ. A few bucks for a well spirit, a smudged mark on the hand, and I am ready to explore the scene. Glasslands Gallery is a homegrown space, all arts and enthusiasm, and a rite of passage for many new bands to New York. Overlooking the stage is a mezzanine floor, perfectly situated for those of us who are either short, concerned by personal space, or often find crowd watching as interesting a spectacle as people watching.
The few locals I end up chatting with all earnestly praise this little English band called Alt J, marvelling at the rapturously ascendant chords and intoxicating sounds that have apparently entranced both sides of the pond. I admit to being somewhat surprised at their love for a band whom I would cite as being more abstract and intelligent than the US market demands. But then what do I and my stereotyping self know? I was glad however that I could educate them on the origin of the name Palma Violets, those lilac perfume flavoured sweets that were to be found on the inside of party bags and the outside of comics as children.
Kicking off tonight are The Teen Age, a band who do that very teenage thing of being so very nice one minute and so utterly yobbish the next. One of their very first shows, humming psychedelic riffs and direct dashes, their lyrics are of delight and disconnection, delivered with a heady hormonal delight and brash guitar riffs.
Next up were Canadian Hollerado. A spectacular cacophony of impulsive chords and rampant melodies, accentuated by falling confetti, this was a display straddling the shambolic and self assured. Final song Juliette was a standout, accentuated by the multiple endings – reggae, rock, licks and tricks flinging between the genres.
So, Palma Violets. The frenetic enthusiasm that he music industry has greeted this Lambeth band with has landed them many a magazine cover and radio play. Their first single, Best of Friends as the NME’s track of 2012, and Step Up For The Cool Cats was Zane Lowe’s  Hottest Record In The World.. Inheriting some of the best bits of rock’n’roll, there is an excitement and hyperbole that fizzles.
You can’t deny the here’s a Vaccines rip off vibe, but the palpable chemistry between frontmen Sam Fryer and Chilli Jesson helps to dismiss this. Like The Libs before them, they bounce off one another with a fraternal connection. Whether this is a conscious nod to their heroes, or a sly marketing ploy (are they old enough to remember Pete and Carl’s heyday?) the tussling and hugging relationship seems genuine and is inspiring to see.  Tunes are simple and direct, but delivered with such defiant scuzz that they inject real excitement.
Let’s face it, Palma Violets may not last, but if they ignite the year of guitar music with as much exhilaration as they put into their live shows, they have certainly delivered their goods.