INTERVIEW: Penguin Prison
Penguin Prison is the solo project of New Yorker Chris Glover, who debuted his self-titled album in 2011. For the past seven years, Penguin Prison has been tearing up the electropop scene with upbeat jams like “Show Me The Way,” “Calling Out,” and “Don’t Fuck With My Money.” WTBU DJ Monica Sucic asked him about his newest EP, record stores, and how releasing music has changed over the years before his sold-out show at Allston’s Great Scott.
Monica Sucic: What have you been spending the most time doing in the period between “Lost in New York” and the release off the latest EP, Turn It Up?
CG: I’m always working on a bunch of different things: music for myself, producing and writing for other artists, remixing and playing shows.
MS: What’s your favorite song on the new EP?
CG: The title track on the new EP, Turn It Up, is one of my favorites. The song is inspired by the current situation we seem to find ourselves in. There’s a lyric in the song that says “Does it have to be a fight just to live life any way you want?” In other words, why do some people seem so hell-bent on trying to prevent others from living their lives the way they want to when they aren’t harming anyone.
MS: On Lost in New York, have you yourself ever been lost in New York?
CG: I based the title of my sophomore album, Lost In New York, on the feeling I had of being lost and confused with my relationship to the only city I’ve ever lived in. All the songs are about being lost in some way, and being in New York is the thread that ties them all together. So, I was grappling with how I feel about being raised and never leaving New York and whether I should still be there.
MS: What’s your favorite place to shop for music in New York? Or elsewhere?
CG: When I was growing up in New York I would go downtown every weekend with my friend and go shopping for records. Generation Records, Academy Records, Other Music, A1 Records were just some of the stores downtown I would go to.
MS: With Spotify going public, how do you feel about the growth of streaming services?
CG: Streaming services are a good step forward because they seem to have gotten rid of people just illegally downloading music. However, I think the royalty percentage that goes to the artists has a ways to go, so hopefully there can be improvements in that area.
MS: How have streaming services affect how you’ve released your music over the years?
CG: The platform that artists use to release their art has always affected the actual art that is made ever since humans have made art. Every time there is a new development in how music is released it seems all artists adapt to it pretty quickly. Now it seems that artists release smaller batches of songs more often as opposed to waiting longer to release bigger batches of songs.
MS: Where do you draw most of your inspiration from?
CG: The best inspiration just comes out of nowhere, and then all of a sudden a song idea is there for you. I aspire to make art that isn’t influenced by any specific artist, but of course I am inspired by many different kinds of artists across all kinds of genres including Johnny Cash, John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Wu-tang Clan, Nina Simone, Nirvana, Nat King Cole, as well as countless others.
MS: Would you consider experimenting with different genres of music, and if so, what would it be?
CG: I definitely want to experiment mixing genres together. I’d like to take the different styles I’m interested in and see if they can co-exist together.
MS: Any updates on the next album?
CG: I have a bunch of songs already for a new album, so I look forward to releasing them!
Penguin Prison is currently touring across North America. His newest EP, Turn It Up, is out now on Spotify and iTunes.