PURITY RING with YOUNG MAGIC at the Phoenix (410 Sherbourne), Friday (February 1), 8 pm. $15. RT, SS, TM.
Coachella is one of the biggest North American music festivals, but Purity Ring didn’t greet the news that they’ll be playing it any more or less enthusiastically than they did any of the other festivals or shows they played around the world last year.
Over the phone from Nashville, where beatmaker/producer Corin Roddick and vocalist Megan James are nearing the end of a winter tour, Roddick admits he hasn’t even looked closely at the lineup.
“I’m pretty stoked to see 2 Chainz,” he says. “I think he’s the artist I’m most excited to see.”
He’s also hoping to run into Danny Brown, who tweeted about wanting to collaborate with the Montreal/Halifax duo after seeing them perform, and ended up contributing a verse to a remix of their single Belispeak. In return, they produced a song for the Detroit rapper’s upcoming album, which may or may not include a hook from James.
“It’s a track we had for a while that didn’t really fit with Purity Ring,” says Roddick, who says he’s more likely to listen to R&B and hip-hop than electronic or instrumental music or any of the genres coined by reviewers to describe their forward-thinking sound.
“We’re tagged ‘indietronica’ on Wikipedia,” he says. “I looked it up and said, ‘Whoa, what is this?'” And while their debut album, Shrines (Last Gang), found its way onto many critics’ year-end lists, he’s unfazed by the attention.
“We generally try to avoid reading about ourselves,” says Roddick. “How many people come out to the shows – that’s what’s rewarding.” Most of the dates on their current tour have sold out, including two nights at New York City’s 2,500-capacity Webster Hall.
The duo haven’t officially started work on a second album, but have rearranged their set list and are touring with a lighting designer to keep the shows interesting for fans and themselves. Roddick has also been working on “odds and ends” that might end up on a future Purity Ring LP.
“I’m always working on new music, but a lot of it isn’t necessarily where I want the band to go.”
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