HEALTH - interview

By: Sarah Youngson | July 23, 2010 | Music

      LA quartet Health are back, and with their latest release DISCO2 are proving that how many miles they venture from their original haunts (most notable of which is legendary LA noise venue The Spill), and how many sold-out shows they play, their powerful sound remains as wild, catchy, and “next-level” as it ever was. 

      If you aren’t familiar with noise as a genre of music, Health couldn’t be a better place to start. It’s loud and reverberant, but the flourishes of guitar and bass, despite seeming sporadic at first, all manage to coalesce into a melody that is not so much symphonic, but is beautiful, nonetheless. It’s the kind of organized chaos that is ear-pleasing enough to garner a diverse selection of fans from across the musical spectrum.

      This ability to appeal to such a diverse variety of listeners from many genres is perhaps the reason why Health DISCO has been so successful. Taking the already poppy noise and remixing it, various collaborators such as Nosaj Thing, Crystal Castles, and more recently the legendary British producer Alan Moulder, Health‘s DISCO releases take noise to the dance floor.

      The second remix release, DISCO2 brings the same sort of dancey, noisey tracks, but this time sounding more solid, refined and focused. We caught up with Health, speaking to John Famiglietti (bass) while on yet another international tour to talk about the DISCO2 album (released June 22 in the US), Health’s tour thus far, and their history as one of the most well-revered noise bands to come out of LA.





Malibu Magazine (Sarah Youngson) interviews John Familglietti of Health


Sarah Youngson (SY): How has your tour been for you so far?


John Familglietti (JF): Pretty awesome, its been mostly all euro festivals and eastern european club shows.  Both equal pure fun.  We’ve had a lot of days off that we’ve been spending on a farm in Bavaria, swimming in the lake, hanging with animals…stuff like that.


SY: What made you, as a band, decide to change up your sound, and get your works remixed for your Health Disco (1 & 2) releases?


JF: Many reasons….At the climate of the first DISCO we wanted to be
a part of the exciting blog world of dance music at the time, also we saw remixes as a way to influence perception that we weren’t a “niche” band, we had great dance remixes like a pop band would.  And lastly as an excuse to make some good music by being remixed by people we admire who we’d think would make a good fit.  They worked out so well we wanted to make an album of it so they wouldn’t disappear onto the internet.  With DISCO2 were continuing the concept and felt we had to do it again to show that this is a legitimate thing, and we feel both these remix albums are great.


SY: Do you think your sound as a band has changed a lot since the band’s
inception in 2005  (other than with the obvious Disco releases) ?


JF: Yes, but nothing drastic, I think its been a very natural evolution.


SY: Tell me about your relationship with the Canadian duo Crystal Castles?
How did that relationship come about?


JF: Myspace.  We found out about them very early on, and started sending some friendly emails “i like you do you like me?” sort of shit and we decided to do a split 7inch and they’d do a remix.  Was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.


SY: Do you prefer playing the smaller, more intimate venues like when you
started, or to bigger crowds, along with other established names in music?


JF: Bigger crowds.  Playing live is like a drug, and as you get
addicted you need more and more to get as high as you did before.


SY: What are some of your favorite groups coming out of LA right now?


JF: Were not the most knowledgeable as were never in LA, but there is a new generation of bands coming out.  Always been a big fan of Captain Ahab, who’s never got the attention they’ve deserved.  Also I like new bands like Tearist.


SY: Are there any favorite moments or stories from touring in the past,
internationally or even playing in LA that you could tell us about?


JF: We were opening for Nine Inch Nails in LA, and about two songs into our set this extremely potent wave of shit smell wafted on stage, I was dumbfounded and the crowd was having this really insane reaction, and a girl was passed up over everybody with shit streaming down her legs (she was wearing daisy dukes), and they just carried her out.


SY: How would you describe a HEALTH show to someone who hasn’t seen or heard the band?


JF: Just go on youtube.


SY: What’s next for HEALTH, once your world tour comes to a close?


JF: The biggest priority is writing new songs for the new record, which we want to get on immediately.  Next is keeping our promises for this year which is an expanded HEALTH//FASHION (more items, new website), and the HEALTH::VISIONS internet TV show.  Well get at least one episode out this year (we tour a lot so its hard to get al these
projects rolling).


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