Countdown to TREMOLO Shoegaze Music Festival 2024 // An Interview with FOTOFORM

• Thanks so much for the interview. Let’s trace the band’s roots and story.

Geoff: Kim and I met when I was working at Sub Pop back in the day. She was in design school and lived in a warehouse with a bunch of artists next door to the Sub Pop headquarters.

Kim: We were introduced by a mutual friend. Can’t believe we hadn’t met before then as we both grew up in Seattle and had attended so many of the same live shows. We started dating pretty soon after that and have been together ever since. Though we didn’t start playing music together until much later.

Geoff: Kim had just joined her first band when we met, which she left when we moved to Germany while I was getting my PhD (in German literature). We formed C’est la Mort with a couple of her old bandmates when we moved back to the States. Kim and I have been playing together ever since, along with a number of amazingly talented people over the years.

Kim: Fotoform grew directly out of C’est la Mort, as we were finishing what became the self-titled Fotoform album in 2017. We’d been meaning to change the band name for a while, and things aligned when I visited an exhibit of mid-century Avant Garde photography when I was in Milan for work. We had literally decided to change our name at a show the night before I flew out for that trip. Milan was my first stop, and when I saw the name of the exhibition it just clicked. It was kind of spooky, actually. Meant to be.

• What are your main influences and inspirations?
  

Geoff: There are so many influences and inspirations, both musically and otherwise. For me, lots of post-punk guitar bands of any era. We’ve been fortunate to play with some of our favorite bands, old and new, such as the Chameleons, Pink Turns Blue, and Film School. There’s also a real community here in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest, which is inspiring as well. Both historically and today. On a different level, people say that some guitars have songs already in them (like Johnny Marr and his ES-355). I think that can also be true for guitar effects: you stumble on a sound and suddenly a song appears. (Or, at least that’s what I tell myself as I buy yet another delay pedal).

Kim: Too many influences to list. We both listen to a wide range of music. Peeling back to some core musical influences – I think Geoff’s favorite band is the Chameleons. Or the Smiths. Which we all grapple with due to Morrissey’s fuckery. I grew up obsessed with David Sylvian, plus of course the Cure, Cocteau Twins, Siouxsie, Wire, etc. Early 4AD music was formative for both of us. When we started dating, we were listening to a lot of the Notwist, Long Hind Legs, Unwound, Blonde Redhead, and so much more. Simon Gallup and Simon Raymonde are my bass heroes. Hooky, too, of course. But narrowing it down to specific influences is difficult as there are honestly way too many to list (and maybe some too embarrassing to mention here: I may or may not warm up to Taylor Swift, which started as kind of a gag on one of our tours, and it ended up becoming a weird ritual).

• How would you describe your sound?

Kim: I started (jokingly) calling our sound “pointy shoegaze” some years back since it draws on the “pointy shoes” of old-school Goth/Post-punk as well as shoegaze, or at least the textures and sounds of it.

Geoff: And “winklepicker-gaze” is a bit of a tongue twister. Maybe simple is best: loud, pretty, and sad.

photo by @ssschanzzz

• What does the word ‘shoegaze’ mean to you?”
  

Geoff: It’s been really satisfying to see the genre get discovered by new listeners and even new generations. For us, shoegaze is about interesting songs hiding beneath ethereal textures and sounds. But it’s also become a bit of a catch-all for anything with a ton of guitar effects, sometimes with mixed results.

• Tell us a little about your recording process and how you create your songs.
  

Geoff: One of us (usually Kim) starts something, whether bass, guitar, or synth, and we then flesh out the idea. We had a major shift in our approach a few years back, when we started writing via demoing/recording, rather than writing together in the rehearsal room (and then trying to decipher the practice recordings). The last two records, which we recorded here in Seattle at No-Count Studios with Evan Foster, even have bits of the original demos here and there when we particularly liked the sound or performance.

Kim: My favorite part of creating music is really the most ephemeral moments – whether alone or in a group – when something emerges and you feel more like a vessel or a conduit than anything. Like plucking songs from the ether. Or when an emotion takes form through music in a way that completely transcends any other method of communication. It’s so magical and we feel fortunate every day that we get to create, share, and be a part of such an amazing community.

• Which song(s) are you most proud of and best represent the band?
  

Geoff: We’re so proud and excited about the upcoming album, “Grief is a Garden (Forever in Bloom),” which is coming out in April 2025, and we’ll be playing some of those songs live at the Tremolo festival. We think the “Horizons” album is really representative of what we’re doing, too, and I’d maybe call out “We Crystallize” as one of our favorites. (Though “Running” and “You Set Fire to the Sun” would also be good representations.)

Kim: The new material we’ve been writing since finishing our upcoming album delves deeper into cinematic synth-gaze as well as some deeply personal, intimate and stripped-back songs. It’s difficult to land on one song that best represents the band as we are constantly morphing. Our favorite band tracks morph, too. Right now, I’m pretty obsessed with a song on our upcoming album called “Reconcile the Blue,” which we’ll be playing at Tremolo. It’s so cathartic and hypnotic – I really get chills when we play it live.

• What kind of old/new music are you listening to? Any current bands/artists that you are excited about at the moment?
  

Geoff: It sounds cliché, but we listen to all sorts of music (even if it doesn’t necessarily come through in what we’re doing). There’s so much great music coming out of the Pacific Northwest: all the bands playing Tremolo Festival, as well as Somesurprises, Darkswoon, Mt. Fog, MØAA, Society of the Silver Cross, Spirit Award, Coral Grief, Medejin, the Prids, and so much more.

The last two records we bought were David Bowie (“Low”) and Peter Gabriel (1980 “Ein deutsches Album” – sung all in German!) when we were in Germany last week.

We want to also highlight For Against, especially as Jeff Runnings just went into hospice care. Just an amazing band, so sad and pretty, brooding and chiming. “Coalesced” has become one of my favorite albums, and their early records just floor me. It’s astounding that such great (and dark!) Post-punk came from such an unexpected place (Nebraska). We didn’t discover them until way late, but we’ve since tried to make up for lost time.

• Who would you most like to collaborate with?
  

Geoff: David Sylvian.

Kim: I love it that you said David Sylvian! Absolutely David Sylvian.

Geoff: I was going to say Johnny Marr, but I’d worry that I’d need to do more prep work, like practising guitar more… for another 4-5 hours every day since I was 15.

• What has been your best/worst gig so far (both as a performer and spectator)?

Geoff: Our potentially worst gig was also one of our favorites. We did a little Italy/France/Germany tour a few years back, and we were really looking forward to the Milan show with our friends We Melt Chocolate. As we were riding the train from Florence to Milan, watching the snow fall, we got a panicked text from We Melt Chocolate: they were snowed in and couldn’t make it to Milan. Oh no, so sad! And then we remembered: We were borrowing all their amps and drums for the show! But everyone at the club scrambled to track down amps and drums, even having cymbals taxied over from someone’s rehearsal space, and it ended up being one of our favorite shows. (Even though Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup right before we played, so there was some sadness in the air.)

• What are your expectations for the upcoming Tremolo Festival, and what should the audience expect from your performance?

Geoff: We’re excited to play the opening “Post-punk night” of the festival, with Dark Chisme, Dead Spells, and Modern Daze. We were so disappointed to cancel last year (when Kim broke multiple bones in her foot).

Kim: Last year was SO hard. Our expectations for the fest are great music, great people and good vibes all around. We’re looking forward to the entire weekend and as always are so happy to be part of such a vibrant, warm fuzzy (pun intended) music community.

• What are your plans for the future?

Geoff: Our new album is coming out in April, and we’re excited to start sharing that with the world. We’re looking forward to playing shows in the US and Europe.

Kim: Currently looking for bookers and promoters, if you have any suggestions 😉 (dates TBD).

• Any parting words?

Kim: Wishing everyone happy, healthy, safe holidays and hoping everyone finds ways to create peace, beauty and connection even in these tumultuous times. We are so thankful for music, community and the ability to channel fear, sadness, beauty and inspiration into something tangible that creates connection and shared experience. Really can’t wait for the fest – and honestly, all things considered – just happy to be here. Love to all, xx