In Conversation: Califone's Tim Rutili
Ahead of their latest release, Califone's frontman stops by to talk about the record, his songwriting process, and 1950s TV
Good morning!
We’re in for a treat today; califone’s Tim Rutili stops by for a chat!
For the better part of three decades, Tim Rutili and Califone have released records unafraid to push boundaries, redefine genres, and find new ways to draw listeners in.
Today, they’re back with The Villager’s Companion, a set of tracks recorded last year during sessions for the band’s acclaimed Villagers LP. TVC is a record full of collisions: electronic fragments vs. chords. Experimental noise vs soothing vocals. Man vs. machine. Blues vs. Pop. Analog vs digital.
The tracks here (complimented with a couple of previously released covers) might not have fit or found their place on the previous record, but TVC isn’t an album of outtakes or extras; these tracks stand well on their own.
The presser describes the record in part as:
Often passing through what seem to be the spaces between radio frequencies, the stations never meant to be heard. Crackles of static, feedback loops, and fleeting signals bloom into meditative moments, with each sound given space to breathe, unravel, and shimmer in slow decay. The result resonates deeply, transforming what might be noise into something profound, hypnotic, and totally immersive.
Translation: this is more than a record; it’s an experience.
As many readers know, I (mis)spent much of my early 20s traveling throughout the western US. Listening to the record immediately transported me back to that time, those places, and the characters I met while collecting mile markers.
I’ve long been a fan of Califone, and as much as I like maintaining a cool air of objectivity, I was excited to get a chance to talk about the record. Besides TVC, we cover Rutili’s songwriting process, some of what—and who—influences the band’s sound, and more.
Our conversation has been lightly edited for clarity and flow.
Most of the time songs come in little pieces. Sometimes a melody or a block of text will trigger an it. Every once in a while they do arrive fully formed but it’s usually a process of collecting words and sounds and ideas, then shaping it. Usually once you get started, a song will tell you what it wants or needs.
Congrats on the new record! For those who might not yet know the story, can you please walk us through how "'The Villagers Companion" came to be?
Thanks!
When we finished Villagers, we had a handful of songs that didn’t quite work in the album sequence. I really liked the way it flowed as a complete album and didn’t want to mess with it. These songs just didn’t fit. I almost forgot about them. About a year later, I found them on a hard drive and listened. A few needed a little work, but listening to them together felt like another strong album to me. We added a few cover songs recorded the year before we started Villagers - Mecca Normal and John Prine songs. Recording the cover songs directly led into the writing of the Villagers’ songs.
The companion gives some context to Villagers, but it stands on its own as an album. It feels good to give these songs a home.
One of the things that caught my eye in the album's early press was the idea that "Rutili and company continue to explore what it means to get lost while surrounded by modern technology." This resonates with most of us, even if we can't articulate it. Can you double-click on that? Was there a specific point where this hit you, or was it just a feeling that kept growing over time?
I can’t remember not having this feeling. It’s something that has always been touched on in Califone songs since we started.
It’s a feeling of going back to the caveman brain and also having these magic devices that have become a way to have our caveman brains shaped into tools for corporate fascists to manipulate. Maybe we gave up our own power because the tech made things seem convenient - maybe we never really had control, and all we can do is watch things change, hope it doesn’t kill us, and find a way to deal and fight by looking inward and being honest with ourselves and other humans. Music is a way of processing the anxiety and also a way to possibly transcend it. ugh... These are old ideas/ feelings, too. Watch Twilight Zone episodes from the 50s and read Vonnegut or Ray Bradbury. They all made some great art out of this feeling.
"Burn the Sheets, Bleach the Books" is a favorite of mine and feels like a song best played at 2 a.m. outside of somewhere like Barstow (said as high praise). Was that the mood you were going for here?
I think your mood is the right mood to get from “Burn the Sheets.” I like that. I always saw a Hieronymus Bosch painting that takes place in a LA tent city. Also, there’s a nice V.U. throb to this version that I like. This song is always fun to play live. It is drastically different each time we try it.
How do tracks typically come together for you? Do they arrive fully formed (for lack of a better term), or do they come in the form of a snippet here, a chord there, and slowly evolve from there?
Most of the time, songs come in little pieces. Sometimes, a melody or a block of text will trigger it. Every once in a while, they do arrive fully formed, but it’s usually a process of collecting words and sounds and ideas and then shaping it. Usually, once you get started, a song will tell you what it wants or needs.
Is it typically lyrics or music first?
Probably music or melody first most of the time. Every once in a while, a block of words will start the process.
I read an interview where you mentioned that "sometimes too much production can drain the life out of a piece of music." What do you do to try to prevent that while in the studio?
Knowing when to stop poking at a song is a good thing. Working with good people and being honest with yourself helps. I can shitpile ideas on top of ideas sometimes. It’s good to get to a place where you are subtracting everything the song doesn’t need.
Califone's sound combines elements such as noise, folk, and ambient. Have any specific artists had an outsized influence on the sound?
Too much music. Movies, books, and overheard conversations. I can’t stop thinking about aliens from space and UFOs.
I don’t know. I think everything we listen to and see finds its way into Califone.
Thanks again for your time! The last question is one I ask everyone I speak with: What are your 5 Desert Island discs?
I am no good at this. It changes every day. Here’s today’s in no order:
1. Best of The Bee Gees (it’s a yellow sleeve. It’s all their early hits. Not sure what year it came out)
2. Curtis/Live (this is an album of Curtis Mayfield playing at the bitter end in NYC in 1971)
3. The Fall - Perverted by Language. (There are better Fall albums. I just keep going back to this one)
4. Can - Future days (Never get sick of it)
5. Thelonious Monk - Solo Monk (the best)
Click the record to listen on Bandcamp
The Villager’s Companion is out today (2/21). You can grab your copy here.
Thank you to Tim Rutili for his time, and thank you for being here.
Kevin—
Band member Ben Massarella lives down the street from me. Nice guy.