Solskinn 2013 Preview:
5 Questions with Julian Lynch

Madison resident and UW Ph.D. student Julian Lynch plays a captivating and exploratory take on bedroom pop. But though the Wisconsin-via-New Jersey artist has been putting out records for half a decade, don’t call him a full-time musician. Lynch deliberately puts his studies over his music, and not even a “Best New Music” from Pitchfork will sway his priorities. Lynch garnered the holy grail of attention-depraved Internet buzz after 2010’s Mare and has received steady acclaim since. With the release of 2011’s Terra and 2013’s Lines, Lynch’s knack for experimental pop (in addition to his knack for economical album titles) has grown considerably.

In advance of his headlining set at Solskinn on June 21, Jonk Music was fortunate enough to speak with a van-confined Lynch on his way to Washington, D.C.

You’re currently on the road with Canadian indie pop group The Luyas for a three-week stint. Since you’re an academic by day and you can’t tour for most of the year, do you get excited to do it when you can?
“I definitely get excited when I have the chance to do it. It’s a different kind of schedule than what I’m accustomed to, but it’s a fun break. Though I play, more or less, throughout the year, it’s fun to play music every day.”

Is it something you could do all year, like some of your friends out east (e.g. Real Estate or Big Troubles)?
“I don’t think I could do it for a year straight. I would max out around a month and a half. Anything less than that is great; this current stretch is the longest one I’ve done since [Europe in] 2011.” 

You have quite a synergetic setup with The Luyas — for the tour, they’re in your band and you’re in theirs. How has it been to play with them?
“Musically it’s been going extremely well. I couldn’t be happier with how my songs are sounding. I showed up in Montreal for rehearsals and they already sounded great playing my material and putting their own spin on it. Also, it’s cool to play with brass players and with another guitar player. We’ve been able to work more guitar interplay into the set, which I usually can’t do. Socially, they’re all great people and they’re easy to travel with. Playing in their band is really cool and I hope I’m not bringing them down.” (laughs)

Lines, your newest album on Underwater Peoples, features much of the ornate arrangements found on Terra and Mare. How does translating these things to a live band work? Do you ever think about the live act while you’re recording?
“I never consider it!” (laughs) “Maybe I should consider the translation more often because I do tour to some extent. Though I think of myself first as a ‘recording artist’ — which is a weird term.” (laughs) “As for the arrangements, I do it based on the band that I’m playing with. The songs can vary pretty greatly depending on the group. For example, with The Luyas it was different because they had parts down by the time I got there. Playing with them, as opposed to my band in Madison, presents different opportunities because of the instrumental differences. Regardless, both groups are fantastic to play with.”

You study anthropology and ethnomusicology as a Ph.D. student [not a “candidate,” per the ever discerning Lynch] at UW-Madison. Can you comment on Madison as a city and perhaps how it has changed you over the years?
“I’ve learned that I like living in a city that size. No offense to D.C., where I lived before Madison, but it’s not quite for me. It’s shocking to me that a city of Madison’s size has so much stuff going on, musically and culturally. Also, I’ve tried a lot of different beers there.” (laughs)