UTG INTERVIEW: The Cinema

Leighton Antelman is hastily becoming a household name in the indie music scene between his distinguishable voice, success with band Lydia, and now his new project with friend and producer Matt Malpass. The two came together with a common goal and have created a new project called The Cinema. They just released their much-anticipated debut album My Blood is Full of Airplanes this week and it’s already being raved about online and elsewhere. We had the opportunity to talk with Antelman and Malpass about The Cinema and their debut album and it went like this:

Brian: When did you decide to begin this project and what inspired you to do it?

Leighton – We decided to pursue The Cinema as a project while I was in the studio tracking the record Lydia put out last called “Assailants”. Matt had about two songs that he had been messing around with for a while, and one drunken night decided to pull up a few for fun when we were done tracking. Nothing creative really happened after that actually, but right before I was about to head back to the west coast after finishing the Lydia record, another drunken night occurred. Matt played another track but this time without any vocals on it. I proceeded to slur some 3 am vocal melodies out and there it was – The Cinema was born.

Brian: Have you always been interested in a more electronic-based style or was it something you just decided to try?

Leighton – I know Matt’s always kind of been into a more electronic feel. For me, I had never written or released anything that was very electronic at all. I think that is what made this project interesting to me and an exciting new thing to be a part of.

Brian: How did you settle on the name The Cinema?

Leighton – Ha, well we actually kicked around a bunch of different names for some time. I think at one point we even gave up on trying to think of name for the project. We realized finally you can’t force it and it would just come. After that, the name just kind of popped up.

Brian: What’s the meaning behind My Blood is Full of Airplanes?

Matt – This was really the first song written that sparked The Cinema project, and it’s actually the only one that was written mostly by me. I think it’s really just about trying to get away from where you are, reaching for better and not looking back. Leighton modified some of the lyrics and it turned into a Cinema song–I think it kind of represents both of our mindframes about the project, so we decided it would make a good name for the record.

Brian: What track are you the most proud of on the album?

Leighton – Not to sound cliche or anything but a lot of musician’ are going to say the same thing to this. You spend so much time on every track that it’s kind of like picking your favorite child. However, I’m pretty proud of “Say It Like You Mean It” and “Satellites.” They were both Frankenstein type songs compiled from about 3 or 4 different parts put together. But I think they actually turned out pretty well.

Brian: What will be your primary focus between The Cinema and Lydia for now?

Leighton – Well I kind of pride myself on working really hard and staying busy. If I’m being honest though putting out two records around the same time and everything that goes with that is pretty exhausting. I try my best to keep my focus pretty equal on the two projects though.

Brian: Do you guys plan to tour in the near future?

Leighton – There isn’t any touring plans at the moment. But there is some talk of touring in the spring of ’12.

Brian: Do you have your heart set on any tour-mates?

Leighton – I would be lying if I said I did right now. There are a lot of good bands out there though I’d love to share the stage with.

Brian: What are some of your most important influences when it comes to writing?

Leighton- I think my most important influence while writing is time. I think this applies to any form of art whether it’s writing, painting, taking pictures, or whatever. Time influences me more than any one thing by far. I finally figured out when I let things, more or less, run their course everything kind of falls into place. For me at least.

Brian: As far as writing, did you do anything differently than you would with the writing process for Lydia?

Leighton – Absolutely, I kind of have a pet peeve. When a singer or artist starts a side project and they make the same type of music as their original band. I just always think “why did you make a side project then?” I really tried to approach The Cinema songs much differently than how I would approach my own songs. Matt was actually a big help in this process. It was kind of like learning a new way to walk home, and sometime you start to lean back towards the road you already know so well. He was good about catching me when I started to lean. After making music for so long you kind of have a “way” of doing things. I actually really enjoyed having to look at things completely different from what my comfort zone was though.

Brian: How long do you plan to work with this project?

Leighton – Neither one of us have even come close to setting some kind of time period for the project. So if I’m being honest, I think we just wanted to see how our little ideas and songs would be taken in by the big bad world out there. I think it’s fair to say with the amazing response and support we’ve got there will be much more music from The Cinema.

Written & Conducted By: Brian Leak

James Shotwell
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