Photo Credit: Riley J. Donahue
People of a particular age can agree that when school ended, nothing was more important than music television. Whether tuning in to MTV, Vh1, or Fuse – we were enthralled. It led some of us to write about music, and it led others, like Nick from Tempoh Slow, to make music. We started there and journeyed through Los Angeles until we reached our final destination – Tempoh Slow’s March 25th release, ‘‘Punxx Noir.’
Kendra: What initially drew each of you to music?
Tempoh Slow: For me, it was watching pop-punk/emo videos on Fuse and MTV in middle school. I had started drum lessons a few years before that, but watching those bands while pounding Mountain Dew with my friends every day after school sparked a serious love for music that has stuck with me to this day.
Kendra: You two decided to come together in the summer of 2020, I mean…we were in the thick of the madness by then. Plus, being in LA, it was really devastating to see a city once so vibrant with music have its volume turned down. How did you keep focused on this new project at the time?
Tempoh Slow: It was devastating in so many ways – watching a city we both love essentially become a ghost town. Venues shut down, some of them for good and so many people packed up and left. But honestly, for us, we have the pandemic to thank for the creation of this project. We’d known each other for a long time (from playing for different artists as touring drummers) but we never hung out. Everything coming to a halt gave us the time we needed to start something new – something that we most likely never would have made time for otherwise.
Kendra: Keeping our sanity in 2020, and even today, via creativity was something many took part in. Did either of you take up anything else besides studio time with one another like baking, painting?
Tempoh Slow: That thing for us was writing for this project. Actually, at first, it wasn’t a project – we just got together to make some stuff and hang out. We were just having fun with it. And it was a totally different outlet for us creatively – we’re both drummers, so to stretch out and experiment with production, vocals, etc was really creatively exciting for us.
Kendra: Again, it was hard to see LA lose a bit of what makes it so special but to pay homage to at least one of those venues we love, if you could compare the feeling of ‘Punxx Noir’ to any LA venue which would it be and why?
Tempoh Slow: Great question. I’m not sure if this is analogous to ‘Punxx Noir,’ but to pay homage to one of the venues we lost during the pandemic, I’ll say the Satellite. I love small venues and have a lot of great memories from that place. Actually – to compare it to ‘Punxx Noir’ – it’s grungy and unassuming on the outside but the charm is in the details. ‘Punxx Noir’ is heavy and aggressive at first glance, but lyrically introspective and musically eclectic.
Kendra: When it comes to “Leave Me Alone” that feels like such a timely mood. Where were your heads at when that one came to mind the first time?
Tempoh Slow: That was actually the last one that came together on the EP. Our mentality was like “let’s just finish this so we’ve got a fifth song to put out” – then it turned out to be one of our favorites.
Kendra: With it being March, I’d love to know what song you feel lucky enough to have heard in your lifetime? Like, what’s a song you’re thankful has existed while you’ve been here?
Tempoh Slow: So many!!! Very into the new Dijon album right now. The song “Many Times” is a masterpiece.
Kendra: Lastly, with ‘Punxx Noir’ out March 25th – what can fans both new and old be on the lookout for from you in the coming months?
Tempoh Slow: More music!
