When you think of music, the first sense that usually comes to mind is hearing; there’s simply no listening to music without having the ability to hear it. Electronic duo Phantogram, however, considers sight to be an equally pivotal sense when it comes to crafting jams.
In technical jargon, a “phantogram” is a class of optical illusions wherein a two-dimensional image appears to be three-dimensional, thanks to those ultra-tech, ultra-classic blue and red specs. Josh Carter and Sarah Barthel chose to fashion their band after this phantasm because, even at their inceptions, their songs appear to be something greater than mere music.
Whereas other artists gather inspiration from their own life happenings or what have you, Phantogram has always been influenced by the optical. “We’re very visual writers,” Carter told me in an interview this week. “We’re constantly talking about scenarios like short films or vignettes — and then we start writing music to what we’re imagining.” The band then takes those images and turns them into tunes, sometimes jamming “over a simple drum-machine rhythm for hours.” Other times, Josh said they’ll start with one of his beats, “chop up some samples, and write around that.”
The first concoction to come out of these experiment-like sessions was the band’s debut, Eyelid Movies. While its songs are heavily soaked in pop, hip-hop, and electronic stylings, Eyelid Movies also has a musically inexplicable element to it; as the record’s title implies, closing your eyes to these tracks allows you the ability to see the music nearly as clearly as you can hear it.
In the four years that have passed since Eyelid Movies hit shelves, Phantogram has kept their visual aroma in tact. Their full-length follow-up, Voices, was released in February, and trying to spot the separate genres within each of the album’s eleven songs is about as worthless as picking apart the particles of a sneeze. Each track is a tightly knit blend of various influences that culminate into a cohesive, well-constructed whole. Voices further showcases the band’s signature twilight-tinged sound, bashing Carter’s busy beats with Barthel’s rippleless, astral vocals. And while Carter lends his voice to sing lead on a few tracks, he kept Sarah in mind while writing the words. “It’s not really a coin toss,” he joked. “Sarah sings on the majority of songs, but it’s a natural thing.”
The main distinguisher between Voices and Eyelid Movies isn’t the music itself, but rather the brand they’re releasing the music behind. “There was a bidding war. Every label wanted to sign us at once,” Carter recalled. “Our heads were spinning, you know?” Ultimately, the duo decided to leave Barsuk Records and sign with major label Republic Records. As Carter put it, “We just love making music, and we want as many people to hear [it] as possible. If we can have that kind of platform with a different label, then why not?”
Amidst the chaos of deciding upon a new label, Phantogram also found itself with another exciting opportunity on its hands: recording with “one half of the mighty Outkast,” Big Boi. As Carter recollected, “He [Big Boi] heard ‘Mouthful of Diamonds’ somewhere, and Shazam’d it.” From there, one thing led to another until Big Boi flew the duo down to Stankonia Studios in Atlanta to work on his second solo record, Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors. “He’s become a good friend to us,” said Carter. Carter then revealed that Phantogram is currently mapping out an EP’s worth of material with Big Boi, tentatively titled Big Grams.
Over the course of two records, Phantogram has shifted from an unknown duo to a major label band that dabbles in major rap collaborations. Yet they appear unphased by their rapid success, and unafraid that it may just be some kind of illusion or trick on their (or their audiences’) eyes. “There are some bands that are comfortable with staying at a small club level,” Carter said. “But I think we just want to get heard more — because we love what we do and have a really strong vision.”