When Austin Jones and Philip Anderson Edsel were playing around with sounds in college, they didn't anticipate it being anything more than a hobby. Fast-forward a few years and many gigs later, and the two have formed New York Movie, inspired by Edward Hopper's 1939 painting. 

Drawn to the energy of the Big Apple, they compose soundscapes that not only lure you in but also have finesse that sounds refreshing. We spoke with Austin about the duo's beginnings, their songs and how New York Movie fits into their Austin home.

Homebase: Austin, TX

Let's start at the very beginning. What are your musical memories?

I remember the first record I purchased with my own money. My mom let me go into the store in our local mall by myself, and I went straight for a huge display of Nirvana's Nevermind. I'm shocked they let a 9-year-old kid purchase it since it had the parental warning on the front, but I made it out with the CD and repeatedly listened to that album for the next several years.

I also have a distinct memory around the same time of calling into our local rock station repeatedly until I finally got through. I requested Bush's "Glycerine," and waited listened for about an hour until they finally played the song.

How did the band begin?

Philip and I started playing music together our freshmen year of college in Austin. What began as a hobby developed into some success, and we started touring and playing shows together right around the time we graduated.

What's the story behind the band name?

Edward Hopper has a painting titled "New York Movie." It carries a lot of interest and emotion for us as viewers, and we wanted our listeners to experience a similar interest and emotion from our music. Check out the painting, and all of his for that matter, and hopefully you will understand a little more of the type of soundscape we’re trying to develop.

You do all of the production on your own and have your own studio. What are the advantages and disadvantages of doing it all yourself?

The main advantage is that, equipment aside, it’s totally free. It can be incredibly expensive to make music with a producer in a high end studio, so we slowly accumulated enough gear that we could just do it on our own. The main disadvantage is that neither of us are professional producers or engineers. However, we know what we want our music to sound like, so with a little trial and error it tends to shape up in spite of our deficiencies, leaving us with a product that we’re undeniably more happy with in the end.

What is it about New York that is so inspiring to you musically?

New York is such an epicenter of culture and vivacity that every time I’m there I feel a little more alive and a little more inspired to create something worthwhile. Also the fans in New York are particularly engaged in a live setting, which always helps our desire to play in a city.

But you're from Austin, which has it's own music scene. How do you feel like you fit into it?

We’ve never set out to be the biggest band in Austin. We would rather fit into the scene nationally and be a band from Austin then try to really develop ourselves locally. That being said, we have some amazing venues, and nearly everyone from Austin goes to shows and knows their music, which makes it a great place for a band to get their start and to develop a fanbase.

What's "Little Emotion" about?

"Little Emotion" is the story of a guy that loves a girl just to feel something. Sometimes love is irresponsible to oneself, or the other party, and we wanted to capture that chaos of emotion in a song. We’re not trying to be preachy about it, so the song is still fun and dance driven in its production, but when you take a closer look at the lyrics, we want the listener to feel a little more connection to the highs and lows of young love, which everyone has dealt with in their own way.

What's the premise behind the video for "Firecracker"?

Similar to the way we produce our music, the video was conceptualized and produced by us. We wanted the raw energy of a dancer, coupled with the nostalgia of headlights in the night. With budgetary constraints, we tried to keep everything as simple as possible, with our main goal being to provide a visual experience of the song in its simplest form.

What's next for New York Movie?

Stay tuned for more music soon!