Fog Lamp channels modern anxiety into post-punk catharsis

"“We tried a bunch of different configurations,” Firestone says. “We both played guitar and synthesizer. Adam also plays several other instruments and programmed computer drums for the first couple of years and our first two albums.”"

"“I met another keyboard player, Leslie [Allred], when I was hanging out at The Lodge in Oakland,” Firestone continues. “I mentioned that Adam and I were looking to add more low-end sounds to our songs. Leslie said he played bass, if we were looking for a bass player. I asked him if he had a bass synthesizer. He did, so he joined up.”"

"“Most of the songs start with riffs Adam works up,” Firestone says. “I'll separately write lyrics and see what fits the theme of the song he's come up with. Leslie writes his parts to accompany the melodies Adam's written. I started on guitar, but slowly moved into just singing.”"

"“We recorded them at our rehearsal studio, using a drum machine,” Firestone says. “I overdubbed the vocals at Adam's house. He wanted me to take an aggressive approach to my singing, so he got me drunk and I yelled most of the vocals. On our new album, Still Entangled, I wanted to take a more tuneful approach, so I went back and forth between yelling and singing, adding more melodies to my yelling.”"

Fog Lamp formed in West Oakland during pandemic lockdowns through jamming between Aaron Firestone and Adam Selken. They experimented with different configurations, with both playing guitar and synthesizer, and Selken programming computer drums and playing multiple instruments early on. Firestone met keyboardist Leslie Allred at The Lodge in Oakland, and Allred joined after providing bass and bass synthesizer sounds. The trio refined their sound at Coconut Canyon West, with songs often beginning from riffs Selken develops, lyrics written to fit those themes, and Allred composing parts to support the melodies. They recorded two albums at their rehearsal studio using a drum machine, overdubbing vocals at Selken’s house, then later shifted to a more tuneful vocal approach on Still Entangled. They added drummer Rachelle Hughes and worked with producer Kurt Schlegal.

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