WASHED OUT interview with Ernest Greene

Ernest Greene from Washed Out is taking his critically acclaimed brand of post-new wave to Mercury Lounge for two shows this coming Sunday (3/7) and Monday (3/8).

If you’ve given up your search for sincerity in new music, there’s good news: A change is taking place in the sometimes frustrating world of retro-chic. Newer artists like Memory Tapes, Class Actress, Bat for Lashes, and to an extent even Joanna Newsom, have eyed some of the more meaningful pop of 25 years ago as a path into writing.  But unlike similar acts of recent years, they aren’t borrowing from the past just to throw a party.  They’re speaking to the heart of why classic pop matters: The familiarity of the music is interlaced with our emotions.

No song better (or more surprisingly) serves as an anthem for this style than 2009’s underground hit “Feel It All Around,” by Washed Out. Ernest Greene chatted with me briefly in anticipation of two shows coming up this Sunday, and Monday night at Mercury Lounge:

MEH:  Feel It All Around” is a cult hit. Beyond just the acclaim that song has received (one amazing web comment reads “This is the 3 minutes and 16 seconds before you die”): Why do you think listeners have had such an emotional response to it?

Ernest: That’s a tough one…I don’t think it has anything to do with the lyrical content of the song…because I’ve heard 100 different interpretations of what the lyrics are… It’s a very emotional song … at least for me.  On a general level, most of the songs on that [Life of Leisure] EP were sort of exercises in remaining positive… I was trying to write things that would make me or whoever else feel better.

MEH:  So, you were born in South Carolina, and live in Georgia — can you tell us a little bit about the social atmosphere your music was formed in? How do your Southern roots shape the type of music you write?

Ernest: I can’t think of anything that is obviously “southern” that helped shape the aesthetic… Maybe on some subconscious level … there was some impact of growing up in a small town…a very low impact environment… But the biggest influences were things that I discovered on the internet.  I think that people that grow up in a bigger city are exposed to a lot more.  I was kind of the weird loner kid… seeking things out for myself.

MEH: How did you hook up with Small Black?

Ernest: They emailed me this past summer about doing a remix…I really loved the song, so I agreed to do it… I guess we sort of struck up a friendship through all of the interaction.  I’m actually staying with them right now… We all met for the first time on Monday.

MEH: Ha! welcome to NYC.

Ernest: Thanks…it’s too bad I’m too busy to really check anything out.

MEH:  Are you nervous, excited to headline here?

Ernest: I would say more nervous than excited.  I’m still kind of figuring out what works best live.  It’s certainly a work in progress, and it’s hard to translate things that are done on the computer with software to a live setting.

MEH: Any news on a full-length follow up to Life of Leisure?

Ernest: I’m working on new material at the moment.  It’s been a lot harder than I thought.  I’m definitely more critical.  Where before, it was very naive.

MEH: Your wife appears on a lot of your album artwork, and in your video. How does your role as husband meet up with your role as artist? Does it influence the way you write?

Ernest: It’s been a learning experience…and really great.  Before, we did the long distance thing a lot … so I got used to working very long hours.  I’ve settled into working 9 to 5 which was another weird transition and factor in having the freedom to spend all day working on things … where before it was always something I was doing between work or school.

http://www.myspace.com/thebabeinthewoods

http://www.mercuryloungenyc.com/