My questions, his answers and some songs, in case you're not familiar with the band, can be found below.
Christopher De Cinque: It's basically just The Matrix meets The Wizard of Oz filtered through a sci-fi-psychedelic-kitsch lens. I think in a lot of ways it's nodding to some of the same philosophical underpinnings that the Wachowskis were dealing with in the Matrix trilogy, combined with the campy journey of the Wizard of Oz. Also lets not forget adding a sprinkle of Robert Anton Wilson to taste.
(Editor's note: If you are interested, the track by track feature can be found here: http://www.altpress.com/features/entry/closure_in_moscow_pink_lemonade_track_by_track )
2. In that feature you mentioned that a fast-track to enlightenment is "“totez” a thing you can obtain like an Xbox 360 achievement." This, along with the Dinosaur Boss Battle and the 8 bit "credit sequence" song leads me to believe that you guys are gamers. If that's correct, what have you been playing recently and what's your preferred platform, in case obtaining achievements isn't actually your thing?
Christopher De Cinque: I was an achievement whore for a time there haha, I guess it's the anal completionist in me... So yes you are correct! I'm a fan of all the platforms, especially from 10-15 years ago when there was more exclusivity and they all had strengths in their flagship series. I grew up playing the Final Fantasies, Resident Evils and Oddworld games on the PS1 and absolutely adored those, my first console was a Sega Mega Drive and the Sonic series and Alex Kidd were awesome, but I think when it comes down to it, I'm a nintendo fan at heart... The 64 is probably my childhood defining console... They still stand out on a limb and do their own thing which the others are doing less of now and all their 1st party series are always immensely enjoyable and well executed, I'm pretty excited for the first non-remaster HD Zelda!
3. Would you take a sip of the alchemist's pink lemonade?
Christopher De Cinque: I don't think I would, I've sipped a few "Pink Lemonades" in my time now and it leads to nothing but new-age wanky rhetoric sessions.
4. When writing the album what came first, the music or the concept?
Christopher De Cinque: It was a decent portion the music first, then as lyrics started to take shape I saw some unifying themes and threads throughout the rest of the music started to mold around this overarching concept.
5. In the five years between First Temple and Pink Lemonade, I know you moved to the US right before First Temple and touring but were you working on PL the whole time in between or were you just exploring the Brahmatron's tendrils?
Christopher De Cinque: There was definitely a lot of exploring the Brahmatron's tendrils and kind of going off the rails, them tendrils ain't meant to be fucked with too much! So there was some down time and things looked dire for a while as I went on my own Fool's journey, but I came out the other end and we are back to all cylinders firing.
6. What are the band's plans for the coming year or so? Tours? More songwriting?
Christopher De Cinque: The plan is to tour internationally again, especially the US... It's been a while. We'd love to get over to Iceland too... I seriously want to move there, my plan was to visit after our last European tour but it didn't work out because I had to get back and finish vocals for Pink Lemonade. We're also in the middle of putting together something special with Melbourne chip tune artist and video game composer Derris Kharlan (Nathan Anthony)... More shall be revealed soon.
(Editor's note: Iceland (or me at least) will welcome you with open arms)
Christopher De Cinque: Everyone should read some Robert Anton Wilson
8. You have a few guests/collaborators on the new album, if you could choose one person to collaborate with who would it be? It can be a musician, writer, director, anything goes.
Christopher De Cinque: Working on the animated feature film version of Pink Lemonade with Pendleton Ward would be HEAVEN.
(Editor's note: I would buy that in a heartbeat!)
9. What gives you the most satisfaction; playing live, working in the studio or songwriting?
Christopher De Cinque: They are all rewarding in a different way, it's hard to pick one. If you put a gun to my head and said choose I think my knee jerk response would be songwriting, it's probably the most satisfying thing coming up with something you think is really spiffy, and sometimes the most frustrating when you are wading through the mediocre ideas in search of the gold.
10. Also, when playing live, do you prefer big festival stages or smaller gigs?
Christopher De Cinque: I prefer smaller shows, it just feels so much more visceral, the sound is usually better and there's more room for improvisation based on interactions that happen with a smaller crowd.
11. Excluding your own album, what are some of your favorite albums out this year so far? Any that you're excited for?
Christopher De Cinque: I don't think I've listened to a single thing that has come out this year, not that I can think of off the top of my head... A guilty pleasure that came out this year is Undressed by Kim Cesarion, mother fucker slays those vocals. I'm excited for our collaboration with Derris Kharlan!
12. Have you or are you planning to, at some point, play Pink Lemonade live in its entirety with all guest performers?
Christopher De Cinque: That would be incredible and if the planets aligned and everyone involved could be in the same place I would love for this to happen.
13. When playing live, do you notice a big difference in crowd reaction between the older songs and the newer ones?
Christopher De Cinque: The newer stuff gets more sweet dancing happening, more hips gyrating and more of my favorite, the "it looks like I just smelt something bad but I'm actually vibing the steez" face.
14. If there's anything else you want to add, feel free to use this space to get everything out. This is digital so no trees will be harmed.
Christopher De Cinque: Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn
Jón Þór