Interview: The New Division
This week I had the opportunity to sit down with John Kunkel, lead singer of the band The New Division. The New Division is an electronic/synth pop band from Southern California. The band was founded in 2008 by John as a project while in college and has only grown from there. Check out our conversation below:
You've been making music as The New Division since 2008. Can you tell me about how the project got started?
John: I started the project in my freshman year of college. I had just purchased my first synth, an Alesis Micron and decided that I wanted to start an electronic band after hearing “Backslide” by Pom Pom Diary, a group that was short lived in the early 2000s but were making electronic music in Los Angeles. Originally I wanted The New Division to be an 4 piece synth act, like Kraftwerk, but overtime decided I wanted to add guitars and live drums. The rest is history.
In listening to your music (and with a name like The New Division) there's a clear influence of the band Joy Division. What are some of your other musical influences and how do you think they've helped shape your sound?
John: I already mentioned Kraftwerk & Pom Pom Diary, but some other acts that were influential to my sound include (in no particular order) Depeche mode, GusGus, Tangerine Dream, Underworld, The Chameleons, Oasis, The Verve, Stone Roses, Jesus & Mary Chain, Massive Attack, Tears for Fears, The Cure, Deadmau5, Rokysopp, and more.
There's been a pretty strong resurgence in the popularity of new wave influenced music since the early 2000's with bands like The Killers and even now with The 1975. How do you think The New Division's music stands apart from those artists?
John: I think the beauty of new wave (as opposed to more narrow-sounding genres like synthwave) is that each artist has their own sound and take on new wave as a whole. The Killers and The 1975 are probably more ‘upbeat’-sounding than The New Division. Generally speaking I tend to write more on the darker side, but I try to meet halfway.
You're an LA-based band. How do you think that's effected your success so far? Do you find it to be helpful or do you feel it can make progressing in your career more difficult?
John: Being an LA-based electronic band has definitely some advantages. I think people in Los Angeles appreciate all styles and forms of electronic music which opens up the doors to a lot of people both discovering and appreciating your music. In that sense its definitely helped move The New Division forward.
From your first release of the EP, Rookie, to your most recent EP, Precision, your sound has gotten more synth-heavy. Has that been a natural progression? Or is there a more methodical reason?
John: I think in part yes, I’ve always tried to find a balance between the organic sound and the synthetic sound but the more I’ve delved into sound design, the more I want to include synths into every song I write. Synths allow for a much larger sonic palette, and they are also just a bit easier to write on the-fly. I tend to write a lot outside of my home studio from my laptop. I think with Precision & FADER in particular I did this, and that’s probably why they both sound a bit more synth-heavy than normal. I think also over the years I’ve grown a bit tired from playing guitar. I’ve been playing since I was about 10, and wrote a lot of songs just straight from the guitar. Synths also just sound a bit more inspiring to me these days.
What can people expect from a live show? What songs do you feel have had the biggest impact live?
John: Currently we’re not performing live but when do it will be interesting to find out what all we’re going to play given that the catalog keeps increasing. Its hard to say which songs do the best live, but I’ve always noticed songs like “Shallow Play,” and “Opium” seem to be what most people like as a whole, probably because they are from Shadows and people don’t expect us to play them anymore, given how old they are.
Can you tell us anything about your upcoming summer LP release, Hidden Memories?
John: Hidden Memories will hopefully be out sometime in either August or September depending on a few factors, but the record will have 10 tracks that feature something of a ‘hybrid’ sound between electronic and organic. I’m really proud of this record and can’t wait to share it with you!
Are there any plans to tour in support of its release?
John: Not at the minute. I actually really don’t enjoy touring that much, but I do love playing shows so we’ll probably do some fly-out dates to different major cities like NYC, Chicago, Seattle, etc.
Any last words for our readers?
John: Just want to give a big shoutout to everyone who’s supported TND. We’re coming up on almost 10 years of this project being around and it wouldn’t have lasted this long without everyone’s support. I really, sincerely mean it. Thank you.
Find more information on The New Division’s Facebook page.
Listen to songs by The New Division on Spotify.
Have questions or suggestions for Rock In:flux? Email rockinflux@gmail.com