Advertisement

Panda Bear: “The music would put me in a dream state”

The Animal Collective member on the records that have shaped his life

Trending Now

LINDA PERHACS
Parallelograms
KAPP, 1970

I’m not sure I’d say it’s sunny, but there’s an idyllic quality to the production that I really like. It goes to some pretty weird, dark places at times, and I really appreciate that juxtaposition between the light and the dark in the record. Her voice is sick, too. This was another Other Music thing, for sure. I’m lucky to know people who have very different tastes than mine, but are equally as ravenous for music. I’m surrounded by folks that introduce me to stuff.

___________________

Advertisement

DAFT PUNK
Homework
VIRGIN/SOMA, 1997

I remember seeing the video for “Around The World” super late at night on MTV. It was one of the rare things that my brother and I both liked. My family noticed me and my sister having an interest in playing music, so they got this synthesiser for us, a Korg 01/W Pro. It was the first piece of gear that I feel like I developed some kind of relationship with. I would make these eight-bar or 16-bar loops on it, and when I heard Homework I was like, “This is like a much, much better version of what I’m doing!” Homework still sounds fresh today.

___________________

Advertisement

JUSTIN HEATHCLIFF
Justin Heathcliff
ATLANTIC, 1971

I don’t know much about this, but I’m pretty sure he’s a man from Japan [real name Osamu Kitajima]. I gather he was a big fan of The Beatles, and you can tell that from it. But I feel like you can also tell it’s not from Europe, and I dig that clashing of cultures. The songwriting is really killer – it seems like a different take on music from that era, which I enjoy. I like different perspectives. I’ve never seen a copy of this, I’ve only ever heard it as MP3s or whatever – I think it’s a tough one to track down.

___________________

DR DRE
The Chronic
DEATH ROW, 1992

There’s nothing else exactly like this, even in the rest of his discography. It’s a brutal-sounding record – I mean, the production is really pleasing, but it’s kinda dense and aggressive in a way that is frightening to me, but really, really powerful. Dre is one of my favourite producers, and so the production is certainly what I find most attractive about it. This was one of those things that I’m not sure you could avoid at the time, it was everywhere. I wonder if music works that way any more, on a global scale?

___________________

The April 2019 issue of Uncut is now on sale in the UK – with John Lennon on the cover. Inside, you’ll find Keith Richards, Anne Briggs, Edwyn Collins, Lou Reed, Humble Pie, Robert Forster, Jenny Lewis, James Brown and much more. Our 15-track CD also showcases the best of the month’s new music, including Pond, Ex Hex, Hand Habits, Lambchop, Stephen Malkmus, Kel Assouf and Patty Griffin.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Latest Issue

Advertisement

Features

Advertisement