Alan Wilkis Talks Pink and Purple

Brooklyn-based one-man-band Alan Wilkis has returned with an explosion of retro-inspired, electro-funk-tastic, booty-shaking goodness on his second album Pink and Purple. We recently caught up with Alan and asked him a coupla questions.

So how was the process of making Pink and Purple different from making Babies Dream Big?
A few things were different about the process, probably the most striking thing was a more firm commitment to style/genre. The process for BDB was a bit more free-flowing, and a little less focused as a result -- with PAP, I really tried to stay within the confines of 80s funk and soul. I still manage to hop around stylistically quite a bit, but the record was born from a much more focused and concentrated starting point

Another big difference was I brought in way more special guests this time around. I’m extremely fortunate to have a lot of nasty musician friends, and it’s just a total joy working with them, and giving them an opportunity to really strut their stuff... There’s a good reason why several of them perform and record regularly with folks like The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, TV on the Radio, Antibalas, Dirty on Purpose, and Shakira (among many others...)

There is something extremely not-of-this-era about the album, but yet it also feels very-now. A difficult balance to strike -- how did you do that?
Haha! I wish I knew... Hard to say, but I have a feeling it comes from my sponge-y-ness as a music listener. I really try to absorb and learn as much as possible from all walks of music. As a producer, performer, etc... there’s always something to take away from a piece of music, even if you don’t like it or it doesn’t fit within your taste. I of course listen to tons of ‘80s funk and electro stuff (and that definitely shows in my songs), but I also love Bach, speed metal, Elvis Costello, and Boston... At any given moment I’m inclined to throw something totally unexpected in, like a classical harpsichord melody here, or a classic-rock-harmonized-guitar solo there... I think/hope that that produces a feeling in the listener of familiarity, but also surprise and unexpectedness at the same time... and on that same token, hopefully something NEW!

What are you currently listening to/being inspired by?
Like I said, I sponge music pretty hard... so it’s different every day. But as far as more current stuff, I LOVE the more recent releases from Tortoise, Wilco, Dirty Projectors, Raphael Saadiq, Max Tundra, Junior Boys, Grizzly Bear, and Easy-Star All-Stars... And I always come crawling back to Rick James, Prince, and MJ.

Can we expect any live performances anytime in the near future?
I have a few surprises up my sleeve...

Your Phoenix "1901" remix was amazing and earned all kindsa buzz in the music blogosphere -- any more remixes you're working on that we can look forward to?
THANKS!!! Yeah it was kind of incredible how much love that remix picked up... Really opened a lot of doors for me and turned on some new listeners. The craziest was when it got played on KCRW Morning Becomes Eclectic -- I’m a public radio junky, and just completely flipped out...

Working on a few top secret high-profile remixes right now, they should start popping up in August, hopefully!

Any upcoming projects you can hint at?
On top of the remixes, I started sketching some ideas for album #3, and co-producing the next record for a great NYC band, and some good friends of mine called Project Jenny, Project Jan. That oughta keep my hands full for a while!

Photo by Nadav Benjamin