The fourth annual Catskill Chill Music Festival will take place September 6-8, 2013 at Camp Minglewood in Hancock, NY. After selling out in 2012, organizers have announced that, in an effort to preserve the intimate feel and family vibe of the Chill, capacity will remain the same in 2013 and will not surpass 5k guests.
Camp Minglewood is an intimate lakeside venue with less than 5k capacity. The Catskill Chill features free parking, free camping, on-site cabin rentals, and outdoor covered stages. Activities include an Open Mic Stage, Yoga, Drum Circles, and a communal bonfire each night. The 2013 event will offer more music than ever before with 60 acts performing live on five stages during the 3-day camping festival. Featured artists include: The Meter Men featuring Zigaboo Modeliste, Leo Nocentelli and George Porter, Jr. with special guest Page McConnell; Lotus; Galactic; Conspirator; Lettuce; Papadosio; Tea Leaf Green; The Motet – Funk is Dead; Particle, Dopapod; Kung Fu; Sister Sparrow & the Dirty Birds and many more.
A Northeastern favorite for several years, the electro-rock band Jimkata has been creating wild dance parties throughout the summer at festivals like Summer Camp, Gathering of the Vibes, and Rootwire. They’ve played along diverse acts such as Primus, LCD Soundsystem, Pretty Lights, and The Roots. The band just released their unique, fan-funded record Die Digital, and is continuing to tour throughout 2013. The innovative style mixes heavy bass notes and analog synthesizers with guitars and highly lyrical vocals. Jamwich caught up with the members of Jimkata prior to their Catskill Chill run to talk about their tunes: what inspires them, what makes them stand out, and how their sound has changed since their 2007 debut album.
What do you think sets you apart from other jamtronica/livetronica acts on the scene right now?
Well I guess I don’t really think of us as jamtronica or livetronica. I think of us as more of a rock and roll band thats influenced by electronic and hip hop music. And of course we do jam but I feel like there used to be great rock artists that jammed but we just didn’t call them jam bands. Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, the Doors, Pink Floyd, Yes etc. (Not seriously comparing ourselves to them of course) But You’d go see a band because you liked their songs, their albums, and then you went to the show to participate in a totally different experience. Where the songs are just a foundation or bedrock on which you build something greater together in one night and everyone gets lost in singing and dancing and forgets what context they’re in anyways. Now we have all these classifications Jam/indie/EDM/Polka/Purple and I always have a hard time seeing us completely in any of them. We are totally huge on the polka scene though by the way…
Some of your songs remind me of indie acts such as The Postal Service, what are some indie rock bands that have predominantly influenced you?
TV on the Radio, Modest Mouse, My Morning Jacket, Radiohead, Ratatat, Air, Phantogram, LCD Soundsystem, Flaming Lips
Where do you find inspiration for your lyrics?
Usually in the moments when I’m silent and listening to the world around me. Or just having a moment of reflection on life. It’s a crazy ride and sometimes it seems all a mess and sometimes you have moments of clarity. I’m usually most inspired by those moments of clarity when what once seemed like a mess was actually just a puzzle you had to put together. And of course with that comes a feeling and I try to write from that feeling.
How has your sound evolved since your first album in 2007?
It’s evolved tremendously. In 2007 we were just a few kids having our first studio experience and loving it. Trying to take our ragtag progressive jamming and make a demo out of it using cash from college bar gigs that I tucked away in my top drawer. Honestly that part isn’t too much different. But in that studio we realized what we sounded like and dreamed of what we wanted to sound like. Learned a little more about songwriting and what makes a tasty rich track that you wanna listen to over and over again. We began utilizing electronics and analog synthesizers. We love hip hop and electronic music and wanted to figure out how to incorporate those influences without it sounding copped or contrived. And of course we want that sound to fit naturally into a song that creates a spark inside people the way our favorite music does.
