Part 1

Name: Skorts
Members: Alli Walls (vocals, guitar), Char Smith (guitar), Emma Welch (bass), Max Berdik (drums)
Nationality: American
Current release: Skorts's new album Incompletement is out via Inkind.
Current event: Skorts are currently on an expansive tour. Catch them live here:

02.12. Kiel, Fahrradkinokombinat
03.12. Hamburg, Muzikclub
04.12. Dresden, Ostpol
05.12. Frankfurt, Hafen 2
06.12. Schaffhausen (Switzerland), Rasa Radio

If you enjoyed this Skorts interview and would like to stay up to date with the band and their music, visit their official homepage. They are also on Instagram, tiktok, and bandcamp.



When it comes to experiencing the sensation of “energy” as as a listener, which albums, performances, and artists come to mind?

Alli: Brian Eno seems pretty tapped into some things energetically. His album ‘Apollo’ comes to mind for me.



Char: Up on Gravity Hill by METZ has such a good consistent energy throughout that whole record. Any of those guys live performances are worth checking out.



Another performance I watch on repeat is Ty Segall’s Levitation Session and of course RHCP live at Slane Castle.

Emma: The Stop Making Sense concert performance by Talking Heads is pretty sensational energetically. I like the way they drip instruments in with different arrangements of the first few songs until it’s evolved to full band.

There’s so many explosive moments and all of the performers hold the energy together.

[Read our Brian Eno interview on climate change]
[Read our creative profile of Ty Segall]

There can be many different kinds of energy in art – soft, harsh, healing, aggressive, uplifting and many more. Which do you tend to feel drawn to most?

Alli: We write so many different songs. I'm drawn to playful and erratic energy. Something unpredictable and loose.

Char: I love anything with good attitude and a bit of wit. Aggressive music definitely draws me in but also soft. When the two can coexist, they often compliment each other very well.

Tropical Fuck Storm’s latest record Fairyland Codex is a perfect example of this.



Emma: Performing has been a great way to tap into whatever energy I’m authentically in on a given night. Whether I’m feeling playful or  angry or moved, I can always find place in the music to express that. And that has been a very powerful thing to discover.

I have had a hard time explaining that listening to death metal calms me down. When you listen to a song with a particular energy, does it tend to fill you with the same energy – or are there “paradoxical” effects?

Alli: It is paradoxical. But tones can really inform the mood for me.

Thinking of "Vulture" by Micachu & the Shapes is a good reference for me on this point. Those tones and rhythms are where my soul rests.



So hearing something like that might be jarring or unpleasant for some, but for others it is home.

In as far as it plays a role for the music you like listening to or making, what role do words and the voice of a vocalist play for the transmission of energy?

Alli: It is has to feel genuine to them and from them. I don’t want anything to feel forced. I want it to feel like they are giving me an authentic noise with words that mean something to them. There’s something that’s unsettling about watching someone who is disconnected from themselves.

Char: It means a great deal. Some vocalists and vocal styles can get away with certain lyrics that maybe someone else couldn’t. The disposition, tone and intent can make a shit lyric be really cool and vice versa

When it comes to experiencing the sensation of “energy” as as a creator, how would you describe the physical sensation of experiencing this energy? [Where do you feel it, do you have a visual sensation/representation, is there a sense of release or a build-up of tension etc …]

Alli: If you’re in it, it can be a little dizzying. Some times a burning in my jaw but it’s mostly emotional.

Char: Definitely emotional. We saw Tropical Fuck Storm when they played TV Eye and I was dead sober standing in the middle of this rocking club with tears in my eyes because of how good it was. I’ve maybe only felt that 2 other times at a show.

I feel like crying when I hear the bridge of “Bodies” or “I Won’t Be the One.”



Emma: It feels interchangeable with the idea of presence to me. And presence is something I’m always seeking. It means that I’m fully aligned with myself as I’m experiencing something.  

And when I’m really in it when I’m performing or making music, it feels like I’m a tuning fork that’s ringing.

When it comes to composing / songwriting, are you finding that spontaneity and just a few takes tend to capture energy best? Or does honing a piece bring you closer to that goal?

Alli: All the above. With writing it’s all spontaneous when the idea is trying to be captured. I leave a lot of room for that because I often don’t have full song lyrics written out. Things can come out of you in different spaces and under different pressures.

But once you start solidifying the idea and the song starts taking form, you have to see what practice can do for you.

Char: If you are getting it in just a few takes that often means you are catching the magic. The vocals in “I Won’t Be The One” were done in 1 - 2 takes. When you get it, you know it and you have to trust that feeling.

Some things can require a little more technique, which requires you to meld the organic and technical the best you can.

How much of the energy of your own music, would you say, is already part of the composition, how much of it is the result of the recording process?

Char: It depends. Some songs you write and everyone agrees that all the best options are in play and it’s ready to record. No questions, no notes. Other times, you get in the studio and you or someone else has a better idea or isn’t totally happy with their current idea, so you go to the drawing board.

“Burden” and “R4DR4M” both got some significant tweaking in the studio in terms of energy and groove. We always leave room for discovery when recording but sometimes you get it right the first time.



For Incompletement, what kind of energy were you looking for?

Char: This can also apply to the last question. The music we make is a subconscious byproduct of getting in a room together and making noise. We aren’t trying to write a loud heavy song, we aren’t trying to write a soft catchy song.

We follow the melody and listen to the mood in our instruments and voices. That informs the energy.

How do you capture the energy you want in the studio?

Char: For Incompletement we did our best to replicate our live energy while still using the studio as a tool. We either try to enhance certain things or if necessary, peel stuff back. Being tasteful and retaining space.

Trying to find where all the good stuff lives and ride that initial feeling of us writing something and saying to each other’ “ya, this is making me wanna close my eyes and listen or move my body”.

What role do factors like volume, effects like distortion, amplification, and production in general for in terms of creating the energy you want?

Alli: I love being plugged in when I’m writing. I need that volume because it helps push me forward. I'm loud vocally and want my instruments to match that.

If “Steal the Night” was written on acoustic guitar, we would be a country band. I need to feel the electricity around me.



I like making new noises with my guitar and I like to sing with different effects that make me feel like I’m in different spaces.
      
Char: It plays a huge role. Certain tones can imply a specific energy just instinctively. You can better express yourself and create a clearer image of what you are trying to articulate with effects.

Emma: I find I play differently with different effects, which leads me to have different ideas. And I think with us, there is less of an intention of creating a specific energy and more of the energy being a byproduct of what is being created, what’s going on in the room and in us that day.