It’s time to line up for the autographs from this uber-creative Chicago-based trio. Autograf may have been born in the midst of the Windy City’s art scene, but by now they’re known for their exquisite approach to the electronic music that surpasses genres and bursts with ideas. Here are the 10 things you need to know about Autograf before seeing them live on their Metaphysical Tour.

Autograf was Born Through the Chicago Art Scene

The trio of musicians found each other in the busy art scene of Chicago. Yes, you read that right: it was contemporary art and not music that originally brought these three together. Back then Jake had built an 8-feet robot sculpture at his art school and was DJing around town with it, so he was pretty much hard to miss. “The robot was a moving sculpture that moved to the music”, Louis recalls. “It was a performance art piece.” Soon he (Jake, not the robot) was throwing underground loft parties along with Mikul and eventually Louis joined them. That’s how Autograf was born.  

The First Thing They Did as a Trio was Build a Soup Can

Talk about the Warhol legacy! The trio wasn’t united by the music—they first worked together on a soup can art piece, which was as big as Jake’s robot. Unfortunately, they’re not bringing any of those art pieces to their upcoming tour. “Both were 8-feet tall and weighed 800 pounds”, Louis explains, “But Jake actually toured around with his robot a bunch a long time ago, before Autograf. Art in general has inspired us a lot for what we’ve been doing as a band. And we wanted to merge the visual aspect with the music. There’s quite a disconnect between artists and musicians right now. We aim to bring that back.” The band’s Metaphysical Tour kicks off in New York on January 15. After that, the trio will be performing all over the US and Canada up until mid-March.

They View Signing an Autograph as Making the World a Better Place

“We wanted the concept of the group to revolve around how one can make a positive impact in the world”, Louis recalls. “Essentially we felt in the most literal sense that people leave their mark by signing their name. Hopefully whatever we put out—music or art—leaves a positive mark on the world.”

They Did Collect Autographs in the Past

“I used to collect autographs in high school”, Mikul confesses. “I used to go to a lot of rock and indie shows and get my t-shirts autographed.” The most treasured one? “I had a Nine Inch Nails signed t-shirt.” Badass!

Yes, They Do Get Asked to Sign Body Parts

“I feel like we sign a lot of boobs for some reason,” Louis confesses. “Other than that we sign some random things like hats. We never plan ahead of the time to sit somewhere and have a signing, so when people encounter us they give us whatever they have which is either their shirt or their body. We played at the sorority party once and everyone was lining up to get their boobs signed. It wasn’t only girls. We tried to be as gender neutral as possible, so we signed half guys’ hairy chests and half girls’ boobs.” Is it hard signing a hairy chest? “It is very hard! You have to really dig in there and just keep painting it over and over. Next time I would ask the guys to shave their chests prior to our visit”.

Vibraphone is an Unofficial Fourth Member

They’re definitely bringing it on tour. As well as a drum set, but an electronic one. “It’s a live tour, so people are welcome to come with an open mind to experience good music whether you’re used to seeing live bands or DJs” Louis explains. “Ideally we would like to have the blend of the two, the best of both worlds”.

There’s No Word in the English Language to Describe Their Music

“I don’t think if it’s really necessary to come up with all these weird little subgenres people use when they talk about music,” Mikul says. “I think the music you make is what you’re feeling at that moment. And English language is very limiting in terms of describing music. The best way to describe the music is to simply play it. The same can apply to photographs and artworks”.

They’re an Essential Chicago Band

“There’s a deep tradition of house music in Chicago and because of it a lot of old school house guys still DJ around and a lot of people from that era still go to the shows. People tend to be a bit more snobby when it comes to house music,” Louis admits. “But then there are those who take the sound that we all grew up with and put their twist on it. And our music is inspired by that”.

They Had to Quit Their Day Jobs to Concentrate on Autograf

“Once we started getting more DJ gigs and spinning multiple times during the week, we started partying like crazy and showing up late and hangover to work,” Louis divulges. “We don’t know how we did it, but we basically didn’t sleep during that period. So we had to start doing music full-time and quit our day jobs.”

They Gave Up on Partying a Little, Too

“Nowadays we’re chiller. When you start out, everything’s all new and exciting and you just want to get wasted every single night. But once you start touring heavily it’s impossible to keep up with all the drinking. There are plenty of opportunities to party still though,” Mikul assures us. While Louis thinks “as your music palette matures, you start enjoying everything without a drink in your hand. You enjoy the music and not just the party aspect of the show”.