Late Sea

Late Sea are not afraid to create music that challenges listeners to question and reimagine everything they know. Jerusalem-born singer and composer Izzy Gliksberg and his band craft lush, dynamic soundscapes that fall somewhere between experimental electronic rock and indie-pop. The band's new EP The Writers Trilogy explores this unique musical confluence. Gliksberg's cryptic lyricism, delivered in his trademark sing-speak style, fearlessly traverses the dark terrain that he and his bandmates create.

As the title suggests, The Writer's Trilogy is a collection of three original songs, that pay homage to literary giants Frankz Kafka, Paul Celan, and Baruch Spinoza. Gliksberg shares, "The making of the EP was literally reaching back to the writers that shaped my concept of what it means to be an artist and to have some sort of inner dialog with them. Every creative person is the sum of his influences: we immerse ourselves in the works of others, consciously or unconsciously, and then we process it into something that's our own. Sometimes we have so many ideas buzzing in our heads and all of them demand our attention and time. In a way, when working on the EP I had the chance to give voice to many ideas at once - lyrically, musically and visually. In that sense it was a very satisfying process."

Each stunning track is accompanied by an equally impressive video, providing a visual component that helps to reinforce each songs narrative and sonic impact. Part one "Ring the Bells" and part two "The Great White", previously released, are chock-full of thought-provoking themes and imagery. The third video, for "Hunter" will be released in January 2018, continuing and fulfilling the mysterious and mythical themes found throughout the series. Passionate about combining music and visuals, Late Sea creates a new level of powerful and transformative art.

A fourth track provides a reimagined cover of Simon & Garfunkel's 1964 hit "Sound of Silence," for which a music video was released yesterday. Punctuated by Sam Nester's ambient trumpet lines, the somber rendition of the track is paired with sobering images of nuclear war and political propaganda. The cinematic tone of the music combined with the stark imagery conveys a sense of impending doom. Over fifty years after the original release, Late Sea manages to breath new life into both the music and interpretation of the message. The video features animation by international award-winning animator Yulia Ruditskaya. WEBSITE, FACEBOOK.

Imaginative and creative, 'The Writers Trilogy' is a beatiful collection of four quite unique songs. The music is intricately developed and supports the atmospheric vocals, alongside intriguing lyrics that demand attention in their own right. - Beehive Candy

LATE SEA – “HUNTER”
A Spill Exclusive Video Premiere

Today we bring you the exclusive premiere of a mysterious and mesmerizing video for “Hunter” from NYC electronic indie-rock outfit Late Sea. An already captivating single, full of lush and dynamic soundscapes, is elevated to new heights in this cinematic short, full of stunning effects and vivid imagery. A powerful and transformative piece of art, the video features evocative dancer and performer Mina Nishimura, who readers may recognize from her appearance on SNL in 2015 with Sia. Nishimura choreographed her routine specifically for “Hunter” and her performance brings its own intrinsic and intense power to the piece.

Late Sea vocalist Izzy Gliksberg describes his inspiration for “Hunter” as stemming from Franz Kafka’s story The Hunter Gracchus. “Hunter” follows the equally impressive and fantastical videos for “Ring the Bells” and “The Great White” – combined, these prove that Late Sea are a band to watch in 2018! All tracks come off the band’s recently released EP The Writers Trilogy.

Artist Quote

“The videos are an inherent part of the work, but similar to the lyrics and the music they can be quite suggestive and leave much room for the listener to work out her own interpretation. I’ve always loved songwriters such as Michael Stipe (REM) or Thom Yorke that can convey a very specific emotion in an abstract way. This way the songs remain open to endless interpretations while simultaneously conveying a specific emotion. It is quite paradoxical. This is one of my favorite paradoxes and I try to do it justice in my work.” ~Izzy Gliksberg - Spill Magazine

INTERVIEW: Late Sea

1. Hi Izzy, welcome to VENTS! How have you been?

We’re doing well. Give and take one orange buffoon.

2. Can you talk to us more about your song and new music video for “Hunter”?

The song and the video are based on Kafka’s story The Hunter Gracchus. It’s a fragmented piece of music, just like Kafka’s writing, and we were trying to figure out how Kafka’s character dances to electronic music.

A strange thing happened in the video: without any intention, Mina Nishimura, who choreographed the dance, actually looks a bit like Kafka when she has the makeup on and her hair is spiked.

3. What inspired you to write this song with Kafka in mind?

Kafka’s writing seems to me like a technical, overly bureaucratic manual to the human soul. It was natural that he would find his way into the music.

4. The video is very visual and powerful – tell us about the filming process and experience behind the video? How did you come to collaborate with dancer Mina Nishimura?

Thanks!

When we set out to do the project, I knew that one of the videos would be a dance video. Andrey and Hazuki suggested Mina, who is well known dancer in the avant-grade and Butoh dance circles.

Mina is so mesmerizing that on the first meeting it was obvious that all we need to do is let the camera roll while Mina does her thing. Magically, her interpretation of the song is very close to what what I had in mind, even though I didn’t really have anything in mind.

The shooting was tricky because even though nature has given us her most spectacular blue-green light that day, she also gave us a freezing cold day. On the flip side, this made Mina’s dance even better because her struggle was real.

5. “Hunter” comes off your new EP The Writers Trilogy – what’s the story behind the title?

We set out to do a visual EP in which each track/video is dedicated to a writer. The idea goes back to Nick Caves Murder Ballads in which he wrote a whole album built on medieval murder ballads.

6. Would you call this a conceptual record?

Every record is conceptual. Whether the artist knows it or not.

7. How was the recording and writing process?

After the songs were written, I made demos of the arrangements and went to Yoav Shemesh (our producer) and to Andrey and Hazuki (the film makers). We worked together with Joe (Peri, the drummer) and Sam (Nester, the trumpet player) who turned the raw demos into fleshed out, breathing music.

8. What role does NYC play in your writing?

NYC is not always kind to its artists, but it also drives you to be more creative. There is an endless variety of music and culture so that looking fo a personal voice becomes a huge part of the artistic challenge.

9. This release very much has a ‘visual’ theme to it, and as you’ve called it a visual EP – do you plan to continue with it?

We would love to continue exploring the connection between music and film. We collaborated with Little Cinema at House of Yes in Bushwick where we re-scored cult films. I think its an artistic avenue thats only now starting to be explored.

There are visual albums coming out (Beyoce’s Lemonade is a good example), but it seems that since Pink Floyd’s The Wall no significant developments have been made in the genre.

10. Where else do you find the inspiration for the songs and lyrics?

Ancient Jewish mysticism, and flipping through Instagram.

11. Any plans to hit the road?

Yes! Were working on a small tour for this summer. More details soon!

12. What else is happening next in Late Sea´s world?

Working on new music and waiting for Radiohead to ask us to open for them. Can you pass that on - VENTS magazine

Late Sea is a burgeoning art rock trio based in Manhattan, New York. Much like the city itself, the band is also a multicultural entity. Singer-guitarist/pianist Izzy Gliksberg hails from Israel, synthesist/trumpeter Sam Nester from Australia, and drummer Joe Peri from the USA. Nearly two years ago, the band conceptualized an ambitious release known as The Writer’s Trilogy. This audio/visual EP comprises three tribute tracks to three iconic mid-20th-century novelists, Paul Celan, Gabriel Marcela Marquez and Franz Kafka. Those three tracks then become the subject of a longer piece, tying them all together. The initial single from the EP, “The Great White,” about Celan, debuted via Impose Magazine in September. A release date for its accompanying music video is slated for November 14.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Izzy, the project’s primary visionary, and catalyst. We discussed his initial time in Israel, immigrating to the United States, inspiration from literature, and, above all, his ultimate intention for the Writers Trilogy project.

ME: Part of Late Sea’s appeal is your integration of cultural diversity. Since I’m interviewing you, Izzy, I’d like to begin by asking about your Israeli background. What part of Israel are you from originally, and how did the influences from your hometown shape your musicianship?

Izzy: That’s a good question! I’m from Jerusalem, a seriously diverse—and you might even say torn—city. I grew up in an environment that had a lot of Israeli music, Middle Eastern music, classical music, western music—quite a big mishmash.

The influence on me, I think maybe in two ways. The first was the city I grew up in being very religious. I have this imagination of music always being some part of a secret religious ritual. Music has always been that way for me. I think that’s because I was born in a holy city; the whole city’s like one big ritual. And the second way was the influence of Arabic music. I’m not sure if you can hear it now in what we do, but I’m starting to show signs of being attracted to that music now.

ME: After your formative years in Israel, what was it that prompted the move to the United States, particularly New York City?

Izzy: Actually, I came here to study. I did my Master’s in Classical Composition at the Manhattan School of Music. Why New York City, that’s a good question. I think it has this image of being the city where everything really happens, it’s very intense, and if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere. That’s what brings artists here, and me, specifically.

ME: Given that there’s also a breadth of opportunities in New York, did it mean you had to adapt a different way of pursuing music than in Jerusalem?

Izzy: If I had to write a letter to write to my younger self what to do better, it would be that he should be in New York City just to learn. Things get done here on a high level and are very diverse. You can go in an ezine of any type of music, and be a big live act, and all of it will be amazing. You know, sometimes that doesn’t happen, but theoretically, it does. And it’s much easier if you’re a band to start up in a small place, make your mark there, and go out from there. But we’re in New York now. It’s one of the bigger cities in the world; there are so many things going on, and you’ve got a lot of opportunities around you. So I think there’s the good and the bad.

ME: You’d met Sam and Joe at Manhattan School of Music, which is known for its cultural and ethnic diversity among students. Were you all pretty much into alternative types of music?

Izzy: Yeah! Joe’s definitely a jazz guy, and Sam likes a lot of classical avant-garde music. He’s really into a composer called Giacinto Sclesi, who’s an early 20th-century composer—a very eccentric character who did a lot of interesting things. None of us are into the mainstream. It’s important to mention that our producer, Yoav Shemesh also has a lot of background in modern classical composition and jazz—things like that. Everybody brings different things to the table and we try to mix them up well.

ME: Now let’s talk a bit about the project that you guys are involved in. It’s an audio/visual EP called The Writer’s Trilogy, which will be released online. What brought you guys together was not only an affinity for music and culture but literature as well?

Izzy: Yup! The Writers Trilogy started as my fantasy to make an album where I write for and about writers that I like, or who have influenced me. Then I really wanted to add a visual component to that. I’m into movies, and I think that’s the way I see the future of music going, where things are more tightly tied with the visual. I mean, it’s already happening as we speak, you know? It’s like global warming; there shouldn’t be a debate about that anymore.

We chose the three tracks to work on, and I took them to Yoav Shemesh to produce. [Then] I took them to Andrey [Alistratov] and Hazuki [Aikawa], who are the filmmakers, and we started drawing out the concepts together. But the idea, first of all, is to make something that moves you.

ME: To solidify the visuals, as you mentioned, you had worked with Yoav Shemesh and NOKA Productions. When did work on this aspect begin, and how far along are you on the project now?

Izzy: I’d brought it out close to two years ago when we didn’t have a budget, and nothing was really clear. I mentioned the idea to Andrey and Hazuki, and I had my own idea for a script. We were supposed to do only two films from pre-existing material, and they liked the idea and started developing the things together. I think we’d finished shooting about a year ago. And now, the first film is going to be out in 10 days; it’s very, very exciting!

ME: The first song on the EP, “The Great White,” is a tribute to the writer Paul Celan. What was it that resonated with you most about his work?

Izzy: I think his work has this nature of casting a spell on the reader. He’s basically like a magician who makes spells, and who’s also tough to understand sometimes. But he writes these things that are trance-like. There’s a lot of music in his words, and I really enjoy that. He talks about things I care about. [As for] his character, he lived a tragic life, committing suicide at 49 years old in 1970. It’s just an attraction to this mysterious, spellbinding atmosphere that his poetry has.

ME: I was thinking about the stylistic aspects of the song. It’s quite ambient, with a backing choir and airy guitars. Did you intend for those to represent a Heaven-based atmosphere to represent his passing?

Izzy: I think it’s more of a display of forgiveness and letting go. There’s some kind of intention and inner-focus to it. I think that the choir offers you to swim in it. It creates a space, which is what I like about the production of the song. The sound is like a landscape to listen and walk in, and hopefully, you’ll get in your own space and get something out of it. And yeah, there’s something about Heaven there, because the song is basically about a departure, and letting go. Maybe a bit about death in its positive sense, if there’s any positive sense to it. For [Celan], obviously he needed it; it was positive.

ME: Prior to his death, Paul Celan was still very successful but faced numerous hardships. He separated from his parents in a labor camp, was forcefully estranged from his wife, and even wrongfully accused of plagiarism. In a sense, does the song center on him being newly at peace from such tragic hardships?

Izzy: Yeah, that’s exactly it! I’d imagine it to be. I’d read a correspondence that he had with Ingeborg Bachmann; she’s another German poet. When you read that, you see that [Celan] was very troubled. All these things—he was haunted, accused of plagiarism and the other things that you mention—have influenced him badly. In the song, I definitely imagined a man coming to peace with everything that has ever happened. He’s saying “Okay, I’ll leave this behind and take a step forward.”

ME: From a larger perspective, your project additionally includes tributes to Gabriel Marcela Marquez and Franz Kafka. And from my understanding, this combined effort more or less demonstrates the presence of God in a generation where faith isn’t largely prioritized. Why do you think the efficacy of faith is lost on so many millenials nowadays?

Izzy: I think the way our modern world works pushes away a lot of the basic questions about life. Fundamental questions about life don’t resonate because of contemporary culture structure. I’ve never been very fond of organized religion, although you never know what gets people going, but I feel that art has a place for many of those questions. Art can and should address the mysteriousness of being alive. If you don’t put that into art, where else could it be, you know what I mean? All of these writers are people who have dealt with [faith], each in his own way.

ME: Once this project is completed, do you hope the videos will prove to not only be aurally and visually stimulating but also encourage your audience to think?

Izzy: Yeah, I definitely hope so! Again, the first video will be released in about 10 days. They’re built around a sequence that has a connection to them, but the connection is not very clear. It’s really made for people who want to experience the music and ask what it’s about.

I think that something very important is doing artistic work that moves the listener. If you were to be involved in a way that you have to fill in the details, that way you can get more out of it. It’s like TV shows with a mystery tend to make you think because you’re missing the details in what they’re about. That gets you sometimes to create things that are interesting, and I hope that our work will do the same.

ME: Lastly, where might our readers go to find out more information about this project?

Izzy: I hope you’ll come to our Facebook page and website, and check out the videos that we put there. We have more tracks that will be released, and I think that in 10 days the first one will be out. In December, we’ll have two shows at House of Yes, which is down in Bushwick, and it’d be nice if people would go check us out and say hi. But I think we have a lot of going by. We’d love for people to check us out, and for that, I feel great!

Late Sea Socials:

Official Website|Facebook|YouTube|Instagram|Soundcloud - music existence

New York’s post/art rock trio Late Sea – comprised of Izzy Gliksberg (vocals, keyboards guitars) Sam Nester (trumpet, laptop) and Joe Peri (drums, percussion) – has been hard at work on their upcoming visual EP, The Writers Trilogy, due out later this year. Says Gliksberg of the work, “The idea of the EP was to create music alongside a visual concept, but it all started with a fantasy to dedicate a song to my favorite writers and to make an album out of it.” We’ve got the debut for their first track off the project, titled “The Great White”.

The song starts out slowly, soothing, but also has a dark aspect to it. Gliksberg’s vocals are haunting, with a touch of reverb set in front of tranquil, choir-like chanting. The song picks up, but adds to the murky feel with sound bites that sound demonic in their presentation. The horns are an added bonus, giving a layer to their song that you weren’t originally expecting. The composition is stunning and in your face.

Gliksberg had quite a bit more to add about the project.

The song and the video [are] a farewell elegy for my favorite poet Paul Celan. It’s about the transformation of grief into some sort of redemption. Paul Celan’s poetry puts me under a spell. His words are crystalized. My bones glow. This song is our attempt to bring that mystery into our work.

The project was funded by the Kevin Spacey Foundation. The visual EP was inspired by a fantasy I had to dedicate three songs to three different writers who have deeply influenced my life and work. The Great White is the first in the trilogy and is a farewell elegy to Jewish German poet Paul Celan. The song explore grief and how it can mysteriously transform into redemption. We recorded the band and then brought in a chamber choir to our producers studio to do the background singing which is really the foundation of the music. The song has a beautiful music video that will be released in a few weeks. - Impose Magazine

Late Sea, art-rock group based in New York, have been gearing up for the release of upcoming visual EP The Writers Trilogy. The concept of the EP comes from vocalist Izzy Gliksberg, who idealized a tribute to three 20th century writers, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Franz Kafka and Paul Celan. Working in tandem with Brooklyn-based company NOKA Productions and producer Yoav Shemesh, and funded by The 2015 Kevin Spacey Foundation Artist of Choice grant, The Writers Trilogy is not only an extended play, but will also include three separate music films. There will also be a longer fourth film, which will combine the first three and highlight their connection.

“The Great White” is the first single from the upcoming release, being a farewell tribute to Paul Celan, a Jewish-German poet who has greatly influenced the work of Gliksberg, as well as the other writers. The song, according to the vocalist, explores grief and the transformation of depression to redemption. The music video for The Great White is meant to accompany the song with a visual of how the song fits into the EP, which ties into the vision of providing this tribute with an audio-visual experience.

The trio of Late Sea, consisting of Izzy Gliksberg on piano, vocals, and guitar, Sam Nester on trumpet, and Joe Perri on drums and percussion, met while studying at the Manhattan School of Music and formed the band shortly after. The Writers Trilogy is expected later this year. - audible Addixion

If you haven’t heard about the incredible experience that is Late Sea, get ready for it, because their artistry and talent is breaking down barriers and crossing all sorts of boundaries. They have a moody, dark, somewhat ethereal sound perfect for the witching hours of Halloween, and chilly months of fall. Bittersweet, like memories of lost loves, their music washes over you in waves of nostalgia and mystery.

They are clearly talented musicians, and they’re most famous for re-writing scores to classic movies, giving the movies at once more depth and a new and vibrant polish. In 2015 they were the first and only music act ever to receive the prestigious Kevin Spacey Artist of Choice Award, for their visual and musical album the Writers Trilogy.

What is interesting here, is that these men, from far different backgrounds have found a niche that has not been plumbed. Their music is familiar and also new, it is strange and exciting and yet always hauntingly reminiscent, like a dream you can’t quite remember that keeps slipping off the tips of your fingers as you grab for it. They are initially good friends from school, like the so many bands find each other, but what they found in their music is so much more than the simple story.

Here’s a brief excerpt from their Bio on their website:
“Late Sea is a NY based avant-rock trio led by composer and multi-instrumentalist Izzy Gliksberg and joined by internationally acclaimed trumpet player Sam Nester and the young up-and-coming jazz drummer Joe Peri.

After working with major orchestras around the world, composing and arranging for numerous international ensembles and films, Izzy brought Sam and Joe together to create Late Sea--a trio which is both musically and geographically diverse. The Jerusalem-born Izzy is classically trained and takes his inspiration from experimental electro acoustic acts such as Bjork, Radiohead, Sigur Ros and James Blake. Sam, hailing from Australia, is an established classical trumpet player who manipulates and expands his trumpet sounds with his laptop. On the other hand, New Jersey's Joe Peri is one of the busiest and most talented jazz drummers in the NYC scene.”

In speaking with Izzy I asked him what how the band found their specific sound and his immediate response was that as they play togethe they are always “looking for colors to explore” and that once they find the one they want to play in it is like “treasure island”.

I expressed to Izzy that, to me, the music felt Haunting, Dark, and Moody, and I asked him if this something that the band wanted or was it something they found; more so, was this something the band celebrated? His response was very thorough: “I would not say the music is sad, but contemplative.” Something I thought was a great distinction. He went on to say that it was about finding deep emotions and desires, he then clarified with “concentrated emotions”. That sounded right to me because anything that is concentrated is also saturated, and a saturated color is definitely concentrated emotion.

When I pressed him to tell me the color palette that he was painting in his response was: “Well, blue definitely that’s a no brainer” with a laugh and then adding “and Silver with flashes of Red.” That, is the best example of what this music that I can give.

Their most recent project “The Writers Trilogy” is a visual album that is both conceptual in inspiring. The work reflects on the place of God in a godless world and the emptiness of the millennial freedom through variations on themes from the legacy and literary work of predominant 20th century writers, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Franz Kafka and Paul Celan.

Discussing their EP I asked Izzy who he thought his Niche Market was and he told met that it wasn’t so much a niche, but that it was music for the invested listener where music is an art not just a pastime. He went on to say that it was for the person who continues to expand their musical taste and not one who falls into musical habits. Therefore he hoped that his music would reach a wide age range and find itself with listeners of all types.

“The Great White” is their newest “single” from said album. It isn’t so much a catchy hit single as it is the kind of song you’d expect to hear while walking the silent streets of New York at 4 am, or walking along the beach at sunrise in California. It’s a call that mourns the death of Paul Celan and his writing. In their own words the song is about “letting go of troubled experiences and how that can be harder than carrying them on, but eventually we have to release ourselves from them.”

I love the idea of the song, and the song’s concept. The musicality of it stellar, though I sometimes find it a bit interstitial the the music is always beautiful. The idea of ambient music though isn’t to find and build an arc, but create an atmosphere and live in that space for the course of the song; and “The Great White” definitely does that.

What really wins for me though, are their dark and beautiful covers on this Album. They cover both REM’s “Losing My Religion” and Simon & Garfunkel’s “Sound of Silence”, and let me tell you my friend’s they are both haunting and romantic. You hear the plaintive trumpet, like a bugle calling you to arms. I cannot tell you how much I’m looking forward to putting these tracks on during the chill times and slowdown hours of this All-Hallows-Eve! They reinterpret these songs with a dark twist (or dark-er twist) and turn them into the kind of Lana Del Rey beautiful nightmare that you never want to wake up from. At once both gorgeous and grizzly they turn your heart to the dark arts and you never look back.

I asked Izzy what drew the band to these specific covers and he told me that obviously both were hits but more than that they both had really been arranged specifically, and that when your broke them down and put them back together again, there were a lot of colors to play in. Clearly, this is a man who hears the emotion and artistry in songwriting.

I invite you now to step into the blue, silver and red with me...

So, today with lavender memories flowing through my mind, I choose Late Sea’s “The Writers Trilogy” as my, let your darkness be as cherished as your light, look all the way down through the inside, find every color you are to play in, songs for a, I will be your silver spring, a haunting refrain you can’t seem to forget, the dream you can’t remember but a feeling that won’t go away Friday. - Song and Soul

An Interview With The New York-Based Group, LATE SEA On Their Latest Single ‘Hunter’ and More!
Leah Brungardt
New York’s Late Sea have been hard at work carefully crafting their dark brand of electronic sorcery. Their new video “Hunter” comes as the latest fantastical and spell-binding addition. Lead vocalist Izzy Gliksberg lays his distinct speak-sing vocals over lush, atmospheric soundscapes that both captivate and confound the listener. It’s a tricky thing to balance, but the band pulls off this juggling act effortlessly, with “Hunter” a prime example of their ability to create music that is simultaneously experimental and accessible.

Recently “Hunter” was released as the third and final video off the band’s recently released EP The Writer’s Trilogy. As they did with their previous two singles “Ring The Bells” and “The Great White” Late Sea have created a stunning visual to accompany the song.

The video for “Hunter” is centered around the mesmerizing movement of Butoh dancer Mina Nishimura who choreographed her routine specifically for the song. Well-known in the NYC arts community, Nishimura has collaborated with artists including Celia Rowlson-Hall, Vicky Shick, and Ursula Eagly, as well as gaining popularity for her evocative performance on Saturday Night Live with Sia in 2015. In “Hunter”, Nishimura appears with striking silver hair, white make-up, and a flowing dress – an otherworldly mystique that she masterfully portrays. Set on a desolate beach, beneath a clouded sky, Nishimura dances within the confines of a glass cube that seeks to restrict and imprison her. Trapped inside, her character writhes and contorts in accordance with the pulse of the dark soundscape painted by Gliksberg and his bandmates in Late Sea. Reverb-drenched trumpet stabs, played by Sam Nester, echo over off-kilter rhythms and arpeggiated synth lines that float alongside the cry of a ghostly theremin. The tone of the composition, paired with Nishimura’s movement, works to great effect and makes for a video that is both visually engaging and thought provoking.

Nishimura shared her thoughts on the experience, “Dancing to Late Sea’s “Hunter” on a desolate beach was a profound and unforgettable experience, which resonated in my body for a long time. Gliksberg’s music spoke to my soul and to the deepest part of my body, and transported my mind to another world. Although the film was shot on a extremely cold day, my body was boiling from inside! I very much enjoyed and appreciated the opportunity to be taken to such a deep internal journey by the mysteries and poesies of “Hunter.”

Inspired by Franz Kafka’s story The Hunter Gracchus the messages behind “Hunter” aren’t particularly easy to decipher, which just follows in true Kafka fashion, leaving interpretation open to the viewer. Gliksberg explains, “Kafka manages to make an improbable connection between the mystery of ‘being’ to the strangeness of modern day bureaucracy. Gracchus the hunter is both a mythical figure and a petty one. The story is impossibly bizarre, even by Kafka’s standards.”

Late Sea’s The Writers Trilogy EP is available now to stream and purchase on iTunes, Spotify and all major digital retailers.

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Learn more about Late Sea in the following All Access interview:

Thanks for your time! Where does this interview find you today? What is one song that you are loving right now? What is a song that you all disagree about loving right now?

I’m listening to lots of Beethoven lately, and I love The National’s new album Sleep Well Beast. No particular song though.

How has 2018 been treating you all so far? What is one musical goal that you have for this year?

Currently I’m working on new material and in two months we’ll start rehearsing and building the arrangements. In the past, I used to come to the band members with fully fleshed ideas I mocked up at home but this time I’m aiming for a more collaborative approach in building the songs. We’re also trying to break our way into the music festival circuit so that we can be exposed to more fans.

Can you recall the moment when you all thought you could be in a band together? Was it hard to come up with a name that you all thought fit your sound and who you are? How did you pick this one?

I usually work on the music solo and in later stages of production the full crew steps into the picture.

The people who are now actively performing with me in Late Sea come from extremely diverse backgrounds- Sam Nester (trumpet player) and myself come from a more or less classical background, Graham Doby (Drummer) comes jazz-fusion-punk world and Kalen Lister (keyboards and backing vocals) comes from the pop-rock realms. I know Sam from Manhattan School of Music but I met Kalen and Graham quite randomly.

The name was a huge hassle! I had lists and lists of possible names that I sent to everyone – band members, family and friends – and that somehow stuck.

What has the growth been like for this band since first forming?

Late Sea has gone through many changes. Sam Nester is the only person that I’ve been working with since the beginning of my indie rock endeavors. I guess we’re still learning about this indie rock business. Especially from the business side of things.

Let’s talk about your newly released EP The Writers Trilogy. What was it like putting this collection together? Were there any unexpected challenges or surprises?

The main surprise was how long it takes to make the videos. I started conceptualizing the project some two years ago and materializing the videos took us a very long time. So the feeling of having everything out in the world is quite satisfying.

The positive side of it is that our idea of a show with the film projection really worked- we performed the full version of the EP with the visuals at National Sawdust and Rough Trade and the experience was magnificent.



What was it like making the video for “Hunter”? How creatively involved were you in the making of it? Why did you choose to have the evocative dancer Mina Nishimura in the video and how did you come to work with her?

It was clear from the get go that “Hunter” was going to be a dance video. Andrey and Hazuki, the directors, introduced me to Mina and we all got together to see her dance out her ideas for the video. Although I’m not very familiar with modern dance or Butho dance for that matter, it was obvious from her first move that something about her energy was perfect for the song.

The video was shot in a freezing cold day out in Fort Tilden, NY. It worked well for us because no one was out there other than the crew, but it also made Mina’s job much harder- sitting on the wet sand in such a cold weather was not very luxurious. But it all turned out for the best and now we’re even bigger fans of her!

Generally, how do you guys go about putting a song together? Do you work separately or together?

I generally write the songs many months before I start producing them. In this EP, after the songwriting was done I mocked up up arrangements in my studio and started bringing people in to record over the sketches I’ve made. When the sketches were ready I went to Yoav Shemesh, who produced the EP, and we polished the arrangements and re-recorded everything. It was a lengthy process.

How important do you think social media has been to this band? Do all you help to maintain all your sites or is one of you more into it all? Or do you rely on your PR/management team to handle it all?

I do the social media, but I think I’m really bad at it! Perhaps I’m not comfortable with putting myself out there when it’s not through words and music that I meticulously planned.

Who would you love to work with in the future? Who are some of your favorite artists right now? What do you think would be a dream collaboration for this group?

I really dig a lot of veteran artists – Bjork, Nick Cave and Radiohead are what immediately comes to mind. I’m really into James Blake who is an incredibly sensitive musician. Kendric Lamar really blows my mind. To me, he is one of the only true representative of a counter-culture act that made it to the mainstream. He cares about his people and about political issues and that seems to be the main drive behind his work.

I love the british band London Grammar, and our fellow Brooklinite Nicolas Jaar.

As for collaboration fantasies: I will be forever happy if Bjork would agree to sing a duet with me on our next album. I actually wrote a song with her in mind.

We are living in a trying time right now so I am curious how you think being in this band gives you the most joy in life today? Do you think that music being created today is going to reflect this challenging time?

I think that social media and digital super-connectivity is flattening out our language and equalizing our individual worlds. It seems like everything exists on a ‘general’ level, as though everybody is the same. This can be a positive thing on the political level, but it’s a disaster on the emotional and artistic level.

I hope that artists in general and musicians in particular do their best to create extremely personal work. It might not be rewarding on a material level, but it’s the only thing that can open up new horizons for potential listeners, and isn’t that the real work of an artist?

Having said that, America is huge, and if you dig down just a little you always find amazing things that are going on under the radar.

What do you hope is the message of your music? What do you hope people continue to take away from your songs? What do you hope they take away from one of your shows?

I hope that our music puts people into a mental ecstatic trance, and opens up a world where they would be interested in hanging out and coming back.

I’m not sure if were quite there but my goal in shows is always to create some type of a ceremony. A ceremony in which the audience lets us lead them into the backyard of their conciseness where everything is more interesting and real.

Is there anything else that you would like to share with our readers about yourselves or your music?

1. Everyone in the band has great hair except me.
2. We’ve just entered the streaming world so check us out on Spotify! - All Access Music