From Tel Aviv to LA with Garden City Movement

Image: Garden City Movement 

Hailing from Tel Aviv, Garden City Movement are a live trio punching the electronic space with a weaponry of multi-instrumented wonders. It's only a matter of time before they garner some serious attention, probably when a debut album arrives. 

Operating at the purest point of eclecticism, the band first hit our radar with 'Move On', a track that made the blogosphere weak at the knees and was nominated for 'Best Music Video' at the LA Film Awards.

As they reach the heart of festival season and the mid-point of their European tour, the band are demanding a strong following keen to get in on of their meticulously landscaped output. Having just returned from Primavera, dates with Caribou and Alt-J lie in wait - giving a seriously strong case to take notice of the biggest band coming out of the middle east.

Linking up with members Johnny Sharoni and Joe Saar, we got to know about the the band getting onto the subject of Tel-Aviv, Boiler Room police raids, what lies ahead and more.    

Hi guys, you're a band from Tel- Aviv in Israel, it's not a place we often hear about musically, tell me about the scene over there?

Johnny- Tel Aviv's scene is small but it contains some real music heads. Because it's so small you get different genres and musical approaches than you would in other big cities around the world.

This is what's so good about this scene because you're always learning, being inspired and digging in the past, but at the same time looking to the near future. Tel Aviv contains some of the best DJ's and acts there is, you just don’t know about it yet. 

How does living in Tel-Aviv influence your sound and do you plan to stay in the city?

Johnny- The combination of the old and new out in small places in the Middle East influence your sound a lot. And of course the beach.

Joe- What I love about Tel Aviv is that the city itself is influenced by its surroundings, this is why you can hear some ethnic Mediterranean instruments in our songs. Tel Aviv is great, but I won't mind living in other places for a while at some point.

You initially caught everyone's attention with the track 'Move On', tell me about the logistics of it breaking internationally and did you expect it would?

Johnny- 'Move On' was kind of the first thing we did together before we even had a name. We didn’t expect anything really and when it started to get the attention we were surprised, but deep inside we kind of knew it might happen.

The music video received a nomination at the 2014 LA Film Festival, and it could be said that it oozes the tranquility and intimacy conveyed in the track. Tell me about what you were aiming to achieve with the video, and did you attend the festival?

Johnny- The video (above) was created by our good friends: Michael Moshonov, Lael Utnik and Mayan Toledano. When I spoke to Michael about creating the video I just told him I trust you, do whatever you like. They brought up the idea and did it perfectly, so we didn’t actually aim it at anything. The crew went to LA and had a great time. 

We read that your Boiler Room was interrupted by the police, is that true?

Joe- Yeah. It was like an afternoon party at some loft and I guess someone called the police because of the noise. They came five minutes before we were about to start, so we played with no PA and the sound was only coming out of two floor monitors. 

It didn't seem to affect you guys though, how long and how do you guys all know each other to posses the chemistry you project in your live shows?

Joe- Roy and I have knew each other for a while because we had a band before; Johnny was a good friend from Tel Aviv so it felt alright from the start. 

Johnny- Yes I was working as a music journalist and radio DJ at the time when I met Joe and Roy, and kind of helped them with their former band's EP. A few months later when they split they called me to write some lyrics for new stuff they were working on, and during the first session we knew it worked.

We understand that Garden City Movement is a method of urban planning, would you agree that it translates to the layers of your sound, and is there any scope to perhaps expand your sound beyond its current form?

Johnny- Yes the name is kind of working for us in means of combining the textures and organic sounds to an electronic approach, and of course our sound is always expanding. We're always trying to find new tricks to take it to the next level.

You're currently touring Europe, what have been your highlights so far, and what has the reception been like?

Joe- Primavera was sick.

Johnny- Primavera was something else, it was so good, but we have some other great shows on the way. We're excited for our show with Caribou.

Does your recent 'Modern West EP' suggest a cultural reference, and where do you plan to go from this point?

Johnny- I don’t really know if it suggests a cultural reference as an E.P but maybe more on that song specifically. That’s a good question, we don’t really know yet. We are kind of letting the muse and the experiences from the road take us to our debut album.

Nice one guys!

Listen to the Modern West EP out now via BLDG5 Records & The Vinyl Factory