Interview with Jeremy Malvin a.k.a Chrome Sparks

Blackbird Blackbird- Hawaii (Chrome Sparks Remix) by chrome sparks


So you have a lot of music on the internet under different names and in other bands, is chrome sparks going to be sticking around for a while? 
     Definitely. I have an obsession with keeping a consistent musical aesthetic, but I love making different kinds of music. This led me to create a bunch of different monikers for the music that I make. Other than Chrome Sparks, I make music under the names Professor Purple, I So Garden, J. S. Rokk, Promises, DJ Norf Pole, Roommates, and my own name. I also perform in Our Brother The Native, Stepdad, The Hood Gang, and a band with no internet presence that changes names with every gig (fronted by Lou Breed). Chrome Sparks is easily the solo project that I’m most passionate about.
     
When do you best make your music? 
     I love late nights. That’s when I’m most emotionally affected. Before I go to sleep, I generally work on music for a little bit. Rarely, a tune will keep me up all night, but that’s when I end up with the best stuff. Whether it’s my best cause I’m staying up very late or I’m staying up very late cause it’s my best, I’m not sure.


How does your live show work? 
     As much as I hate using a laptop, it's kind of the central part of my setup. I don't use backing tracks and record everything live using keyboards and drum pads through Ableton, but I’m slowly but surely making the switch to more analog equipment. I’m doing a show this week that’ll be pretty different. I’ll be using only a Sequential Circuits drum machine and a Juno 60 synthesizer with some effects, but I won’t really be doing the Chrome Sparks tunes for that.



Will you be dropping some new Chrome Sparks tracks in the near future? 
     Definitely! I'm working on an EP that I hope to release within the next couple months. A few remixes are also in the works.


From what I can see you are pretty active in the music scene, what is your musical background?
     As an attempt to stop me from banging on everything the dinner table had to offer, my parents got me a drum set for my 2nd birthday. It backfired, to say the least, and I'm currently a percussion major at University of Michigan. Over the years, I've studied my fair share of instruments, but percussion is where it’s at for me, and I hope to be an experimental percussionist in the future.


What do you use to make your music?
     As far as creating music goes, I use Ableton and Reason together. I have a soft spot for glockenspiel (who doesn’t?). I record a lot of different things through school that I’m putting into my music more and more. A lot of percussion ensemble rehearsals are going to be on the next EP. Also, I love vintage drum machine samples. Lots of tapey 808s.

What are you listening to this winter? 
     Some artists that are keeping me warm are Com Truise, Toro Y Moi, Purity Ring, James Blake, and lots of tropicalia along the lines of Gilberto Gil, Caeteno Veloso, Os Mutantes. And Yellow Magic Orchestra. Always Yellow Magic Orchestra.


What do you do when you're not making music? 
     Spending time with people I love, reading wikipedia, or studying astronomy. Outside of music, my greatest fascination is with space. If for some reason I could never have anything to do with music, I’d do whatever it takes to become an astronaut. Dead serious.


You also do some stuff with the band 'Our brother native', what do you do with them? 
     Our Brother the Native is masterminded by Josh Bertram, a musical and artistic genius. The way that he puts together his music is by recording his many friends playing tons of different stuff, then piecing it together in the way he sees fit. I’ve added various sounds to the album we’re currently working on, and have played a few different parts in the live shows, but mostly drums.


You have your single up on bandcamp to be downloaded for a nominated price and tracks up on soundcloud, What do you think of these websites and how are they helping musicians? 
     I’m all about bandcamp. Along with soundcloud, it’s one of the best platforms for listening to bands and downloading their music. I’m a fan of anything that makes the artist to listener path simpler. These sites are doing it really well and inspiring people to get their music out there. Most other sites are too cluttered and unnecessarily complicated.


What's happening in the Ann Arbor music scene? 
     The Ann Arbor music scene is pretty interesting because Ann Arbor is such a college town. With a completely new batch of 40,000 students every four years, it’s always changing and evolving. The current new wave of music makers in the area are making quite a killing on the blogs (Kohwi, Lou Breed, Sad Souls, Macklin Underdown, Subvader), but not really playing too many shows here. I’ve been really inspired by these guys that I know churning out such great tunes, but, as with many solo and electronic acts, shows aren’t happening enough. I hosted a show with a few of these guys at my place last night, and it couldn’t have gone better. Hopefully these keep happening and inspire some bedroom producers to get out and perform.


What do you think about other people sampling your music? 
     No problem whatsoever. Just let me know so I can hear the final product!

What do you know about Australia? 
     I know that I met a couple of Australian girls in Hamburg last summer who invited me back to their hotel room for a romp in a blowup pool, but I had a train to catch to Denmark. Whenever people say that they have no regrets, I would say that I totally agree but then I remember this. Also, the Life Aquatic is a stellar blog out of AU.

     Jeremy's newest project is the lo-fi sounding Promises. Check out Chrome Sparks at  soundcloud and bandcamp. Some of his other stuff Professor Purple, Our Brother Native.