Indie-dance duo Phantoms celebrates the release of the Deluxe Edition of their 2022 album ‘This Can’t Be Everything’, out on ODESZA’s Foreign Family Collective imprint.
Photo Credit: Collin Black
Comprised of Los Angeles-based Kyle Kalplan and Vinnie Pergola, Phantoms is a live-electronic act that artfully blurs the lines between house and indie-dance music. Incorporating distinctive synth and drum patterns, the duo has become synonymous with their genre of alternative electronica.
The Deluxe Edition of their sophomore album comes as a 2-disc release, with the second disc boasting a string of new music and fresh remixes of the album’s original tracks from top names in the space.
EG caught up with Phantoms to learn more about the drop of the 2-Disc Deluxe Edition of ‘This Can’t Be Everything’, their origins as a band, future endeavors, and more.
EG: Hi guys! Welcome to EG. It’s a pleasure to have you here with us. How have you been? Where are you based right now?
Phantoms: Thanks for having us! We’re doing well, currently at home here in sunny Los Angeles, working on some new tunes before we get back on the road.
EG: So, congratulations on the 2-Disc Deluxe Edition release of your ‘This Can’t Be Everything’ LP! What has the initial reception been like?
Phantoms: It’s been really awesome. It’s fun anytime you can give a body of work new life and almost change the way it’s perceived. I think the remixes and originals that didn’t make the original release give more context into where our heads were at when making ‘This Can’t Be Everything’.
EG: So, what can your fans expect to find in this new deluxe edition of ‘This Can’t Be Everything’ LP?
Phantoms: Some incredible remixes from Covex, Leo Islo, Dillistone, and some more artists we love. Also some originals we didn’t feel fit into the original album. What I like about the deluxe is you can put those tracks out and give more context to the full album.
EG: Did you already have the idea of putting this new version together before the release of ‘This Can’t Be Everything’? Or did that evolve after its original release? What was the process like?
Phantoms: Anytime you make an album you usually have a lot of tracks that don’t quite fit into the core. Foreign Family brought this idea up to us pretty early on and we loved it. Hearing another artist’s take on a track almost changes the way you interpret that song. I also love including songs that didn’t make the original release. Doing a deluxe is also a great way to revisit an album months after it comes out.
“I think a lot of those feelings and the subject matter we wrote about are still super valid. I think as humans we’re always looking for more”
EG: As you just said, ‘This Can’t Be Everything’ was released some months now. Looking back, how have the songs evolved on a personal level? Does it mean the same now as it did when it was released?
Phantoms: That album still means a lot to us. With the majority of it being written during a lockdown, I think a lot of those feelings and the subject matter we wrote about are still super valid. I think as humans we’re always looking for more. Also, now that we’ve toured the live show over the fall, we got to see people reacting to a lot of the songs we couldn’t really fit into DJ sets, like the title track – ‘This Can’t Be Everything’. It’s been so awesome seeing people react to those songs live as it’s something we didn’t get to see until recently.
EG: Sound like you’ve been having a good time. Now, back to your origins…what were your first interactions with electronic dance music like? Was there a show or record that pushed you down the rabbit hole?
Phantoms: Honestly, it was around 2006/2007, and Justice’s first album ‘Cross’, came out and changed everything for us. We were garage band kids who loved classic rock and that album was our doorway into electronic music. We bought tickets to see them at the Fonda Theater, which looking back was one of the best shows we’ve ever been to. Midnight Juggernauts, then DJ Mehdi (RIP), and finally Justice. After that show, we knew we wanted to make electronic music and be involved in this world however we possibly could.
EG: How did you guys first connect? Was the idea for Phantoms born instantly? What sort of roles do you each have?
Phantoms: We actually met when we were 15 years old. At the time we just liked to jam and make music. Kyle is a singer and bass player and Vinnie is a drummer. When we realized we wanted to really get into electronic music, we taught ourselves production and how to DJ. Those early demos and DJ mixes are thankfully not anywhere for public consumption. But everyone’s got to figure it out in their own way!
EG: How do you keep entertained when not in the studio? Have you checked out any good movies, series, books, or albums you’d recommend?
Phantoms: We both used to be involved in the film/TV world a little bit, so I feel like we always go back to that for entertainment. I will say, I had lost faith in the film world for a while – it just all felt kind of uninspired for years. But now we’re in a truly exciting time. So many amazing films came out last year: ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’, ‘Tár’, ‘Triangle of Sadness’, ‘Banshees of Inesherin’… It’s inspiring to see the risks some filmmakers are taking now, as well as the general public’s desire for really original films.
“Justice’s first album, ‘Cross’, came out and changed everything for us. We were garage band kids who loved classic rock and that album was our doorway into electronic music”
EG: Can you tell us something about you that very few people know about?
Phantoms: One time we met Thomas Bangalter. That was pretty cool.
EG: What’s next for Phantoms? What particular milestones are you looking forwards to this 2023? Where can your fans catch you next?
Phantoms: We’re honestly still just making music constantly. We’re just in the process of seeing how we’re going to release this music, but it’s on the way and we’re really stoked about it. We have a lot of festivals on the books (some unannounced), but we will be all over the place so come say hey!
EG: Thank you so much for your time, guys! We wish you all the best for the future.
Phantoms: So much fun, thank you so much, and hope to see y’all soon!
Phantoms’ 2-Disc Deluxe Edition of ‘This Can’t Be Everything’ is out now via Foreign Family. Purchase your copy here.
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