Starting with their debut single (Teenage Love) in 2008, Magic Wands have never sounded uncertain about their musical direction. Sharing stages with the likes of Radiohead and The Jesus & Mary Chain and hearing their song in a Super Bowl commercial did not alter their path one bit. This is a band confident in the music they want to record and this year’s Switch proves there are few bands who can wield such weight on guitar while crafting lush dream-pop adventures.
Dexy and Chris Valentine were kind enough to spend a little time chatting music in-between the release of a remix album Switched and the start of their first tour of 2023. Check out our full review of Switch and support the band on Bandcamp!
How did the writing and recording of Switch differ from previous albums?
Chris: We did all of the recording ourselves this time except for the drums and some of the guitars on Daylight we did in the studio. Most songs we wrote together but for a few I started some music and sent to Dexy and she wrote the lyrics and vocals when she was visiting the East Coast. When she came back she had a strong vision for the album and added vocals, experimental guitars and synths.
What was your first concert and what do you remember most about that night?
Dexy: My parents took me to see Prince but I don’t remember much.
Chris: I remember at 5 or 6 years old my treat for being good at the dentist was getting to see Sha Na Na. I remember they did “Blue Moon” and thinking Bowzer’s voice was cool.
Do you build songs around the lyrics or does the music come first?
Dexy: I write daily so I always have lyrics to pull from if not, I’m getting ideas at the same time as creating the music.
Chris: Usually music first but Dexy always has a lot of lyrics ready when we start recording.
The guitars on Switch are simply incredible. What are some of your “go to” effects and what gear could you not live without?
Dexy: Thank you, In 2022 I spent fall and winter back east where I grew up. I’d not seen so much wind, rain and fog in years. I missed the changing of seasons and I wanted the guitars on Switch to capture that stormy sound especially on Joy and the song Switch. I knew playing guitar with a pick wasn’t going to work so I recorded the wind, rain and windchimes from the garden and we made loops of that and ran it through delays and reverbs then experimented with an ebo and a violin bow that was run through filters, reverb and delay. My go to is vintage Boss chorus, reverb, delay, Electro-harmonic pedals and some newer boutique ones and also trying to create natural effect sounds from scratch. I think at one point I was using a quartz crystal to get some of the sounds on Joy and Sea Glass.
Chris: Almost all the guitars were recorded direct, we didn’t amp anything except for some guitars on Daylight, like Dexy said the sound mainly came from using a violin bow for a lot of it an Ebo like on starbreeze. The main setup was usually a Klon clone to a flanger to a NeoClone chorus then a Big Muff through delay and two reverbs, one of them usually a Strymon Flint pedal. Sometimes a phaser on the slowest setting.
What do you enjoy doing outside of music and how does that filter into your art.
Dexy: Reading, writing, traveling, cooking for friends, I’ve been spending alot of time outside the city the past couple years near the ocean and in nature. Every experience adds up over time and somehow makes its way into the art in some form.
Chris: I like reading books on metaphysical topics, watching old concerts on youtube, making digital art, going to botanical gardens and wandering around, and exploring places here in old Hollywood. The metaphysical books have directly influenced the music because we tune our instruments to non-standard pitches that some people say are ancient healing frequencies. Not sure how true that is but we think it sounds good.
Your Bowie cover isn’t afraid to challenge expectations and that makes it one of the most interesting covers I’ve heard. How important was Bowie to each of you and how do you approach a cover songs?
Dexy: I take in the emotion & lyrics of a song. I try to connect with that and go from there. If I feel nothing and can’t connect with it then it can be difficult. Chris did the music for that one and I just sang.
Chris: I like the Station to Station record a lot. When we cover songs it usually involves listening to the original over and over for a day or so and then putting it aside and recording what we can remember about it.
What are some of the albums that pushed you towards music when you were young?
Dexy:
New Order – Brotherhood
The Glove – Blue Sunshine
Cocteau Twins- Four Calendar Cafe
The Cure – Pornography / Kiss me Kiss me Kiss me / Disintegration / The Top
Ministry – Twitch / With Sympathy
The Mission – The First Chapter
Killing Joke – Nighttime
Chris:
Nirvana Bleach
Ramones Loco Live
Chuck Berry Greatest Hits
Michael Jackson Thriller
What is your favorite song on the new album?
Dexy: Falling Trees / Joy
Chris: Daylight or Sea Glass
The album art for each release has done a wonderful job of capturing the essence of the sound within. Is the art done by you or do you collaborate with others?
Dexy: This album art was designed by me. The 16 page booklet in the cd are old polaroid photographs I took growing up on the east coast. There’s a photo of the bedroom I grew up in, one of my first synth and guitar, the beach I used to go to, old friends and even the window of my bedroom that overlooked a garden. Switch gives a voice to that time and is dedicated to old friends and all the bands that inspired me back then. Its a very personal and reflective album.
For those lucky enough to see the upcoming tour, will there be other musicians with you or are you performing as a two-piece?
Dexy: we’ll be touring as a duo but we have a sax player joining us for one song for LA shows.
Chris: Just the two of us like when we first started playing together.
What can listeners expect from the remix album?
Dexy: A wide variety, between the album Switch and remix album Switched there is hopefully something for everyone.
Chris: A lot of them are dance style versions I remixed, Shadow Mirrors did some downtempo versions that are really interesting and Lars Deutsch did two great interpretations of Whispers that’s more orchestral and majestic sounding.
There’s been a lot of talk about how The Cure and Robert Smith fought to keep merch and ticket prices down on their last tour. From the artist side, do you think that is a positive move that can help the industry long-term?
Dexy: More artists should do the same, I do think its a positive move. It will take alot more artists to stand up to make the kind of change we need longterm.
Chris: I don’t know how it will be in the long run but it does help. Live music should be reasonably accessible to people not some privilege that has to saved up for.
If there are aliens orbiting our universe, which Magic Wands album which you recommend to them?
Both: Switch
Catch Magic Wands on tour starting this week!
