For Your Eyes: Exclusive Interview with Vampire Weekend

After six long years, the legendary indie pop band Vampire Weekend returned last month with a fresh new album, Father of the Bride! And ever since its release, we’ve been bumping all 18-tracks through our speakers. We met up with Ezra Koenig, the lead singer of Vampire Weekend, to discuss why he took that six year break, what inspired the album’s title and how he found so many incredibly cool collaborators while recording!

After releasing three chart-topping albums in his 20s, Koenig was nervous for the band to put out another album so quickly. So he took some time away to do something other than music (like make an animated Netflix show with Jaden Smith) before Vampire Weekend jumped back into the studio.

But when Koenig and the rest of the band’s producers did return, they fell back into the album-making process with fresh ideas and a quirky album title. The album’s title, Father of the Bride, was inspired by both the 1991 film of the same name and Koenig’s understanding about being a father of the bride. He wondered about the feelings of the bride, the groom, the father and all of the transitions that come with a wedding. And then, almost accidentally, the band found themselves making a concept album about a wedding and a father of the bride.

Musicians like Steve Lacy, BloodPop and Danielle Haim of HAIM are just a few of the amazing collaborators that Vampire Weekend looped in to make appearances on the album. Haim’s ethereal voice appears on a couple of the album’s songs, like “Married in a Gold Rush” and “Hold You Now.” Lacy brings the beats on a few tracks as well and adds his addictive voice and guitar to “Sunflower” and “Flower Moon.”

Check out the full interview with Koenig below to learn more about the album’s collaborators, it’s meaning and how he almost forgot to make a new album!