Irresistible Groove & Absurdist Dry Humor: Interview w/ What Are People For?|‣ CVLTARTES

German dystopic dance / indie pop project What Are People For?, known for their irresistible groove and absurdist dry humor, will perform for the first time in Bucharest at Control Club.

What Are People For? makes the perfect kind of dystopic dance music for our times. Born from a collaboration between artist Anna McCarthy and musician/producer Manuela Rzytki, the Munich-based band could be the illicit lovechild of Tom Tom Club and Throbbing Gristle, displaying the ideal balance of hip-shaking vibes and dark provocative content. We’ve chatted with the band on guilty pleasures, creative decisions, and the sound design process.

How did you start the band?

We started in the midst of Corona. Our first show together was on the meadow of Therese. We clad our vinyl & colors and hit the stage with a desire to dance away the clouds.

For newcomers to your music, if you had to pick one track that shows people who you are as an artist, which one would it be?

Well, this one’s easy: ‘What Are People For?’ A song that explains all the intricacies of the human mind. Tips on where to put your human once purchased – on the wall, on the floor, or put it in store rather?

Is there a specific philosophy or worldview underlying your music?

Dancing is possibly the most important thing to music. And the melting of minds to manifest new shapes from the fire.

How do you think your sound has evolved over the years? Did you always have in mind to sound the way you sound today?

We try to keep a love of improvisation alive. We collect ideas randomly during the day – on the street, in the supermarket- and then throw them into the pot in the practice room to see what happens when our said minds melt magically.

Take me through your sound design process. Does the conception come first or do the songs evolve naturally – do you have a clear idea of what it will be before you start to make it?

Manu builds loops with her synthesizers and sounds and Anna scribbles in her sketchbook. This they do separately for a while and then they come together and see what happens, allowing free reign. And then we get nerdy again and stare at screens for days & days until the baby pops out.

There are many descriptions of the ideal state of mind for being creative. What is it like for you? What supports this ideal state of mind and what are distractions? Are there strategies to enter into this state more easily?

I think the four of us share the fact that we live right on the brink of dream and reality, dipping in and out is a constant state of mind. And the most important thing is trust, to let yourself fall.

In how much, do you feel, are creative decisions shaped by cultural differences – and in how much, vice versa, is the perception of sound influenced by cultural differences?

That’s a difficult one, but a great question. Difficult to answer because it’s so multilayered. I think every artist collects their ideas from everyday life, so automatically culture will influence each and everyone in a different way. The best thing is that music can melt minds and find similarities just by coincidence and feeling letting yourself fall and being as honest as possible. That’s kind of the key to making beautiful things. That’s the common denominator between people.

How do you know when a track is ready?

Gut feeling.

Does it ever become difficult to refine ideas or stop perfecting?

We are pretty good at finding an endpoint. We also like sleeping from time to time, so that helps.

Do you have certain rituals to get you into the right mindset for creating? What role do certain foods or stimulants like coffee, lighting, scents, exercise, or reading poetry play?

All four of us are super different: one goes running to think, the other likes to hide in caves and some others just start playing and see what happens.

Guilty pleasure time. What would you say are some of your current most guilty pleasures? All is fair game, books, video games, whatever floats your boat. Let us have it.

Twitch, trash tv, sex, alcohol, and mushroom punch.

What other creative outputs do you guys engage in that we may not suspect?

We like to draw each other.

To wrap it up, what do you hope to do with your art in the future? I mean, do you have any crazy goals?

We’re in the midst of making the second album. But other than that, we just take it as it comes.