INTERVIEW

Intervista a Rennie Sparks, The Handsome Family 

Honey Moon means you're in love with a different sounds? Or is it the normal evolution of your music?
Honey Moon has a different sounds. Brett wanted to write music that was inspired by as many different sources as possible. There is country and folk, but also R&B, old time blues, tin pan alley standards, 70s mellow pop... There are so many kinds of love songs to inspire.

You recorded the album at home, is this happening because you are on the research of a particular musical atmosphere?

Working at home gives us the ability to work very slowly and to try many different instruments on the songs.

New Mexico is very far from the European view of America. How is working in your State? How can describe its musical roots (if any?)
In New Mexico there are natives who have lived here for over a thousand years. That's very different than most of america. There are also the descendants of the conquistador Coronado. There are a lot of old folk songs sung here that haven't been sung in Spain since the middle ages. Lots of strange half-pagan/half-Christian festivals and dances involving corn maidens as well as squeaky violins. It's very inspiring.

Brett's voice  is very unique, original, do you write songs thinking about his voice?
Yes, I am glad to have his voice for my words.

Do you have particular inspirations, I mean from other  musicians of the past?
or anything else that moves your writing?
I am inspired by the world around me, but also love to read books about insects, birds... to find out secret things about how the world works.

Do you think it's possible for Handsome Family to move to a more electric sound?
Our first record was a wall of distortion for the most part. Even the bass was distorted. So I think we started out electric. Brett used to play his guitar with a smal portable vacuum cleaner as a pick. It was noisy!

Giulia Nuti