A group of California perfectionists under the moniker Wildcat! Wildcat! have paired up with New York duo MS MR for a coast-uniting national tour. After a well-received appearance at SXSW 2013, the group has just released their first EP and are bursting to venture out of the studio.
Claiming stake in the space between dreamy psychedelic and rhythmic electronic, these cats take their sweet time in sculpting tracks which stay breezy but somehow remain sharply focused.
In advance of their September 29 show at Madison’s Majestic Theatre, we had a chance to speak with Wildcat! Wildcat!’s Jesse Carmichael.
First off, congrats on EP #1. Have you guys had a chance to kick back and celebrate or is it straight on to the next project?
“Thanks man! We’re actually on the road right now. We had a few days to enjoy it, then it was switching gears and getting ready for the tour.”
So you guys started out your fall tour in Canada earlier this month. Was that international show number one?
“It was! We haven’t been out of the country yet — actually, we haven’t even really been away from the West Coast at all. It’s our first time in virtually every city and we’re pretty pumped about it.”
How is Wildcat! Wildcat! prepping for the tour?
“We finished the EP about a month ago or so, then there was some processes — mixing, matching and whatnot. It’s been all about rehearsing for the past couple weeks [leading up to the tour] — essentially getting into live mode.”
Can you tell me what inspired the double Wildcat! title?
“It’s actually somewhat of a quote from The Royal Tenenbaums. There’s a scene where Owen Wilson’s character, Eli, is being interviewed about a failure of a book that he wrote called “Wildcat”. While explaining why the book was a flop, he trails off and whispers the name twice before up and walking out of the interview.”
Selfishly, I always like to ask about my favorite tracks. Can you tell me where “Garden Grays” sprouted from?
“It came from an old idea that Michael had. We’d been jamming on it on and off. We took like a month or two off and started writing and came out with something that we were all really happy with — but a long process for that one.”
Your tracks sound so thoughtfully assembled and carefully organized. Can you tell me a bit about the process of making a typical song, and how long they take?
“The process for all of our songs has been pretty different from one to the next. We’re definitely pretty intentional about everything — you could say we get particular, and in some cases, obsessive. We’re all sort of perfectionists; every little detail matters a lot to us. We probably do take more time with details and song structures than some bands do. It’s just how we all work; we really care.”
Plans, hopes, aspirations moving forward?
“Our basic gameplan is to do this tour with MS MR for the next five weeks or so, and then dedicate November and December to writing and recording a full-length record. Our goal is to finish and release it as soon as we can and hit the road again. We’re really excited about our EP and hope it gives people enough of a taste to turn some heads and pave the way to the larger collection of songs we’d like to share.”