Do you think there’s a distinction to how California approaches music? How would you define the west-coast sound?
Brady: I honestly don't think so. Honestly, I think pretty much, it seems like all eyes are on LA right now. I think a lot of the world is influenced by the culture that's happening in Los Angeles right now.
Cameron: Yeah. I would say there's a whole spectrum of what music sounds like in LA because there literally is a scene for everything and there's a crowd for everything.
Brady: I agree with that.
Cameron: I mean, there's hard dark music because it's so bright here, but then you have all this folky stuff too. There’s just as many people into that stuff.
Melissa: Yeah, definitely. And it's also like, when I think about how I would define the West Coast sound, it's like in what era of time are we talking? Because I think obviously, the '60s, the dream in that moment and what a lot of bands, whether they were on the West Coast or not, were making sounds that were influenced by California at the time. But if we're talking about right now, the reason that I think there's a lot of dark synth-based music in LA right now or why there's always a scene for it is because through the years historically, darker music and what's "under the goth umbrella" has always been in sunnier places. And when I say that, I mean probably from the '90s on. I say that as someone who lived in Miami and I started going to goth clubs really young. There's a big goth scene in Miami. There seems to always be in LA, Mexico, different places in Latin America, but I don't think there's an approach to it. I don't think there's a distinction of how California approaches music. I just think for some reason, maybe because it's sunny, we romanticize this other vibe. I don't really know.
Cameron: Yep, I agree.
There seems to be a dark undertone to your vision of LA throughout Sextile’s imagery and music videos. Why do you think that’s a theme you keep returning to?
Cameron: Goddamn, because life is dark. What the fuck?
Brady: There's your answer.
Melissa: Yeah, that's true.
Cameron: Some darker than others.
Melissa: Yeah.
Brady: Yeah.
Melissa: So LA is dark. I mean, it's like the sun is out here, but damn, the homelessness is wild. It feels pretty lawless in LA at times. It's definitely a more dangerous place than New York currently is or other various dangerous places that I lived throughout my life. Sometimes people love to tell me Miami's dangerous, but even the last time we were there, I was like, "It's got nothing on LA." LA's huge, spread out, and has tons of people, class issues, and stories old as time.
Brady: Yeah, I'm not sure if the darkness necessarily for me has to do with LA as much as it just, I think it was coming out of insecurities and a lot of traumas.
Cameron: I think we all had traumas prior to LA in a way.
Brady: Yeah, for sure.
Cameron: But LA is a lighter spot. So the darkness is just a byproduct of maybe a past time.
Brady: Yeah, possibly.
Cameron: Yeah, that's true.
Brady: Possibly. And yeah, I don't know. I mean, honestly, if you listen to the records, there's a progression of less dark. It's pretty funny. But yeah, I don't know. It just is a natural thing. I don't know. I also think a lot of pop stuff can be cheesy at times. And I don't like to make cheesy dance music.
