Band of the Week: From

In a world of global communication, global thinking, world citizens, and social networks that know no boundaries, we are often identified by where we are from. The question slips out in conversation without thought or effort, "So, where are you from?". It has nearly lost its meaning, but for a world citizen like Roni Brunn and millions of others the question is much more complicated. Roni could say she is from LA, but she was born in Israel and is permanent resident of Sweden. When I sent her the questions for this interview she was preparing to travel Munich and worked on the questions in route. She is always "From", and that is why it that single word is the perfect headings from the off-kilter pop collage she creates in her musical adventures.

Roni Brunn did not always have lofty musical aspirations, after she graduated from Harvard she ventured into the world of fashion. She created a high-end line of handbags that were immediately picked-up and produced. She then left fashion to work in design, marketing, and of course music. What is fascinating is that her knowledge of marketing and zest for promotion is leading to interesting approaches to her music and to her product distribution. It shines through in her unique musical production, but also in her inventive videos.

She is currently putting the finishing touches on her debut album, Fair Isle, and was recently kind enough to answer a few of my questions.

Orange Alert(OA): Your latest release as From comes in "recycled" packaging. How did you get the idea of using existing cases (and inserts), and are you at all concerned about copyright issues?
Roni Brunn (RB): The first concept was a photo collage, but I got lazy. It was too time consuming and detail oriented. (I do all my album art myself). So I had to think of something easier to execute. By that time, I already made a few things out of existing media: a video that uses footage of commercials, concepts for T-shirts printed on metal band shirts, Whole Foods canvas bags screen printed with "From" so they read "From Whole Foods." It just made sense that the album was also gonna play with found objects. I also like surrealism and stencils. The photos on the tray card show a painting I did that's just layers and layers of stenciled paint. The point was to have a simple first impression and other layers behind it.

Besides the visual stuff, I wanted to put my music in some sort of context. It's a debut album from an unknown artist -- how do you relate to it? Why should you bother? It's fun to have the From CD together with another album. Some albums I picked inspired my music and some albums just make a funny juxtaposition, like the Batman soundtrack from the 90s. I like to have it all kinda confused and blurry, then leave it to people to sort it out for themselves.

Not worried about copyright issues since I'm not making copies. Maybe there are other legal issues I should be worried about, though.

OA: This release is not your first venture into recycling others material. The video for "One Spring Away" (buy the single here or on Itunes) is actually a mash-up of 41 different commercials. Has there been any reaction to this video and how did you selection the commercials that you used?
RB: It was super cool to have the video covered in blogs about advertising! It reached some of the people who created the commercials, and they liked it. That was a huge compliment. Also, the video made it to blogs that aggregate "cool" content for a largely mainstream teen audience. From wouldn't ordinarily have this type of exposure -- I really appreciate that.

I first picked commercials that would be recognizable, plus I definitely wanted a robot, a gorilla, and dancing. Then some themes developed, and I looked for more footage to fill in the gaps, like more city shots, or more underwater scenes. I watched hundreds of commercials to end up with the 41. Commercials have amazing footage! Editing was all free association at first -- what would match, what should follow -- then I polished the video, timing the scenes to the music. It was a lot like song writing, actually.

OA: You have a unique history, not only did you graduate from Harvard, but you also started out in Fashion. You had a great deal of success with your first venture into the fashion world, why did you walk away?
RB: Thanks. I started a handbag line right after college, and I'm glad it worked out to the extent it did. Basically, I took on a few full time jobs: design, marketing/sales, PR, and production. I made most of the cutting patterns, took all the photos, did the website, called stores, worked trade shows, supervised the factory flow. It was insane. I burned out. The company was way under-capitalized to hire anyone else full time. Also, I could never get the quality I wanted because I didn't have access to factories in Italy. I'm really grateful for the factory that produced my line, but my bags weren't as refined as I wanted them to be.

OA: Graduating from Harvard, do you find that expectations are naturally (and maybe unfairly) higher? The name carries so much cache, but is there any downside?
RB: I find that people are usually surprised when I know anything useful... I'm much more used to people underestimating me. I think those expectations are more pronounced in fields like investment banking, medicine, law, or academia. Maybe comedy writing, too. I guess nobody expects me to be able to handle anything creative -- or computer programming -- with a degree in economics, but I really don't think my resume gets in my way at all. I really appreciate having gone there, especially since I'm an immigrant. I had to fight for the basics at school, like taking a foreign language, or just not being held back a year when I moved to the US. My high school didn't track me for the Ivys, and I had to be inventive and of course work hard to get in. I met some of my closest friends at Harvard, and I got exposed to brilliant ideas from the people who came up with them. There were fun parties, public pranks, those sorts of things, too. As for the downside -- I dunno, price?

OA: There have been several social networking success stories in the last few years and the latest are coming from Twitter. You have From registered on 11 different networks, as someone who also runs a design and consulting firm, do you feel these networks are vital to a bands success?
RB: Yeah, artists should be where people hang out, as long as it's a good fit. It's like making friends -- you can meet someone at class or work, but you start getting to know them socially at a party. Social networks are like that but/and more nerdy. Also, you don't know how they'll turn out, so you just show up and see what happens. Hence, there 11 network profiles for From, but the bulk of activity is at Twitter and on the From blog, at the band's own site.

I think a steady stream of good online content helps tell the band's story and connect with people who have already heard about the band. It's good to funnel this content -- blog posts, photos, videos -- through the band's site, then to the networks. I've been my own best client in that sense. I blog almost every day about design, music, and advertising. The From blog gets its own audience, which is a nice bonus. I'd be blogging regardless of readership.

Still, social networks don't break artists. The success stories are pretty much fabricated PR. Lily Allen already had a record deal before she even signed up to MySpace, according to this New Yorker article. I wouldn't be surprised if we do see some artist's team claiming the breakthrough happened on Twitter, which they will be ghost tweeting themselves.

OA: I don't often ask about band names, but From seems so complicated in its simplicity. Where did the name come from and did you consider issues with searching or any confusion that might come from a name like From?
RB: That's what I was going for! Band names can be so wanky. I hope the confusion does leave room for interpretation. People can make of it what they want. When I thought of it, I wanted something familiar-turned-strange, and I wanted it to indicate rootlessness. I was born in Israel, and I have three passports (Israel, US, Germany). Oh, and I'm a permanent resident of Sweden, though I live in LA. I'm always "from" wherever I am, and I don't just feel like I belong.

Music-wise, I'm into bands that push forward without really caring if they piss people off doing it. But I can't say that and then go try to be a rebel. It feels played out and fake -- we've had decades of books, documentaries, and conversations about rock star mythology. So I've gone meta with it. Using "from" as a name means that people who do know about the band sort of have a different language from those who don't. It plays on the rebellious factor because you're saying something that other people won't get. It's inclusive when you talk to people who heard about From. At the same time, it's a bit of nonsense, so you're kind of making a statement about rebellion and inclusion. Also, From is a four-letter F-word. So you get the sort of art angle, the subversive stuff, the fun.

I didn't consider search engines. Kinda dumb of me. I hope people would find From by searching for song titles, "the band from," or my name.

OA: What's next from Roni Brunn and From?
RB: I'm now putting together a live band. I wanna play shows. I made all the recorded music pretty much on my own, but the songs need a full band to be played live. I want to do shows that I would be into if I were watching. I like high energy bands with a traditional rock band lineup. The live sound is shaping up to be more raw than the recorded tracks. I love it. Also, I'm figuring out when to release the album. I can't wait for both touring and having the music out.

Listen to: Dream With You (mp3) from Fair Isle

Bonus Questions:
OA: If you could sit down to coffee with anyone (alive or dead) who would it be?
RB: Karl Lagerfeld, please! I've been a huge fan of his since I was little. He's a brilliant designer and I think one of the brilliant minds of our time. You have to see Lagerfeld Confidential -- it's a documentary that follows him, and it's not totally clear what's in jest and what's sincere. Even when it's over the top, it's smart and sharp. None of the drama you usually think about with fashion caricatures. He stays so current, he doesn't take himself too seriously, and he's incredibly witty. He collects books, he's a photographer, he's got a million projects besides the three lines he creates (Chanel, Fendi, his own label). I'd brush up on my German and sound like a total idiot anyway. It'd be fun. I'd talk pop culture with him and slip him a CD. I like talking about dumb things with smart people.

OA: What was the last great book you have read?
RB: I read mostly the paper and blogs. I read books in Hebrew to keep up the language, mostly trashy spy thrillers. But the last great one -- well, great for me -- was written by a relative of mine. He chronicled stories about my family, and I found out some ridiculously cool stories. I had a relative who went to India to train with the Beatles' guru (ha, I'm sure he's got other credits or whatever). My great grandmother and her sister rebelled by getting an education and leaving a very comfortable life in Germany well before WWI. My great uncle was my great aunt's Hebrew tutor -- it was his day job. He was an author, and he later won the Nobel for literature. I had relatives who went on the Titanic. It's all kind of insane and weird for me, since I'm not around my extended family. Also, it's all kind of insane and weird regardless.

For more on Roni Brunn and From please visit her website.