JJ Kozcan of The Obelisk recently conducted an interview with Brant Bjork about the change in his approach to making records that preceded Gods and Goddesses, founding Low Desert Punk, his time spent living in Spain and much more…  A few excerpts from the chat follow below. Please enjoy.

The Obelisk: The production seems much more elaborate this time around. Is that something you were really shooting for, or did it just come from working with Ethan Allen?

BB: Well, it's both. I definitely decided not too long ago that I wanted to up the production level. I've actually enjoyed making lo-fi records, but I've been doing it for so long that I was excited to do it at a different level. I've known Ethan Allen for a while, I'm familiar with his work, and he's a good guy. We always talked and I knew when I was ready to take it to a new level, he'd be the guy to do it. So we just finally decided to do it.

The Obelisk: How do you feel about the different representation of your songs? Like you said, you'd done lo-fi records for a long time. How do you feel about the material being presented differently?

BB: It's exciting for me, just because I enjoy making records of all kinds. To be honest, a lot of the reasoning behind the creation and enjoying lo-fi records is financially, that's about all I can afford to do (laughs). With this particular record, I stepped it up, got a couple bucks together and worked with Ethan. I wrote and arranged songs knowing I was gonna go in and step it up. There were some songs that I'd been sitting on for a couple years, because I wanted to wait and then throw them into more of a produced situation, where it's more "I don't know how to explain it" but not lo fi, if you will. It's cool. I enjoy it. It's a fun experience.

The Obelisk: How long were you in the studio, and how does that differ from when you're making a record by yourself?

BB: We still worked very fast. I did basic tracks with the band live in two nights, and then did the overdubs and vocals at a different studio in about a week, and mixed it the following week. It's about a 14-day record.

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