My Friend The Chimpanzee
Two Viennese Chimpanzees found themselves a cave in the 16th district, in Thaliastraße to be more precise. To produce alternative music. With lots and lots and lots of analogue synths. Founded in 2018, “My Friend The Chimpanzee” is the ongoing collaboration between producers Josef Umschaid (drums and fx) and Lukas Wieser (strings and synths) from Vienna/Austria.
In their music, the duo combines elements of different genres, reflecting their respective musical influences (Absolute Beginner, Alphaville, Alt-J, Beastie Boys, Black Knights, John Frusciante, Moby, Modest Mouse, Nada Surf, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Smiths, Tocotronic, Tycho, Vasco Rossi, Wyclef Jean, etc.). While guitar and bass guitar are very alt-rock, they are supplemented by indie pop synths and vocals, with hip hop and trap beats providing the foundation. All tracks are recorded in Josef’s studio.
I love this place
Durch ihren gelungenen Debüttrack "
Time Traveller" war die Erwartungshaltung natürlicherweise sehr hoch. Die Rede ist von
My Friend The Chimpanzee aus Wien, welche dieser Tage ihren Nachfolger
"I love this place" präsentierten. War der Vorgänger von HG Wells inspiriert, ist es dieses Mal kein geringerer als
Jean-Paul Sartre respektive sein Stück "No Exit".
No Exit steht im Zentrum des sartrischen Existentialismus und beschreibt Gefühle die wir empfinden wenn wir mit dem Universum konfrontiert werden, aber auch dass wir die Freiheit haben zu entscheiden, zu handeln und zu denken. Schlussendlich liegt es an jedem selbst ob er etwas aus seinem Leben macht, oder es nur erträgt.
Auf diese Reise lädt uns die Band, mit ihrem neuen Release, ein. Musikalisch bleiben sie sich treu und inszenieren das Stück im Genre des Synth Pop meets Electro und kreieren eine wunderbare Retro Atmosphäre, in der harmonische Synthieklänge und druckvollen Drums ein Szenario der Ewigkeit schaffen, in dem sich die Vocalparts wieder brillant einfügen und das musikalische Universum um einen perfekten Track ausdehnen.
"I love this place" by My Friend The Chimpanzee or I love this song by this promising band!
Q&A
What's the story behind your latest song "I love this place", respectively what was your inspiration?
The origins of the track date back quite a while. The instrumental was among the first tracks we produced for the project, that’s why you can still hear software synths in it (the raw sawtooth lead in the intro as well as the high part of the mallet style synth in the verse, which consists of a blend of two different synths).
We then let it sit for a while and came back to it 3 months ago adding different synths, recording vocals, and arranging everything. The instrumentals are never really inspired by anything, we just do whatever sounds good to us. The lyrics are inspired by Jean-Paul Sartre’s play “No Exit”.
How much time do you spend in finding/creating the right sounds for a song?
It really depends. Usually, I (Lukas) start by producing projects containing only synth parts and guitars in my home studio. The creative process is pretty random. I just pick up whatever synth looks appealing to me that day and start playing around on it. If I find a cool sound and melody I go from there. Of all the “songs” we start this way only a few make it to the “next round” (the rest is banished to the far reaches of the hard drive 😊).
Then Josef comes in and builds the drums around it and we go from there. The time spent on finding the right sounds for a song differs vastly from song to song. Sometimes we scrap almost everything we already had and start filling up the instrumental parts (which we save in midi) with new sounds, sometimes it takes very little time to arrive at something we like.
From the 1st idea to the "Release" version, what are the significant changes?
The significant changes are that to us it sounds more polished, all the synth sounds that after a while annoy you have disappeared. Quite often a sound that will sound cool and interesting in the beginning begins grating your nerves after a few listens.
E.g., “I Love This Place” started out with a Skrillex kind of bass sound, that we exchanged for the smooth bass you can hear now (I think in the verse you hear both a Moog Sub 37 as well as a Behringer Monopoly, in the chorus only the Behringer Monopoly).
What are the differences concerning "being creative" from then (founded in 2018) against now?
We’d say the main difference is that we’ve adapted a workflow, so it’s much more goal oriented and focused these days, which for us feels good. It’s nice to complete songs for the motivational boost it provides you with. Also, we feel we have arrived at “our” unique sound.
If you could choose one guest musician, who would it be?
Haha, that’s an interesting question.
For Josef it would be Jack Antonoff.
For Lukas it would be John Frusciante.
Dreaming is free.
Concerning Social Media, is it fun or more a necessary evil (to be 24h available)?
It’s definitely a necessary evil. The whole fun of having a music project lies in the act of creating and producing music. Any amount of time you have to spend on something else feels like you’re being kept from doing the stuff you love.
At this moment what would be your "All time Top 3 Songs"?
Josef:
Pyro by Kings of Leon
Californication by the Red Hot Chili Peppers
Mountain at my gates by Foals
Lukas:
Don’t forget me by the Red Hot Chili Peppers
The Snow Leopard by Shearwater
(Shearwater are such an underrated band, it’s ridiculous. They are so good.).
Vita spericolata by Vasco Rossi
What’s next for you?
We are working on new songs and hope to release a lot more music in 2022. Just having fun with it and making stuff that we like.
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