Local band Love Rhombus feature three fun-loving, neon-sporting 20-somethings who use their music to express the sheer joy of letting loose, with a bit of a geometry lesson thrown in. Just watch their music video for Frostbite Heart,"" and you'll witness catchy layers of electronic beats paired with simple, rhythmic synthesizers, bass and guitar. This usually results in a vibrant wall of sound powerful enough to provoke spontaneous dancing from even the most incorrigible of friends. Add in the earnest lyrics of Madeleine Fairbairn, and ""Frostbite Heart"" becomes a more than auspicious single.
As they begin creating a product for audiences to ground their dance parties on, Love Rhombus, consisting of Robbie Guertin, Jason Nolen and Madeleine Fairbairn, take time out to reflect on their progress.
How did Love Rhombus come to be?
Jason Nolen: The idea of forming a band started as a bad joke at a bad party, but over time it became embarrassingly real.
Robbie Guertin: Lewd bar room humor, followed by misguided enthusiasm.
How do you write songs?
RG: Sometimes on paper, but other times with musical instruments, and other times with computers.
JN: Robbie creates melodies while Madeleine and I pull shapes in front of a wall of mirrors. Once the music is ready, our friends gather in a circle and Madeleine and I take turns freestyling. Our friends are all amazed and Robbie jots down our lyrics.
What do you do when not working on Love Rhombus?
Madeleine Fairbairn: Jason and I are getting our Ph.D.s in sociology, Robbie is an artist. We make music together because we can't think of anything to talk about otherwise.
Do you have a favorite local band? Do you kick it with other local bands?
JN: Our favorite local band is Paper Scissors Rawk. Their live show will melt your eyes. And we often debate the heavy-duty intellectual issues of the day into the wee hours with a local metal band called Pentasome.
What new material are you working on?
RG: We have two new songs in the pipeline, along with a number of formulating concepts.
JN: We're currently working on a very somber piece about love, fire and the desolation of the soul. And another one about an angry bear who DJs house parties. It's called ""Electrobear.""
What was the inspiration for the
""Frostbite Heart"" music video? Whose ice fishing hut is that? Where did the mannequins come from?
MF: We don't know whose ice fishing hut that was exactly. We just wandered out into the middle of the ice fishing village on Monona Bay, picked the coolest looking fishing hut and knocked on the door. There were four men and a dog and a wood stove inside it. They let us run in an out of the hut several times and were generally very nice to us, but in the kind of way that you're always nice to someone that you're pretty sure is not all there. We were, after all, underdressed in neon on a February afternoon. We could have been dangerous for all they knew.
JN: The video and song were inspired in part by our longtime fascination with the arctic tundra: the nothingness, the whiteness, the endlessness, stretching out beyond the human imagination. We rescued the mannequins from eBay Island. Their names are Love Rhonda and Parallela Ann. Unfortunately, both were harmed in the making of the video.
Any upcoming Madison shows?
JN: We'll probably play a few shows this summer in NYC and Philly, but we've yet to figure out the dates/venues. As for Madison shows, keep your eyes peeled for something in September/October.
Check out Love Rhombus' MySpace page to hear a number of tracks and watch the music video for ""Frostbite Heart.
