Interview: Free Whenever delight in moody psychedelia

Free Whenever — composed of Neil Guleria and Trevor LaVecchia — throw a colossal psych party. Percussion jangles. Guitars riff. The vibe is hot and sticky. “Camino,” from a forthcoming EP called The Movement, rides hard on the groove, an ambiance that is as enveloping as it is hard to properly define. Within its magical ring, there lies a fluttering heartbeat keeping time with the musicians’ very essence. It’s no surprise then that the song slotted into place after LaVecchia returned from backpacking the Camino de Santiago last summer. Ideas fell like dominoes one into another and before you know it, “Camino” revved up its engines and vaulted along the horizon.

“When things come easily it’s usually to the benefit of whatever art you’re creating. That was definitely the case with [this song],” Guleria tells B-Sides & Badlands. “Although, I do remember we had to pause a couple times as we were writing to figure out the ‘part B’ [chorus] and rework the main riff so they fit together tonally. That’s really an easy process, though. The make or break part that either is or isn’t there is a strong rhythmic foundation and that has existed since we first started playing this idea.”

Within its flapping musical layers, the song courses with electricity for what’s to come, peering through time to see a future fully lived. In truth, that’s something LaVecchia has always aspired to live ferociously in his own life. “I’m a dreamer and that’s why I like to put in the work,” he says, “and I think that’s why Neil and I have such a great partnership. We like to work and get down to business. We love what we do and know that it’s going to be a part of something bigger than us and our little band.”

Guleria chimes in, “Achieving that balance between the present and the future has always been integral to who we are and the music we make. Especially as artists who lean heavily on improv as our creative lighthouse, it’s all about having solid footing in what’s happening in the present with a total openness to the unknowns of the future. The best jammers seem to flow between the two seamlessly.”

“Camino” clips on the heels of “Automobile,” released back in February. As bookends to the EP, the tracks tangle together and give listeners a clue into how they operate: vibes ooze with both breathless restraint and sticky fluidity. The Movement promises to provoke the listener, make them sway in time, and perhaps even mull over their own existence and relationship to the future with an eye toward self-acceptance. “It can sometimes be hard to assign words to the underlying meaning of instrumental music,” says Guliera, noting how the project celebrates “the journey you’re on, accepting the pace at which life moves, and neither sitting in the backseat nor attempting to call every shot.”

In our conversation, the duo gets deep about destiny, their future together, evolution as human beings, and the biggest influences on their own work.

What do you hope your own path has in store?

LaVecchia: We often say that Free Whenever sits somewhere between form and formlessness. We set goals and achieve them, but we’ve never been tied to one ultimate thing that must happen. We enjoy the process of what we do and hope that the journey continues to bring great opportunities, collaborations, and real human connections our way. We hope Free Whenever continues to grow and take on a meaning that transcends Neil and I.

I think it’d be cool if we could travel the world with our music. I’ve been fortunate to travel and wander the world a bit, and to do that playing live with Free Whenever would be a true dream.

Guleria: We’ve been lucky even within our small community of listeners to have such fervent support and belief in the music we’re making. Sometimes, it’s hard to know what’s working and what’s not, but I think the true potential and vision for the project is constantly going in and out of focus. Some days, it feels like we really know exactly what we’re building and where things are headed, and other days not so much. My hope is that through our continued musical development and our experiences connecting with fans online and in the real world, we’ll really understand our purpose and be able to achieve it every time we play.

How has this work together fed your own evolution as human beings?

LaVecchia: Being in a band requires you to be a part of a greater whole. It’s taught me to be more active at putting my own ego and ideas to the side because I trust in the process, I trust Neil, I trust our passion. I made music alone before this band and I just love collaborating. I like to bounce off people and have them bounce off me. That push and pull is what makes it go. Sometimes I’ll bring in an idea and Neil will just take it to another dimension and all of a sudden it’s Free Whenever. I know it’s always gonna happen and it’s cool to have that in my musical life.

Guleria: Very much a similar story on my side. Having to lean on that trust with another person and sharing equally in everything that goes well and everything that doesn’t has opened my eyes to a whole new side of life. I too started my music career making beats myself in my room after work, and I enjoyed many aspects of it, but the music was always lacking a certain something. It was never challenged, and that’s a tough spot to be in as an up-and-coming musician. I grew up playing and jamming and collaborating, but for some reason, I was mistakenly convinced that the only way forward in the industry these days is to be a lonely bedroom producer. And it took some time, even a year into Free Whenever being a thing, before I fully realized (and continue to realize more each day) that this partnership is the best channel for my musical ideas and potential as an artist. Part of that is because there really isn’t an idea that either of us would say no to. If Trevor wants to make a folk album or if I want to make a track with only Cuban Santeria rhythms and no kit drums, it’s pretty much all on the table.

Has surrendering to the work, letting it guide you, been easy or does it come in waves?

LaVecchia: It comes in waves. Self-doubt creeps in, and when you work too long on something, at least in my case, it becomes stale and loses the heartfelt energy from the initial spark or feeling. I aspire to artists like Jimi Hendrix who just make you high with their playing because it’s so emotive and free, so I try to surrender in homage to great artists like him. I think I waver more than Neil, and he has been the steady rock that definitely helps us to keep moving along and finish things to their end.

Guleria: I think we help each other through self-doubt. Like Trevor noted, the initial inspiration and spark behind music is the most important aspect of it, and that’s what you want to capture. But the process of capturing it through songwriting, recording, producing, making decisions is indeed pretty exhausting, and it becomes harder to preserve the original intent as you take an idea from inception to a final master. Fortunately, I think we’ve both gotten a lot wiser about when an idea needs to be worked on, when it needs to be debated, when it needs to be left alone, or when it needs to be scrapped completely. In the end, the goal is to keep that fire alive as you move something from one place to another, and it just requires being attuned to what’s going on and how to get out of the way of the music.

What have you learned most about yourself through this collaboration?

LaVecchia: That I love being a part of something bigger than myself and, like I said before, it’s important to recognize your role and be the best you can be. Being controlling, doubtful, trying to change something from what it is is a waste of time. Just play honest emotive music and release it. That’s what the world needs.

Guleria: I’ve learned a lot about what I am as a musician and what I’m not, and how to further become what I am and outgrow what I’m not. Especially being a guitar player, it’s just such a loaded subject matter. You have all sorts of different guitar players, and there is an endless supply of virtuosic talent in the world today. Ultimately, I feel like Free Whenever has helped me realize what I bring to the table as a musician other than engaging in that endless competition of being able to play the fastest or have the most music theory knowledge, or have the nicest rig. The music you choose to make is your voice, and I’m fortunate I’ve been able to find mine.

What records do you find have influenced you the most?

LaVecchia: Our sound often gets compared to records like ‘All News is Good News’ by Surprise Chef, ‘Con Todo El Mundo and The Universe Smiles Upon You’ by Khruangbin, ‘Filoxiny’ by Skinshape Currents and ‘Lonerism’ by Tame Impala, ‘Band of Gypsys’ by Jimi Hendrix, ‘Wish You Were Here’ by Pink Floyd. Music that gets you high and grooving.

Guleria: Those are some of our more contemporary reference points for sure, but both of our music listening interests go literally all over the map and are constantly evolving. One week Trevor is rediscovering Alice and Chains, the next week he’s putting on hour-long Nikhil Banerjee sitar ragas, the next week it’s drill rap. We really are constantly absorbing and figuring out ways to take lessons from different styles and traditions.

Did you find yourself approaching the new EP any differently than your previous projects?

LaVecchia: This is one of our more concentrated efforts. If you look at our discography, we were clearly not so considerate of the standard process or measured in our approach to releasing music. We have a few long-form jam albums (‘Jam Junkies Vol. I’ and ‘II’) that consist of 20-30 minute tracks and our last EP ‘Open Air’ that features an indie-pop tune with a female vocalist. ‘The Movement’ is our first big step into synthesizing our appreciation for free-flowing instrumental music with the critical elements that make a song a song. Keep the energy and freedom of the jams with the focus, length, and story of an album. Overall, I think it’s our rawest recording to date, and it really is a return to the focus being on just the drums, guitar, bass, and percussion. It’s music that could be from today or 50 years ago.

Guleria: To that point, it really felt like the first time we knew what we were doing, from the writing to the production to the release. Obviously, we are still learning a ton, but this is the first time we’ve been aware enough of the process to take it seriously and not try and shortcut it.

What is your favorite instrument on which to start a song?

LaVecchia: It varies. A good drum beat or fill is never bad, though.

Guleria: Agreed. Drums are universal and pull you right in. No one has ever turned off a song that starts with a great beat, regardless of what genres you listen to.

Do different instruments emit different creative energies?

LaVecchia: I played a few instruments throughout my life, but guitar was my true love. When I started to play bass more in Free Whenever, I was really humbled. We were making good music, but I knew I needed to learn about the bass, its purpose, and how to find my own voice on it. It took a lot of time to learn how to use the creative energy of the bass, but now I find my musical ideas to be more rhythmic, spacious, a part of the whole rather than sticking out.

Guleria: Trevor knows this quite well, but I’m a part-time guitar player, full-time drum fanatic. Whether it’s on the kit, congas, bongos, you name it, that is where music is felt in the body most naturally, and yet it can be incredibly cerebral at the same time. To me, guitar is more like vocals, bass is like the chordal movement, and everything else is rhythm.

Do you really believe in destiny?

LaVecchia: I believe we have purposes, but I think it can even be prophesied. If you’re really driven to do something, that’s the powers at be telling you to do something at this moment in time.

Guleria: I think destiny is real; I just don’t think it exists until you somehow create or manifest it. I think the idea of destiny fails those who consider it to be outside the scope of their control or participation and benefits those who understand their role in it.

How has your songwriting changed since you two began together?

LaVecchia: I think Bob Dylan said, “If you’re changing as an artist you’re on the way” and that’s good enough for me to not be afraid of change. Sometimes, we jam together, sometimes we start stuff alone, sometimes Neil makes drum loops; it varies day-to-day. For the music we make, it’s never gonna come from one method.

Guleria: In some ways, it’s evolved, and in other ways, it hasn’t changed a bit. In most ways, it’s gone into new territory and then come back to our original process. I think what has benefited us as we’ve come along is accepting that there isn’t just one process and the best ideas can come from pretty much every angle.

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