Northern Transmissions spoke with Chris Prudhomme, one half of San Francisco electronic duo Painted Palms. Their album Forever is now out on Polyvinyl records.

NT: You guys chose to write Forever apart from each other despite finally living in the same city. Do you find it easier working separately?

CP: It’s definitely easier working separately but it’s also not a totally isolated thing. Everything Reese and I contribute to the songs is made in privacy but we’re in constant dialogue with each other about what’s being made.

NT: Was it isolating at times, not being physically together when writing?

CP: I can only speak for myself, but I enjoy working on stuff alone…and I am pretty sure Reese does too. I don’t like being observed while I’m in the process of figuring things out, and I like to be confident in my ideas before I share them.

NT: You guys were invited to tour with Of Montreal, was it fun watching those guys play?

CP: It’s funny because that seems like such a long time ago. It was really fun and it also taught us a lot. Our style of live performance is pretty different than theirs but everyone in that band has an amazing stage presence, and playing live is a different game than recording songs. We feel fortunate that Of Montreal took us on our first tour.

NT: Aside from your electronic sound, there are psych pop influences in your music. Did living in San Francisco bring out some of those sounds.

CP: We both believe that part of your output is what you ingest, so living here made a difference. I’m not totally sure how it affected the record though.  

NT: The video for Forever is a pretty trippy one. Were you guys involved with the production and concept

CP: A production company named ours&yours made our video, which is composed of two very talented dudes. One of them is Reese’s brother and the other is a close friend of ours. We had some conversations about the concept, but what they made was theirs and very cool.

NT: Which five albums are inspiring you these days?

CP:

Brian Eno – Thursday Afternoon

Factory Floor – Factory Floor

Arca- &&&&&

Lower Dens – Twin Hand Movement

White Fence – Cyclops Reap

http://www.polyvinylrecords.com/artists/index.php?id=1045