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LIVE: Red Bull presents Puro Instinct
Wednesday, January 28th in Hollywood Red Bull Sound Select held another of their monthly concert series at SBE’s ultra-hip Sayers Club. The sold out, shoulder to shoulder crowd were treated to headliner Blackbird Blackbird’s brand of indie Chill Wave in an intimate venue suited for the vibe’s he brought from San Francisco. Opening the night was LA born and bred sister duo Puro Instinct, one of Red Bull Sound Select's hopefuls to break in 2015.
Prepping for the big hometown show, 27-year old Piper (vocals) and 20-year old Skylar (Guitar) sit patiently while a seamstress fixes their custom wardrobe. No time to relax, there are interviews to do and they are more than happy to accommodate. Piper, being the oldest, takes the lead, “We are not [Hollywood] trust fund babies. We’re like the exact opposite. We’re totally self made, everything we’ve ever done we’ve had to figure out how to do it ourselves.” The girls self-released a 4 song EP in 2010 which lead to the their first full length, Headbangers In Ecstasy (Mexican Summer Records), the following year. With the support of Red Bull they are on the verge of releasing a new album Spring/Summer of this year. “It’s pretty exhausting to put out a record,” Piper explains, “It’s a total vortex marathon for at least 2 years of your life. And there’s also the time you spend before that making the record, which is also its own vortex. It’s like a baby, you’re pregnant with all these ideas. The release of the record is like having the baby. And then you have to take care of it! That’s like the touring.”
Their sound is reminiscent of 80’s alt Rock with heavy verb drenched vocals in the vein of Cocteau Twins and arrangements that bring Siouxsie and the Banshees to mind. “Those are bands that we grew up with just because when you grow up in LA you’re exposed to all types of different sounds all the time from everywhere. Our mom had a Goth store in the early 90’s on Melrose. I guess with the first record we were definitely influenced by the Stranglers and all sorts of crazy psychedelic pop.” Piper goes on to cite 80’s Russian band Kino and Serbia’s Via Talas as major influences showing a unique, and bizarre, fondness for Eastern European Post Punk.
Harnessing the aesthetics of the 80’s is not new in this era. There are countless Joy Division and New Order babies that have been popping up for the past decade. Puro is going a slightly different direction than the crowd and have opted to retain autonomy over the creative process. “The thing that people don’t understand about me and Skylar is we don’t fuck around. At all. We will always listen to people’s suggestions but at the end of the day if it doesn’t sound like us and we hate it it’s not going down. Producers have this whole slant on what you sound like, and if it’s a collab that’s always cool. But with our own records we try to keep it in the family.”
What is success for a new band in the current industry where platinum plaques are about as attainable as mythological treasures? A golden fleece or Holy Grail. Financial security is not a given anymore even with a successful single. “Whatever happened to the struggle being part of the fun. I think a lot of people forget that. The thing that makes art and music really awesome is that raw energy that comes from being in a place of compromised security.” Piper and Skylar are not strangers to the struggle and seem content to take it on headfirst. “I think that’s why I’m stoked Skylar and I never really had any money because we’re not crying that the economy is in the dumps. I think wealth is totally different for everybody and as long as we can play music and come up with ideas that keep us motivated to do this, we’re doing pretty good.” Success, to them, is inspiring young girls to engage more in the recording and engineering side of music, not just to be the pop creation of some producer. It also means being able to tour as much as possible, something Red Bull is helping out with as evidence by tonight’s sold out show. “We like what Red Bull [Sound Select] does for artists. It’s just really cool to collaborate with a company that gets our vibe and wants to help us reach other people.”
Filled with excitement post show, the 2 stick around to bask in the success of the night and enjoy Blackbird Blackbird’s set before heading home (up the street). When they wake up it will be another day in the vortex, working on getting closer to dropping their latest baby.
Check out Puro Instinct on Soundcloud to hear their latest tracks.
Words: Dominic Painter
Photos: Lindsey Byrnes/Red Bull Content Pool
