Interview with Citrus

By Deaglan Howlett | Posted Monday, August 12, 2019

Citrus is a dream pop group based out of Asbury Park, NJ. Since releasing their debut single in March, “Baby’s All Right”, Citrus have been playing shows around the tri-state area and working on new music. I absolutely love their sound and “Baby’s All Right” is a great pop song. The reverb soaked track provides the perfect bed for Jordi’s airy vocals and Justin’s guitar. The synthesizers are well balanced and seem to float from speaker to speaker. I recently reached out to Citrus and they were kind enough to answer some questions for Jersey Indie. Thanks again!

When did Citrus first form?

We're Jordanna and Justin. We play in a band called Citrus based in Asbury Park, NJ. We both started making music together earlier this year. That's when we first came up with the concept of Citrus and then found Nicky and Dave (our bassist and drummer). 

Have you released music before Citrus?

 Jordanna: Nothing officially, I have always loved making electronic music and songs in my bedroom and would post them on Soundcloud.

Justin: I've been releasing music in different bands and by myself since High School.

When did you first start writing songs?

Around a year ago, we began making all different types of music just for fun. Back in December, Justin got offered to play a show for a band that actually didn't exist, and that was when we decided to start a band. At that point we really needed to get stylistic ideas more developed and that's how all of Citrus' first music got started.

Who are/were your influences when forming Citrus?

 Our main influence with Citrus was just to create happy and magical music. We wanted to make people feel really good. We love all sorts of music! We love psychedelia, 80's music and Japanese city pop/jazz fusion, modern and creative stuff such as Weyes Blood and Ariel Pink. We are also loving the Montreal pop scene right now with groups such as Anemone and Men I Trust. Our influences are endless, honestly.

Photo from Citrus’ Instagram

What is your songwriting process like?

Usually one of us will come up with a chord progression or a concept and we'll finish the main idea together on Ableton. Most of the time we also write the lyrics together. Then we show the rest of the band and they come up with their own solid parts.

Where do you record? What impact does this have on the music you record?

We record at our houses. Our first song released was made in our bedroom on Ableton before we had our band together. Nicky, our bassist, is a recording engineer and is very talented. He has a studio in his basement so he'll be taking over the recording process. Everything from now on will be recorded with much better gear and knowledge.

Who are the members of Citrus and what do they play?

Justin: lead guitar and vocals

Jordanna: keyboard and vocals

Nicky: bass

Dave: drums

Upcoming shows/releases?

We're playing 9/14 at The Clubhouse in Toms River, and 9/30 at a house show in New Brunswick.

We're currently recording our next single to pair with a music video!!

 ~

Make sure you catch Citrus at one of their upcoming shows and listen to “Baby’s All Right” here!

Interview with Sonic Blume

By Deaglan Howlett | Posted Wednesday, August 22, 2018

For fans of - Haunt Club, My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive

Sonic Blume have truly hit the ground running ever since the release of 2017’s self-titled EP.  In just a year, the band has grown exponentially both in talent and recognition.  Their latest release, Beach Karma, is their first full-length, and it is an exceptional follow up to their well-loved 2017 debut.  Sonic Blume was gracious enough to answer some questions about Beach Karma and what is next for the group.  Thank you again!

What was your inspiration for the album?  What were you guys listening to?

We were listening to a lot of modern dream pop bands, such as Alvvays, Wild Nothing, DIIV, Beach House, and M83, and of course some less modern bands like The Smiths, Joy Division, New Order, My Bloody Valentine, and The Strokes.

Photo by James Waltsak.

Anything you learned from the first release that you applied to this newest release?

Well, the new record has a lot more synth, and I think that was something we knew we wanted to do for a while.  Back in February, we opened up for Gaten Matarazzo from the show Stranger Things’ band, Work in Progress.  And when we were asked to play the gig, I watched Stranger Things in preparation for meeting Gaten.  I immediately fell in love with the soundtrack from the show with all of the really cool 80s synths being used.  The soundtrack inspired me to write the instrumental transitional songs on the new record, “Door 1," "Door 2," "Door 3," and "Door 4.”  All the synth from those tracks I guess carried over into the rest of the album.

How do you write your songs?

I (Max) usually will write most of the parts by myself and then I will bring them to the band and we will jam on them and see what works.

How would you define your sound?

I like to think of our music as having a dreamy, ethereal, and nostalgic sound, with jangly, upbeat guitar melodies.

Who worked on the album?

Just like the first record, Erik Kase Romero engineered, produced, and mixed all the songs.  He is really great to work with as he really understands who we are musically and is able to help us carry that vision into the recording.  Tim Pannella mastered the record.

What’s next for Sonic Blume?

On August 22nd we’re opening up for Brick + Mortar along with Carroll in Seaside Heights, NJ, and we are planning on releasing more visual content for our fans (i.e. music videos).  We’re always writing new material, so, of course, we’ll be eager to share that with our listeners as well, the sooner the better.

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Listen to Beach Karma here!