I caught up with the Toronto Native and indie/electronic musician Alt Altman a.k.a. Digits to discuss his critically acclaimed album “Hold It Close”, his origins as a musician and his plans for the new year. The eclectic musician has been compared to singer Erlend Oye from the Kings of Convenience as well as fellow Canadian electronic musicians Junior Boys.
When did you first realize that you wanted to be a musician?
I guess I’ve always wanted to be a musician, ever since I started playing guitar and piano as a kid. I just never thought it was a real possibility until I had joined some bands and gained some experience recording and playing shows.
Digit's Album "Hold it Close"
Digit's Album "Hold it Close"
You’ve played with the bands “The Ghost is Dancing” and “Europe in Colour” before forming Digits how did those bands form and how did you become involved with them?
I bought a used trumpet on Ebay back in 2005, hoping to somehow weasel my way into an indie rock band, and that’s what ended up happening, bizarrely almost right away. The Ghost Is Dancing were friends with my girlfriend. I was DJing in a bar for the first time, when Eric and Odie said that their trumpet player had left the band and that they’d heard I played. I was terrified but accepted.
Europe in Colour formed when my roommate Ghalib and I found a giant organ by the side of the road and decided to take it back to our place. Our friend Rebecca was a residence don, so we went to her place to get a dolly. She helped us cart the organ to our place and we talked about starting a band together, though it took us a year to actually get it started.
What made you settle on the name “Digits”?
I like the way it could refer to fingers as well as numbers. But it also reflects how important recent technological developments are for me to be making music. I would never be making music if it wasn’t for cheap digital recording technology. And without the internet, I would never have found out about the groups that influence me, I would never have been able to gain the knowledge I needed to produce recordings, and most importantly I wouldn’t have been able to find an audience. So I like Digits, I like how it glorifies the importance of the digital to me as an indie musician.
Your album “Hold it Close” is an ecclectic mix of beats, melodies and moods. Musically, what elements come first? Do you write the words first and the music comes later or vice versa?
The words never come first. Any time I try, the music ends up bad, I can’t make good music to fit pre-existing lyrics. I usually begin with a synth part, but sometimes I start with the drums and bass. I only start thinking about melodies and words once I’ve got at least one instrumental section of a song.
Did you draw influences from any artists in particular while you were writing “Hold it Close”?
Junior Boys, Erlend Oye and LCD Soundsystem were my biggest influences for this record, although I definitely was drawing ideas from New Order The Knife, Chromatics, and Daft Punk as well.
What were the primary instruments/software that you used when you were recording “Hold it Close”?
I used Ableton Live to record the album. In addition to samples from lots of vintage drum machines, I used synthesizers, bass guitar, trumpet, and guitar. My friend Dave Kates added some guitars and trombones, and Rebecca Applebaum played some synths and sang some harmonies. The whole album was recorded in my bedroom, except the guitars which were recorded in a rehearsal space.
The songs on “Hold it Close”, especially “You’re Going to Age” seem to address the inescapable elements of life but with catchy melodies and beats. Why do you think it’s so compelling to combine upbeat music with such heavy themes?
I’ve always been a huge fan of how Of Montreal can combine very intense, deeply personal and often gloomy lyrics with catchy indie pop, and later electronic pop. I feel like this juxtaposition is just an interesting way to convey these themes – there’s no reason why songs about inevitable, unchangeable things like mortality, can’t also be danced to. It seemed a natural direction for me once I started songwriting. I’ve always wanted to see a room of people dancing to a song about how they’re going to all age. LCD Soundsystem’s “Someone Great” and “All My Friends” are great examples of dance songs that do it best.
If you could perform or collaborate with any artist living or dead who would it be?
I had a dream once that I was a member of Of Montreal. I was playing guitar, but the strings were huge, like thick pieces of rope. Needless to say I didn’t do such a good job. I think Belle & Sebastian would be a close second.
What’s the last track or album that you couldn’t get enough of?
The Little Dragon album from last year, Machine Dreams, was pretty amazing. They have a very fresh sound, combining a lot of influences in a really interesting way. “Feather,” the best single off that record, has been in perpetual rotation since I first heard it.
Did you make any new year’s resolutions?
To always back up my data. Hard drive failures suck and they happen to everyone eventually, so always be prepared. That’s my public service announcement for the day.
Digits is generously offering his album to readers everywhere for 10 days. All you need to do is send an e-mail to holditclose@digitsmusic.com with “AZLTRON” as the subject header and a link to your free download will be sent to you automatically! What a deal!
