Photo: Harriet Roberts @band_shots_by_me
NYC-based indie artist minus32heartbeat released his new long player, DHRICMV, recently. The album explores life and love through an effortless blend of indie-rock, alt-pop, and electronic influences.
Outstanding tracks on DHRICMV include “Smile + Slide Away,” a wistful song about the lingering emotions of past relationships; “This City Shines So Bright,” and “Find Me By The River,” a shimmering, driving tune riding deliciously raw percussion.
Before going solo, minus32heartbeat spent years in the NYC-based band The GoStation during the mid-2000s, a time when the indie rock scene was flourishing thanks to The Strokes, and The White Stripes. The GoStation received acclaim from elite media outlets.
Influenced by Oasis, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and The Velvet Underground, the unique sound of minus32heartbeat is wide-ranging, authentic, and intimately personal.
Tattoo.com spoke with minus32heartbeat to discuss his ink, the inspiration for DHRICMV, the meaning of the title, and his gear.
First off, tell us about your tattoos and the significance behind them.
I currently have 8, which is certainly fewer than a lot of my friends. Some of them are very simple (the word ‘go,’ the Japanese characters for rain and music, some Oasis lyrics on my shoulder, ‘IN VINO VERITAS’ on the back of my neck), while others are a bit more involved (the city skyline with the date I moved here, a mixtape with a beautiful message, and my favorite chord in the history of recorded music).
I think that something really significant has to happen in my life to jostle that piece of my brain that says ‘go get another one’ – so I’m sure more are on the way. But I don’t see myself with full sleeves anytime soon.
I dig the somewhat minimalist way they’re laid out across my body, and the fact that each one calls back to a very specific story or moment in my life.
Can you share the inspiration behind ‘DHRICMV,’ and the creative process involved in bringing it to life?
Back in the beginning of 2023, my professional life had taken a serious wrong turn. I shut down a business I’d opened with my best friend, and I was close to six figures in personal debt. Things were looking very, very grim and even listening to my favorite records and doing other things that typically snap me out of a funk were just not cutting the mustard.
It was honestly a Hail Mary to go online, find a bunch of recording gear, max out a credit card, and boot up the first session. But once I started, I had never been happier, and everyone close to me noticed. So I kept writing, and recording, and reworking old songs that had never been recorded with my previous band and laying those down…before I knew it I had twelve or thirteen songs recorded, and nothing in my way of putting out my eight favorite ones as an album. So I did, and here we are.
What is the meaning of the title ‘DHRICMV?’
It’s taken from the lyrics of one of the songs. I just used the initials of the phrase purely for the sake of graphic design.
I’d noticed this book laying around a studio my previous band was working in, close to 16 years ago. And the title of it (‘Drinking, Homicide, & Rebellion in Colonial Mexican Villages’) just never left my mind.
The book itself is a very interesting read, and to me it speaks a lot to whether or not certain disadvantages are inherited or pushed onto you from external circumstances. And also how far people can be pushed before they inevitably push back. Without getting too philosophical, I think it speaks to how this album came together, and even more so to the story behind that particular song.
What’s the story behind the name minus32heartbeat?
People hate this answer, but I honestly don’t know. I don’t remember how I thought of it, or what it means, or why it resonated with me. I like the way it sounds, and I wanted a name that wouldn’t pigeonhole the music or what I’d want to accomplish moving forward. I think it works.
Who produced the album and where was it recorded?
I produced the album and recorded it in the second bedroom of my apartment before my son was born – I only had a small window to finish it before he moved in, so to speak. It was a very DIY process from start to finish, but I’m really happy with it.
Let’s talk gear for a moment. Give us a general overview of your gear.
‘DHRICMV’ is a very guitar driven record, and that’s certainly been my primary instrument over the years. I used several of my guitars in recording the album, mostly my early 2000s Telecaster and a semi-hollow Epiphone. A Fender P-Bass, a smattering of drone synths, and a really great MIDI controller were the last pieces of the puzzle.
When I’m playing live, I typically run through a fairly robust pedalboard into Marshall amps. I’ve played through every amp you can imagine, and I find smaller, vintage amps as beautiful sounding and delicious as most people do, particularly in the studio. But live, I’m gunning for the back of the room.
What one piece of gear do you use to obtain your signature sound?
It’s the pedalboard. The most-used sound is running a line through an MXR compressor into a vintage TS-9. From there, I actually stack a Fuzz Face on top of a Rat and give everything a smattering of reverb and delay. It gives this really dense and somewhat dangerous sound because I’m always on the brink of losing control of the signal. But that’s the fun part for me.
I think playing live should be a little risky, and I’m too old to get acrobatic onstage. So being right on the edge delivers that bit of excitement I’m looking for in my sound.
When someone listens to ‘DHRICMV’ what do you want them to take away from it?
There’s certainly no reason to not put your music out there. I’m nowhere near the most talented producer or engineer that I know, but making music provides me with a level of fulfillment that I don’t really get anywhere else. If you’ve got something to say, just say it.
As far as the lyrics, I think that the themes behind them are fairly universal. There are songs in there about wistfulness, self-doubt, falling in love, betrayal, finding hope…I hope that the songs resonate people, and they can find their own meanings in them.
Is there one song on the album that means more to you personally than the others? Why?
I dunno – I have a new favorite on the album every time I listen to it. It’s hard to single one out as more meaningful because all the lyrics and music come from a very sincere place in my head, and some of those songs have been kicking around for decades. Actual decades.
The one that always stands out to me for a different reason is ‘Nine To One’ – I had most of the songs for the album written and demoed and I was sure that I was done narrowing the field down. And that song just fell out of the sky into my hands.
I sat down at the piano and played an F sharp chord out of a mix of curiosity and boredom, and something fired every synapse in my brain. From the second I played that chord to the moment the music for the whole song was written was probably less than a half an hour. And the minute I wrote the progression to the chorus, I knew exactly what it was about and what I wanted to say.
Those instances in songwriting don’t happen all the time. More often than not, songs need to be worked at and shaped and revised and edited. So that one just gushing out of me is something that always makes it stand out when I listen to it.
How did you get started in music? What’s the back story there?
I’ve been playing instruments since I was five years old and have always loved making music. It all pretty much started with guitars, playing piano in the living room, jamming along to all the big MTV bands of the ‘80s and ‘90s.
When I moved to New York City, I was living downtown and found myself immersed in that incredible early-2000s scene that was seemingly all around us. Live music was everywhere, and it was the first time I actually thought about doing this as something more than just a hobby. So I started up a band with a few guys and we actually didn’t do too poorly. We put out a couple of records and toured and played some amazing shows with some incredible bands.
That group kind of ran its course but I never stopped playing or writing for that matter. I just took a very long break. It feels real good to be back in that ocean though.
Which do you enjoy the most: writing, recording, practicing, or playing live?
Playing live. No question.
How do you define success?
For me, if I write something that I like, and I put it out, I’m good. Personally, and spiritually, that’s success.
If making music pays rent and puts food in the fridge and affords me the opportunity to take care of my family, that’s amazing and a huge accomplishment. And it obviously makes life flow differently, in a good way. I’m never going to turn down opportunities like that. But I think it’s dangerous to use that ‘type’ of success as a barometer.
To me, the best decisions I’ve made in music have come from just caring about what the songs are doing.
What’s next for minus32heartbeat?
For the next few months, the focus is going to be on playing out. Some of the shows will be with other musicians that can help bring the more filled out sounds of the album into a live context. Others will just be me with a whole bunch of electronics, making noise and having fun.
I’ve got some irons in the fire with some film and TV scoring work. I’m learning a couple of instruments I’ve always wanted to play. After making this album on my own, I’m really enjoying these collaborative processes, and I’m looking forward to even more of them on the horizon.
Come 2025, it’ll be time to go back into a studio and start making the next album. More than anything else, I just want to keep pushing and finding new sonic ways to create something I’m proud of.
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