Rostam Batmanglij was barely out of college when his band Vampire Weekend became indie-rock superstars. Their 2008 self-titled debut album, which Batmanglij produced in makeshift studios he assembled in his and his friends apartments, not only put them on the mapit signaled the arrival of a musical wunderkind who would later lend his wistful melodies and sophisticated instrumentation to tracks by artists like Solange, Frank Ocean, and Haim. Having left the group last year, Batmanglij is now embarking on his own journey, releasing his first solo record under the name Rostam. An adventurous collection of buoyant, worldly pop songs, Half-Light (out September 8) finds the queer Iranian-American songwriter reflecting on love, longing, and double lives. Batmanglij recently spoke with his queer brother, Zal, the director and co-creator of the Netflix fantasy series The OA, for which Rostam composed the theme song.
Zal Batmanglij: Whats your earliest memory of music?
Rostam Batmanglij: I definitely remember wanting to hear the Beatles song Taxman over and overneeding to hear it. I also remember watching Tiny Toon Adventures and Animaniacs as a kid and theyd play classical pieces and Id wait until the end to see if they listed the piece and try to find it.
ZB: So youd focus on the credits to find out what the pieces were, and then ask Dad to buy you those CDs?
RB: Yeah.
ZB: Wow, we grew up in a small townhouse, and I did not know that about you. But I feel like a lot of your relationship to music was very private.
RB: Yeah, music was sacred. I have memories of waiting for everyone to leave the house so I could be alone and play those CDs loudwhich kind of foreshadowed a life alone in a studio listening to loud music. [Laughs.]
ZB: You produced all three Vampire Weekend albums and have collaborated with a lot of peopleCharli XCX, Carly Rae Jepsen, Frank Ocean. So what does being a music producer mean?
RB: In some ways it means having a vision for a song, or a shared vision for the song with the artist, and helping them realize it. Ill do all kinds of different things to get thereplugging in a guitar and putting completely different chords under an existing song, or composing a drumbeat that becomes the song. One of the things I love about being a producer is trying to get more from singers voices than they maybe thought was possible. I love Haims ability to sing in harmony, so on Walking Away, one of the songs I produced on their new record [Something to Tell You], I really tried to push that to the fore. There are about 50 to 100 vocal tracks in that song, and its all the sisters singing different, interlocking parts, and at the same time theres this emotional power to each of their voices.
ZB: I was driving at maybe two in the morning two days ago through these windy L.A. streets with the windows down, and Gwan, a track from your new album, Half-Light, came on, and it was perfectly matched to the drive and the mood I was in. Does mood mean something to you?
RB: Yes. And there are a bunch of different ways to access moodthe reverb you use, the kind of chords. Studying music you discover the hundred gradations between a happy chord and a sad chord. Im always processing those possibilities. If we go to this chord, what will the feeling be? How does that interact with the lyrics? Can I ask the artist to change that word?
ZB: When I was driving I wasnt thinking, Thats my brother. I didnt feel a personal connection. I felt a connection to the words and the longingthis otherness thats on other tracks on your album. I connect to that otherness.
RB: Thats a big part of the record, but its hard to talk about in some ways. I want people to come to it on their own.
ZB: Whats the role of music in todays political climate?
RB: With a lot of songs on this album, specifically Bike Dream, I wanted the lyrics to act as a sort of Trojan horse, where if you wanted to interpret the song from a queer perspective you could. Theres a lyric in the chorus, Two boys: one to love you sweetly, one does so discreetly. What I loved when I wrote that was that it felt like you could interpret it as actually being about one person whos being asked to be two different people. I think thats something we as queer people, Middle Eastern people, and children of immigrants in America have experienced a lot. Were seeing those kind of politics play out... But I cant help but be optimistic.
ZB:Yes. One of my favorite songs on the album is When. Theres something really hopeful about it.
RB:I look back at my 20s, when I was figuring out what kind of person I wanted to be and overcoming obstacles I dont think I was even aware of. Theres a recurring theme on the album of waking up, sometimes with somebody and sometimes on your own. The wordhalf-lightrefers to both dusk and dawn, and some of the lyrics connect to that moment when the sun is coming in through the window, or that feeling when the day is ending and you have to take stock of what happened and think about the next day.
ZB:Who are your musical heroes?
RB:Brian Eno is an important one for me. Theres a quality of searching in a lot of his music, but hes not searching for something that isnt available to anyone, or to everyone. Theres an openness to his music I identify withI want to make music everyone can arrive at.
ZB:Talk to me about how you createdthe theme forThe OA.
RB:The call came in for a violin piece, and I immediately thought,I want to write a melody with some drama built into it.I think the way I got there was by having these big melodic leaps. You know, the melody jumps up a fifth and then a sixth, and then it goes down. Its not really climbing upwardsits leaping.
ZB:At the screening at the Vista Theatre in Silver Lake, when the opening credits came up in the show 57 minutes in, and the OA is starting her story, and the camera pans over Russia, and your piece starts... I mean, there was spontaneous applause. I thought,Thats Rostam.
RB:It was a fun piece. I think I knew Id done a good job when I visited you on set and one of the crew guys was whistling the theme.
See more here:
Vampire Weekend's Former Mastermind Rostam Batmanglij is Flying Solo - Out Magazine
- Who Does Matt End Up With in The Vampire Diaries? - CBR - Comic Book Resources - April 21st, 2024
- Oregon Man Staked His Mother's Throat Believing She Was a Vampire [Horror IRL] - Dread Central - April 21st, 2024
- V Rising 1.0 will let you sip the blood of history's greatest vampire - PCGamesN - April 21st, 2024
- Mourning the Muse You've Never Met | Mary Boone by Vampire Weekend - Impact 89FM - April 21st, 2024
- Abigail Directors Reveal the Method to Their Vampire Madness - Syfy - April 21st, 2024
- 'Abigail' takes audiences on bloody vampire heist The Daily Texan - The Daily Texan - April 21st, 2024
- New Teaser For Anne Rice's Interview With The Vampire Reveals 'Laws Of The Vampire' - Age Of The Nerd - April 21st, 2024
- Abigail Review: The ballerina vampire film is on pointe, and its a blast - Fort Worth Report - April 21st, 2024
- Music Monday: Vampire Weekend's Fifth Studio Album, Only God Above Us Proves That The Band Was Not Just A ... - Cardinal & Cream - April 21st, 2024
- Abigail Filmmakers Radio Silence on Their Genre-Hopping Vampire Thriller and Honoring Angus Clouds Final Performance - Variety - April 21st, 2024
- Abigail Review: Dan Stevens and Melissa Barrera in an Exuberantly Over-the-Top Vampire Horror-Comedy - Hollywood Reporter - April 21st, 2024
- 'Interview With the Vampire' Season 2 Trailer Learn the Laws of the Undead - Collider - April 21st, 2024
- New Interview with the Vampire Teaser Shares the Laws of the Vampire - ComicBook.com - April 21st, 2024
- 'Abigail' Review: This Ballerina Vampire Has the Perfect Bite - The Mary Sue - April 21st, 2024
- Interview with the Vampire Season 2 to Include 'Cool Twist' Not Seen in Original Books - CBR - Comic Book Resources - April 21st, 2024
- Review: New York City is Vampire Weekend's muse on 'Only God Was Above Us' - America: The Jesuit Review - April 21st, 2024
- Ikki Unite, the Feudal Japanese Vampire Survivors-like, Arrives on Switch and Steam - Co-Optimus.com - April 21st, 2024
- 'Abigail' review: A vampire bloodbath with pools of sticky stuff - Detroit News - April 21st, 2024
- 'Blood Hunt' #5 Demands a Heavy Price to Bring Down the Vampire's Reign - Marvel - April 21st, 2024
- Vanpires Are Back: 17 Vampire Books to Read - The Everygirl - April 21st, 2024
- Interview with the Vampire season 2 will be bigger, and include a huge twist that's not in the books - Gamesradar - April 21st, 2024
- A vampire ballerina and hired hitman hit the screens this weekend - WDIV ClickOnDetroit - April 21st, 2024
- Abigail's Directors Tell Us Why They Included The Vampire Ballerina Twist In The Movie's Marketing, But I Still Wish It ... - CinemaBlend - April 21st, 2024
- 'I get bored easily': Jacob Anderson reveals 'worries' about Interview with the Vampire season two - El Paso Inc. - April 21st, 2024
- Interview with the Vampire Season 2 Teaser Trailer Unveils the Laws of Being a Vampire - ComingSoon.net - April 21st, 2024
- 'I get bored easily': Jacob Anderson reveals 'worries' about Interview with the Vampire season two - Yahoo New Zealand News - April 21st, 2024
- Amazingly Accurate Real-Life BG3 Astarion Shows The Vampire Ready For Combat - Screen Rant - April 21st, 2024
- Interview With the Vampire Star Teases Teases Major Season 2 Twist - ComicBook.com - April 21st, 2024
- 32 astonishing ancient burials, from 'vampire' decapitations to riches for the afterlife - Livescience.com - April 21st, 2024
- Zendaya Becomes A Kick-Ass Buffy The Vampire Slayer In Photo-Realistic Art - Screen Rant - April 21st, 2024
- Nosferatu: First Footage Shows Off Bill Skarsgard as the Vampire - TheWrap - April 12th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend and Amber Coffman Cover Grateful Dead's Peggy-O - Pitchfork - April 12th, 2024
- Watch: Goose Welcome Vampire Weekend for Half-Hour Jam on Night Four at The Capitol Theatre - jambands.com - April 12th, 2024
- Woman found dead in Italian church was dressed like vampire and looking for ghosts - Express - April 12th, 2024
- Goose Welcome Vampire Weekend for Half-Hour Jam on Night Four at The Capitol Theatre (A Gallery + Recap) - Relix - April 12th, 2024
- A Guide to Vampire Weekend's Most Jewish Songs and Lyrics - Alma - April 12th, 2024
- Review: Vampire Weekend's 'Only God Was Above Us' sinks its teeth into nihilistic perspectives - Washington Square News - April 12th, 2024
- Watch Vampire Weekend Join Goose for a 31-Minute Redition of "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" | Exclaim! - Exclaim! - April 12th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend's Only God Was Above Us: Review - Consequence - April 12th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend Covers The Grateful Dead's 'Peggy-O' On SiriusXM - Digg - April 12th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend Covered Grateful Dead With Amber Coffman On SiriusXMU: Watch - Stereogum - April 12th, 2024
- Savannah Basley Co-Stars in SyFy's REGINALD THE VAMPIRE Season Two - BroadwayWorld - April 12th, 2024
- Review | Vampire Weekend's 'Only God Was Above Us' is sure to get stuck in your head - UI The Daily Iowan - April 12th, 2024
- Vampire Survivors Contra Crossover DLC Will Come to PlayStation Later in the Summer - Push Square - April 12th, 2024
- OGWAU Is Vampire Weekend Keeping Things Fresh - HeadStuff.org - April 12th, 2024
- Vampire Survivors is Crossing Over With Contra - GameRant - April 12th, 2024
- Vampire Survivors Headed to PS5 and PS4 This Summer - News - VGChartz - April 12th, 2024
- Vampire Survivors teams up with Contra for new DLC and fangs its way onto PlayStation consoles this summer - VG247 - April 12th, 2024
- The face of a 500-year-old vampire with a brick between her teeth - Metro.co.uk - March 24th, 2024
- Scientists recreate face of 16th-century vampire buried with brick inside mouth - WION - March 24th, 2024
- Montreal daily apologizes following backlash over Netanyahu vampire cartoon - The Times of Israel - March 24th, 2024
- This Major Aspect of 'Interview with the Vampire' Makes It Better Than the Movie - Collider - March 24th, 2024
- Stare Into the Screen Not the Sun: Vampire Weekend to Livestream Special Solar Eclipse Show - Rolling Stone - March 24th, 2024
- Vampire Dormitory Anime Cast to Cover Every Little Thing Song for Ending Theme - Crunchyroll - March 24th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend will livestream Austin eclipse show - Brooklyn Vegan - March 24th, 2024
- 10 Essential 80s Vampire Movies You Might Have Missed - Flickering Myth - March 24th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend, Slightly Stoopid, Portugal. The Man, and more shows announced at Dillon Amphitheater (so far) - Summit Daily - March 24th, 2024
- 'Interview With the Vampire': Meet the Real Armand With Assad Zaman (VIDEO) - TV Insider - March 24th, 2024
- Xbox Game Pass gets cowboy vampire-slayer classic today, just in time for weekend - ReadWrite - March 24th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend Tease Punky, Jammy New Offshoot With An Imaginary Backstory - Stereogum - March 24th, 2024
- The GLAAD Wrap: Trailers for The Acolyte and Interview with the Vampire, New Music from Xana, Anglica Garcia ... - GLAAD - March 24th, 2024
- Interview With the Vampire Season 2 Will Unlock Deeply Hidden Memories - Gizmodo - March 24th, 2024
- Netanyahu caricatured as vampire in Canadian newspaper: 'Every Jew understands the meaning' - Ynetnews - March 24th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend tease a new offshoot project with an "imaginary back story" - NME - March 24th, 2024
- Scientists Reconstruct Face Of 16th Century 'Vampire Woman' Buried With Brick In Mouth - Study Finds - March 24th, 2024
- Here's a haunting, beautiful Interview With The Vampire season 2 trailer - The A.V. Club - March 24th, 2024
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Most Important Moment Features One Word - Den of Geek - March 24th, 2024
- TV Shows Like 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' That'll Suck You In - The Lineup - March 24th, 2024
- Remember When Pedro Pascal Was on Buffy the Vampire Slayer? - Remezcla - March 24th, 2024
- Interview With The Vampire Season 2 Goes Bigger Than Ever, See The Extended Look Into Fan-Favorite Series Return - Giant Freakin Robot - March 24th, 2024
- Fury Over Antisemitic Canadian Newspaper Cartoon Depicting Netanyahu as Blood-Sucking Vampire - Algemeiner - March 24th, 2024
- INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE: Memory Is The Monster In Stunning Extended Season 2 Trailer INTERVIEW WITH ... - CBM (Comic Book Movie) - March 24th, 2024
- Interview with the Vampire Season 2 Extended Look: Memory Is Monster - Bleeding Cool News - March 24th, 2024
- Interview with the Vampire trailer season 2 trailer is brimming with queer lust and the return of Lestat - Gay Times Magazine - March 24th, 2024
- Everything we're obsessed with in the new 'Interview With the Vampire' trailer - Pride.com - March 24th, 2024
- Pedro Pascal Was Saved By Buffy The Vampire Slayer - Giant Freakin Robot - March 24th, 2024
- AMC reveals an extended look at Interview with the Vampire Season 2 - Claire and Jamie - March 24th, 2024
- "Interview with the Vampire" Season 2 Trailer Previews the Return of AMC's Anne Rice Series on May 12 - Bloody Disgusting - March 24th, 2024
- Scream directors explain how their new vampire horror movie fits into the Universal Monsters universe, and share ... - Gamesradar - March 16th, 2024
- 'Blood Hunt' Connecting Cover Holds the Line Against the Vampire Armies - Marvel.com - March 16th, 2024
Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero