TORCHES are an indie rock/dark pop band that have been hypnotizing and swooning the Los Angeles scene since the release of their 2012 debut LP, Heads Full of Rust. Their sound is comprised of lush guitars, vocal harmonies and tribal drums. Singer, Azad Cheikosman and drummer, Eric Fabbro, formed this band after years of bashing away in a hot and sweaty garage, only to grow tired of playing covers. Most recently, TORCHES have released their new EP, If the People Stare.

I was fortunate enough to chat with singer Azad Cheikosman in advance of the band’s show this weekend. Listen to the chat above and read some text below.

the mixtape: What was the inspiration to write this 4 song EP?

TORCHES: We had been touring off of our first album, Heads Full of Rust, and just kind of testing out some new material on the road and the audiences seemed to be responding really well to them and we just decided when we get back we gotta hone in and record these songs and figure out a format as to, like, how we’re gonna do them in the studio.

tm: Listening to the EP, it’s very lush, it’s very dense, there’s a lot of sound within the 4 songs. What’s the challenge for you guys to translate the sound of the record to the stage?

t: There’s definitely a challenge. We try to add more vocals. Let’s say on certain parts it’s just me on the EP singing and when we play live we’ll all sing the same part together and space it out so it sounds like really blendy but still loud and full. As far as the guitars, I do a lot of live looping and just stack layers so it kind of creates this wall of sound.

tm: Do you sing the song in your head as you’re writing it? Do you know where you want your voice to go when you’re writing a song or are you just writing some words down and then later you figure that out?

t: A lot of times it’s kind of a stream of consciousness for me. The process seems pretty boring but eventually after putting down my thoughts on paper I’ll try to make sense of it all. Sometimes I’ll do a little brain storm and be, like, ‘what am I saying here?’, so I can kind of have a theme or some topics and kind of go from there.

Barboza Presents: Filligar with Torches, Sunday August 18, $8 ADV // 8PM // 21+

Buy tickets here