posted by Iva
June 2013
Fol Chen are by no means your average electro band. The six-piece LA experimentalists create not only their own musical style but a whole realm, somewhere between now and what I hope music would be in the future. Their third  album False Alarms came out in March and is definitely worth checking out.
  Fol Chen's own Sinosa Loa, who gradually becomes one of my favorite female vocalists today, has kindly agreed to share some facts and thoughts on the band and music today.
Iva: How would you describe your music?
SL: We were recently described as what "15 year-olds will listen to in 100 years". I like that a lot.
Iva:  Where does your inspiration come from? 
SL: Something funny happens when writing lyrics where you can't always tell what a song is about before you're pretty deep into it. A lot of the words started as nonsense that I'd sing over a demo track. Slowly certain words would stick out, until finally it was like, "Well, it sure sounds like this song is about X, Y or Z." So in those cases, I don't know where the inspiration comes from, but that's one of the ways it can manifest.
Iva: How do you feel living and making music in L.A.?
SL: I love LA. It's a great place for artists like us who equally value access to great events and the ability to hide out like hermits sometimes for months at a time.
Iva: You have released a few tracks for free download. Are you generally pro music being available for free online? 
SL: Generally, yes. I think good things happen when information and media are free and accessible. I look forward to the day when we've figured out how to also support the people that make it.
Iva: Is Fol Chen your full time "job"? Do you have other day jobs and what are they?Fol Chen
SL: We do our best to avoid day jobs - it's a challenge. We live humbly and are grateful for low rents and local markets that make it a lot easier.
Iva: What is your favorite Fol Chen track?
SL: That's an impossible question! But I suggest checking out "Boys in the Woods" :-)
Iva: Have you ever felt misunderstood as musicians?
SL: I think a lot of people expect a record to sound essentially the same throughout. It might have one really great song and then what's effectively nine variations on it. We cast our net pretty wide and I think it throws some people for a loop.
Iva: The new album, how and where was it recorded?
SL: We recorded in our homes. We live near each other on the east side of Los Angeles, so it was sort of a mobile unit. We also passed a lot of things around digitally.
Iva: What do you think of the music today? Do you have any particular favorites or dislikes?
SL: There is a lot of exciting music happening right now. Everything that has ever been made is at our disposal, and we can steal it, mix it up, and use it to make something new. The merging of genres and decades is really cool-- if it sounds current. I'm not really interested when a new band pulls almost entirely from one time in the past. If I wanted to hear 80s music I'd probably go listen to something that was made in the 1980s.
Iva: What has been your favorite gig so far and where would you like to tour in future?
SL: Playing at home in LA is always special. Beyond that, the best shows always come as a surprise. We recently had a great night in Phoenix playing with Baths. And the crowd in Boise on the last tour was impossibly fun.
I'd really love to tour in China. I find the possibilities to explore audiences there really exciting.

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