Apache Beat hopes these are not their Last Chants

The Brooklyn band enrolled an A-list roster of collaborators to ensure their debut is not the curtain call

By Megan Martin
Published: October 11th, 2010 | 9:00am

Just a few years ago, the collective effect that the downtown Manhattan scene had on '70s rock 'n' roll found a second wave in Brooklyn. Groups like the Rapture, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Spank Rock burst onto the scene with danceable rock and a new attention toward fashion.

Now, a decade into the millennium, the momentum has yet to subside. Apache Beat, a band of New York natives (minus one Aussie lead singer), just self-released their debut album Last Chants in North America and, wisely enough, chose to include some of their friends from that influential scene on the record. Songs feature cameos from members of the afore-mentioned Yeah Yeahs Yeahs, the Rapture, and Lightspeed Champion.

The result is a sound that will surely be labeled “Brooklyn-something” by the end of this year: a mix of rock 'n' roll, dance-y, tribal beats, heavy drums, and strong vocals. Singer Ilirjana Alushaj and guitarist/synth player Phil Aceto chatted with Venus Zine about the making of Last Chants and being a self-released band.

Venus Zine: Your songs have a lot of non-traditional sounds including a more tribal, worldly sounding beat. What was the inspiration there?

Ilirjana Alushaj: I think a lot of bands have interest in world music or sounds that aren’t necessarily western. [For us] it’s just being in awe of really interesting drumbeats and rhythm sections.

Phil Aceto: I think we just have a lot of influences that are outside of regular rock 'n' roll or the popular music genre. In the last five or six years, the band as a whole really started getting into a lot of different stuff. I’m into a lot of classical music and music from around the world. Steve Reich and Phil Glass are influenced by Gamelan music. I guess subconsciously your mind wants to take you somewhere else.

VZ: The album had been pending for a bit and took a while to come out. What was the recording and ultimate release of Last Chants like for the band?

IA: We were basically recording until the album was getting mastered. Even when it was mastered, we decided to add and take away.

PA: We were just sort of new at it, we were trying to figure out our sound and fulfill it for what it was trying to be and it just sort of kept evolving. We had a lot of problems with labels and stuff like that, too. A lot of bureaucratic stuff.

VZ: How did the extended time frame affect the sound of the album?

PA: Having more time helped the album on so many different levels. It affected how we were able to control the product a little bit more, like sound quality on certain parts. A lot of times we would record pieces of the song—say bass and drums—and I would record like 10 guitars at home on my own computer and bring them in, and we’d pick and choose which ones we like. We wanted a more organic sound, without using too many effects. In particular, making “Another Day” was sort of an epic production.

VZ: How did you end up collaborating with so many other Brooklyn bands?

PA: Really it was just asking friends. It started with Dev [Hynes of Lightspeed Champion]. A lot of the songs we had recorded with multiple guitars, and we were trying to figure out a way to replicate it live and Dev came and said he'd play on stage with us. He’s amazing, like a chameleon. I feel like he’s the type of person that can come into any musical outfit and totally jive with them.

VZ: Do you feel like it is unnecessary to have a label backing you?

IA: I feel like, at the moment, we don’t need one. We’ve been doing a good job ourselves. I’m not sure what another indie label would be able to help us with, unless they were offering tour support and money up front, but I feel like we’re doing fine without one.

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