Since 2006 American experimental duo ARMS AND SLEEPERS released 16 albums and EPs. A massive musical output by Max Lewis and Mirza Ramic, combined with numerous tours through Asia, Europa and North Ameria. Currently ARMS AND SLEEPERS are touring Europe, presented by NOTHING BUT HOPE AND PASSION.
After so many record releases the duo still is creative, so we met Max Lewis, one half of ARMS AND SLEEPERS, to find out his seven favorite songs.
On the following pages you’ll find Max Lewis’ current favorite tracks, which have influenced him as a musician.
One of ARMS AND SLEEPERS‘s Max Lewis favorite tracks: LILY ALLEN – Smile
I chose this track for numerous reasons: (1) it’s incredibly catchy to me, (2) it sounds a lot more sincere and authentic than most pop songs, and (3) it successfully combines retro and modern pop sensibilities. For these reasons, it’s a song that I can listen to on repeat for hours.
One of ARMS AND SLEEPERS‘s Max Lewis favorite tracks: MADVILLAIN – Accordion
I chose this track because, like ‘Smile’, it blends different kinds of music in a way that sounds natural. How often do you hear someone rapping over an accordion? Moreover, this track is quite simple in instrumentation, but it never feels like anything is missing. I first heard this song in the summer of 2004 while on tour across the U.S. It was my first exposure to MADVILLAIN and I’ve been a fan ever since.
One of ARMS AND SLEEPERS‘s Max Lewis favorite tracks: KANYE WEST – Devil in a New Dress
First off, I only ever listen to the first three minutes of this song. After that, it’s a mess. At about 3:15, it sounds like what a song would sound like if non-musicians were in charge of it.
This song makes me think of driving on a highway on a day during the end of fall with the driver’s side window down. If I concentrate on the song and nothing else, it sometimes makes me feel as if I’m floating. I really enjoy the soulful sound of the sample mixed with the roughness of the drums and Kanye’s strange, but evocative language.
One of ARMS AND SLEEPERS‘s Max Lewis favorite tracks: STARS – What the Snowman Learned About Love
When I first heard this song sometime in 2006, I knew that if I ever wanted to write a love song, this song would be a good standard of comparison. If I couldn’t get a love song to sound better and more touching than this song, it wouldn’t be worth pursuing.
For me, this song achieves a nice balance of cool sounds + interesting rhythms, on the one hand, and beautiful melodies on the other hand. I also really like the title of the song (although that isn’t why I listen to it).
One of ARMS AND SLEEPERS‘s Max Lewis favorite tracks: METRONOMY – The Look
I chose this song because I can’t stop listening to it when I drive. I’ll get excited about listening to another song before I get into my car, but as soon as I start driving, I put this song on instead. Like with ‘Accordion’ by MADVILLAIN, part of this song’s charm is that it is quite simple in instrumentation (and is even quite repetitive) and yet nothing ever seems to be missing from it.
One of ARMS AND SLEEPERS‘s Max Lewis favorite tracks: CARIBOU – Odessa
This song has a unique sound and style. It’s mysterious and a little bit eerie. It’s melodic, but has a captivating rhythm. It’s also catchy in a way that is not easy to replicate. That main vocal sample along with the psychedelic samples that are weaved in and out of the song are the catchiest parts of the song and because they’re samples, I think it’d be hard to replicate the feel of the song while also replicating its catchiness. In fact, you can hear the band ROOSEVELT try to replicate this song twice on their EP ‘Elliot’ (Tracks 1 and 3): https://soundcloud.com/futureclassic/sets/roosevelt-elliot-ep/
One of ARMS AND SLEEPERS‘s Max Lewis favorite tracks: CULTS – High Road
This song sounds like a collaboration between INTERPOL and STEREOLAB. In the beginning it could be Interpol, but when the vocals come in it resembles STEREOLAB. I think this also helped to fulfill my desire to hear new INTERPOL and STEREOLAB.