I recently checked out the track Breakdown by The Bergamot, a fresh new act on the indie pop scene. It’s an amazing tune and one that is well worth your attention, so make sure you check it out once you’ve read this interview!
By Jane Howkins
You recently released a single titled Breakdown. What can you tell us about the song?
Sitting in Sedona, AZ during the pandemic gazing at the stars, I thought “What a crazy
situation we have found ourselves in. Yet, the stars have seen millions of years… millions of
moments of history and have persevered through it all.” That was the beginning of the tune. To be inspired by the stars and remember that we must persevere, regardless of the challenges that lie in our way.
Where can Breakdown be purchased and how has the reception been so far?
Breakdown is the most streamed single we have ever released, after one month out. So the
reception to the song has been incredible. You can purchase it on most major streaming
outlets like Amazon and iTunes. It will also be available on our new album Far Out, which
drops on September 30th the day before we open for the Barenaked Ladies at the Morris100
Fest! So make sure to pre-save the record today!
Do you plan to release any more singles anytime soon?
We just dropped a new single Paradise and the single that will release with the new album is
called Neon Sunrise. Lot’s going on!
You have an album called Far Out being released in September. What can you tell us about
the album?
After traveling to London to record and produce Mayflies, which was released in late 2019, we
were asked to open for OneRepublic in early 2020. When the record release was basically
derailed along with touring (and just about everything else) due to the pandemic, we had a
choice. Sit and wait or start another record. The choice was clear – so the work began again.
The Far Out record was an ode to the time we spent living in the desert for the last 2 years.
It’s an ode to the surfing term roughly translating to Amazing Experience and to the fact that
we lived far out in Sedona during quarantine. The record took roughly two years to create. It
was mixed by Matt Wiggins in the UK.
Has the pandemic hindered your work much?
It mostly affected the touring schedule and live show work we were doing getting ready to
open for OneRepublic, but it stimulated the studio work. When else in life can you take 3
months to lock away in a studio and work on writing a record and get paid via pandemic
unemployment? It seemed like a once in a lifetime opportunity. So it stimulated another
record actually. I wrote a lot of music trying to really fill the gaps in our setlist – I had come to
learn about during the early touring days of Mayflies. It was very intentional writing.
I was also writing music that would end up on the new album and the score of our 50 State
documentary State of the Unity.
Where are you based? What is the local music scene like where you are?
The last place we had a full time residence in was Brooklyn, NYC. We loved it there. Loads of
gigs and really cool bands. What more? Great bagels! Now we are living mostly on the road
getting ready for the new album and promoting our freshly minted documentary State of the
Unity, which was released at the Sedona International Film Festival in early 2022 and won the
Marion Herrman Excellence in Filmmaking Award. Once the film finishes the film festival
circuit, we will put it out worldwide. So we are super busy at the moment.
Your music is very unique sounding, having a synthy indie pop sound. What/who influences
you most as artists? What have you been listening to recently?
I have always loved this band called 12 Rods. A bit of a throwback, but high energy and very
guitar/synth heavy sounds. I have my own perspective on lyrics and song structure – but their
music really inspires me.
What is the writing and recording process like for you?
It’s a bit of chaos really. Sometimes it’s a bassline or a beat. Other times a lyric or a guitar riff. I
get inspired by just picking up an instrument. Sometimes I write with pen and paper to limit
distractions – sometimes I write in the studio while editing so I can keep it all in a flow state.
It’s all over the place – both physically and mentally!
Do you have any plans to tour in the UK?
Nothing on the books for the moment. But that can all change overnight. We hope to bring our documentary, which won the Best Feature Documentary at the Paris Independent Film
Festival this year, to Europe and the UK. So stay tuned…
Any last words for the fans?
We are super excited to announce that our film State of the Unity will be at the Heartland
International Film Festival on October 7th at Newfields and the 9th at Living Room Theaters. This internationally recognized film festival is an Academy Award Qualifying Festival – ranking it amongst the elite film festivals in the world. One of the biggest honours of our lives. So a new record and lots more to come on the horizon.