Electronic musician Alex Botwin — better known as Paper Diamond — performed at Cat's Cradle in Carrboro on Sunday night as part of his Rain Drops North American tour. Staff writer Madison Flager spoke with Botwin about his recent performance, his custom sound system and his current tour.
The Daily Tar Heel: You were at Cat’s Cradle around this same time last year, how was it to be back Sunday night?
Alex Botwin: It was awesome. It’s crazy because we have the most insane sound system with us that every night has just been insane — it feels crazy, literally.
DTH: Is this your first time working with a sound system like this?
AB: We’ve brought smaller systems out before, but this is definitely the most insane touring rig we’ve had before. It’s a different feeling when you’re going to clubs and smaller towns that don’t always get music like this and you see people’s reactions — it’s what I live for.
DTH: You designed the set for this tour, what do you want audiences to come away from it feeling or thinking?
AB: I think that people will leave having the best time. There’s so many different emotions and sections of the set and so many experiences, you can’t really pin down one emotion. It’s different for everyone. We kind of were making new styles of art and stuff, and in the Rain Drops artwork there’s a lot of different messages. It’s awesome to make it not just about the music; there’s lots of different moving pieces to it with the set and lights and clothes.
DTH: Are you still involved with your art gallery and design firm in Colorado?
AB: Yeah, I am. It was deterring me from writing a lot of music. I was spreading myself out and everything was so rushed, so I couldn’t put out as much music as I’d like to. It’s a lot of work, it’s a labor of love ... So I pretty much stepped back all of last year and focused on writing. I was working all over Europe and the States and collaborating a lot on vocal stuff.
