I was able to listen to La Need Machine’s latest track “The Mountain” and I must admit that this sounds like a rather strong piece of music. This particular group from Seattle has gone a notch higher with this one, their newest release. What I noticed as soon as I tuned in to “The Mountain” is how La Need Machine manages to merge different genres and subgenres.
It has some elements of American music, some Indie Rock, Folk Rock, and even the bit of of Alternative Country. With this, it is easy to see that the combination can become intricate when in the wrong hands, but they manage it exceptionally well. The song begins with this beautiful strings part accompanied by a chilling piano that sets the mood right off the bat.
It creates an engaging mood right from the onset. What is most prominent, however, are those catchy tunes and soaring harmonizations that have been trademarked to La Need Machine. But when it comes to lyrics, “The Mountain” has quite a kick. It is all about the ability to be selfless – a message which seems quite meaningful at the moment especially given the divisions that seem to be growing in many societies.
The chorus is catchy and memorable: “I’ll climb the highest mountain, I’ll swim the widest sea”. It is a very strong form of affirmation of the desire – and the intent – to give of oneself, whether in terms of time, affection, or encouragement.
Fortunately, I was able to communicate with the band members about the song, and it was interesting to know more about its creation. The band has always been popular for its contribution to charity which makes it easier to feel the same giving tone while playing this piece of music. We also talked about how their sound has changed with time.
One thing’s for sure, they are not complacent – they challenge themselves to create new and important narratives in their music. If you are into deep, progressive rock music with a message, definitely, check out ‘The Mountain’. This tells a lot about the direction La Need Machine is taking and I am eager to find out what more they have in stock for us.
Listen to The Mountain
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What is your stage name
La Need Machine
Is there a story behind your stage name?
Al: La Need Machine represents our opposition to greed.
Brian: La Need Machine is supposed to stand for humans and how we all have instinctive needs that are driven by our basic survival instincts.
Where do you find inspiration?
Elise: I draw inspiration from personal experiences, or things that feel important/have had a significant impact on me.
What was the role of music in the early years of your life?
Brian: Early on in life I was obsessed with making my own compilation CDs called “Brian’s Favorites” that would be songs taken from various CDs that my parents had.
Are you from a musical or artistic family?
Elise: My family is very musical, on my mom and my dad’s side.
Al: Yes, my mom always sang in church and encouraged me to play guitar.
Who inspired you to be a part of the music industry?
Elise: I feel like it was a path that I wanted for myself. But I did grow up watching and even performing with Tim Noah and Cyndi Elliot.
How did you learn to sing/write/to play?
Elise: I initially started learning piano from my dad, but then I started taking actual lessons from Cyndi Elliot. Cyndi was also my first voice teacher. I’ve had many different voice teachers over the years. And I first started songwriting lessons with Tim Noah.
Brian: I started piano lessons when I was 5 and then did choir all throughout high school. I got a guitar when I was 14 and then wrote my first song when I was 15.
Al: I taught myself because I loved Rock and Roll so much I was not going to be denied!
What was the first concert that you ever went to and who did you see perform?
Elise: I think it was Kenny Loggins. I only remember him singing “Your Mama Don’t Dance and Your Daddy Don’t Rock and Roll” though.
Brian: My first concert was Lifehouse back in 2010 at the Evergreen State Fair and it was a fantastic first show.
Al: Elton John!
How could you describe your music?
Al: We don’t like to be confined by boxes or labels, but we have a mix of Americana, Folk Rock, Early Rock and Roll, Indie Rock, and Alternative Country.
Describe your creative process.
Brian: For me songs usually come very suddenly to me, so whenever I get them in my head I almost feel that I have to rush to make sure that I get all the ideas in my head out there before they leave.
What is your main inspiration?
Elise: I’m mainly inspired by my Grandma Helen, who was an excellent piano player and singer.
What musician do you admire most and why?
Elise: I really admire Carole King. She was a hired songwriter starting in her teens. Most people probably don’t know how many hit songs she wrote for other artists. She wrote Locomotion and Natural Woman, among others.
Brian: Probably Nick Drake. I just think it’s clear that he always put the art first when it came to his creative process. He put out three perfect albums and even though a lot of people never understood him while he was alive and wanted him to take a different route with his music, he never compromised. To me that’s the most beautiful thing that an artist can do.
Did your style evolve since the beginning of your career?
Al: I would say it has evolved as the music I listen to has evolved. We started out as a punk band, became more Rockabilly, and now have meshed into Indie Rock and Americana.
Who do you see as your main competitor?
Brian: I don’t really see us as having any competitors specifically. I am very much a peaceful soul and competition to me is frivolous.
What are your interests outside of music?
Al: Distance running! And I really love relay races like Ragnar and Hood to Coast!
If it wasn’t a music career, what would you be doing?
Elise: Maybe a historian of some sort? I’ve always enjoyed learning about history.
Brian: I am currently working as an Uber/Lyft driver.
What is the biggest problem you have encountered in the journey of music?
Al: getting attention from people in the industry, and then having them follow through on what they say they will do.
If you could change one thing in the music industry, what would it be?
Elise: How restricting it is with artist creativity. I also don’t like that you more often than not need a lot of money to get to a professional level.
Brian: Something needs to be done about paying artists better than streaming services do, but in order to have a better system to pay artists a lot of restructuring of the entire music industry would need to take place and I don’t see a better system coming along for the time being at least.
Why did you choose this as the title of this project?
Al: Well, we live in Seattle and Mount Rainier is omnipresent. And when you think of tasks that you could do for someone, I think everyone can identify with climbing a mountain. Why would you do it – because they needed you to.
What are your plans for the coming months?
Elise: Touring!
Brian: Live gigs and recording some new songs.
Do you have any artistic collaboration plans
Al: Sure we have many collaboration plans, but our co-collaborators don’t know we exist right now. We would love to do an Indie Americana song with Taylor Swift!
What message would you like to give to your fans?
Elise: If you struggle with mental health, you’re not alone.
