Just about a year ago, New York based indie-pop trio Little Daylight made a couple tiny splashes on the blogosphere with upbeat, synth-spangled remixes of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros’ folk hit “Man on Fire” and Passion Pit’s “Constant Conversations.” But it wasn’t until they dropped their debut single “Overdose” – a playful, uber-catchy track about lust set to a backdrop of synths – that the band was truly recognized for their talent to craft impeccable dance-driven, synth-heavy pop music. The track immediately soared to #1 on the Hype Machine, and the group has not missed a beat since.

Fast forward through 2013 and those tiny splashes have now becomes tidal waves of sonic momentum as the trio – composed of Nikki, Eric, and Matt – now have a newly released EP, titled Tunnel Vision, out on Capitol Records, as well as fall tour dates set up around the country. With Tunnel Vision, the trio expanded on the melodic landscape laid down in “Overdose” with glossy, summertime singles in “Glitter and Gold” and “Restart.” Now on the road with Bastille, the band is showing that they have a promising future with a new label, a smash radio-friendly single, and seemingly boundless talent. Lucky for us, the group still makes time to answer questions from fans and we were lucky enough to be able to talk to the trio about their recent tour with Charli XCX, reincarnation, and blowing fuses during sound check. Enjoy below:

 
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The Sights and Sounds: Hey Little Daylight! How’s your tour treating you? Since our last interview was actually with your tour mate, Charli XCX, we’re going to start the interview with the same question we gave her about Ellie Goulding. Any weird quirks? Any chances for collaboration or random ways you’ve inspired the other?

Little Daylight: Touring has been great. We were out with Charli XCX and Bastille this summer, and are now back in Brooklyn working on our album. Both tours were great… so much so, actually, that we’re going to be going back out with both Charli and Bastille this fall. (You can purchase tickets to their shows here.)

And yes, we’ve already started collaborating with Charli, in a way. She and Twin Idol from her band did an amazing remix of song “Glitter and Gold” that will be coming out this fall. We’d love to do more collaborations with both bands.

One funny story… since Charli’s band is from England, all of their equipment at shows runs at 220 volts rather than 120 (as it is in the U.S.). During soundcheck at one of the shows, we accidentally plugged our guitar amp into the 220v power adapter and it blew the fuse in the amp. Charli’s drummer Wilkie (who happens to be the nicest dude in the world) immediately ran out to a hardware store to buy a new fuse so that we could play our set with our amp. Needless to say, we won’t be plugging into any more European-style surge protectors.

The Sights and Sounds: Enough about Charli XCX, more about you. What do you do to stay busy on the road? Any strange hobbies?

Little Daylight: Matt likes to make beats on our OP-1 synth while we drive. Ernesto (our drummer) and I (Eric) like to jam out to Metallica records super loud in the van (much to Nikki’s chagrin). Nikki likes to smell flowers.

The Sights and Sounds: Given that one of your aspirations is to see your “Name In Lights”– how does it feel to finally really be out on tour, your name on marquees?

Little Daylight: It feels great! We spent the first 6 months as a band just doing remixes and writing/recording, so it feels great to finally be out there playing our songs live.

The Sights and Sounds: On repeat plays, Tunnel Vision has a palpable thematic of rising through struggle and joyously punching your way to success by EP end. How long have you been at the game; and did you all as a band face any particular barriers you’re proud to have overcome?

Little Daylight: We’ve all been making music basically our whole lives. Fortunately, it’s been fairly smooth sailing for Little Daylight so far. I’m sure we will hit obstacles along the way, but so far we’ve just really been enjoying the ride. We’re very happy to be devoting our lives to this band and that we’re fortunate enough to be doing this full-time as our jobs. We don’t take it for granted at all.
 

 

The Sights and Sounds: “Restart” is my favorite song by you all, but it’s early Metric stylings completely threw my understanding of your musical influences. Then again, I’ve had many conversations with music writers about who spawned your personal style, and no one can quite pinpoint the delicious ingredients to your recipe. Care to (at least partially) shed some light on that?

Little Daylight: Funny that you heard Metric in “Restart”. Probably a case of shared influences or coincidence, as none of us are very familiar with their music. In terms of influences, it’s really varied. Electronic music is a big part of our roots. Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada, Burial. We all love Phil Spector’s work. Fleetwood Mac, the Talking Heads, New Order. In terms of recent stuff, we love Robyn. Producer-wise, our favorites are probably Bloodshy and Avant. They did this track “Hearts Beating Weak” on the Ingrid compilation that just KILLS us. So good.

The Sights and Sounds: Your remix of Ra Ra Riot’s “Angel, Please” is my favorite of the year. I’ve just been so lost in its wondrousness and shout its praises wherever I can. Can you tell me what spoken word sample you use at the beginning (it’s fucking killer)? And what was your thought process behind that remix? It’s so markedly different from the original in all the right ways and devastates me every time.

Little Daylight: Thank you! We had a great time with that remix. That was one that we took wayyyy out there. We slowed the track down a lot and basically sampled parts of Wes’s vocal to make a brand new track. We loved the original version and were inspired to make it a darker, dancier affair.

The spoken word sample is something that Matt recorded on a bus in Providence years ago. While we were working on the remix, he was looking through old tapes to find source material and found that sample. We thought it would be a cool direction to take the track leading into the drop.
 

 

The Sights and Sounds: So, onto a few fun questions to round out the interview.Would you rather: stick around as a ghost or reincarnate as something (what would it be)?

Little Daylight: Reincarnate definitely. We were asked about our spirit animals in an interview a few weeks back. I (Eric) would like to come back as my spirit animal: the giraffe.

The Sights and Sounds: What’s the weirdest venue you’ve performed at?

Little Daylight: We haven’t really played at any weird venues yet! The most beautiful venue we’ve ever played at? Probably was last week when we played a private show on the beach in Malibu. The stage was set up 50 feet away from the ocean, directly facing the Pacific. We played as the sun went down over the ocean. Pretty amazing.

The Sights and Sounds: If you could write a letter today and have it delivered to yourself one year ago, what would you say?

Little Daylight: Keep yours eyes open and try to savor as many moments as possible.

The Sights and Sounds: Lastly, what is your spirit animal? And why?

Little Daylight: Woah, that’s crazy. I answered the other question and brought up my spirit animal. That’s some kismet there!

In terms of a band spirit animal, it’s definitely Falcor.

The Sights and Sounds: Thanks for answering our questions! Can’t wait to catch you all if you come to Chicago! Safe travels and sonic waves until then!

Little Daylight: We’ll be there in September with Bastille. See you there!

Interview by: Kavit Sumud
 
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