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Don’t be foolish, Des Ark may be a band that is always undergoing changes, however there is one constant- Aimée Argote. Through the ever-evolving cast of drummers and guitarists, the resilient front woman never disappoints, she merely refines, morphs and adapts, as she creates pure sonic goodness along the way.
With a host of collaborators & engineers, Des Ark just finished up their third full-length album, ‘Everything Dies’ is scheduled to be released October 6th, 2015 on Graveface Records.
GroundSounds recently caught up with Aimée to talk about the bands latest project and more, check out the exclusive interview below.
For our readers just discovering Des Ark, can you tell us about the initial creation of your musical alias and how it has transformed over the years?
Des Ark started in 2001 as an outlet for my songs. I’d been in bands previously with more collaborative approaches to songwriting, but wanted to create a space where I could have room to explore my own bipolar styles. Truly the only consistent thing you could say about Des Ark is that I’ve written all the songs. Other than that— we tour & record as a loud angular messy rock band, a nearly-silent solo acoustic act, & everything in between. Members have often come & gone depending on what kind of tour we’re doing, or what kind of record we’re making, or who happens to be around & able/willing to tour (there have been 30+ collaborators over the years). The never-know-what-yr-gonna-get nature of the band is always a surprise for the audience, but also for me, which has helped keep things interesting—or at least blissfully unpredictable—over the years.
Can you tell us a little bit about your upbringing? What was it like growing up in North Carolina?
I was born in Arkansas, to a couple of rural shack-dwelling hippies from New Orleans (where I’ve spent much of my life). We moved to France when I was six, & eventually landed in NC for my mom’s grad school program. As a teenager growing up in Durham NC, I got really involved in radical & queer youth activism thru a non-profit called Youth Voice Radio—we built a recording studio where we made free demos for high school bands, & a radio show where we only played music & radio pieces by high schoolers. That activism, combined with the incredible music scene here, helped shape my ideas about music being an important component for social change. Having a safe space at such an early age gave me the confidence to think & talk about some subjects that might have otherwise been scary, & also gave me a network of other young radial music folks up & down the east coast–which ultimately made it possible for me to start touring in high school (…& never stop). Growing up in NC informed everything I know about building & sustaining community; this place has given me so much love & support over the years that I developed an insane commitment to it. We have a fucked up tick problem, but otherwise…I love it here.
Nine years ago my dad & I built a cabin on my folks’ land in rural NC. Shortly thereafter my mom was diagnosed with late-stage ovarian cancer, & as soon as she was fully recovered my father was diagnosed with throat cancer.
My folks have been running a food truck (crêpes!) for the last 8 years, so I’ve mostly been living in the cabin & helping out with family stuff, while trying to fit in touring & recording in weird unreliable spurts. It’s been crazy difficult, but also a phenomenally rewarding process of learning what’s important to me in life, what I want to spend my time doing, & how to balance a passion which takes me away (touring) with the people I love who often need me here.
How did you decide on the moniker Des Ark?
Will spare you this very boring story. Haha.
Can you tell us about the creative and writing process involved with your latest single “Ties?”
That song (like most songs) existed as a tiny acoustic recording for a few years. I never remember writing songs, so I can’t tell you about that. I can just say that’s it’s a song about loving fucked up people. I have a great father, but many of my friends do not, & it’s very painful to watch people you love be broken repeatedly by their shitty drunk ass parents. I felt like I needed to write a song for them, & for all of us who have/are dating people who are addicts. I wanted to talk some about how difficult it is to unbind ourselves from those we love, what it’s like to live with & love these people…who, despite the horrifying pain they cause others, just cannot figure out how to love themselves.
We’re stoked for the release of your forthcoming album Everything Dies, can you tell us about working on and bringing this project to fruition?
This record has been a total pain in the ass! I never knew what kind of budget I had, which is problematic for anyone trying to get anything done. Since there was no band already playing the songs, I thought I’d try & play everything myself in a home studio. That turned out to be a HORRIBLE IDEA! After some false starts, I ended up going down to Austin TX to record it in my friend’s bedroom studio with some pals. I sent them acoustic demos so they could get familiar with the songs, & we all met in Austin for a week & just went for it. Because it was a tiny bedroom studio, we didn’t have a way to record drums (so we tried recording each drum individually—also a horrible idea). I spent the next year filling in gaps with bits & pieces of recordings in a bunch of other studios. Like seriously—“Yes I’ll pet sit for you………if you let me use your microphones”. Very desperate sad kind of things, hahaha.
There was a lot of other weird finagling & favors & begging & charity, until I eventually landed at Andy LeMaster’s house, where I finished vocals & mixing. And now it is done & I can start the whole hellacious process over again.
What made you decide on the album name Everything Dies?
Well, the record is really about everything you love dying. People & ideas. I’ve had to face a great deal of death over the last few years, & have been learning a lot about accepting changes that I myself did not affect. I used to make songs about how everything is fucked & awful & that was kind of it. Now I make songs about how everything is fucked & awful…& yet we decide to move forward. I’m interested in looking at why we move forward, & the times when we look back & realize the thing which once tortured us to let go of ultimately was freeing. I guess I had to readjust my relationship to death, & stop seeing it as a wholly destructive & terrifying thing. Shit has to die to make room for other beautiful shit, & making a record about death that is also very pretty is just a reflection of how I see things currently.
What musicians/bands are you currently listening to?
Kind of an obsessive amount of Bill Withers right now, plus always Pygmy Lush, Nina Simone, Harry Nilsson, Nils Frahm, Lemonheads (just that “Bit Part” song over and over), Sevyn Streeter EP, & the Leon Redbone christmas album bc it helps me deal with working in 130 degree food truck temperatures. According to my iTunes, I have listened to Ciara’s “Ride” exactly 1,005 more times than any other song in my library.
Can you tell us about the inspiration for your track “Don Taco & His Hot Sauce Toss?”
Don Taco is a song about going home to New Orleans after Katrina, about finding my family and wrapping myself in my big beautiful roots. It’s about falling in love with somebody I knew I’d have to leave, because they’d never understand where I come from.
I wanted this song to feel like a celebration of my family, to touch on hard things in a way that didn’t leave you feeling alone. Hence the group sing along–I wanted the song to feel like an invitation into my home, the way my New Orleans family has always invited me to come into theirs.
You recently finished up a European tour, what do you enjoy most about being on the road?
We drove ourselves for the first time, which was super easy & fun. We tried to take days off to hike a bunch & decided to hike EVERY GORGE in the world. And then we hiked three & gave up completely on that stupid idea.
What European city did you enjoy most?
Ljubliana!!! Slovenia is beautiful & we love our Ljubljana friends.
When you are on stage performing what typically goes through your mind?
Hmm…I have no idea. I zone out.
After the album release, what’s next for Des Ark? What can fans look forward to?
Touring forever!!!
