20 Watts

Wes Miles, famously known as the lead the singer of Ra Ra Riot and member of experimental-pop group Discovery, took time to talk with 20 Watts about his career and future ventures. Discovery’s debut album LP releases on July 7th (XL).

20W: How long have you and Rostam (from Vampire Weekend) been working on this album?

Wes: We started working on the album in 2005. We wanted to explore more pop music. It took four years to make it. It took so much time because when our other bands picked up the pace, there was less and less time to work on it.

20W: How did you two hook up?

Wes: Ezra Koenig from Vampire Weekend introduced us. We met on New Years going into 2004. We bonded over our love for vocal harmonies.

20W: Discovery’s sound is so much different than that of Ra Ra Riot or Vampire Weekend. How did this sound come about?

Wes: It’s always been an interest of mine. We wanted a different set of parameters, musically. We just wanted to record a album and not worry about going live. Before Rostam and I hooked up, I wanted to start a synth-pop band and Rostam wanted to start a hand-clap band. Those two were very inclusive of each other.

20W: Did you guys ever think ahead: what if this thing got really big?

Wes: We never thought about getting big. We want the best for the album, but we never thought about it.

20W: Is there a tour on the horizon?

Wes: We probably wouldn’t tour. If it got big enough, we’d work on a second album before that.

20W: Dirty Projector’s Angel Deradoorian guest performs on the album. What was your reaction when the band got in that car accident recently?

Wes: They what? I didn’t hear about that. I’m good friends with those guys.

20W: Is there a new Ra Ra Riot album coming up?

Wes: We are just starting to think about that. We’ll probably start at the end of the year and hopefully make a Spring 2010 release.

20W: What’s with the remix of Ra Ra Riot’s “Can You Tell” on the Discovery album?

Wes: It’s not really a remix or a cover. It’s just the second path of the same song. Rostam and I worked on that song before it became Ra Ra Riot’s song.

20W: Is this the first of many sideprojects for you?

Wes: It’s always fun to make music with new people. Maybe. There aren’t any other projects coming up, in particular.

20W: One last Ra Ra Riot question. Your new Fall tour is going to hit Ithaca, NY, but not Syracuse. What’s up?

Wes: We had a big show there in the spring. We didn’t want to overstay our welcome.

20W: You could never do that.

–Jett Wells