The Rising: Rainbow Arabia

Dub reggae, calypso, tropicalia, electro-pop fusion, experimental kraut-antipop, dancehall freakbeat, dance music … such phrases - especially the nonsensical-sounding ones - are normally not uttered within the confines of the IndiePit Blog.

But to every rule, there are exceptions. And Rainbow Arabia are exceptions worthy of such distinction.

We know, it’s a lot to digest. But catch your breath, take our hand and let us introduce you to them.

For, some of the most explorative, stereophonic, astutely constructed multi-layer songs to come from Los Angeles’ burgeoning Echo Park/Silverlake/Los Feliz district come from Rainbow Arabia. Remarkably, it’s a group that only consists of two people. And those two people openly profess that they’re still trying to “discover their sound.”

Rainbow Arabia’s Danny and Tiffany Preston are not just on a joint mission to find the sound they were meant to make - they’re also on that socially constructed joint mission we call marriage. Stitched together from the remains of Future Pigeon - close confidants of Elliott Smith - and Licorice Piglet, the spouses made a nuptial agreement to make music together early last year.

Eons later - which is to say, in August 2008 - the band had already pieced together its debut release, The Basta EP. If your Spanish is a bit rusty, that translates to “enough” - amusing for a group that was just getting started.

That release was a joint effort between the Prestons’ own Tiny Man label, along with Manimal Vinyl. By the way, RA are also participants in the label’s Cure and Bowie tribute albums (they’ll be making a “Quicksand”/”Let’s Dance” medley for the latter, which is slated for early next year). And by the way of that by-the-way, the couple - who are raising a Bouvier des Flandres named Django (after Mr. Reinhardt) - previously had a pit bull named Bowie.

But back to the music …

For the EP, the couple mapped out an audio adventure that incorporated what you’d least expect to hear from an Echo Park duo: a mesmerizing soundscape that sounded like it had been spawned somewhere in the Middle East and forced into an arranged marriage with Eurythmics. Cases in point - “Omar K” and “I Know I See I Love I Go“:

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New releases often beget tours, and even though Rainbow Arabia had only pumped out an EP at that point, the road beckoned. They gigged with Gang Gang Dance and Growing last year, playing shows that looked a little something like this:

Earlier this year, Rainbow Arabia were due to put out their maiden full-length on Manimal Vinyl - but they ashed those plans, at least for the time being, in favor of releasing another short-length instead.

Kabukimono streeted last week, as you may already be aware.

“We originally were going to put out a full-length. But then kind of in the middle of doing it, we decided, ‘Let’s just do an EP,’ ” Tiffany recently told IndiePit. “Because we were going to have this done before we went to Europe, and we needed something new before we went there, we just kind of felt like it was too much. [So we said,] ‘Let’s just put out another EP.’ “

“As we were finding ourselves, it was a better decision not to do an album just yet,” Danny chimed in, during the conference call.

“We didn’t want to commit to the album, because we’re still discovering our sound,” Tiffany continued. “With this last EP, we made some changes on how I approach the vocals, for one, and for our album, I want to feel more solid about things. Like, ‘OK, this is our sound, and we found it.’ Whereas I feel like EPs allow you to be a little more experimental. It’s kind of like you’re trying out before doing your album. … The album, I really want it to be stronger. I really want to put more time into it.”

Rainbow Arabia are obviously not the first artists to take this approach: Battles came to the mind of this writer, while Crystal Castles occurred to Danny.

Especially because the band is in essence a project based around creating audio adventures, the EP route did make sense, for the reasons the band spelled out. And Kabukimono is where you’ll find Rainbow Arabia proving their salt as true trailblazers, incorporating many more sounds than the ones they tapped for Basta. They squeezed in all the vast elements mentioned at the top of this piece.

Hear for yourself with these three slices from the just-released short-length (but for the record, the EP’s ensconcing title track alone is worth the buy):

“Harlem Sunrise”

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“Omar K (Remix)” by Ghosts on Tape

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“Let Them Dance (Remix)” by Brenmar

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While Rainbow Arabia’s end results sound pretty tight, the group’s approach to making music is loose. That’s because the group can afford for it to be.

Think of it this way: When all the members of a band sleep in the same bed every night, making music is a pretty accessible activity.

“We just go downstairs to our studio and work,” Danny said. “It’s pretty productive that way.”

But RA’s prolificness isn’t only attributed to the bandmembers being in such ridiculously close proximity to each other. It’s also because they don’t have other bandmembers to deal with. Having only two people means fewer scheduling conflicts, fewer differences of opinion - artistic or otherwise - and a lot less drama.

“No matter how we roll, we can just get up and go anywhere. Not having to deal with other personalities and that, it’s still worth it” being a two-piece, Tiffany said.

And yet, only having two people in your band - especially for one whose sound is as insatiably far-reaching as that of Rainbow Arabia - can be limiting. Especially when dealing with practical issues, like trying to incorporate the multitude of sounds the pair pack into their songs.

For Basta, “We would turn on the beat machine, and the beat would stay the same through the whole song,” Tiffany said. “We’d write one arpeggiated bass line that would go all the way through, and we would jam parts over that. But now it seems like a pain in the ass, because now we’re like, ‘Oh, let’s make beat changes and bass line changes,’ and it’s hard, ’cause we don’t have a bass player. … So it’s a little bit frustrating now that we’re having drum changes and bass line changes, but it’s also broadened our sound and taken it to the next level.

“It’s tough, because you can’t just look at the drummer and go, ‘Oh, how about a fill there?’ We’ve got to go into the computer, stop what we’re doing, and put a fill there and see if it works.”

Danny agreed with Tiffany: ”It’s more difficult when it’s just two people, because we have to create a third or fourth player - instead of just telling them to [play something].”

That said: “It’s less time than dealing with bandmembers, though.”

It’ll take a bit more time for Rainbow Arabia to piece together their debut LP (which reminds us of another recent “Rising” band who are taking a similarly careful approach to properly introducing themselves: the Drums). But they’re shooting for February or March.

“We’re not going to rush it for sure. We want to make sure we’re going to be happy with it,” Danny said.

Tiffany added, after mentioning the fall European tour: “I don’t know if we’ll ever be happy with anything. But we at least want to get it to a point where we can put it out. I definitely want to make that plunge and do an album.

“Fuck it, let’s do it.”

Stay tuned for part two of our interview with Rainbow Arabia, in which Danny and Tiffany talk about classic rock albums they wish they had made.

And don’t miss these past editions of “The Rising”:

Brian Bonz
The Drums
Too Many Daves
Mountanaka
The Hero and the Victor