Meet Ackerman

Sometimes you just need some wind in your sails, a fresh of breath air, a new coat of paint! Especially now that everything gets dark and sad at 4 pm and people are huddling around lightbulbs to cheer themselves up.

Welp, we’ve got a little tincture for your souls. Meet Ackerman, a Brooklyn bedroom project turned full-fledged experimental pop band that trades in layers of effects and transformative tunes. Their dreamy and unexpected sound makes for a dang good listen, and requires zero lightbulbs.

Fresh off their latest release A Million Sunflowers, we chit chat about their favorite outfits, their layering process (the music, not their clothes), and make a very compelling case for Thanksgiving pizza.

Toss your turkey on some thin crust and get to noshing.

A self-portrait by Ackerman

Would You Rather…

Whose face would you rather have on the back of your head Shia Lebouf or Martha Stewart?

M: Shia Lebeouf for sure. 

J: Those both sound awful, but having a face in the back of my head offering positive reinforcement a la “JUST DO IT” would be nice. Saw Honey Boy a couple of times and damn, we’d have a lot to talk about. So I guess I’d do that. 

Some Questions with Ackerman

When you go on youtube what kind of videos do you gravitate towards?

J: I will waste hours every day watching individual scenes of random movies. I don’t know why, but I’ve done it since I was a kid. I’m talking that Movieclips youtube channel shit. I DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE! 

M: Not sure what videos I gravitate towards, but I definitely love scrolling through the comments. It’s a crazy world down there. 

N: Guitar Pedal Demos.

What is your favorite outfit to wear when performing and why?

M: I’ve got a couple rotating outfits and I’m always keeping an eye out for new ones. Some are more sleek and cool, others are loud and colorful, and some are grungy. I’ve noticed that it’s integral to getting the energy of the performance just right. 

N: Really depends on how I’m feeling! I just discovered that sunglasses in a dark room is not my vibe. Anything that makes me feel comfortable expressing myself. 

J: I don’t even think about it, lol. Maybe I should. As long as there isn’t food on my clothes I’m good, but stay tuned for my next evolution! 

Do you remember the first album/CD/tape you ever bought? Has it had any impact on the music you are making today?

M: I always mix this up in my head. It was either Weird Al’s “Running With Scissors” or “The Best of Deep Purple”. Whatever it was, I’d say any music that made/makes me feel something influences the music I make. 

N: Yeah, I bought “Under My Skin” by Avril Lavigne in the 2nd or 3rd grade. I recently revisited the album and there’s definitely a part of me that really connects with those songs. I feel like ackerman is the musical equivalent of a potluck where everyone brings something to the table so yeah, there’s definitely some Avril in the music I make! 

J: There are a few, but a big stand out that comes to mind immediately right now is a copy of Out of the Blue by ELO and the Boston self-titled that my dad got my brother and I for Hanukkah. Those were big records for us when I was super young.

While writing lyrics for your music what is your process like?

N: Writing lyrics is different for every song! 

J: Yeah, on solo ackerman songs I kind of just play around with melodies and see what words fit. On others Nardo and I usually will sit down and bounce ideas off of each other. 

N: Usually me or Jordan will bring a chunk of lyrics to the table and we’ll collab on sections to finalize the songs.

What instrument/technique would you want to learn and possibly incorporate into your music? 

M: I’ve been shedding conga’s for the past couple years so that’s always an ongoing discussion...recently we played a cover live where Nardo played drums and I played bass... 

N: We’re all multi instrumentalists in this band. I’m primarily a guitarist and a bassist so I hope I get to do more percussions/drum playing, and also continue doing more synths and synth bass! 

J: I think Maria Chavez’ broken-vinyl sonic worlds are insane. Would love to learn how to do that someday.

Who was your most influential family member growing up?

J: Hard to say who was the “most”. My dad was an immigrant from Italy who experienced a ton of hardship and still found success, while also being an incredible musician. That inspired me. My mom, who works hard every day to find the next adventure even after losing her soulmate, my brother for teaching me endlessly about music, my sister for being steadfast in herself and her beliefs. Inspiration is everywhere! 

N: It’s super hard to say. My family is generally an inspiring bunch. My parents are Colombian immigrants who made it in the US environments. I can’t imagine moving countries and learning an entirely different language and cultural norms. I think that’s pretty badass. My brother is also a creative in the world of industrial design and tech and that’s inspiring in it’s own way, but he’s inspired me ever since we were kids. And that doesn’t even scratch the surface of my grandparents and extended family lol.

Do other forms of art inform your work? If so, who/what and how?

N: TV and film inspires a lot of emotion for me. Being in NYC, I try to interact with as much art as I can, even if some of it is hard to connect with. 

J: Of course! This project is based on the interconnectedness of other mediums. I work as a film director/editor, and editing especially has so much in common with music. Rhythm, pacing, energy- my work outside of the band has informed what my music sounds like fully. Making our album art also helps cautify the themes of our music and albums in a visual way. It’s a great challenge.

What was the first concert you ever went to?

M: Ozzy Osbourne. 

J: Probably an Acoustic Alchemy show. They’re like a new wave acoustic instrumental band that my family loves. They rock, my sister even walked down the aisle to their music this year lolol N: The first show I ever saw was Coldplay at the PG Pavilion. I went with my dad and my friend Eve. It was dope.

If every word you said for the rest of your life had to start with the same letter which letter would you choose? Why?

N: S, shockingly. So many selections. 

J: U. I start every sentence with ummmmmmm anyway, so i’ve kinda cheated my way out of this conundrum. 

M: This hurts my brain.

Your music is comprised of a lot of layers. Where do you begin when building a new track?

J: The cool part about this project is that the creative process is pretty nebulous. Sometimes, the tracks will be written through jamming in the rehearsal space, sometimes I’ll just bring a form or a few layered ideas, or sometimes I’ll bring a fully written and tracked song and invite them into the mixing/mastering process. I record as I write, so that has always informed my sonic palette because it’s additive and sound-design based. I also always write instrumentals before vocals, so sometimes the instrumentals are dense. But we’re always open to anything. 

M: Recently we spent 3 weeks in July writing and recording together and a lot of that has drums/bass/guitar as the bass and we’ll be composing around the core track. A couple of tracks on the most recent EP’s were also written/recorded in that way. 

N: I feel like we’re open to starting anywhere and layering things on as we feel it.

Any final comments? (This is your electronic soapbox for one last answer.)

J: I need to talk about thanksgiving leftovers. Why the hell do we always put them in sandwiches or in a skillet the next day? Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I feel that some experimentalism could lead to new possibilities. All you have to do to make the best thanksgiving leftovers is throw it all on a pizza! Pile it high, throw some cheese on, and bake it. Open your mind! It’s amazing. And every time my family makes it, someone is like “I thought it’d be gross with the cheese, but it’s amazing!”, and it is. So try it. You don’t always have to do it the way you know, there’s so much more out there. It’s not too late, I know you still have some leftovers in your fridge. Do it. Thanksgiving Pizza will take over the world! 

N: Yay!