Harmonica Lewinski On the Making Of ‘SUPER HOT’
Can you share any interesting or unique stories or perspectives in 'SUPER HOT?'
As you can see in the cover photo ‘SUPER HOT’ is a physical location, but it's also a state of mind. It works as a mantra or just a shorthand for whatever you think is cool at the moment. We made this record on a Tascam reel to reel tape recorder and whispered a spell over it and came out the other end with a Harmonica Lewinski album that could maybe only be described as SUPER HOT. We set out to make an album of expansive and kaleidoscopic rock + roll dance music full of tropical touches, persuasive percussion, shadowy synths, and booty bumpin' beats and that's exactly what we got.
What did you enjoy most about making 'SUPER HOT?'
While shooting the photos for the record (with the great Vincent Alban) we ended up in an old shopping mall that was like 95% vacant and deserted and had a ghostly elegant centerpiece fountain with giant palm trees and classic 80s pink and teal tile patterns. We set up lights and shot photos for close to an hour before a mall cop finally wandered over and asked what the hell was going on. I don't know if that's my favorite memory of making this album but it definitely sticks out.
How does 'SUPER HOT' fit into your overall artistic vision?
Becoming SUPER HOT is the natural next step toward a higher vibration of consciousness. In the Harmonica Lewinski evolutionary timeline, we started as primitive basement amateurs and went from TWERK JERKY to NAKED BRUNCH to HEAD HONCHO to SCHLOCK VALUE to HUMAN BBQ and now we're SUPER HOT. This is all documented and you can look it up. We wrote this record coming out of the pandemic with a new lineup after losing 2 of our original members (not to COVID, they just kind of disappeared...) and so SUPER HOT is us starting with a brand new blank page and filling it up with all the sketches and ideas of the last 2 yrs.
Where do you find inspiration for your songs or musical ideas?
It's funny but very simple - when you're obsessed with music it becomes its own source of inspiration and a jumping off point for making your own music. Like anytime I hear a really sick song I want to either listen to it again right away or write something that resonates the same way. So it's circular. Other sources of inspiration are dreams, food & cooking, field recordings, Casio keyboards, tuning the radio halfway in between 2 stations. Songs directly or indirectly inspired by films I'm watching at the time. When trying to write lyrics I have to be reading books, letting a cascade of words and pages wash over me, blur my vision and let a word or phrase jump out and then turn it inside out to start a line and go with it. Doesn't always work!
Most of all I'm inspired by the rest of my bandmates in Harmonica Lewinski. They're all interesting and insane people with different perspectives and secret talents. All essential ingredients for the soup we're making.
How do you engage with your audience during your live performances to create a memorable experience for them?
You have to think of a live show as being a special event and each one should be a unique experience. Our shows are parties and we treat them as such. Our last gig we brought a forest of fake trees and plants and turned the dive bar into a lush jungle. Our record release show is in a barber shop and we're totally rearranging our live set and playing what we're calling a "party-style" set with drum machines, pedal steel, acoustic guitars, all instruments we've never used before. Challenging ourselves to find a new way to play these songs so it's not like you come see us and go home and listen to the record and it's the same thing. And you can get a haircut at the same time too! We've been playing for over 10 yrs and still find ways to put on a one-of-a-kind show. In the summer we go down to the beach (Lake Ontario) and drag a generator down on the sand and play a rock n roll beach party show. People roll up in boats and dig it.
