Three questions for Julien
What’s your favourite chord progression in any song ever?
This is an impossible question so I’m just gonna list a bunch of songs and moments. I always reaaaaally loved the chords from ‘Hung Up on a Dream’ by The Zombies. Almost every song off that record feels really valuable to hear at whatever stage you’re at as a songwriter/arranger. The ‘Here We Are in the Years’ chords by Neil Young are really adventurous in a way I always admired. Also the chords at the end of ‘Piece of Mind’ by Neil when the strings come in are absolutely beautiful. Neil is so important because he was usually writing the songs that feel a bit more welcoming to learn as a self conscious little kid trying to pick up guitar. Other songs that come to mind are ‘Shangri-La’ by The Kinks, 'Thirteen' by Big Star, and 'Siberian Breaks' by MGMT. Besides Orchid ;) what's your favourite piece of gear in the studio and why?
As far as our home studio goes, the most consistently clarifying moments happen after we’ve finished a sketch of a demo and run it through the Tascam 32 two-track mastering tape recorder. In some cases it’s telling us the song is in the wrong key, or tempo, or that this isn’t really a “tapey” idea at all. But pretty much every Whitney demo ends up passing through that machine at one point or another.
What’s on your rider (or what are your some of your studio essentials while working)?
I mean we’ve always been pretty bare bones in the studio and have probably felt less comfortable overall when things feel too fancy or we have too much at our disposal rider wise. Hot water for tea, a tasty/healthy food option nearby, and a bottle of wine or some beers for when nighttime hits are the only real essentials. Also light psychedelics are always nice if we’re deep in an album session.
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