The blogosphere is a wonderful thing, especially when it comes to discovering new musical talents. Personally, I enjoy digging up as much as information as possible on a new group that piques my interest. The Golden Filter first blessed avid readers with ‘Solid Gold’ and their remix of Peter Bjorn and John’s ‘Lay It Down’. But aside from the slew of remixes and hit singles found, not much else is known about this mysterious group. As seen throughout the interview and live performances, the band likes to keep their anonymity. Rather than bore you with in-depth press kits and photos, the disco pop trio from New York would prefer you use your imagination. Although we know their big secret, what really matters is the music that captivates us, right?
Killahbeez: So for those who are starting to catch onto The Golden Filter, let them know the origins of the group and how it formed as well as the name “The Golden Filter”? Any significant meaning behind it?
The Golden Filter: The origins of the golden filter lie somewhere in the cosmic seas of darkness and desperation… and the way in which the tides rise above that. The Golden Filter was christened 2 days after “Solid Gold” was written as a bit of an inside joke between us. something about 70’s gauzy photography.
KB: Everyone on the internet seems to have given the band huge praises, including us, but listening to and reading some of your past interviews it seems that the group has sort of a mysteriousness about it? Can you talk a bit about why you chose to keep the member(s) a secret?
TGF: Lots of people who know who we are, and we’ve played live with no masks or anything, so it isn’t quite as much of an orchestrated effort to hide ourselves as you might think, but we won’t spoonfeed anyone information on us. Mystique is interesting to us. We adore secrets. The going trend on Myspace has been to plaster photos and identities all over a band’s page with 18 paragraph bios. When we come across those, we found that we actually never make it through the first sentence without losing interest. So we just let people listen to the music, close their eyes, use their imaginations, and not worry about who or what made it.
KB: The Golden Filter’s sound definitely can be described as disco-synth pop. Are there any other genres that the group is looking at exploring?
TGF: We’re leaving it open. Any genre is game… from Noise to 60s’ french pop.
KB: Who are some of the musical and non-musical influences that have shaped The Golden Filter and their sound?
TGF: Film, Photography, Tarot Cards, Australia, Nature, Thrift Store finds, Animals, Disco, Love, Desperation, Trees, Folk Music, New York City, Old Vinyl.
KB: Speaking of influences, what are the top 5 songs right now that you can’t get enough of?
TGF: Fever Ray – If I Had A Heart, Chromatics – Tomorrow is So Far Away, The White Stripes – The Hardest button to Button, Music Go Music – Warm in the Shadows and The Laughing Light of Plenty – The Rose
KB: “Solid Gold”, “Favourite Things” and “Moonlight Fantasy” are all mind-blowing tracks. With that said, when can fans expect to hear a full length LP or possibly an EP?
TGF: That’s a good question. it’s all a mystery…
KB: One of my favorite remixes of 2008 was the one that The Golden Filter did for Cut Copy’s “Far Away”. Was that a case where Cut Copy sought after the group to remix them? Or was that something The Golden Filter just did out of love? Are there any other remixes that fans might be able to hear from the group that are being worked on?
TGF: Cut Copy and The Golden Filter are mutual fans of each other’s music, and we were asked to do a remix… we’ve done 4 remixes so far. Cut Copy, Peter Bjorn and John, Empire Of The Sun, and Little Boots, and we’ve just finished remixing Polly Scattergood. Since we are more interested in writing original songs, we have the luxury of only remixing music we really like… which is amazing to us.
KB: The band has a busy touring schedule with The Presets coming up, how did that opportunity come up?
TGF: It seemed like a good fit to us, so we said yes… 
KB: For all the fans out there reading this, is there a message that you want to relay?
TGF: Silence is GOLDEN!
KB: Thank you for your time Penelope and Stephen! We’re definitely huge fans and look forward to your band hitting the West Coast in April.
TGF: Cheers, looking forward to seeing the pacific again!
The Golden Filter: www.thegoldenfilter.com
The Golden Filter Myspace: www.myspace.com/thegoldenfilter
