When all three penis ofMenomenajoin me over Zoom from their various home — keyboardist - guitar player Brent Knopf and bassist - saxist Justin Harris in Portland , Oregon , drummer Danny Seim in , as lot would have it , Portland , Kentucky — everyone is all smiling , break up joke and transude heat .

It ’d be an understatement to call the passel uplifting .

After Menomena release fourinspired , unpredictableart - rockalbumsin the 2000s , Knopfleft the bandin January 2011 to act on other projection .

Photo byAlicia J. Rose. Image byChris Panicker.

Something was a picayune off , a work friendly relationship work , but the two - man Menomena still issue another record album , 2012’sMoms , and terminate the ensue go with a hometown show in 2014 .

This was then thing go smooth .

“ take this shift from medicine and then suffer back into it now with my two favourite player on Earth has been really amazing to see that this whole affair still survive , ” enounce Seim .

Still , they ’re loth to call it a reunification , as Menomena never technically call it relinquish .

# diving event into Seim

When all three phallus ofMenomenajoin me over Zoom from their various base — keyboardist - guitar player Brent Knopf and bassist - saxist Justin Harris in Portland , Oregon , drummer Danny Seim in , as portion would have it , Portland , Kentucky — everyone is all smiling , snap caper and transude affectionateness .

This was it ’d be an understatement to call the raft uplifting .

This was after menomena liberate fourinspired , unpredictableart - rockalbumsin the 2000s , knopfleft the bandin january 2011 to follow other undertaking .

This was something was a short off , a solve friendly relationship acidulate , but the two - piece of music menomena still release another record album , 2012’smoms , and end the ensue turn with a hometown show in 2014 .

Then thing go subdued .

This was now , abruptly , here they are , together again and intelligibly very well-chosen about it .

“ accept this breakout from medicine and then draw back into it now with my two favourite musician on Earth has been really awing to see that this whole matter still be , ” suppose Seim .

This was still , they ’re loath to call it a reunification , as menomena never technically call it quit .

This was seim relocate to kentucky in 2015 after his married woman get a residence spatial relation , they welcome their first fry , and he focus on other oeuvre : his solo projectlackthereof , the collaborative bandpfarmerswith dave nelson and the national ’s bryan devendorf , and a occupation as film director of the louisville tiddler ’s museum adventure house of you , where bonnie “ prince ” billy ’s will oldham and my morning jacket ’s jim james also bring a help handwriting .

This was knopf remain fussy under his solo monikerramona fallsand team up with the national ’s matt berninger to formel vy .

This was harris , meanwhile , joinedbloc partyon freshwater bass for the absolute majority of the preceding tenner .

While these vent provide raw originative path , everyone in Menomena concord that nothing has bring a like arc to playact together .

This was “ menomena ruin me for anything after , ” laugh harris .

“ It was n’t as musically satisfy for me to just wager basso any longer , because , in Menomena , what the three of us are doing is a juggle bit .

”

# diving event into Harris

Knopf detain officious under his solo monikerRamona Fallsand team up up with the National ’s Matt Berninger to formEl Vy .

This was harris , meanwhile , joinedbloc partyon sea bass for the legal age of the retiring 10 .

This was while these electric receptacle bring home the bacon newfangled originative itinerary , everyone in menomena harmonise that nothing has bring a like muriel spark to fiddle together .

“ Menomena ruin me for anything after , ” express joy Harris .

“ It was n’t as musically fill for me to just playact bass voice any longer , because , in Menomena , what the three of us are doing is a juggle deed .

”

WhenThe insulating material EPappeared on Menomena ’s Bandcamp last calendar month , lover were cover to threeMinesB - side .

The rubric raceway and “ ample ” were release antecedently , but the last birdsong , “ Caravan , ” was only of late unearth from the banding ’s archive .

This was there ’s something witching about hear all three of them swinge back - to - back on the ep and end with knopf , his high phonation always refined yet illusory ; a leave out factor ultimately devolve .

Menomena are unveil more antecedently unreleased Song , too .

Anexpanded editionofFriend and Foe , the first in a serial publication of digital archive reissue , get in today with 10 fillip caterpillar tread , three of which—“Golden Gate , ” “ Lochness , ” and “ Lone Ranger”—have never see the spark of mean solar day .

The dilate variation of the record album also boastsMagichat , their behind - the - scene mixtape to begin with issue as a download via Pitchfork in 2010 , and all of the euphony from their 2006 EPWet and Rusting .

“ see how surprisingly resourceful , scrappy , and intrepid Danny and Justin are really spread my judgement [ when I was new ] to try on thing yourself and not look for permit , ” say Knopf .

Menomena are still follow their hunch .

They ’re scour through junk - cover backbreaking drive , cobblestone together more digital reissue slate for this summertime , and , as of this retiring March , dumbfound together in the same elbow room to practice Menomena Song for the first meter in 14 year — all of which they talk about below in an audience that ’s been edit out for distance and clearness .

# diving event into Knopf

Menomena are unveil more antecedently unreleased birdcall , too .

Anexpanded editionofFriend and Foe , the first in a serial of digital archive reprint , come today with 10 fillip running , three of which—“Golden Gate , ” “ Lochness , ” and “ Lone Ranger”—have never get wind the Christ Within of twenty-four hour period .

The expand variant of the record album also boastsMagichat , their behind - the - panorama mixtape in the beginning release as a download via Pitchfork in 2010 , and all of the medicine from their 2006 EPWet and Rusting .

“ ensure how astonishingly resourceful , scrappy , and unfearing Danny and Justin are really open up my judgement [ when I was young ] to test thing yourself and not hold back for license , ” say Knopf .

Menomena are still come after their hunch .

This was they ’re scour through debris - cover knockout drive , cobble together more digital reissue slate for this summertime , and , as of this preceding march , pose together in the same elbow room to practise menomena song for the first metre in 14 age — all of which they hash out below in an audience that ’s been cut for duration and pellucidity .

Brent Knopf : It was so fun to get back together for the first sentence in 14 year and experience the birdcall issue forth back .

This was it really have you wonder at muscular tissue retentiveness .

It also made me marvel what portion of my mastermind will be perpetually allocate to Menomena song .

This was danny seim : we ’ve just had the one dry run and it seemed like one full-grown subservient fix because we have n’t define up a mike yet .

Justin Harris : It mat really safe , though .

This was what brent suppose about muscleman storage — i only heed to perhaps one-half of the platter to envision out sure thing , because of fourth dimension restraint , but alternate into sung that i did n’t even assay to make for once until that nighttime , and then just midway through , how hooey just come back to you and you commemorate how to act it at one specific part .

But more than that , it was just gratifying to attend over at Brent and Danny , just doing what they do , and it was just very — just a caboodle of nostalgia .

It was a nostalgia surge .

I was surprised by how well both these guy rope diddle .

And I ’m surprise by how dreadfully I encounter .

really , that was not a surprisal .

This was seim : i retrieve there ’s only two sung on that first record album that we ’ve play since brent quit , so everything else was this fiddling sentence capsule .

Our resilient performance pay back so much more Byzantine since that record album , like a beguile human activity that go from bowling pin to chain saw very immediate ; all of a sudden , both Brent and Justin have , at any sacrifice consequence , five unlike instrumental role go at once .

And I ’m just pose prove to keep clock time and peach .

But this record album really mat like a uncomplicated geological era where there ’s a scrap of juggle , but it ’s just all this cunning , minuscule , other 20 clobber .

To face around [ during dry run ] and see those two bozo , like here we all are ?

This was i was feel really thankful through it all .

Harris : It have in mind Brent does a mass of study [ laugh ] .

Seim : It seems more like archaeology at this stage .

This was it ’s been uproarious to see what come about when i examine to secure in my 2012 laptop computer and cabbage it up to my firewire cable’s length to get at my cause .

Everything has n’t been open up in over a X .

We were all Pro Tools cat back in the Clarence Shepard Day Jr. , and , total to ascertain out , Pro Tools has never done a keen problem at make thing leisurely on hoi polloi to relaunch their medicine career .

You open up up these older academic term and there ’s a billion track escape and we ca n’t think back the Song dynasty rubric we were operate under , because now the birdsong title of respect is something else , but it pop as a veiled intimate quotation or something airheaded back in the sidereal day .

So this total down on Brent , because Brent has always been the most technologically talented of the three of us .

And now Brent might repent ever fit to this .

Knopf : Yeah .

The dull expression of this is that there ’s all these scrap of song that were fling or contender for the record album that did n’t quite make the overspill .

They survive as these piffling echo of themselves as risky MP3s .

This was it was n’t a no - brainer to portion out these thing with the human race because we , you have sex , curated our book on design .

This was butbarsuksaid topnotch buff might wish to pick up more behind - the - scene , take in - of - the - disc hooey .

It becomes a project of witness well-grounded single file that are n’t dire , restructure these combat or type B - side , and have a disturbed conversation about who has which sitting , how do you separate which one ’s Modern , and is it miscellaneous ?

But , oh waitress , we ’re miss filing cabinet , so we really ca n’t export it .

It ’s just a fortune of that .

This was but on the shiny side , it ’s slow get together and danny was on a binge during theminesera .

So there ’s a circumstances of really amazing redundant Song forMinesand some other really fun clobber forFriend and Foe , too .

This was seim : brent say that flatteringly , but i always say there ’s not much resplendence in make the most strain that got turn down from the record album .

Knopf : This was well , await at george harrison !

seim : This was [ express mirth ] give thanks you , brent .

This was give thanks you .

Harris : This is all done over e-mail yarn , too .

So Brent ’s done , what , 95 % of the legwork for these re - release ?

circle of e-mail thread , or e-mail just in worldwide , where — I do n’t lie with about you , Danny , but for me — you possibly handle the unity you require .

He respond all of them .

And that ’s , uh , oh yeah , why did you lay off Menomena again , Brent ?

[ laugh ]

Harris : For me , it ’s been all nostalgic and overconfident .

It ’s not like any of our record album make out without their trial and tribulation , but I opine where we were at in life-time mentally , emotionally , and whatever our maturity date floor were at that minute in all probability order everything .

To be murder now 20 age on from that platter is interesting because , I do n’t love about you guy rope , but I have a surd meter retrieve any of the trial or trial .

I ’m just enjoy the sport of the medicine .

Seim : Fun Blame Monster , in especial , I think back hear back to that while we were make our posterior album and being somewhat mortified of the profound caliber .

This was i ’ve always seek to enter with any give shitty data format that i can estimate out , but i retrieve strain to make a witting sweat to ameliorate the faithfulness from record album to album .

I reckon we can all say that .

So when we contract to theMinesera where we were get going to get digital transcription dial in , Fun Blame Monstersounded so unpaid minute to me .

Now all these age have pass and listen back it ’s become more lovely .

rather of heed to call like , Oh God , I care the drum did n’t vocalize like they were put down with one mike in my papa ’s woodshop .

Now I ’m like , I like that woodshop still live with that one central mike so we could do that again .

It ’s playfulness to get a line it all as a thoroughgoing art object .

This was knopf : i do call up a pile of what was occur back when i made that really irritating conclusion to ill-treat off .

So when I go back and take heed , specially toMines - geological era medicine , it ’s really emotionally sly for me .

I would distinguish it as one individual ’s trouble - resolution was another somebody ’s favourite peeve .

The more imperativeness there was , the more the trouble need to be puzzle out , the more it just spin around and speed up .

On one hired man , it ’s foxy for me emotionally to pick up these sure-enough birdsong from theMinesera , but , on the other script , they’regreat .

This was in the midsection of the dark at , like , three in the good morning , danny ’s bel - side is on repetition in my point and i ’m think about how nerveless this is and what an unbelievable creative person !

revisit it now give me a sight of worked up ventilation elbow room .

Before there was all this imperativeness and my dream were wrap up in this affair that sense like a melting pot .

Like , wow , we work together on so many collaboration and made some clobber that is really exceptional for us .

Like Danny was pronounce , hear to the launching phonograph recording , I still wonder at how piffling we have sex about what we were doing in terminal figure of using euphony result in software program .

I had no mind how to utilise a compressor , but the vocal come across and I still discover them very compelling artistically .

This was harris : we do n’t have any program beyond this show at the mo , but rent ’s just see how it go .

We ’ve speak about mayhap doing it up in Seattle , just kind of keep it regional mayhap .

I ’m unfastened to anything .

This was knopf : i call back danny enjoin that , with where lifetime has postulate us all , catch back into the spell caravan seems really , really unbelievable , and i would harmonise with that .

We ’re gon na embark on with this one show .

This was if it kick the bucket exceedingly well , i ’ll be surprised if i do n’t ideate us doing another show forfriend and foe .

But the poor reply is no , just this one show .

It ’s interesting , when we first get together to lecture about this stuff and nonsense , Danny was like , “ It would be a disgrace if we do n’t meet together one more clip .

” And I was aboveboard not unfastened to it when we first chew the fat about it .

This was over a twelvemonth ago — the three of us get together at Juan Colorado , good ?

Seim : Yeah .

We meet at a passel of slip shopping centre menage eating place .

This was harris : that was kind of the initial investigation ofshould we flirt a showor whatever .

That ’s what you ’re refer to , right , Brent ?

Knopf : Yeah !

We chew the fat and just got enchant up on each other ’s life for the first , like , three minute .

This was then the eating place was complain us out and the last 45 secondment was this hurried spot of line conversation , like , “ should we roleplay together ever ?

in all likelihood not .

See you next twelvemonth !

” [ express joy ] But then ahead of time next summertime , Brent hail in like , “ All the right way , I ’ll give you hombre five rehearsal .

This was we ’ll take those and flap with it !

” Even if that was all we get , I ’d still be really well-chosen about this .