With roots back to Midland, Michigan, where drummer Ed Leto and guitarist Andrew Stefano grew up, Mountains for Clouds came together after the two made their way to Chicago and played their previous stint with bassist Dusten McAdams in the band CoachHouse. Though their first endeavor split, the three knew that they wanted to continue making music together, something that has come easily for the trio due to their close friendship. “We know each other well both musically and personally so it makes everything from recording, practicing, and playing shows easy, and just works out really well.”
The band is in the midst of putting together their EP Some People Buy Scenery Like This, which was born as a side project from a past endeavor by the guys. Initially in the studio to record a full-length, the first project ended before it’s time and the trio was pushed to move in a new direction. With previous connections to Jamie Carter at CartoCo studios, Mountains for Clouds went into the studio open ended, with the intention of seeing where the music took them. Drummer Ed Leto says the songs for this EP “came out of us wanting a different sound, and I think that the songs for this EP show that- it’s got a bit more pep than we’ve ever really written and I think our musical and personal moods are reflected in that. It’s something completely different for all of us.”
Through the use of layered live loops and multiple instruments such as piano, organ, and cello, the Mountains For Clouds recordings offer a wider ranger of timbre and feel than the traditional three piece band, despite having simple guitar, bass, and drum at their core. Expected out by early to mid-March, the EP plans to be accompanied by videos from a few of it’s tracks being posted on the Betta Promotions youtube page, as well as some videos of live performances from the bands practice space. A summer tour will definitely be in the mix, and the ambitious musicians have even said they hope to have another EP in the next year.
Mountains for Clouds will be appearing at The Beat Kitchen this Saturday, January 16th as Betta Promotions presents the band alongside Joie De Vivre, Empire Empire, and The Field Auxiliary. Doors 8:30, Show 9pm 17+ $8 Advanced $10 at the door
Visit Mountains for Clouds online:
Andrew, Ed, and Dusten of Mountains for Clouds took some time out from working on their EP Some People Buy Scenery Like This, to talk to Reviewsic about past projects, their writing process, and great moments in music.
Telegram Sam: Any music resolutions for the New Year?
Andrew: Mainly my New Years resolution is to get our EP done. It’s been really tough with the holidays and just in general finding the time and money to finish it. But we are so close I just want to see it done. Along with that to just play as many shows as possible and just keep building up a fan base.
Ed: My music resolution is to try and expand my musical interests and branch out into as much new music as possible. Other than that, with Mountains, I’d like to play as many shows as we can, finish the EP and have the opportunity to go on tour this summer.
Dusten: My resolution is to learn to play new instruments starting with the keyboard and buying a nice van to tour in.
T.S: If you could book your “dream show” to see and/or play, who would be on the bill?
Andrew: Now this is a hard one. Probably it would be way too many bands to handle, but lets say a day long. And if we got to play my life would be set. But giving all it would probably be Radiohead, Sigur Ros, Mum, Mogwai, and El Ten Eleven. Granted thats probably a show I would love to see, but it wouldn’t hurt to be able to play.
Dusten: Some time in the summer, at Schuba’s, opening a show for Maps & Atlases, Russian Circles and El Ten Eleven would be a dream show.
Ed: This is always a difficult one to answer but I’d have to say Subtle, El Ten Eleven, Why and Fleet Foxes. I don’t know if these bands will ever be in the same room together but if they are I hope to be part of that show.
T.S: Tell us a little about your writing process
Dusten: Our writing process is really fun. We record on a home set up and play with an idea for a few hours until we have something we think has potential. Our songs start as an idea someone has. Naming our songs is fun as well. Some names are movie or book references while others are things like inside jokes or completely random things we think are funny.
T.S: What are your top 3 musical influences as a band and individually?
Andrew: As a band I think we would have to say El Ten Eleven in mainly our loop based aspect of our sound. On top of that I would say Mogwai because we really like to have a dynamic level to our music and base a lot of our music on build ups. Thirdly I would say Minus the Bear as far as a stylistic influence. As far as personally I would have to say Radiohead opened me up to music early on in High School and it would probably be impossible for me to get their influence out of me. I would also say Sigur Ros because of the way of arranging different sounds to blend so well. Lastly I would have to so Andy McKee as far as how I play. He opened me up to a whole new way of approaching the guitar.
Dusten: As a band: Mogwai, Maps & Atlases, Minus the Bear. My main influences are Thrice, The Fall of Troy and Brand New.
Ed: Personally, I gain a lot of influence from El Ten Eleven as well as various indie rock bands. For the past few years I’ve been really into underground hip hop, so live hip hop drummers like Quest Love and producers like Jel are some of my influences. I try to take influence from all different types of music, everything from Latin jazz to bands like Passion Pit, Wilco, Sigur Ros, Mogwai and even people like Carter Beauford (DMB) and other funk/fusion drummers. As a band, I’d say one of our biggest influences has been El Ten Eleven as well as Mogwai, Sigur Ros, The Notwist and MUM.
T.S: Most memorable show you have played to date?
Ed: My most memorable and favorite show to date was back in April with our old band CoachHouse. We had the opportunity to open up for one of my biggest influences and one of my favorite bands Themselves on their comeback tour after 6 years of not playing shows together. It was at The Empty Bottle and being able to open up for both an influence as well as being a fan was an amazing experience. Themselves were incredibly nice and we had one of the best turnouts CoachHouse ever had.
T.S: What other projects have you each been a part of?
Dusten: I played bass in One More Tomorrow, a Hardcore/Metal band. I also write and record my own songs for fun.
Andrew Well in Chicago we were all apart of CoachHouse, which was a live Hip Hop infused band that really experimented with sound. Back in Michigan I was in a Band called Colieda for about four years. Which was a mainly instrumental band that used a Viola as its melody instrument. But I moved down to Chicago and the Viola player moved to Boston. Then the bass player joined the Peace Corps and moved to the Middle East so that made it really hard to play. And in that time I started playing here and it just stuck.
Ed: CoachHouse was the project that I’ve spent the most time with as a band member. We were a live hip-hop experimental band that started when my older project from Michigan disbanded. Prior to that, another Michigan band was Exceptional Wonderstuff. This was more of a jam band with a hip-hop influence that was together for a few years. After I moved to Chicago and our guitarist moved away for school we ended up disbanding.
