By Zach Collier
Le Country Club’s debut EP was one of my favorite local finds of 2021. The solo project of Noah Lefgren, it was a fun collection of genre-bending audio collages that I could only describe as Internet Music. The record came to my attention when Lefgren called Provo Music Magazine out directly via Instagram – threatening to quit music if we didn’t review it ASAP. His humor immediately hooked me.
When Lefgren reached out more subtly this time around, I was admittedly a little disappointed. He let me know via DM that he had a new EP coming out and was interested in an interview. I agreed to an interview.
I was promptly sent this interview.
Needless to say, I am no longer disappointed. Here it is, folks. Noah Lefgren interviewed Le Country Club. Noah’s in bold. Noah is also not in bold. Enjoy.
You just released an EP.
Yeah. *softly laughs in the form of several sharp exhales; a physical “lmao” of sorts* Is it too soon? I get self-conscious about that sometimes.
Maybe? I mean, what are you at? Three projects in six months or so? Madlib has doubled that before, I think.
But, like, Madlib doesn’t sleep! He’s got twice the waking hours.
Fair enough. Back to the EP: neo-kitsch by Le Country Club. At first listen I wouldn’t categorize this project as “kitsch” in nearly any sense of the word.
*chuckles* Yes, of course.
The cover is eccentric, to say the least. A far step from dogs playing poker.
The music is adventurous, especially compared to your local Utah contemporaries. There’s a layer of sonic depth to it that I’ve been having a hard time categorizing. How would you describe the project?
Pop, maybe? some kind of unholy ‘Talking Heads-meets-Beck-meets-/mu/core’ avant funk-type record? But I guess at this point what is genre but a way to organize playlists? Do you think this could fit on Lorem?
Would you want it on Lorem?
That would be nice. *Pulls out phone to open the Spotify app.* Is Cardinal Bloom on any editorial playlist? I just want to beat them to it!
Why is that?
I think it would be a victory for the underdog, of some sort. The artist who can’t get into Velour’s Battle of the Bands and makes avant-garde “music” gets on a major editorial playlist before the darlings of the
scene. It’s superficial but I think it’s my inner high school outcast. I don’t know.
High school outcast? What was Le Country Club like as an adolescent?
Looking back I think I came across as a pretty cool kid, but I was insecure and depressed. I spent a lot of time in my room listening to prog-rock, psychedelic funk, afrobeat stuff. I played a lot of guitar and
bass, too. Just spending time alone and stuff.
How do you think that’s come across in your work now? It’s clear there’s been lots of development with technical abilities, music knowledge, etc. Do you think that time spent alone was beneficial?
Was it beneficial? Socially, mentally, probably not. *chuckles* But I do think it provided this unique foundation for what I do now. Actually, I recorded a bass part for my friend Sam [Alba] and I drew from a bunch of little Motown, James Jamerson-type bass lines. She played the song at one of her shows and it was really interesting watching the bassist play what I recorded. They did a great job, but the performance was slightly different from how I did it. Just in the way the ghost notes were played, the attack on the string, etc. Not better nor worse, just different. *laughs* I’m not sure exactly how that ties into the question, but it reminded me of that. Everyone has a different musical background and it’s interesting to see that in practice, I guess.
For sure! That makes sense. We’re running short on time, but I did want to ask: what was the first physical album you ever bought?
I think probably some John Oswald project, if I remember correctly!
Thank you for your time, Le Country Club! I enjoyed listening to the EP. It was an interesting project and I’m excited to see what you have in store next.
Thank you! You can stream neo-kitsch by Le Country Club below!
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