Chris Walla is a (here we go) musician-producer-studio owner-songwriter-label founder-music mogul. He plays guitar in Death Cab for Cutie, produces records for artists like Nada Surf and Tegan & Sara, and recently created his own label, Trans Records.

Walla doesn't have time for exercise now that he's started up a company. The label, though small, has two local acts on its roster not unfamiliar to listeners of The Current: Now, Now, and Sombear.

All the tracks Chris chose for his second stop to our studios have a story behind them. Cumulus is a new band recently signed to Trans - their debut album is due out this September. "Disco Man" by Ilaiyaraaja's comes from the lesser known Indian movie industry Collywood, which releases films spoken in Tamil language. Ilaiyaraaja (listen to the audio to master the pronunciation) means "Prince" in Tamil, but he's not in any way related to The Purple One - the Indian producer has him beat by a least a few years.

Walla says Death Cab has a stack of demos ready for recording. Only time will tell when the 8th DCFC album drops.

Playlist

Death Cab for Cutie - "Stay Young, Go Dancing"
Cumulus - "Do You Remember?"
Ilaiyaraaja - "Disco King"
Chaz Jankel - "Ai No Corrida"
Doe Eye - "I Hate You"
Sombear - "2002"

Videos

Sombear - "2002"

Video not available.

Related

• Now, Now performs in The Current studio
• Theft of the Dial: Half of Death Cab For Cutie