FEATURE: Los Angeles Indie Act CLUB ORO Unveil New Music Video For “Silent Movie” In Latest Q&A

Los Angeles indie act CLUB ORO came to be after hours at an indie recording studio where three of its members held internships. With a makeshift garage setup, the five friends of Cassandra (lead vocals, guitar), Connor (guitar), Dani (bass), Aidan (keyboard, synths), and Alex (producer, engineer) began creating music, mostly between work shifts whenever their opposing schedules would align. Eventually the band found a home base in the weird little equestrian neighbourhood of Glendale, where they would write and record music in their living room for a year and a half, and building a loyal community through house shows (at their own house, lovingly dubbed Krok Kastle) and a unique “improv” series on Instagram.

One of the group’s many strengths is their ability to limit boundaries between genres; one minute they might meld a slowed-down hip-hop beat to a slew of phased out guitars and glittery synths, and in the same breath elicit a sighing alt-R&B slow jam about working midnights at a cash register. Inspired by film, television, visual art, and more, the band create a hazy, dream-pop collision on their sultry ’90s R&B track “Silent Movie”.

Watch the homemade footage video below, and read through the new Q&A as Cassandra discusses more about the band.

What was the moment that inspired everyone to start a band?

Connor and I have been playing together since we were kids. We moved down here from the Bay Area to pursue music because its the only thing we’re verifiably good at and we figured it was about time to take it more serious. It was a few years playing in a noisy rock band before we got lost in the chaos. I took some time off band life and started working at a recording studio. It was there that I met our soon to be collaborators Aidan and Alex. We started fooling about after hours in the main studio there and discovered some common sense between us. Creatively it just took off from there. We started throwing house shows and hosted a band called Ghetto Garden that had a couple choice demos I had stumbled upon on Soundcloud that really drew me in. The lead singer Dani proposed to play bass for us and that’s the current lineup of CLUB ORO. It was founded on mutual love and respect for each other’s artistry, lots of great creative minds in this group. Any one of us could be the leader and it’d probably function the same.

What was the concept for the music video?

An accident. We were just playing outside with the fisheye lens, trying to make some mock “found footage” for who-knows-what. Half the time we’re doing anything together it’s just a daily aimless sort of fun. Intentions matter but the don’t necessarily describe the outcome. So we wound up with all these funny shots of the three of us playing basketball and interacting with a security camera. I tried to make a montage of them the next day and realized I wanted more, I already practically had a full length video to match the single. So we decided to keep it “nighttime” and nothing after that was really planned either. We goofed off in front of Brooke (our videographer) and it made for some mildly entertaining moments. A day in the life is all we intend to capture, I don’t want to force or preconceive anything. You may call it impressionist, or fluxus, or what-have-you.

How important is it to keep a variety in your sound, especially at this stage of your careers?

The aim is never “variety” but we are a group with a lot of different tastes so naturally the sounds and motifs that we sometimes reference are pulled from all over the map, musically speaking. We really don’t have a specific set of influences. In fact we argue and debate about music more than we agree on it. Can you pick up on that level of dissent in our sound? Either way, I don’t mind.

I know your band pulls influence from an array of art – who are some of your inspirations?

Currently we’ve been discussing the short but critically important Fluxus art movement, Marcel Duchamp, DARKSIDE, Injury Reserve, black midi, Arca, and Remble.

What does success look like for Club Oro?

It doesn’t. I’m not trying to be edgy (for once), I just think that the concept of success is constantly being upended and reimagined as the streaming age eats away at artistry and handicaps true “indie” music from reaching anyone. We have to keep looking for cracks in the ceiling as they’re being sealed away. I think success at this point is just avoiding cracking myself. I’d like to continue creating music with my friends in a way that feels genuine and of the moment. I believe that if you think about success in terms of money, or songwriting in terms of streaming, then you can count on cracking before the ceiling does.

What’s next for Club Oro?

Our first full length effort. I can’t say more than that!