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Mark





Levitation Room 
(Headspace  Chord Book Premiere)



LA-based psychedelic rock band Levitation Room were formed in 2012 by Julian Porte and Gabrel Fernandez. With the recent release of their third album ‘Headspace’, the group have crafted a world that pays homage to British Invasion era freakbeat while encompassing a modern and expansive sound fit for the 21st Century listener.

After much demand from fans wanting to learn the groups intricate songs, Levitation Room have announced the release of a chord book. We spoke to frontman Julian Porte about how their latest album and chord book came to fruition.

When did music become an important influence in your life?


Right away. My mom used to say that anytime music came on while I was in the womb, she could feel my feet looking for a dance floor. And when I was old enough to understand what artists were saying lyrically, that’s when I became obsessed with music. That’s the beauty of it, there's a song for every occasion, for every emotion or experience that we may embrace. So when I was an adolescent, feeling like no one understood me, there was always music to console the pain of growing up. I'd say high school was that pivotal point when listening to music became, not just entertainment, but a religious practice haha.

What encouraged the decision to create a chord songbook for your new LP ‘Headspace’?


Well we saw that a lot of young people were covering a few of our songs (Friends, Warmth of the Sun) and sharing them on youtube and social media sites like Instagram. The fact that people were taking the time to learn our music and share it, blew our minds and flattered us a bit. But it was our guitarist Gabriel Fernandez who really pitched the idea and put it together. He works for a music school academy teaching young kids the fundamentals of guitar and music theory, so it was right up his alley.


You recently embarked on a tour with Psychedelic Porn Crumpets. If you could change something about the provisions made for touring artists by the industry or governments, what would it be?


Well it's different everywhere you go. Like if you're a band touring America and you're just starting out, it can be really discouraging. All the venues will try and low ball you and if you're lucky, you might get a meal and god forbid a decent place to sleep. But if you go to Europe, they treat you like kings. They pay well, promote your show to garner an audience, feed you dinner with drinks and provide a hotel or an apartment for you to stay in. I guess there would be much to change. First, let’s start with paying a touring band decently.

You mentioned that with ‘Headspace’ you wanted to bring your sonic influences of British Invasion era freakbeat into the 21st Century. How did you approach creating the album in this sense?


Actually, there were many influences that came out of  'Headspace'. We tried to be eclectic as possible, and yes, the 60's UK sound has always been a thing for us, but there's both, American and English influences on this record. You can hear the Doors on the 'Headspace' title track, Crosby, Stills and Nash on 'Pass it On' and Grateful Dead on 'What you See'. None of it was intentional, it's just what came naturally.



What’s the band working on currently and how can people get their hands on a copy of the new chord book?


Right now we're gearing up to do a two month long tour of Europe and the US. And we've also begun recording demos for our next album, which we're quite pleased with. There's some really exciting things happening in the works for us, but I'm not sure if we're allowed to divulge any information just yet. There's a PDF download and you can get your hands on the chord book right here!