We are Martin, Iain, and Lauren of CHVRCHES, ask us anything!

What are you looking forward to most about playing at Coachella?

Can't wait to see you there!

MD: OUTKAST

Will your next album title be inspired by Yeezus and be called "CHEEZUS"?

puhleeeze. "CHEEZVS" Iain

Do you guys listen to Death Grips?

MD: yeah. i saw them in a 100 cap room in glasgow a couple of years ago. it was INSANE

I discovered you through the Game of Thrones cover you guys put together. Brilliant stuff. Did anyone from the show ever reach out to you?

MD: thanks. no chat from the people on the show tho. sadness.

Martin, what is under your hat? WHAT ARE YOU HIDING?!??!

MD: money of course :)

My girlfriend says she's never seen me dance like I did at your show at the Wiltern in LA.

I wish everyone who came to our shows danced like you did at the Wiltern. Iain

Hey everyone, huge fan!

First off, Lauren I just want to say how great your post was in September regarding sexism not only in popular music, but in society as a whole. Our rape culture needs to be addressed and it's refreshing to see someone who has the power to bring it to light do so, thank you.

Now my question, I'm really looking forward to your set at Bonnaroo in June but I'm not sure what time you guys play on Friday and am worried you might conflict with someone else. Do you know what time your set will be yet?

Thank you!

LM: Thanks, Neader - glad you enjoyed the article. I guess it's important for people to talk about things and make people feel less marginalized for not wanting to abide by the current societal norms... We are confirming set times etc soon and will post online once we have it all sorted :)

Hey guys, y'all have become quite a regular fixture in my girlfriend and I's apartment. We're driving 6 hours to specifically see you guys in Dallas for edgefest in a few weeks.

My question is what are the chances I can get our vinyl signed by you when we go? If I hooked this up I'd totally get laid.

Also, is there any animosity from MS MR for making "Hurricane" better?

MD: ha. if we are around will be more than happy to sign ur vinyl. also, we love MS MR.

Will Martin finally have a chance to visit Canada's Wonderland when you come to Toronto in June? Roller coasters or spinning rides?

MD: it is my number 1 priority (apart from the gig. ha.)

Do you guys make your own vocal samples like for Mother We Share and where do all your synth patches/samples come from?

By the way, this is the guy who asked about Ableton from San Diego!

Hi Ableton question guy ;-)

We do all of our own vocal samples. We also come up with all of our own patches. It's such a big part of the fun for me!

Iain

LM: The samples are my vocals which we recorded in our studio at home, yup. We make all our own samples rather than taking them from elsewhere. Laurie Anderson is a bit influence in that regard.

MD: hello again! the vocal samples are cut up bits of lauren's singing. juno 106 is is the main synth on that song.

My question is about Coachella, I know the festival means a lot to people, but what does it mean to each of you? Have you been before?

Random side question, have you guys heard Eric Prydz's remix of Tether? Thoughts? (Edit: Better link added courtesy of /u/viddy)

I will answer your random side question! I was really surprised by that, I had no idea he had done anything with the track. I saw the video of his performance from Ultra in Miami and it kinda blew my mind a bit. It's very flattering to hear our music used in that way. Iain

When's the next album!

Sometime after we stop touring the first one! Iain

[deleted]

LM: Glad you are enjoying the band! 1) We try to keep on top of wall posts on the Facebook and look through tweets / instagram when we can but there is quite a lot of it day to day! I try to do the daily posts when we are on tour and it's great when people share things with us too. 2) We received a lot of support personally, from the public and from other artists. I'm sure there were negative responses elsewhere on the internet but I didn't take time out of my day to look for them… 3) We're probably putting the covers on ice for a bit but will brainstorm for cool things to do in the future… 4) It wasn't a computer crash, from what I remember - the sample pad fell off a dodgy stand and when it was disconnected, the system automatically shut down. Those problems are pretty rare but part of live music I guess! x

Hi guys! I first off wanted to thank you for creating music that’s impossible to listen to just once, as well as for doing this Ama.

Secondly, directed at Lauren, a large majority of comments are directed at you. Just taking a small sample from Youtube, they range from “Lauren is perfect” to “the cutest girl to ever exist”, as well as Tumblr’s completely dedicated to you doing cute things. Last September, you wrote an article which fought against the musical objectivication of woman. How do the borderline obsessed comments make you feel? Do you find it flattering? Or do you find it to be sexist and furthers the stigma that objectivizing women is okay?

Lastly, I’m seeing you in June in St. Louis, and I absolutely cannot wait!

LM: If people are supportive of our band, we are grateful for that. Comments that refer to things beyond that don't really interest me and I don't find it flattering to be honest. Every time someone tells us "she should smile more" or "she should dance more", I can't help but think that they wouldn't say that if I fronted this band and was male… See you in St Louis!

For Everyone: Who is your favourite Game of Thrones character?

MD: DAENERYS

Hey there!

Just wanted to say I am a big fan of urs and "The mother we share" has been my favourite song ever since Ive heard it. Two quick questions though

1. Which song was the most interesting to record?
2. How exactly is your band name supposed to be pronounced?

1. The Mother We Share probably. That song went through so many different incarnations before we settled at the one you know. Maybe one day I will compile a soundcloud link with all of the different versions of that song spliced together. Could be interesting to some people I guess!

2. "CHURCHES" it's like a Roman 'U'

How do you decide what songs to cover?

Usually it's something that we love and fancy giving it a go in our own style. There's no rhyme or reason for it. It's a lot of fun doing that stuff though. Iain

Iain, Martin, Lauren! welcome! So much to say! Like everybody that heard "The Mother We Share" for the first time, I love you guys and your sound. Been a fan since you released your Recover EP, with ZVVL being one of my favorite songs still. QUESTIONS!

• You guys seem to be touring NON-STOP. Is it ever stressful? I know that Lauren seems to get sick a lot, how do you guys deal with it. It seems you guys are going to be touring all summer.
• Do you have a favorite venue among all the others you've been at?
• Favorite song to play live? Favorite song to make?

Thanks for doing this AMA guys. Lain and Martin are two cool dudes. Lauren, hope you don't get too many marriage proposals here! haha PLEASE COME TO SACRAMENTO. V Ξ

LM: I think on-tour sickness is part of being a singer, as your body is your instrument. If other people are ill during a show, it's probably less difficult to tell, and I guess your immune system just suffers from being on the road a lot, sleeping little, lack of LIGHT, but we try to stay health. The Troubador in LA was fun to play as it's so legendary, and the Barrowlands in Glasgow was a big deal for us as we grew up seeing bands there. My favorite song to play live is By The Throat.

Favourite album of 2014? Mine is St Vincent

Warpaint Iain

LM: That record is soooo good. I also liked the Angel Olsen LP a lot.

MD: SNAP

Love you guys. Has anyone ever REALLY butchered the pronounciation of your band's name due to the "V"? (Like "Cuh-vurtches"?)

LM: Some fans we met in Norway had real trouble with it but we don't mind. It's just a name, innit.

Do you find meeting fans awkward or do you enjoy it?

It's really nice to meet fans and put faces to the people who listen to our band. I do however find it a bit awkward when people say nice things! Just a bit shy probably. Iain

MD: not at all. people are generally very nice to us.

Your interviews on local TV and radio stations always sound more Glaswegian than the more international ones. Are your trying to hide your accent when travelling abroad?

LM: I have never noticed this and we don't try to hide our accents, no. We probably just speak more slowly when we are abroad so that people don't have to ask us to repeat ourselves ALL THE TIME :)

MD:ha. not intentionally.

Is the Blue Sky Archives project still ongoing?

LM: We aren't writing much or playing at the moment because schedules don't allow but it's definitely still a real thing!

Do you still get into fruit in a big way? http://imgur.com/UZ3wJSo

MD: sure.

Not really a question, but I just wanted to say that I fooled my friend into thinking Scar Tissue by The RHCP was your new song

LM: I hate the Red Hot Chilli Peppers so that is really very upsetting. Also, we hardly use any of the same instruments?!

MD: haha. HOW?

Were there any problems that arose from having such success so quickly?

We try hard not to get involved in that mindset and just focus on doing the best job we can on a day to day basis. If we stopped to think about everything we have done and still had to do...we would probably go a bit mental! Iain

My question is for Iain, how do you pronounce your name and do you have any powers? Can you heal a deer if it is injured?

It's just like Ian but with an extra I. I think it's a scottish thing. My powers are mainly levitating and time travel. Iain

Was chvrches the first name you came up with? If not, what were the other names?

LM: The name was just picked from a massive list of potential ones we had, and the V reflects the logo designed by our friend Amy Burrows.

Hi members of Chvrches! I'm a huge fan of your work. The Bones of What You Believe is a FANTASTIC album.

My question: If you were a pizza topping, what would you be and why?

Thanks for saying so! Glad you like it. Oohh that's a tough question. I would say it would definitely have to have anchovies in it. And maybe juxtapose the extreme salty savouriness with something sweet like pineapple. Oh wait that sounds disgusting...nevermind. Iain

MD: i would be olives cos they are the best one

Aereogramme reunion Iain? Please!

Awww I don't think that's on the cards anytime soon! We are prettyyy busy at the moment with Chvrches and everyone is off on their own paths. It would take so much work to get that material ready to play again...IF we all wanted to do it. Nice thought though :) Iain

Hey Chvrches!

Huge huge fan from India! Any plans on doing a tour here?

Also, what's your favourite synth?

Cheers :)

LM: We'd love to come but no plans at the moment. Any shows will be announced on our site as we get them!

MD: maybe the juno 106. we are about to buy a jupiter 8. im pretty confident that will become my fav once i can play the real thing instead of the soft synth. soft synth is still great tho

Hey guys, I love your music! "Lies" is probably my favorite song of yours. Do you have any advice for young bands trying to make it?

Persistence. And quality control. There's so much music out there, yours has to be the BEST it can be. It has to have something unique too. And Persistence again.

Iain

First of all, you are a absolutely brilliant performers, but more than that, you somehow managed to start your own record company while touring around the world.

1: How do you balance performing, writing, and running the company?

2: Is there anything about the artist-record company dynamic you hope to change with Goodbye records?

3: How closely is the band involved in the actual day-to-day operations of Goodbye Records?

4: Where on earth do you come up with such great T-shirt and album art designs?

LM: Goodbye was something that was technically in the black and white print of all our record contracts, and the logo is on the back of all our existing records although we personally are signed to different labels in different territories. We run it as a singles / EPs record company doing limited releases for artists, between the three of us and our managers. SOAK was our first release and she is amazing, and we are looking into other releases later in the year as we are all massive music FANS, as well as being musicians ourselves. Anything which can put a bit of heart back into the label culture is a good thing in my book.

LM: OH! And all our design is done by Amy Burrows, other than a poster design which was done by Jamie McKelvie. Both super talented artists!

Excited for the return of Game of Thrones???

Hell yeah! Iain

HiYa, Looking forward to your set at Coachella and hopefully Outside Lands. Are you planning anything special for the Coachella shows? Will you be looking forward to wandering the festival yourself? And finally... Celtic or Rangers?

MD: cant wait for both of those festivals. i plan to make the most of hangin out at them.

Hello!! I was wondering how you guys approach your music videos. I love all your music videos I’ve seen by Sing J. Lee and that one on PitchforkTV. I’m an aspiring animator and filmmaker — I want to make movies, but I’ve always loved the idea of making music videos as well. I was wondering how you work with the directors you use. Do you let Sing J. Lee listen to the song a lot and then they present their vision to you, or is it more of your vision? Do you discuss everything from the atmosphere and look, to the storytelling intended in the song?

Thanks - I can’t wait to see you live some day! Have a nice day!!

That's a good question. In the beginning we had a bunch of filmmakers pitch their ideas to us and we chose the one that excited us the most. Since then, we have really enjoyed collaborating with Sing and we feel that he 'gets' us and what we like so we have been very keen to explore that working relationship. We do have a lot of input into the treatment but it's primarily the directors own vision. Iain

What is the best advice ever given to you?

MD: stop smoking weed. start writing tunes again. did both and here i am (we are)

What's the best thing that's happened this tour?

MD: we played a place called the barrowlands in glasgow. that place was the biggest deal to me as a kid getting into music.

LM: We played our biggest ever headline show, in Berlin.

How about some production questions ;)? Favourite vst effects or instruments? I hope to see you guys at Osheaga in Montreal this summer!

I love the Arturia soft synths, especially the Oberheim SEM one. Also loving the Soundtoys plugins and the UAD platform. Those are all over the record. Iain

Hi guys! Thank you for doing this AMA! I discovered "Bones" earlier this year and I haven't been able to get enough of your music, I just love your sound! Questions!

• When will the special edition CD of "Bones" be available?? I saw a package deal on your website for a t-shirt & CD, will that be coming back at all?

• Is Science/Visions about Frankenstein? If it isn't, can I pretend that it is?

• Favorite 80s band? I know you all have one. :)

Lauren, thank you for your op-ed piece in the Guardian -- thank you for pointing out the elephant in the room. I don't have anything else to say that you didn't say wonderfully in your article, just that everyone should read it.

Thank you again! I can't wait to see what you guys do next!

LM: Favourite 80s band = Depeche Mode or The Cure. Science / Visions was written after watching Videodrome so that's close! The special edition will be out in the US on 22 April.

Hey Lauren, I read your article on online misogyny, you're such an inspiration and I'm sorry that you had to put up with that shit. Thanks for being so awesome!

This question is for all of you. What are your favourite songs from the album? And why?

Also what did you have for breakfast?

LM: Thank you for being awesome. If everyone does a tiny thing in their day to day life, maybe we can all make a little difference… I had a bagel and cream cheese for breakfast, and my favorite song from the album is By The Throat.

What music are you guys listening to right now?

Loving the new Warpaint record. Also the Future Islands album is pretty good, totally growing on me. Iain

Do a Bowie for us! Independence: aye or naw?

not gonna touch that with a bargepole! I wish musicians would just concentrate on making music...

Iain

Martin, I have been a huge fan since The Twilight Sad. Thanks for making awesome music

LM: So psyched for the new album.

Is Dana there?

MD: dana is not here but she is AWESOME

MD: also, there is no dana only ZUUL

Lauren, Martin, and Iain, I love you guys so much! My friend and I play your music all the time on our radio show!! My question is simple: who are your influences?

So maannnyy! To name but a few...

Depeche More, Kate Bush, Prince, The Cure, Radiohead, Talking Heads....

Iain

were all the synths on the album analog? also, any suggestions for someone looking to buy their first software synth for both live and studio use?

They were nearly all analog. We used a couple of plug ins for little bits and bobs to change it up a bit. But even the soft synths on the record are mostly virtual analog.

I love the Korg and Arturia soft synths. You should get a bundle from one of those manufacturers if you can.

Iain

So when are you guys coming to Romania?

MD: would love to. no plans yet tho...

Hey guys! I've become a big fan rather quickly and can't wait to see your show at bonnaroo!

My question is who are you excited about seeing while on the farm at bonnaroo? What set can you not wait to see? Planning anything special for such a big festival?

LM: Lauryn Hill, Janelle Monae, Arctic Monkeys.

Have you guys heard and/or maybe been inspired by Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze?

Oh god yeah. All that German electronic stuff is a massive influence on me. I think most electronic artists would cite Kraftwerk in particular as a huge influence. Iain

MD: all of the above!

Kirk or Picard?

Kirk...no question

Iain

Huge fan here! Can't wait to see you in Salt Lake.

My question is, what is currently on repeat in your music library? What have been some of your musical inspirations?

LM: Angel Olsen, La Sera and Waxahatchee. Always Cyndi Lauper, Kate Bush and Radiohead.

One (or maybe all) of you mentioned that you were inspired by the soundtracks of 70s/80s movies. Which ones would you say had the biggest impact on you? Would 'Deep Red' make the list, by any chance?

LM: Nightmare on Elmstreet. Terminator. Anything David Lynch directed.

How did you decide to pick Wet to open for some of your shows last November?

LM: I was sent their demos by Michael Azerrad as I did some writing for The Talkhouse, which is a really cool site if you haven't checked it out already… We just got in touch with them to see if they fancied playing some shows and it was really great to see them live.

How often do technical issues arise when playing live? Do you have a backup for every piece of equipment?

This last year has been a pretty rigorous excercise in ironing out bugs and developing contingency plans for things messing up. It's kinda like plugging up holes in a leaky boat! But we are so very nearly watertight now I am glad to say. We nearly have a double of everything now including a B system that kicks in if the A drops out for a split second. It's such a great safety net :) Iain

Very happy to see you three do this! I have two questions:

1) You have some amazing covers, but they all seem to be videos from some radio show you were on. Do you ever plan on releasing a collection of covers? I would buy the heck out of it.

2)If you could have any group cover one of your songs, who would it be and what song do you see them covering?

Thanks so much! Also, TYCI is awesome to listen to, post more on soundcloud!

Hi. Yeah we do seem to have done a lot of covers! I fear that we might become known as that band who does other people's songs all the time. HA. We have spoken about releasing them all, who knows...maybe if we run out of our own ideas someday ;-) I would love to hear someone like Kate Bush or Bowie cover us. Dream on huh... Iain

LOVE you guys and your music, best sound out there right now in my opinion. I have a few questions, feel free to pick one if it's too much!

1. Do you produce your tracks with a live set in mind, or do you just produce and worry about the live set afterwards?

2. How many projects do you scrap (approximately) before you create an album-worthy song?

3. What is the best way to get in touch with you to inquire about stems for remixing one of your tracks?

Edit: adding some bold text to hopefully stand out in this ocean of posts... pick me! :)

We like to write the music that we want to write and not think about how it would translate live until we have to play it. No point in imposing restrictions on our creativity. Iain

are you going to release a studio version of your Arctic Monkeys cover?

LM: Probably not but I believe you can still hear it on the Like A Version sites.

Do you guys ever get tired of touring? It seems like you pack your schedule quite tightly with lots of shows/radio sessions/whatnot (not that I'm complaining)

Martin, who've you got winning champions league?

Lauren, any plans to bring back the heavy eye makeup?

Also someone on /r/chvrches (come visit!) wanted to know if there are any plans to repress The Mother We Share vinyl

Thanks, see you in Philly :]

LM: Why do I always get the questions about hair and clothes, and the guys get the questions about existential stuff / gear?! WINK NUDGE. Touring can be tiring but we're lucky to get to play so many different places and that people actually WANT to come see us play. Vitamins are the key… No plans for a Mother repress at present but any new releases will be announced on out sites as we sort them.