Cutouts

Meet Cutouts

Do your dreams lack a soundtrack? If so Cutouts could provide the perfect accompaniment while you drift between the temporal planes. All together Cutouts consists of Alex MacKay, Eli Recht-Appel, Léna Bartels and Del Montgomery. As Cutouts, they deliver their own very special brand of synthy-punky-wavy goodness. We have Alex here today and a lot of fun stuff to rap about. Let’s get down to it.

CAR OF THE YEAR a Mad-lib by, Cutouts

It's here, the all-new MIX-A-LOT. The most luxurious EYE OF NEWT you'll ever drive! The only four-door TOE OF FROG that comes equipped with dual air WARTS, powerful RITUALS, and contoured, plush leather BLACK EYED PEAS. And, believe it or not, it is the only car in its class that can conjure up to a hundred thousand DARK CIRCLES without needing an O-NEGATIVE change or an OLIVE OIL tune-up. Run, do not BLUDGEON to your nearest MIX-A-LOT dealer and feast your TERMITES on the car that TIDE OF BLOOD magazine calls the PASTORAL MAMBO of the year. As always, we save the best for last. When you see the sticker price, you are sure to shout, "AWWWW SHIIITTT!"

Would You Rather

be able to lift things a hundred times your weight, or have control over all of the ants in the world? Why?

With enough ants, you can move mountains

Some questions with Cutouts

Would you prefer people to be able to see colors or taste food when they listen to your music?

Taste food

What compels you to keep writing and making music?

Writing new music helps my mood.  I feel good when I make something new, it excites me and brings me joy.  

In terms of why I make music specifically, I think sound and music and noise feel open-ended, like I have the power to continually redefine them.  I’m a beginner, I’m still finding new ways to relate to the world around me.  For me, that process can be very exciting, and I’ve found music can be the main way I go about doing that.

What is your ideal environment (including snack choice) when writing music?

Dim lighting, no wi-fi, tight deadline, thick carpets, stuffed olives, low expectations, paper towels, sandalwood, cigars, leather

How would you describe “navelgaze”?

Halfway between shoegaze and normal gaze

What is your favorite outfit to wear when performing and why?

This blouse - our drummer Léna found it for me when we were out shopping.  I haven't worn it at a show yet, I'm saving it for the right time.

What is the best piece of merch you have ever bought?

My friend Alex plays bass in the band Horrendous.  I went to see them at St. Vitus recently and I got a longsleeve.  Check out those phrases on the back.

Being from the Bay Area originally, how does the scene in San Francisco differ from NYC?

It’s funny, I don’t think I ever thought of myself as part of a “scene” when I was growing up in Berkeley, at least not initially.  At the start, I played a lot of weird shows—Catholic high school dances, battle of the bands, playing the intermission at a school play.  Playing in bands in high school is obviously a different ballgame, and often you’re still figuring things out.  At that point in time, you have a lot of energy but you’re growing through all these different emerging identities and trying to reconcile them, and you don’t always have as clear of a picture of where you want to go.

Comparing NYC with the Bay Area, they’re very different.   NYC is just bigger—I think that’s part of it.  A bigger music community, across dozens of genres and styles, many scenes within a scene.  It’s all concentrated and overlapping -  everyone’s swimming in the same small pool, there are so many music projects and so many venues, and it’s all continually self-replenishing.  I think that naturally leads to an acceleration of the pace, and more opportunities, and more competition.  I think in the right situations, it can be a great environment to learn in.  But for many people I know, it’s hard to balance their lives here and maintain songwriting and art-making practice.

Has living in NYC impacted your songwriting? If so how?

Yes, I mean... speaking more broadly, I think people always respond to what’s around them.  Your environment seeps in and shapes your practice.  But in terms of where I draw inspiration, I think my writing has been more informed by the people I’m spending my time with, than the place I’m spending it in.

What advice do you have for artists trying to record and produce their own music?

I wouldn’t want to presume to instruct other people how to interact with their own artistic practice, I think there are many valid ways in which to make music.

But if I can share a few things I wish I’d figured out earlier— 

In my experience, your excitement about your work is the most precious resource you have.  It’s worth nurturing. It is the wellspring that feeds everything else.  Pay attention to what ideas/themes/aspects of the process you’re drawn to—you personally, and afford yourself the patience and space to get excited about something you love, and develop it. 

Another small thing that might be helpful - I’ve learned a lot faster when I have written, recorded and released songs quickly than when I have worked on the same set of songs for three years.  Rather than getting fixated on making a few specific objects and pieces, I recommend to get into a flow of making, and plant many seeds.

All of the artwork for your releases has a very distinct aesthetic. What are the concept and creative processes behind these?

I like to collaborate, often with friends in the New York area.  It feels good to make things with people who you love, and hopefully shine a light on each other’s work in some small way.

For a given project, usually we'll meet in-person and talk loosely about the images and themes and ideas we want to interact with.   But once we've agreed on a general premise, after that first interaction I usually try to step back and let them take the lead.  We’re working in their area of focus, and I want to see what they're drawn to naturally.  And especially at the start, too much meddling from me risks confusing the process.

I always wished I’d learned about visual art in a formal setting, but I never really got the chance when I was in school.  So these days when I work with visual artists, I’m always curious to learn about their methods, how they conceptualize ideas and solve problems––you can learn a lot by watching someone work for half an hour.  

Baby Blue Suede and the Loosies EP covers were photos by Madison Carroll, and the song “Thirst” from last year featured art by Cynthia Alfonso.  In the past we’ve also been lucky to work with the visual artists Astrid Terrazas and Devika Sen, and the photographer Oscar Zabala.

Up until now most of our covers have shown disassembly and deconstruction in some way, often playing off the word "Cutouts".  Over the last six months our style has changed quite a bit.  I’ve been directing the visual direction in a more hands-on way, and it’s felt good, although I’m not quite ready to share anything yet.

Any final comments? (This is your electronic soapbox for one last answer.)


Stay tuned for more music from my old Cutouts bandmate Chris Maier, he released an EP on Wednesday and he’s gonna drop some more amazing stuff this year.

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