San Francisco live electronic artist Chroma Sea brings one of the most atmospheric transformations to Host Bodies' new anniversary project, Daily Apparatus: 10 Year Remixes. Celebrating a decade since the original record, the collection invites ten artists from across the Bay Area and Los Angeles to reinterpret its music through their own creative identities.
For Chroma Sea, that meant taking ‘City’ somewhere entirely unexpected. Initially conceived as a warehouse-ready dance remix, the track gradually evolved into a submerged, dreamlike piece of trip-hop, where washed-out guitars, luminous synths and hazy percussion create the sensation of drifting through an underwater landscape.
So with the new track out now, we sat down with them to find out more about their origins and what has been inspiring them most over the years.
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What was the first instrument you fell in love with?
Mike: Guitar
Paul: Same, Guitar
What kind of music did you love when you were younger?
Mike: I was into exploring alternative 90’s like Pixies and Sonic Youth, and seeing how they influenced Nirvana who was my favorite at the time.
Paul: The first music I really remember blowing my mind was stuff from the 70s like Pink Floyd, Talking Heads, Yes, ELO, etc. I just loved the variety of sounds, styles and the production. The music really took you to what felt like a whole new place.
What was the first album you remember owning?
Mike: Hybrid Theory - such a huge album and to this day unabashedly love it.
Paul: Can't Buy a Thrill was the first album I ever bought with some iTunes gift cards I was given.
What is the one song you wished you could have written yourself?
Mike: All I Need by Radiohead
Paul: Gamble by Tokimonsta
Do you have any habits or rituals you go through when trying to write new music?
Mike: I need to clear my head so usually biking through the park or to the beach. And I gotta have little comforts like Topo Chico or an iced oat latte.
Paul: For me, it's all about consistency. I don't necessarily come up with ideas first per se. More so, I have the urge to sit down and create. Sometimes that happens daily or infrequently but when I feel it, I just get to work. And, just sitting down making something one day, carries momentum into the next. I may keep working on the same thing or come up with many new ideas. But it does often feed back into itself. It helps to have my laptop or an instrument handy though somewhere nearby.
Who are your favourite artists you have found yourself listening to at the moment?
Mike: Oxis, Hayley Williams, Board of Canada
Paul: BoC for sure, Joe Hisaishi, Kendrick
If you could open a show for anyone in the world, who would it be?
Mike: I think Tycho makes the most sense. But also selfishly manifesting an immersive underwater themed show with Oxis, our lines are open.
Paul: Flying Lotus or Black Moth Super Rainbow would be a dream.
What do you find is the most rewarding part about being a musician?
Mike: Playing a show with the right crowd and bands and your gear works.
Paul: Just looking at or listening to something knowing that you created it and knowing that that thing was an important part of your life. The things we create are almost like diary entries for our lives, for where we were at those times. The music and the art we create is like evidence of having existed in a certain place in a certain time. I love going back to look at these things, reconnecting with my past and giving hope for what I’ll create in the future. It's a lifelong journey and I’m often daydreaming about where life and creativity may take me.
And what is the most frustrating part?
Mike: Booking and getting on promoter’s radar.
Paul: Spending more money than you make (also, the social media rat race)
And what is the best piece of advice you have received as a musician?
Mike: Maybe more of a learned experience, but you gotta serve the song and art you’re creating, you can’t have a preconceived expectation cuz then you build up this standard or rigidness. It’s more fun to let something evolve unto itself.
Paul: The best piece of advice I've received is probably a quote from painter Chuck Close: “Inspiration is for amateurs; the rest of us just show up and get to work."
Inspiration doesn't necessarily come when you are sitting around doing nothing. A lot of the time, it comes when the pen is already in your hand, when you've already sat down and decided that you are going to make something today. So that's the way I treat it. I treat it when I have free time, like it's any other job, and I sit down and I've got to get something done.
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Chroma Sea's remix of Host Bodies' 'City' is out now. Check it out in the player below.