Aria C Jalali’s Art Rock

So up in San Fran is this energetically genuine, curly headed, instrumental juggler by the name of Aria C Jalali; who has been making tracks on his own for some time, involving his musical talents on eight pieces from his synthesizer to an accordion. Previously known on Myspace under his name Aria C Jalali! He has now decided to rename the project Railcars. The transition from solo to four-person ensemble came from the fact that in the studio he would record and play all his own instruments, although when performing live he would expand his band to a four person gig. Railcars’ vox, guitar and various instruments are played by himself as Biljana Mirkovski accompanies on guitar, along with Dasha Bulatova on the keyboards and glockenspiel, and Shaw Waters on bass. The band together makes a live melodic imprint on their listener, who cannot resist the flow of the tempo. As he described before in a Q&A with The Buzz, an online column, his interpretation of his work is what he likes to call Art Rock.

“I call it art rock. It's kind of anti-pop music. It's noisy, but catchy and melodic.”, Jalali says.

Intrigued by the first track on their Myspace “There is ice, it is blue.” became the song in which knighted me a fan. The numerous instrumentals take to the ears like a New Age symphony, and with upbeat yet subtle interwoven chemical vocal sound; Railcars is the ear candy that melts in your mind. The band is looking forward to releasing their new EP around August 1st entitled Cities; Submarines will be released as a 500-run 7" vinyl as well as digitally, through Gold Robot Records, which is based in Berkeley, CA.

Jalali looks to his good friend Jamie Stewart for collaborative efforts during recording time, which for Cities; Submarines is now June 2008. Stewart is the singer/songwriter of another band Xui Xui, an experimental indie band in Oakland, CA. Jalali and Stewart, both sharing similar influences, have been friends and colleagues for some good time. Stewart has agreed and is now producing and recording the upcoming EP at his home in Oakland, CA.

After wikipeding and myspacing about this guy, I decided no better than to ask him about his music. Enjoy.
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Amanda: Solo act vs four person band...?

Aria: Oh yes, I've always been a solo act, recording wise, but rarely ever live. I used to just go by my full name, Aria C Jalali, because I wasn't decisive enough to settle on a project name. Honestly if Alexei Perry (Handsome Furs photo to right) hadn't chosen "Railcars" out of some choices I gave her, I'd still be up in the air.

I still am a solo act on some nights. It really depends. I have a cool group of people to play with, but sometimes we cant all be there due to logistics, to the lineup switches around a lot. Some nights its the full band, me - Biljana - Dasha - Shaw. Some nights I will play at a shitty dive bar by myself, or for instance, the band cant make it out to Athens Popfest this year, so my girlfriend Megan and I will be the band.

Am: How long have you been playing music?


Ar: I think the first electric guitar lesson I got was when I was six or seven. I took two more and never really went back. I don't sing song write at all, I dont think. I have always written music more in the style that Owen Pallett (Final Fantasy) describes a one man band (vs, singer songwriter). I use a lot of loops and drum boxes to recreate a big song, then write to that, instead of with just an acoustic guitar.

Am:Where did you grow up? Have you known the band from your younger years?

Ar: I am originally from Los Angeles, and sort of grew up all around there. I've only recently met the band actually! As a matter of fact, I rarely knew any other people who liked to play the same music as me until I moved to San Francisco.

Am: How long has the band been together, is "Postmodernism" a solo vinyl? And the three-song cassette "Demo for Jamie" a collective effort of the entire band together?

Ar: Yes, when I recorded the postmod record, it was a total solo bedroom project, I think I had only played live once or twice before that. I got some dates playing with handsome furs (which is comprised of Dan Boeckner of Wolf Parade, and his lovely wife, Alexei perry), so I asked Shaw and Dasha and Biljana to help me pull them off live. That demo is basically, when I was talking to Jamie Stewart (Xiu Xiu photo on left) about producing an EP for me, I wanted to give him a demo of the songs I had in mind, and we thought it would be cute to make it in a little hand sewn pouch etc. After that we realized that we should just replicate that same thing for other people to be able to have too. Yeah the whole band was there for the songs on that tape. whats funny is the songs demo'd on that tape sound wildly different now as the album is being made.

Am: Have any previous tracks out or are you concentrating on the current EP?

Ar: Oh yeah, there must be a good couple albums worth of songs I've made, that are floating around the interwebz that never actually got released other than on my site for a week or something. We're recording that EP I was mentioning before, with Jamie, during this month, and then also working on a remixes record and a full length album!

Am: Where are you from? (referencing the original names, I would assume: Biljana Mirkovski, Dasha Bulatova, Shaw waters, Aria C Jalali. Not your everyday American names.)

Ar: Yes yes! Well I am Persian and some Russian, Shaw is white as day, and Biljana is from Macedonia, while Dasha is from Russia!

Am: How are you lovin' the scene out there? Are you guys staying local for shows, or have you been touring? If so where too?

Ar: Well, I mean, I make a rule that whenever I travel anywhere, just for vacation or visiting, I try to book at least one show, like at a dive bar or something. As far as full band tours, I think that starts in august for us. I don't have much opinion on the scene other than San Franciscan's kick ass.

Am: Describe what you desire people to feel; is there a message you intend for them to take with them when they listen to your music?

Ar: I don't know, if I can be frank, I really make the songs for my own amusement and enjoyment. I'm not really sure what other people will take or feel, because everyone I'm sure takes something wildly different; but I know I like the beats, so I just figure I'm sure someone else will too.

Am: Describe what you feel when you play your music.

Ar: Free.

Am: What genre would you consider your current project Railcars to be? (Says Alternative/Other on the Myspace)


Ar: I don't know, it's one part rock, one part electro, one part noise. Someone asked if I would consider it to be "art rock" and I thought, "that sounds nice, okay."

Am: What part of SF are you at? Holding another job? Or just devoting your energy to the music?

Ar: I am currently living with my cousin, in the Russian Hill district in San Francisco. I really spend all my days playing music. Except for the days I spend watching Seinfeld and riding my bike around the city.

Am: Your next show as of this moment?

Ar: I know that we are playing at Athens Popfest in Georgia on August 15th, so, around there.

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Previous EP’s and demos that are out and ready to own are Aria’s previous solo EP Postmodernism!, which is also recorded and out on 7” blue vinyl complete with four tracks of golden beats. As well as a cassette demo by the whole band entitled Demo for Jamie with four solid tracks.

Listen to Railcars' sweet tracks at

http://www.myspace.com/railcarsmusic


Let's build a fan base in SD, and get this loverboy down here!