Premiere: Brothertiger, “You're Afraid”

Toledo, Ohio by Brooklyn, NYC's Brothertiger takes their night time illuminations of "You're Afraid" to GaluminumFoil Productions in Brooklyn, NYC for a live session to work out the fear. Tracked and Mixed by Chris Cubeta and mastered at Engine Room Audio by Dan Millice, frontman John Jagos is joined by his tiger reflexed brothers of Jon, Mike, and Andrew for a Lambkini exclusive that combines their fraternal contributions to the electronic synthesis of their codified sound. Originally found on the Visions Tunnels EP, the live studio rendering of "Afraid" supplants the solo fears for the power and strength of tiger-blood-brothers in numbers.

The beginning synth loop sequence starts the invitational of Mike's sleep walking percussion, that ropes in the stringed accompaniment from Andrew and Jon into the equation and mix. An interesting contrast is created by Brothertiger here, as John conjures the synthesized sequencing feel of nightfall while the rest of the band provides an awakened and lively instrumentation that chases the blankets of evening with the fear breaking dawn of daylight. This is where the brotherhood of tigers seek to find the harmonic balance between audio compositions for night, day, moon, and sun.

Brothertiger's John Jagos talks about what's next for the group, developing from a solo project to a band, reflections on the holidays, synergistic dynamics, and more.

First, how was everybody's holidays?

Great! We all went home to visit our families for Christmas/Hanukkah, and we celebrated the new year in the city with some friends. Couldn't ask for more.

New Years treating everyone right?

So far it's been great! We've had a lot of good things come our way towards the end of 2013, and we can't be more excited for 2014 and the things we have planned.

As a band that works with such a bridging of electronic with the more manual and electric, how do you find the balance for a live session such as here with your Brooklyn performance at GaluminumFoil Productions.

Our approach was to build the band as sort of a 'hybrid' rock/electro band, using the original electronic elements from songs and layering sounds with other elements such as guitar, real bass, and live drums. Our drummer Mike plays to a click, but it still gives us the freedom to expand sections of songs and bring out certain characteristics of sounds. It's a fun way to play and make music.

Describe for us the processes and experiences in recording your Future Splendors release.

Well, I recorded most of the record myself. At the time, Brothertiger was still my own thing. I wrote the songs with a live band in mind, and so far we've been playing a lot of songs from that record out live. Much of the recording was done in Brooklyn at the studio where I live, but some of it was started in Ohio before I made the move! I used a wide variety of synths and drum sounds, both digital and analog.

What else does Brothertiger have in the works?

We're hoping to tour extensively this year, but for now, we are writing new songs and just trying to produce material together as a band. It's a noticeable change for our audience, but so far people have been enjoying the band vibe, and that makes us even more excited to play.

Listen to more Brothertiger via Bandcamp and Mush Records.