This seems like a question only the people at ILM can answer. Seriously.

This seems like a question only the people at ILM can answer. Seriously.

So what was your question?

You say you bought Sung Tongs so I guess that means you like it. In a broad sense, Gang Gang Dance are in kind of a similar vein to Animal Collective. I like them but not nearly as much. I think their albums (not Survival (Revival?) of the Shittest) are worth checking out.

this question is coming from someone who is not necessarily "down" with the neo-hippie, non-hasidic williamsburg resident, vice magazine reading crowd. to me they sound pretty similar, much like all asians look alike to my grandfather

keep in mind, my question is coming from someone who is not necessarily "down" with the neo-hippie, non-hasidic williamsburg resident, vice magazine reading crowd. to me they sound pretty similar, much like all asians look alike to my grandfather

the neo-hippie, non-hasidic williamsburg resident, vice magazine reading crowd

Who gives a shit what you're down with.

Notable album covers help to define artists. With Take Cover, we aim to track down the most striking sleeves and get the stories behind them.

We caught up with Gang Gang Dance multi-instrumentalist Brian DeGraw to talk about the otherworldly photo on the front of his band's forthcoming LP, Eye Contact, which comes out May 10 in the U.S. and a day earlier in the UK, via 4AD.

Pitchfork: Did you take the picture?

Brian DeGraw: I didn't. It was taken by a Polish photographer named Miroslaw Swietek that I found online. After we finally sequenced the album, I started thinking about insects and was looking for images that had an iridescent quality. A friend pointed me to [Swietek's work], which features insects covered in morning dew. He goes straight up to them-- millimeters away with the flash-- and photographs them while they're sleeping. The water adds this strange, psychedelic element. Everything I'd been looking at tweaked the original image with mirrors or glass or an added layer, but this one was perfect; I like the fact that it's natural.

Pitchfork: Why were you thinking about insects while researching cover art possibilities?

BD: It has to do with the idea of eye contact itself-- when I think of those two words, I picture these glowing insect eyes. To me, this record is much more direct for us. In the past, I imagined our music being more about closing your eyes and escaping. This one felt wide-eyed, as if we were just staring at the listener.

Pitchfork: What's your usual creative process as far as putting together past album covers?

BD: They've always revolved around this image of Nathan Maddox, our bandmate who passed away [in 2002]. That's the central element and then we bring in colors or collage clippings that relate to songs on the particular record. So the eyes on the cover of God's Money are Nathan's-- that's the photo that I always use to start from.

God's Money cover:


Pitchfork: Would you say that the change-up for the Eye Contact cover means you guys are moving on?

BD: In a way, yeah. I'm afraid to say that, but it is. It also has to do with the fact that we have a different drummer now; Tim [DeWit], our former drummer, was with us through the whole thing and was also very close friends with Nathan. Something seemed inappropriate about using his image this time.

Pitchfork: I have an innate fear of most bugs-- specifically spiders-- so the first time I saw this cover I had a heart-jump moment where I was like, "I hope this isn't what I think it is."

BD: I actually had a pet tarantula that just died this year-- he was in the molting process where he was shedding and he didn't make it through.

Pitchfork: I'm very sorry for your loss, but that sounds disgusting. Were any of your friends freaked out that you had this creepy creature as a pet?

BD: A few were, but he's a charmer. Even people that were afraid of spiders were pretty psyched on him after 10 minutes.

Pitchfork: Just thinking about it is totally making my skin crawl. Would you classify yourself as a bug guy?

BD: Not necessarily. I'm just an animal guy. I feel like every creature has some purpose, whether I know it or not.

Pitchfork: So if you saw a cockroach in your apartment, you would pick it up and let it out?

BD: Yeah.

Pitchfork: Have you done that before or are you just saying that because it's on the record?

BD: I have definitely done it.

lol @ my '06 posting style

i will never disagree with this point