Interview with The Bots

As The Bots walked towards me behind the Rock Stage at Riot Fest, it finally struck me that these guys were my age and touring the world off the back of their burgeoning band. My fleeting existential crisis gone for the moment, I gave Mikaiah and Anaiah Leh daps and immediately struck it off with the two-piece rock act. The pair of brothers hails from L.A. and it shows in their laidback demeanor. Mikaiah, 20, and Anaiah, 18, are of mixed Caribbean-Asian descent and are responsible for guitar/vocals and drums respectively. They jammed together for ten years before deciding to become a full-fledged band seven years ago, and they haven’t looked back since.

Time has proven to be an amicable force working in The Bots’ favour. It has spurred them past the awkward stages of puberty and put them on a fast track to stardom. The fact that they were homeschooled allowed them to spend an ample amount of time on the road, and it shows in the tightness of their performances.

“You do find a comfort zone and get a handle on things and how you want them to sound; everything becomes more streamlined and you can tell,” said Mikaiah, of the experience they’ve gained over the years.

Both of them also attested to the crazy sights they’ve seen at their shows.

“We played in Denmark once and we had a weird crowd who made a wall of death. That wasn’t that out place, since you expect that, but there was a guy in a cow suit and people were throwing wigs on stage and yelling ‘take it’. There was a lot of violence, which we don’t advocate, but they wanted it. We play shows where we perform folk songs and people still crowdsurf and go wild,” said Mikaiah.

The band says they’ve seen a good number of performances that have inspired both the songwriting on their upcoming record and their shows. They agreed that Kanye West’s headlining set in Sweden was fun to watch. Mikaiah gushed about Metronomy who “have five people on keyboards and it still doesn’t sound electronic somehow, which is really nice,” while Anaiah listed off Buddy Rich, Johnny Blackwell, and Brian Chase as major drumming influences.

Their sophomore effort Pink Palms is out on Oct. 13 via Fader Label, and the pair both spoke about how excited they were for others to hear it.

The writing and recording process began in November 2013 and concluded in late May, with Justin Warfield helping with production in a Hollywood studio. They worked close to every other day as Anaiah finished up his schooling. The experience of working closely with a producer was a new one for the band, but one that they enjoyed learning about.

“It made me realize that I want to take it back for the next album like how people in the 60’s and 70’s used to do it in an analog old-school studio. The current album is very produced, not in a sellout way, but it’s something you would hear on the radio because it’s a way to get our foot in the door. Hopefully it will lead people to be more interested to see what we come out with for the next album,” said Mikaiah.

Both Mikaiah and Anaiah praised Damon Albarn for the support he’s shown them, not only by inviting them to tour with him, but also in giving advice when they needed it most.

Anaiah said that Albarn helped alleviate the stress that the two felt after signing with Fader Label and feeling the need to live up to expectations on their second record.

“We talked to him at SXSW not too long ago and he said ‘just keep on writing tunes.’ Writing tunes is what it comes down to, and also what the next album will rely on. It shouldn’t be as much about production value, which is great. The songs need to be good,” said Mikaiah.

“Melodies and tunes, that’s what it’s about,” chimed Anaiah.

The Bots have high aspirations, but if they just keep Albarn’s words close to heart, they’ll have terrific chances of achieving them.