motel void

Phantom Handshakes is a lo-fi dream-pop collaboration between Matt Sklar and Federica Tassano. Based in New York City, the band has released 2 full length albums, an EP and a number of singles since it began in the Spring of 2020. Their newest album, Sirens At Golden Hour, will be released in August of 2024.

MOTEL VOID: Phantom Handshakes formed in the spring of 2020. How did the collaboration between you come about?

MATT (PHANTOM HANDSHAKES): We started as a home recording project during the pandemic lockdown. We had never met in person but kinda knew of each other through the bands we were playing in at the time. We started sharing song files back and forth online, thinking the lockdown would last maybe a month or so and by the end of it we’d have a couple of songs to put on Bandcamp or something. We really liked the songs we were recording so we formed a live band and kept it going.

MOTEL VOID: Your new album, Sirens at Golden Hour, is set to be released in August 2024. Can you tell us more about the themes and inspirations behind this album?

FEDERICA (PHANTOM HANDSHAKES): ‘Sirens at Golden Hour‘ is a more complex, reflective album compared to our previous ones. We spent much more time crafting these songs, experimenting a bit more than usual while still staying within the comfort zone of pop music.

The themes cover a broad spectrum, from intimate and occasionally dark and personal explorations (‘Good Intentions’, ‘It Rains‘) to light and ironic observations (‘Words as Bugs‘, ‘Quiet Quit’). Some tracks revel in the world’s beauty (‘Dusk Enchanted‘, ‘All Around Me‘), while others focus on the destructive impact of human selfishness (‘Apart’).

MOTEL VOID: All of your music is self-recorded. Can you describe your recording process and challenges / benefits you’ve encountered with this approach?

MATT (PHANTOM HANDSHAKES): When we began we self-recorded our songs mostly out of necessity and ease due to the lockdown and we found that approach really worked for us, so we’ve kept it going for all of our releases. We like having control of our own sound and releasing our songs on their own terms. We’re not professional studio engineers or musicians and we don’t record with high-end gear so our songs have a rough quality to them, but we try to create something unique within those limitations.

FEDERICA (PHANTOM HANDSHAKES): We’ve never really faced challenges working remotely and producing our own music. We considered changing our approach to record in a more “professional” or high-fidelity way, but it didn’t work for us. Personally, I’m not a fan of music studios. The limited time and pressure make me anxious. I prefer working in the comfort of my home, where I can take my time and have the freedom to record instruments or vocals multiple times (maybe sometimes too many!) until I get the perfect take that I’m truly happy with.

MOTEL VOID: How has the music scene in New York City influenced your work and your development? Could you name a few of your favorite local artists and venues?

MATT (PHANTOM HANDSHAKES): Yeah, the NYC music scene has played a big part in our development. Everyone in the live band has played in other bands around NYC throughout the years. Bands like Project Diem, Joyce, Sooner, Parrot Dream, Holy Tunics, Peel Dream Magazine, The Planes. It’s a very supportive scene and everyone’s usually out watching their friends’ bands on any given night of the week. I actually moved from Brooklyn to New Orleans soon after Phantom Handshakes started playing live, so it’s interesting for me to go back to NYC to play shows or just check out new artists and see what venues come and go. We like to play Elsewhere, Union Pool and Our Wicked Lady in Brooklyn, and more DIY spots like East Williamsburg Econo Lodge. There’s a lot of cool bands and artists in NYC right now. Some of my favorites at the moment are Russian Baths, Starcleaner Reunion, Laveda, To The Wedding.

MOTEL VOID: What are your plans for promoting Sirens at Golden Hour? Do you have any live performances or tours planned?

MATT (PHANTOM HANDSHAKES): We’ll be playing a few regional shows (NYC, New Jersey and Boston) the weekend around the release and we’re planning to tour more later in the year and next year when we release the album physically on vinyl. We’ve got our eye on a West Coast tour, hopefully sometime next Spring, mainly because I want to go to Disneyland with the band. And the ultimate dream would be to do a tour in Europe or Japan one day. They have Disneylands over there too!

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