Call and Response have just released a fantastic new album called Winds Take No Shape… our own Yola Freestorm conducted an interview with Daniel Judd, guitarist, about the album, their tour, and their sound.

YS: Tell us about the new album.

Winds Take No Shape is a selection of songs that we put together last winter. It began with “Silent Chill” which had a minor-key bittersweet mood to it.

Somebody said it sounded like motown for stoners. We just kept flowing and building songs up from there, trying to construct an album that complemented that deeper sound.

I was also taking a new wave film class that provided a lot of personal inspiration when coming up with chord progressions and melodies. Trying to match the emotional tones of the films and the creative mindset of the filmakers, with our music. A reviewer said, “I like to think of Winds Take No Shape as a frenchified album” which i thought was funny, because in some ways it is.

YS: What can someone expect from a CAR live show?

They can expect a family of friends laying it down…carrying the listener outside of themselves with our music. Welcoming our audience, but also raising questions and not being afraid to confuse and take chances. Hopefully in the end, the audience will be inspired to be creative themselves. We love to be inspired, and we want to share that.

YS: How did the band get together, and how has it changed since those ‘early days’?

The band got together as friends, wanting to use our skills to create a sound that we would want to hear, and not really worrying about what else was going on. We keep learning about ourselves and each other. It’s become a stronger bond as time goes on, it really is a true family at this point.

YS: Do you consider yourself to be highly influenced by California? Is your sound a “California Sound”?

I think we are highly influenced by California, I’ve never lived anywhere else.

There is something about the west coast that is maybe a little more relaxed and accepting of diversity, and it comes through in the artwork. But since most of us are from here, there no need for us to talk about about it in relation to what we are writing, it’s just within us.

YS: Where is your favorite live venue? Where have you enjoyed touring the most outside of the US?

We just got back from a tour of the UK with our Norwegian friends the Kings of Convenience.

That was an amazing journey for us, and to know that we can do it was eye-opening and confidence building. We had an amazing show in Coventry. We ended up played 2 songs with Erland and Eirik, we were their band, and the whole crowd came up and danced on stage with us. We had our cameras out and were so stoked to be in the middle of the excitement. Every show was different and we were playing in old theatres that each had their own character.

We desperately want to tour more in Europe, our record just got released in Spain so maybe we can go there.

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More info on Call and Response on their official website