Futurist is a psychedelic, alternative pop/rock project launched in Brooklyn, NY, with a unique take on psychedelic rock and earnest songwriting achieving a sound best described as "future-classic." Through experimentation, practice and a high energy delivery, Futurist creates a wall of sound that ignites audiences with their own style and modern mythology. The band is known for its associations with folk-lore and psychedelia, with elements of this culture permeating the group's instrumentation, effects, and composition. Their debut 2011 LP “War Is Yesterday” laid the foundation for the anthemic duality found throughout the band's core sound.
Groovy new hit “Olive Mountain” is making waves in the alt-rock music scene since it’s released late June 2019. The gritty and hard-hitting track features sultry blues undertones and hypnotizing harmonies. With quirky lyricism and a rhythm section throwing down tight grooves, we love Futurist’s psychedelic rock sound. Upbeat and addicting, “Olive Mountain” is a song that anyone can listen and relate to, or just jam out to. The song gives off a mellow vibe, while still keeping things refreshing and modern. It’s hypnotizing rhythm keeps your interest, while the lyrics let your mind wander. The guitar chords are spectacular throughout, the drumming is precise with hard hitting high hats and the groundbreaking sound of vocals will have you craving more. With so much success already, stay tuned for what Futurist delivers next! Their Sophomore LP “Omens” is set to be released September 27, 2019!
Check out “Olive Mountain” here and read more below in our exclusive interview!
Hi guys! How did you come up with the name Futurist? How did you all meet?
There isn’t really any special story behind the band’s name, but we named ourselves Futurist shortly after I moved to New York City from Colorado in the summer 2008. Before I had been performing a lot of the same music under my own name when I lived out there. It has since become more meaningful though as our sound has evolved to use a lot of new technology in our live sound. I am the only original member that is still in the band. Like a lot of bands these days, we’ve notoriously gone through so many musicians given the realities of the DIY growth modern bands face. Joey Campanella, who is my right hand man in all of this, is actually the EIGHTH drummer that has performed with Futurist, but when I met him in the summer of 2011, he was definitely the right fit for what I was originally looking for and over time has become a defining aspect of our sound. The other members are either hired guns or long time collaborators. On our upcoming record, Josh Curry (bass) and Robert Sulzer (guitar) have both contributed substantially to the new tunes. As for our summer shows, we have some additional outstanding musicians on the road with us.
When you’re not making music, what do you all do?
I have a production company called Avalanche Artists (www.avalancheartists.com), that specializes in animation and graphic design. I’ve been making a lot of animated music videos over the past few years. Joey is a gigging and studio musician, teacher, and repairs instruments.
Can you tell us about the meaning behind the lyrics in “Olive Mountain”? What inspired this song?
As for the song, the title Olive Mountain is a play on the ‘Mount of Olives,’ from the Bible, infamously where Jesus was found praying in the Garden of Gethsemane the night he was betrayed. So overcome by the horror of what he was to experience in the crucifixion the following day that his sweat was apparently “like drops of blood” and he prayed for strength from God. I think that story is a good metaphor for what the lyrics in this song are ultimately about.
The song is split up into two parts, the first being more personal; "Here I am again wallowing in it. Look at the mess you've made of your kingdom. It would appear you’ve gotten your comeuppance.” It’s a plea and a reckoning with a former relationship that was collapsing in front of me and the ways in which I had a hand in the matter. But I continue more haughtily; "I don’t want to know the reason you’ve been throwing stones at me.” There’s nothing I can do. The sides are drawn. The possessions, social circles, and love is cracked into halves and I’m too proud to show my underbelly. The tone shifts in the prechorus to something more sincere; "Okay, I get it. You’re happier, paid off the cable news networks and they’ll spin my words.” This was my internal monologue. The things I would say outright if things weren’t so twisted and hostile.
The second half is more of a birds-eye view, the current state of the culture. It’s constant outrage, nihilism, and an ever-diminishing middle ground. Everyone virtue signals to strangers on the internet constantly about how THEY are on the right side of history, but couldn’t last two seconds outside of their own echo chamber, much less attempt to understand or tolerate a difference in opinion. I mean, no one is immune to confirmation bias. The second prechorus echoes the more tender inner thoughts of the first, except now aimed at the world at large; "Okay, I get it. It’s the end of the world. We might as well all go home and give up. I mean, what’s the use in ignoring the control freaks? They’ve had a leg up since before we were born.” It’s a bit tongue and check, but honest.
However, it’s the choruses that are the true sentiment I've ultimately arrived at; "Bad undertones and diamond science.” And what makes the diamond shine? It IS all of that heavy and relentless pressure. Is that all you got?
What do you hope your listeners take away from your music?
We want to make music that people enjoy, and lyrically it’s an outlet for me to say what I really think and people aren’t so guarded against it with their own prejudices. At this point, I’d actually be more curious to know what people take away from it on their own. I love when others come up to me after shows and tell me what the music reminded them of and/or how they took it all in. What was mine is now everyones.
What can we expect from your upcoming LP “Omens”?
“Omens” is a major evolution from our first record “War Is Yesterday,” both in intention as well as sound. Our first album was very youthful and optimistic, but life happens and everything becomes a bit more nuanced. Our goal with this record was to churn out several singles so we could grow our fanbase, so this LP is to the point. Where our first record was me sort of pulling together the songs and music from scratch, this one is a lot more seasoned and sounds like a band that has been playing together for a while. As for the details, we’re releasing our second single “Bad Air, Still Water” on August 16 with a music video (made by me) and another single/music video on October 4. The record is available everywhere on September 27!
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