The band are currently made up of singer and guitarist Paul Banks, drummer Sam Fogarino and lead guitarist Daniel Kessler. Unlike many of their contemporaries, they are one of the few bands who came to prominence in the great indie rock boom of the early 2000’s to keep their creative spark alive into the new decade.
This is especially impressive considering that in 2010 the band's unofficial frontman, effortlessly suave bassist Carlos Dengler, left the band after growing tired of the touring lifestyle. Many thought that they would be rudderless ship after he left, but many were wrong.
Ever since they formed, the band had been an equal collaboration between every member. They’ve never had a main songwriter and still don’t have one to this day. With Dengler gone, a crucial element of that dynamic went with him but after a long break, they were able to return to their former glory with style.
They returned with 2014’s “El Pintor”, an album that went to the top ten on the album charts of both sides of the Atlantic and restored the bands mojo in thrilling fashion, with their icy, edgy post-punk never sounding more exciting and totally unique as it does now.
With experience and ability on their side, Interpol have quite simply never been a better band than they are today. They’re at their peak, and they’re only going to get better, so join the ride now, and you will not regret it!
He began recording music in 2011, releasing a trilogy of albums under the moniker Youth Lagoon
before announcing the end of the project in 2015. While taking crash courses in classical theory, jazz, and ancient modes throughout the time that followed, Powers started making music experiments inspired by the visual works of artists such as Francis Bacon, Sister Gertrude Morgan, and Harry Clarke. Lining his walls in crude print-outs of pictures, he found graphic saturation helped inform the social and spiritual themes of his music.
For two years, Powers crafted his own library of sounds, grotesque and bewitching, to serve as the backbone to the poetry he had been writing while traveling between Europe, Asia, and the United States. Embracing a combination of noise, beauty, and mercurial avant-pop atmospheres, he began molding these experiments into songs highlighting the intersection of unity and chaos, nightmares, and the invisible forces at war within the human self.
Retreating to Tornillo, Texas, Powers brought his songs and a handful of contributors to Sonic Ranch, a residential studio complex in the middle of a 2,300-acre orchard, to record Mulberry Violence - the debut album under his birth name. The six-week tracking process consisted of fusing together and manipulating elements recorded over the previous two years with textures, arrangements, and programming created at the ranch. The album was mixed in Los Angeles by frequent Beyoncé collaborator Stuart White.
Live Interpol is an experience every fan should have. The music, the lights, Daniel Kessler's dancing, and the just whole atmosphere. There is a euphoric quality once the band starts up. Usually it begins with the first track from their latest album. The bass of the drum coincides with the beat of your body, the guitar will resuscitate your heartstrings, and once Paul's lips sing into the microphone you will swoon in tears of delight.
The band is not very talkative and they may interact with the crowd here and there. But, for them it is about the music and intricate orchestration of it all. You will not be displeased.
Sam's been known to throw out drumsticks to the crowd, as well as Daniel giving away some guitar picks. If you happen to be the kind of Interpol fan that not only wants the experience to hear the band live, they are really cool about meeting up with the fans after the show. Taking pictures with the fans, signing countless vinyl, posters, and memorabilia, as well as just pleasurable conversations amongst the fans.
Every time Interpol is in my surrounding area I make sure to buy a ticket and watch these men put on a phenomenal live performance. You'll never forget in your lifetime. I promise.
I saw Youth Lagoon back in May of 2012. They opened for Death Cab for Cutie at the Tennessee Theatre in Knoxville, Tennessee. I was barely sixteen at the time, and I hadn't really listened to much of Youth Lagoon. In fact, I had only really heard one song before that night. From Youth Lagoon's opening song, I was mesmerized. Everything from the perfect lighting, to the beautiful atmosphere of the Tennessee Theatre, to the sweet harmonies produced by Trevor Powers, the man behind the music. It was a breathtaking performance, and definitely one of my favorites. The song "Cannons" left me in tears. The good kind, though. I could use a plethora of words to describe Youth Lagoon's performance: beautiful, mesmerizing, captivating, ambient, nostalgic. Would I recommend them to anyone who has never listened to them? Of course. Does their live performance deviate greatly from their studio sound? Not at all. Both are incredible. Would I see them in concert again? Definitely, in a heart beat.