Nerd Goes Pop With Chemistry Club
Denver electropoppers bring science to the masses
Courtesy of Chemistry Club
If you’re a band in Denver there’s a good chance that you are either making some sort of folk music or a garage rock groupie. Then, there’s science, chemistry to be specific. Denver synth-poppers, Chemistry Club, take a different turn from the well trodden path. Their music sings with 8-bit arcade music and the prevalent voices and instrumentation of Jeff Wiencrot, Jake Euler, Dylan Camacho who comes from a metal background, and Micah Daby who first started with a hip hop act. With a comic book vibe and an undeniable geekiness to the band, their sound is well established in the Denver music scene.
Recently, the Club played a gig at the 2015 Denver Comic Con alongside the second installment of their Copia comic book series, drawn by artist Patch Silver. While they are secretive to actually telling us what the books are about, it is a story that spans multiple books, aided by their songs. It is a sci-fi tale that was meant to span multiple albums. “Copia is, at its core, a sci-fi story about love, oppression, expansion into the cosmos, resource limitations, and the fragility of mankind.” the band said. They’ve also created their own video game called Navigator for mobile devices.
When it comes to creating music the sounds and lyrics mesh together in harmony, a mesh of art and science. Chemistry Club has brought people from different backgrounds to create an electropop that is influenced by the masses of pop culture, from Taylor Swift to The 1975 to the sci-fi worlds of Journey and Ex Machina. Their music is crafted to be the soundtrack to a dance party or a gathering of magic, they reflect their personalities in every synth beat and word. They strive to create music that makes the lister stop and reflect on the sounds. “Pop music has things to say about a lot of parts of life, but science isn’t usually one of them,” they said. “We want to inject a little bit of science and a little bit of geekiness into pop music.”
The band will be playing a lot over the summer from their own gigs to the Higher Ground Music Festival. Through a lot of hard work they hope to venture further into other animations, short stories, games, and of course, music. They are storytellers, musicians and lovers of science, bringing facets of what they are to wider audiences. “As a band, it takes a lot of late nights and long weekends to make this project a reality. But at the end of the day, it’s worth it when we see people have a good time at shows.”
You can find them at their website, Facebook, Twitter and listen to their music on Soundcloud.
Read the full interview below.
Howler: Why the name Chemistry Club?
Chemistry Club: We love science!
H: Who are your influences to your style of music?
CC: We all have lots of different influences. Dylan, for example, comes from a metal background, and Micah’s first music project was a hip hop act. At this point in our lives though, we all really appreciate good pop music — Chromeo, Kimbra, The 1975, Bruno Mars, Michael Jackson, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Walk the Moon, etc. We also love video game and movie soundtracks like Journey, Drive, and Ex Machina.
H: How would you describe your music?
CC: Electropop. It’s synthy and dancy. As far as the lyrics go, they reflect our personalities. We love science fiction, science, good stories, games, and movies. It isn’t always explicit, but I think their effect and influence can be felt. Sometimes people call our music nerdpop, which is probably true. We just want to make the best music we can and be honest while doing it. The mission objective has always been to make smart, fun, pop music, and I hope we are accomplishing that.
H: As a band, there is a prevalent comic book vibe to your work. There has been the launch of your own video game as well. What made you want to expand past the music?
CC: We all have a lot of passions and, in general, love good art. Music may be our biggest focus but it’s still only one facet of what we love. We spend a lot of time working on music and playing shows, but at the core we are storytellers. The video game brought Navigator to life, and the comics expand the Copia universe. Also, the comic books gave us a way to work with one of our favorite people: the fantastic artist, Patch Silver.
In the future we’d like to work on animations, more games, short stories, and music videos. I can’t put a guarantee or precise date on any of these things, but they have all been a part of our discussions.
H: The album Electric Hush was the introduction was the start of the “Copia” series. What is this series and what is the story that it is trying to tell?
CC: Copia is, at its core, a sci-fi story about love, oppression, expansion into the cosmos, resource limitations, and the fragility of mankind. It’s our first experiment in telling longer stories that span multiple songs, and in this case, multiple albums. We all love a good challenge, and the thought of telling a sci-fi story in pop songs was something we couldn’t resist.
As far as what we are trying to tell with Copia… we are only one album in (out of four), so I wouldn’t want to spoil too much of the story. The comics explain a lot, so if you love the music and want to know more, the comics are the best bet to get your fix. 😉
H: What was the road that you all had to take as a band and as people to get to where you are now? The struggles and the success?
CC: We all have years of experience working on music projects — almost forty years if you combine all of us! As a band, it takes a lot of late nights and long weekends to make this project a reality. But at the end of the day, it’s worth it when we see people have a good time at shows.
H: What is the biggest takeaway that you want the audience to have from the stories that you tell?
CC: Well, we definitely want people to have a good time. But as far as philosophy goes, we all value critical thinking and science. Pop music has things to say about a lot of parts of life, but science isn’t usually one of them. We want to inject a little bit of science and a little bit of geekiness into pop music. Honestly, if we get one person thinking more critically about their place in the universe, their responsibility to each other and the planet, and the cosmos as a whole, then we have succeeded.