We thought we had a hold on Nihiti after hearing their 2010 debut album, Other People’s Memories. It was a fine release, electronics and ambience in equal measure. But the group are back with something different, and it might just give them the attention they deserve. Their Faced with Splendor EP (released this month on Lo Bit Landscapes) had the group heading back to the studio, but leaving the synths at home??

It was time Bowlegs got some questions to the excellent Nihiti:

Bowlegs: Your new EP, Faced with Splendor, is a stripped down affair – where have all the synths gone?

Nihiti: We were working in Soft Landing Studios, run by Stephen Griesgraber of Redhooker … it’s optimized for acoustic music (and for Redhooker, who are quite excellent), unlike the heavily synthed out studio we share with La Big Vic, so we made a point of leaving the electronics at home.



Bowlegs: How did writing these songs differ from the electronic-based music heard on your previous album Other People’s Memories?

Nihiti: The approach to writing these songs was far more conventional in that the songs were first written, then developed by practicing them and playing shows, and then finally recording them.



Bowlegs We love the track Pinko Morning – what is it about?

Nihiti: It is about weaving a recursive and labyrinthine oubliette from the strands of film, memory and dream; the alchemy of imagery and semiotics allows us to traverse through the manifold of threads. But it’s also just an old-fashioned love story.

Bowlegs: What’s the current line-up for Nihiti – and did you all have something to do on the new, acoustic-based EP?
Nihiti: No comment.


Bowlegs: What influences the music you make?

Nihiti: Living.



Bowlegs: Did producer TJ Lipple change the way you work in the studio?

Nihiti: TJ is the one of the best producers of acoustic/real music we have ever heard, and it was freeing to know that the sound of the record was in good hands (hands that would do a better job than we could at this type of thing).


Bowlegs: What can we expect from the next album – which we believe is coming in March 2012?

Nihiti: A dark electronic masterpiece and a Marissa Nadler song.


Bowlegs: What’s been your favourite record of 2011 so far?

Nihiti: Sandwell District’s Feed Forward, or Belong’s Common Era.