Trespassers William Interview: SXSW 2010

If you've ever experienced something achingly beautiful, relished in melancholy tranquility or just been moved, odds are Trespassers William would be featured on the soundtrack of your life. Creating an almost surreal soundscape of muffled solitude, the duo of Matt Brown and Anna-Lynne Williams play whisper-y, ambient folk filled with hushed lyrics and fuzzy acoustic twang. Like a lush, barren landscape, subtlety is power for these Los Angeles-to-Seattle transplants, who are headed to Austin to play SXSW. Here is what Matt and Anna-Lynne had to say about their music, their unique influences, and the undeniable draw of semi-pro badminton.

Describe your sound in your own words.

Matt Brown: Quiet. Folky. Ambient.

How did your band form?

MB: Anna-Lynne and I met a mere fourteen years ago through a mutual friend who knew we were both looking for band mates at a coffee shop I worked at.

What are your musical influences?

MB: Tons. The Cure has always been a favorite. Lately I've been loving the National. My new 1947 Rickenbacker lap steel has been a big influence, too.

Anna-Lynne Williams: Listening to Sigur Ros or Kings of Convenience or the Knife makes me excited about music. And I just bought a record player recently, which has me listening to whole albums again and buying lots of music from the '60s and '70s -- Fleetwood Mac, Serge Gainsbourg, Vashti Bunyan -- though oftentimes my inspiration comes from books and stories that people tell me.

How did you come up with your band name?

MB: It comes from a cute Winnie the Pooh story involving Piglet.

What's your biggest vice?

MB: Chips and salsa. I am a bottomless pit for chips and salsa.

AW: 'Lost.' And red wine.

What's in your festival survival kit?

MB: A pair of swim trunks for Barton Springs and knowing I'll be eating fried avocado tacos on 6th Avenue.

AW: Books.

What's your musical guilty pleasure?

MB: I don't feel terribly guilty about much of the music I like. I do still love certain older U2 records, like 'Achtung Baby,' which does make me feel a bit guilty, seeing what they've turned into.

AW: Beyonce.

What's the craziest thing you've seen or experienced while on tour?

MB: The price of a bag of potato chips in German gas stations. Six euros -- that's, like, ten dollars.

AW: Someone who saw us play in Atlanta offered me a thousand dollars to sing a song he had written. He recorded it. The check didn't bounce.

Are there any specific reasons you chose to relocate to Seattle?

MB: It's a beautiful place with a lot of the benefits of city living while being close to amazing nature. There's a great music community here, in addition to an amazing semi-pro badminton scene, so it was an easy decision to relocate.

AW: I think I just wanted to get away from LA and go somewhere new. Apparently I have a soft spot for living on the west coast. I can't quite imagine moving east. And at this time of year, when the trees start blooming, Seattle is one of the most beautiful, green places I've ever seen. I don't necessarily feel more connected to the music scene here than I did in LA, but i appreciate the lack of glitz. And I feel like bands root for each other more here.

Seattle is known for rain. Do you guys enjoy the rain at all?

MB: Most of the time. The thing is, it really doesn't rain as much as you'd think. Except in the fall. And winter. And most of the spring.

AW: I don't prefer the rain. But it makes things pretty.

John Haefele is a contributor from Seed.com. Learn how you can contribute here.