Spotlight // Body Parts
It’s been a whirlwind year for the Echo Park-based band Body Parts, who have been turning heads with their danceable, cerebral and funky synth-pop tunes.
The band—made up of Ryder Bach, Alina Cutrono, Raymond Proudfoot, and Taylor Dexter—performed at South by Southwest, the CMJ Music Marathon and released its debut album “Fire Dream,” which was inspired by a nightmare.
We caught up with Bach and Cutrono to talk about “Fire Dream” and their month-long residency at The Satellite in November.
What inspired the material on “Fire Dream?”
Ryder: Well the original impetus came from a dream I had where a friend of mine murdered my parents. And then when I woke up I felt very differently about this friend. I thought it was really strange that this invented reality could affect my actual reality. So then I just came up with this term “fire dream” and the songs just started rolling out.
How long did it take you to record the album?
Ryder: Well writing it took a little over a year but the actual recording took about five months from beginning to end. We recorded it all ourselves in LA at various apartments, studios and improvised studios. Ray, the bass player, engineered the record and we definitely called in a lot of favors but it turned out great and we’re really happy with it.
Do you have a favorite track off the new album, or just a song you really enjoy performing?
Alina: I love “The Past is Coming.” The way that the song develops from beginning to end makes it really fun to perform live too.
Ryder: My favorite track on the album is “Helpless Child.” For me that song really gets to the heart of what the album is about, this feeling of being completely helpless to certain forces inside of ourselves that we will never understand.
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How did you meet and decide to start the band?
Alina: We both played in bands in the LA scene. Ryder came up with the band concept and knew that he wanted some female vocals, so he asked me to join. We definitely have a similar musical aesthetic and commitment to excellence.
You and Alina have such interesting backgrounds (acting, dancing, circus sideshow performing). Do you find that your backgrounds seep into your music?
Alina: Definitely. I grew up as a dancer, but always kept my dance life and my musical life separate. I’ve always wanted to bring them together, but never had the right vehicle for that until I joined Body Parts. Choreographing for music videos and the live show has been really fun and fulfilling. I think that Ryder’s musical theatre background definitely informs his singing style and vocal arrangements as well.
Ryder: We try to let our influences seep into our music as much as possible. Working in a “creative” field is always more curatorial endeavor than purely creative. What I mean is that sometimes the challenge is knowing what to leave out rather than what to put in. But it’s always exciting trying to put together things that maybe don’t always go together.
Who do you consider a musical influence?
Alina: Kate Bush is a really big one for me. Her performance style and fearlessness is something that I always try to emulate.
Ryder: I’m really into Peter Gabriel, Laurie Anderson, Prince, Kate Bush, I really love The Knife so much. Their new album is my favorite I’ve heard all year.
What inspires you?
Alina: Great books, delicious foods, the strangeness of human beings. And drag queens.
Ryder: The initial spark can come from anywhere. But once the work gets going the hope is that the song will just start inspiring itself. I try to develop every idea to the point where it’s a pure distillation of itself, so that all of the practical decisions in making it come from within and not from some unrelated exterior influence. I think music is a lot like cooking, every meal has to have a different strategy depending on the ingredients that you’re working with. And sometimes the ingredients don’t materialize in any real way until very late in the process, so it’s a matter of being focused yet also flexible from beginning to end I think.
What music are you currently listening to?
Alina: I am currently obsessed with this Swedish singer/electronic artist, Susanne Sundfør. We had the great honor of opening for her at the Bootleg recently and she totally blew me away. She’s got an incredible, otherworldly voice and overall sound. I’ve also been listening to the Tirzah EP produced by Micachu, I’m Not Dancing. There are some really great sounds on there.
Ryder: Drake’s new album is so good, the production is brilliant and nuanced. I’ve been picking up a lot of amazing and really cheap George Benson vinyl. I’m also into this band from Portland called Shy Girls.
What was it like playing CMJ Music Marathon?
Alina: It was pretty insane. Just as we had anticipated, gigging in New York can be seriously hectic. But I think that people appreciated what we’re doing. It was exciting to finally play for some East Coast audiences.
Ryder: CMJ is a weird festival. I mean, I’m glad we went and did it, but honestly it was a difficult week, I guess playing six shows anywhere would be hard, but New York is particularly a hard city to play in if you’re below a certain threshold of success. It can be good but mostly it’s just physically and emotionally exhausting. It was a blast though, just also very exhausting.
What can we expect from your residency at Satellite?
Ryder: Definitely really good lineups for every night. We spent a long time choosing the bands and all of them are great. Hopefully we’ll be playing a couple covers, new tunes and having a bunch of guest musicians sit in on our sets—some new visuals and choreography as well. It’s all coming together so quickly and spontaneously. I’m not really sure what’s going to happen honestly. I’m expecting a lot of last minute surprises.
Body Parts will be performing at The Satellite every Monday this month. Check the lineup here.
Photographs by Carlos Quinteros Jr.
Words by Stephanie Corral
