Following on from the release of their single, ‘Ball Under Couch‘, Captains Of Entropy talked with EP about their music, and what lies ahead.
The song has a slow, hypnotic groove; how did it come together?
I initially came up with the main riff on an acoustic guitar. There is a little fun whole tone move it’s based around but it’s decidedly bluesy as well. Many of the other sections of the song were taken from different jams/work throughs of the initial idea… Reilly will often stumble upon a neat variation when presented with something and then we bounce things back and forth with Jason and soon enough a song emerges. – Mike
It feels playful but also emotional. How did you balance that?
That’s what I love about this song, it moves through a full range of emotions; from frustration, to joy, to anxiety and even fear – all from the perspective of a dog. Like so much of our material, this song really seemed to balance itself out on its own, we start with a basic idea and that leads naturally to the next idea and the shape begins to take form. The song was inspired by my dearly departed chihuahua, Rubin, and we recorded it about a year before he passed away. Listening back to it now brings me all the feels. – Reilly
What was it like seeing Laura Matikainen’s finished video?
Laura is such an inspiring artist. I worked with her on a solo music video years ago and knew she would be the perfect creator to help us pay tribute to our special friend Rubin. Her process takes a long time and she worked on it for about 3 months. The final result exceeded our wildest expectations. It’s such a fun ride and a moving tribute – Jason
The visuals feel like a mix of memories; did anything surprise you?
Yes, absolutely! Shortly after Rubin passed, Jason asked me for all my photos of the little guy (it was a lot of pictures) and he didn’t really give me any idea as to why. I was so thrilled when he revealed what he had in mind. I knew Laura would be able to work some serious collage magic on my photo dump, and we collaborated on the general story line, but I was not prepared for the rapid fire slideshow of Rubin and all the wonderful memories that came at the end of the video. I was absolutely beaming. I’m simply amazed by this beautiful and fitting tribute to a dog who meant so much to so many. – Reilly
The track is pretty long; what made you keep it that way?
‘Ball Under Couch’ was recorded during the sessions for our first album. Our intention with those sessions was to really let the jams go and not be concerned as much about time. In fact this song originally didn’t make the first album partially because it was so long. I’m glad it found its time and we decided to put it out as an 8 minute single! – Jason
How does this song feel when you play it live?
It’s super fun to play. The jam section can become anything and we’re always excited to see where we land. It’s an opportunity to play with lots of different efx pedals and let the weirdness consume us and then returning to the intro theme to close is a nice release. – Mike
Does releasing something this personal change how you think about your music?
It just opens the door to more personal expression. Everything we put out is an expression of our collective experience as human beings living in the world together. This one is particularly personal for me because of the story behind the song, and I’m very proud of it. It’s not your average pop song, and that’s kind of the point. Our mission as Captains of Entropy is to stay true to ourselves, and this track is a perfect example of that mission in action. – Reilly
Watch the glorious music video for ‘Ball Under Couch’ below, and find out more about Captains Of Entropy and their music online on YouTube and Instagram.
