Letters Have No Arms !: A Chat with School of Seven Bells

Download: For Kalaja Mari (Drum Outtake Mix)

Letters Have No Arms: First of all, tell us about your band name. Why “School of Seven Bells”?

Alejandra Deheza: I heard the name on a doc I was watching about these movie heist like shoplifting rings that plagued the east coast in the 90's. These invisible thieves allegedly were trained at the school of seven bells in the 80's in South America. Now, this was a pickpocketing academy that trained expert prodigious thieves that would then be released into the world to impoverish it one pocket at a time. True or not, it's a great story, and therefore a great name for a band. Simple as that.

LHNA: How would you describe your sound to someone who’s never listened to your music before?

A: Easy to visualize, but hard to explain in words. A good dose of psychedelics might take care of that.

LHNA: Most articles I've read concerning SOSB emphasize the fact that you have what some people have called a rather unusual song writing process: apparently you always start with the lyrics? How important do you think lyrics are in a song? Is there a particular message, idea, frame of mind, or feeling you want people to take from your songs?

A: Actually, that was just one method we used. It varies from day to day. We have no rules for it. Having them (rules) you end up writing the same song ten times. We've all heard records like that, and it works for some people. It's just not the record I wanted to make. Lyrics to me are crucial in a song.

LHNA: What are the advantages of being a band? And what’s not so great about it?

A: Putting everything you have into what you love. Putting everything you have into what you love.

LHNA: What would you have liked to do for a living if music wasn't an option?

A: Write write write.

LHNA: What’s the one book that you would force everyone to read?

Anything Borges.

LHNA: If you could ask for a superpower...

A: it would be to have unlimited superpowers.

LHNA: You really suck at...

A: Any sport that requires hand eye coordination.

LHNA: What is the one thing that makes you feel better no matter how crappy a day you’ve had?

A: Night wanderings always do the trick.

LHNA: What provides inspiration for your songs?

A: The idea of writing a new song. Really.

LHNA: There are so many new bands popping up all over the place. Do you keep up with them? Or are you more focused on your own? Any favourite bands at the moment?

A: I pretty much focus on what I'm doing, but discovering Phantogram this past tour was such a fucking treat. Beautiful songs. I wake up singing them.

LHNA: Do you read music blogs? Which ones?

A: Not really. I'm more into sites like Beautiful Decay and FFFFound.

LHNA: Where do you see yourself in 20 years?

A: I don't want to think about that yet. It'll ruin the surprise.