The music, Drop Electric plays is hard to describe.  It does not fit into any one box.  Maybe this is because of the multicultural backgrounds of the band members.  Maybe it is because they have been exposed to so many different types of music being from Maryland.  Ask any of the band members such as Ramtin Arablouei on drums, Sho Fujiwara on keyboards and guitar, Navid Marvi guitar and bass, Kristina Reznikov on vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards and Neel Singh on guitar, percussion, and bass.  Neel Singh recently gave an interview to The Greyhound to discuss the band’s origins and its upcoming album.

How did you all meet?

Ramtin and I met while students at St. Mary’s College of Maryland in 2003.  We’ve played in multiple bands together and began Drop Electric in 2009.  Sho joined the band in 2010 and Kristina shortly thereafter.  Both of them were found through putting ads up on Craigslist.  Once they joined the band things really started picking up for us.  Navid has been a recent addition and we added him because we already knew him and liked his playing. He’s been a long-time supporter of the band and we knew he would fit right in, both musically and personality-wise.  

I see you are all from Maryland, does the state hold a special significance to you all besides being home?

As a musician, your surroundings are going to have a big influence on the music you make. With the majority of us having grown up in Montgomery County, we’ve been surrounded by so many different cultures and sounds that have impacted our taste.  Whether it is the Baltimore electronic scene, go-go, world, hardcore, punk rock or bluegrass, all of the sounds that can be found in Maryland and D.C. have played a major role in our musical identity.

How did you first get started in playing music?

Some of our band members have been taking lessons their entire lives while other band members have never taken a lesson.  It helps us immensely to have people from both camps.

How did the band get started?

Once Bob Boilen from NPR’s All Songs Considered spoke highly of us on his show, things began to move quickly.  We signed with Lefse Records a few months ago, and we are excited to be working with them.  They have done wonderful things for other acts that include Youth Lagoon, Neon Indian and How To Dress Well.  They’ll be putting out our new album “Waking Up To The Fire” on October 22.

Who are your biggest influences?

We all have pretty different backgrounds so we bring an array of influences to the table.  Some acts that we can all agree on would be Radiohead, Sigur Ros, and Smashing Pumpkins.

Describe your album.

This album is certainly an evolution of our previous work.  Whereas our first album was more sprawling and instrumental, this album is more electronic and focused.  I love this album because it is featuring two of the best things our band has to offer: Kristina’s vocals and Ramtin’s production.  It takes the energy we have in our live show and packs it into tight pop songs. While I also love our previous material, this album is more accessible in a lot of ways.  Mainly I’m just happy that it’s a new sound for us.  I hate when bands release the same album over and over again.

What is your favorite song off of the album?

My top three would be Blue Dream, Waking Up To The Fire and Carl Pagan.  If I had to go with just one, I’d say Blue Dream.

I know you are marketing your music for use in Hollywood trailers, is there any difference making music for trailers as compared to making music for live performances?

Pusher Music is another amazing company we get to work with.  They market our music for licensing for Hollywood trailers.  There is definitely a difference in writing for movie trailers as opposed to our songs for our live shows.  For one, we have to keep it succinct, as there is no time to waste in trailers.  This has probably played a role in how we write and edit our new material.

Why should college students listen to this band?

Chances are your typical college student falls into one of these categories:

Nerds: It really works to listen to our music while studying.

Jocks: It really works to beat up nerds while listening to our music.

Drug users: It really works to consume a cornucopia of mind-altering substances while listening to our music.

Non Drug users: Please refer to the answer for “nerds”.