The Best Has Yet To Drop: Bela Karoli
Photo: Gary Isaacs
With 2009 now well underway, it’s time for Colorado bands to step and start pumping out some early contenders for the year’s best local CD. In The Best Has Yet To Drop, Decider catches up with homegrown acts currently in the studio and the throes of creative passion, ready to give birth to a brand-new full-length. This time around: Bela Karoli, the majestically moody, string-driven outfit led by vocalist-upright bassist Julie Davis.
The band: Bela Karoli
Working title of new disc: Digital Sixes
Where recording: Helmet Room Studios
When started: Summer 2007
Estimated time of release: Summer 2009
Working title of new disc: Digital Sixes
Where recording: Helmet Room Studios
When started: Summer 2007
Estimated time of release: Summer 2009
Decider: How will Digital Sixes compare to your last album, Furnished Rooms?
Julie Davis: I think a lot of the songs on the new album are a little—I don’t want to say they’re more poppy, because they might not sound that way to other people, but they do to me. The last album had a real jazzy feel, I guess, or at least that’s what some people said. But these new songs, the bass lines are a little less complex. They’re a little more straightforward. But who knows. I have a really hard time writing anything that’s not in a minor key, so they probably will all end up sounding jazzy or whatever.
D: There’s a dark, almost gothic feel to Furnished Rooms. Is that going to carry over?
JD: I made a conscious effort to write some songs that had a more upbeat feel to them, and I don’t know if I was successful. There’s one song that has a really poppy chorus, like a really upbeat, major-sounding chorus. And at first I was like, “This is ridiculous. I can’t play this”. But that ended up being my husband’s favorite song, so maybe he’s trying to tell me something. We’ll see. At this point it’s really hard for me to think about the album as a whole. I hope it’s more positive. I don’t want to be such a downer.
D: What’s your process in the studio?
JD: We just break the songs apart and record them piece by piece, so it’s always really interesting to watch what happens. Then I’ll redo my vocals, on and on until we’re done. It could be like 2012 before this thing is finished. Last time we scheduled our CD-release party before the album was mixed, which was a horrible idea. Everyone told me not to do it, but I didn’t listen. I won’t do that again.
Julie Davis: I think a lot of the songs on the new album are a little—I don’t want to say they’re more poppy, because they might not sound that way to other people, but they do to me. The last album had a real jazzy feel, I guess, or at least that’s what some people said. But these new songs, the bass lines are a little less complex. They’re a little more straightforward. But who knows. I have a really hard time writing anything that’s not in a minor key, so they probably will all end up sounding jazzy or whatever.
D: There’s a dark, almost gothic feel to Furnished Rooms. Is that going to carry over?
JD: I made a conscious effort to write some songs that had a more upbeat feel to them, and I don’t know if I was successful. There’s one song that has a really poppy chorus, like a really upbeat, major-sounding chorus. And at first I was like, “This is ridiculous. I can’t play this”. But that ended up being my husband’s favorite song, so maybe he’s trying to tell me something. We’ll see. At this point it’s really hard for me to think about the album as a whole. I hope it’s more positive. I don’t want to be such a downer.
D: What’s your process in the studio?
JD: We just break the songs apart and record them piece by piece, so it’s always really interesting to watch what happens. Then I’ll redo my vocals, on and on until we’re done. It could be like 2012 before this thing is finished. Last time we scheduled our CD-release party before the album was mixed, which was a horrible idea. Everyone told me not to do it, but I didn’t listen. I won’t do that again.
Bela Karoli, "Keep Me" (from the upcoming full-length Digital Sixes)
