The independent student newspaper of Northeastern University

The Huntington News

The independent student newspaper of Northeastern University

The Huntington News

The independent student newspaper of Northeastern University

The Huntington News

Harlem Shakes in good ‘Health’

By Danielle Capalno, News staff

Plenty has changed for Harlem Shakes since the band got its start six years ago. Nearly its entire line-up, for one ‘- and, in turn, the nature of its sturdy indie sounds. First, it was a hip-hop-influenced outfit, hell-bent on igniting the dancefloor.
Then, in 2007, the band rolled out its Burning Birthdays EP:’ a relentlessly upbeat exposition in sunny, catchy, quirk-laden rock. And on Tuesday, when their long-awaited full-length hit stores, the evolution was still in full swing. With Technicolor Health, the quintet proves it’s still firmly of the indie-pop stable, but they’ve left the straight-ahead style behind.
Rich with Latin touches, swelling harmonies and the irresistible melodies that first caught them buzz, Harlem Shakes are on top in their latest sonic incarnation.
‘ In light of Technicolor Health, lead-singer Lexy Benaim spoke with The News earlier this week ‘- right before he resigned to doing nothing at all:’ his bounty after a week of jam-packed performances at South by Southwest (SXSW).

Huntington News:’ Your debut full-length, Technicolor Health, dropped Tuesday, and it had been about two years since your Burning Birthdays EP came out. How does it feel for the follow-up to finally be ready for listeners?
Lexy Benaim:’ It feels damn good. It’s a record that we have all ‘- everybody in the band has signed off on this, and is proud of it, and we’re glad to have it as a record of this time for us. It was really a labor of love.

HN:’ How were those years in between, in terms of artistic development and general experiences?
LB:’ We definitely tried out a bunch of different stuff. I was doing a fair amount of writing and working, and I was in LA for a bit. You know, there had been some sort of troublesome developments, both with certain business things in the band and also in certain situations with health. But we got over all that and we were able to sign this record deal [with Gigantic Music] and got all this free studio time. So we put our noses to grindstone and turned this thing out; we really paid a lot of attention. I would say this is a passionately detailed album.

HN:’ Absolutely. There’s a real air of diversity, too, in terms of musical styles, including Latin influence on ‘Strictly Game.’ Where’s that coming from? Maybe you can peg the Latin influence to your Brooklyn heritage?’
LB:’ That’s a part of it. It also is just like, a general sort of curiosity, and just having broad tastes ourselves. And, you know, Jose [Soegaard] and I both have Latin family. I think that’s a fair assessment of it.

HN:’ What’s your favorite thing about the new record?
LB:’ My favorite song is probably ‘Niagara Falls,’ if I had to name one.

HN:’ You guys have been down at SXSW.
LB:’ Yeah. We played eight shows in four days. The last show, I finally hit the wall; two songs in and I was like, ‘Oh, good lord.’ Everything that was instinctive became effortful. But I’ve mostly recovered now.

HN:’ How was the overall experience?
LB:’ It was unreal. Every show we played, with the exception of one very far from the festival itself, was totally packed. And many of the people who came up to us afterward had accents, which was fun. It was just cool to play for such a diverse array of fans, and all these people who were telling us they’d been waiting a long time to see us. It’s good to know that people have been waiting for us. And I really feel like, you know, we really did what we wanted to do with Technicolor Health; we followed the EP in a very specific way ‘- the way we’ve been wanting to do. So I feel comfortable giving people the record now. There is no hesitation.

HN:’ Did you guys have a chance to see any shows at the festival?
LB:’ Yeah ‘- Titus Andronicus was great. We really just saw bands we were playing with, and we played with them I think three times.

HN:’ From Austin, Texas, you’re heading to Brooklyn, D.C. and Philly ‘- where’s Boston on that list?
LB:’ We’re going to come to Boston soon. Our guitarist [Todd Goldstein] is from there. We’ve been on tour for about a month, so when we do our big national tour in the middle of May, June, July, we will 100 percent hit Boston.

HN:’ You guys made a mixtape for New York Magazine last summer, with everything from Man Man to Otis Redding and Lil Wayne. What are you listening to these days?
LB:’ Yeah, that was our keyboardist [Kendrick Strauch]. I really like this old singer, Mighty Sparrow. I like Cat Stevens, too. That’s kind of what I’m into right now.

HN:’ Going forward, what’s Harlem Shakes’ manifesto going to be in terms of new sounds to experiment with, and the sorts of projects you’ll work on?
LB:’ I’d say, I think there’s going to be more of like, a hip-hop and ’90s vibe, to a certain extent, harmonized guitars and maybe some folkier stuff and hip-hoppier. Kind of early-’90s hip-hop beats.

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