Warpaint Heads To Mecca For Desert Daze

Warpaint

WARPAINT joins Desert Daze May 2; photo by James Christopher

Los Angeles rock band, Warpaint adds their ethereal, haunting music to this year’s Desert Daze Festival at Sunset Ranch Oasis, Mecca on Sat. May 2.

Founding members Emily Kokal (vocals/guitars/keyboards), Theresa Wayman (vocals/guitars/keyboards), and Jenny Lee Lindberg (bass/guitars/vocals) formed the group in 2004 with Stella Mozgawa (drums/guitars/vocals) joining in 2009.

The group toured for two and half years, solidifying their bond as musicians over the course of numerous performances around the world.

Their recently released second, self-titled album, began at a house in Joshua Tree, where the four musicians decamped to write and demo early ideas for the new songs. There was no immediate vision or goal, instead the band wanted to create a meditative place in which to channel inspiration.

“We could come from any direction we wanted,” Kokal says. “Recording and writing this album, we really started to play and interact with each other in a new kind of way. It was the natural next level of getting to know each other. I think the element of space became kind of a band member, and we were very conscious of not trying to fill in every silent moment anymore.”

The musicians spent a month in Joshua Tree before returning to Los Angeles to work with producer, Flood. The band was drawn to Flood’s ability to balance the lo-fi aesthetic of a raw demo with hi-fi production.

“I could hear in Flood’s work with PJ Harvey that he was comfortable with having a demo-type feeling to the music sometimes but able to translate that on to a greater level of professional sound,” Wayman says. “He’s got so much experience under his belt and he’s really talented at creating things, making them sound big and luscious.

“We used a lot of mood-enhancing atmospheric stuff, like synths and electronic drums. We all love hip-hop and trip-hop, which is really mood and rhythm based.”

Ultimately, “Warpaint” reveals the next stage of evolution for the group, a truly collaborative effort that showcases both musical growth and a startling depth of friendship.

“We wanted to make a sexy record,” Lindberg adds. “Something a little more minimal than The Fool. We had so much to express – and still do – but have learned the magic of less is more and truly went in with that frame of mind.”