ACL Music Fest Friday Interview
From Cougar Town, with love
By Audra Schroeder, Fri., Oct. 8, 2010
Miike Snow
3pm, Honda stage
Who is Miike Snow? A state of mind, perhaps. NYC-based musician/producer Andrew Wyatt and the Swedish production team of Christian Karlsson and Pontus Winnberg have unleashed a handful of ubiquitous electro-pop singles from last year's self-titled debut, landing songs on an array of TV shows, while using costumes of the dadaist variety to keep live audiences guessing. This early morning conversation with Wyatt reflects why Miike Snow's succeeding and how a sense of humor helps.
Austin Chronicle: Did you have a visual aesthetic in mind when you started?
Andrew Wyatt: No, we developed one, but it was difficult when we started. We hadn't paid much time to it, and how music is culturally contextualized when you're a producer and your job is to see around that. As an artist it's different.
AC: What motivates you as an artist?
AW: Deadlines.
AC: Is it easier or harder to motivate with all the technology we have at our disposal?
AW: I hate computers, but I have an iPad on the road, because I don't like schlepping a laptop around. I don't understand how we got here. Reading a book is so much better.
AC: This might be embarrassing for both of us, but I'm pretty sure I heard one of your songs on Cougar Town a few months ago.
AW: Cougar Town? Is that on network?
AC: Yeah, Courteney Cox plays an attractive older lady living in a gated community in Florida. Or Cougar Town, as it's known.
AW: Well ... that's great. I'm sure it's in some e-mail I said yes to.
AC: I'm assuming you get a lot then.
AW: The only one we said no to was a big, bad bank. I can't say which one, but it was bad.
