Issue 38: Attawalpa
Welcome to The Band Bible! I’m truly glad to have you here. If you’re a new reader, purpose of this newsletter is to address, break down, and shine a light on the business of being in a band. Each issue, we do this by interviewing (and celebrating!) someone who is making waves through their incredible work with or for artists, or is an artist themselves. Learning the business of being in a band is something that is often inaccessible or shrouded in mystery, and it shouldn’t be, so I hope The Band Bible is able to play even a small role in helping to change that.
“No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader.”
So goes one of Robert Frost’s most notable quotes. Part of its resonation lies in the ability for “writer” and “reader” to be swapped out for any type of creator and their respective audience, and it still rings true. The sentiment behind the quote — the palpability of creative passion — is incredibly alive in the work of Attawalpa. Attawalpa, the moniker of multi-instrumentalist Luis Felber, has accumulated a discography that was clearly created with such care and joy. That care and joy is like a binding thread woven through each track, crafting a patchwork of magic. That magic is directly translated to the auditor. It bursts through their speakers, their headphones, and becomes an integral part of the listening experience as a result.
Part of the magic of Attawalpa lies in Felber’s knack for skillful surprises. A track called “The Fear” hits the ear as easily as butter melts on a slice of hot, crisp toast. “Holliday” opens with a menacing blare of a klaxon. “Borrowed Time” buffs the edges of existentialism with the glitter of a glockenspiel, reminding us that there’s lightness and beauty to be found in the fleeting of time too. You won’t always be able to infer how a track will sound based on its title alone, and this element of subversion highlights how alive experimentation and playfulness are in Attawalpa’s discography. Language and sound working in opposition to each other is invigorating. It keeps folks on their toes, requiring a full surrender to the listening experience. You can’t get a sense of what a track will entail without paying thorough attention, for the musical elements — even those of seeming subtlety, like the glockenspiel — act as just as much of a storytelling agent as the lyrics themselves. In this sense, an Attawalpa song can be a labyrinth — full of twists and turns that you won’t experience in full until you’ve come out the other side. It’s a journey that’s a joy to undergo.
As much as the use of surprise and subversion delights, the work of Attawalpa also presents many moments of gorgeous, seamless cohesion. “More of the Same,” a love song, is like if the act of floating had a score set to it. Its hazy, gentle sway creates an ethereal atmosphere that perfectly compliments lyrics that chronicle experiencing the most ethereal emotion of all. Together, it creates a double shot of dreaminess. Similarly, “SPRLNG” (pronounced “spiraling”) has a hypnotic effect, elevating listeners into a trance-like state. It works exactly how you’d want a song with that title to.
With moments of both smooth synergy and creative contradiction abound, one never fully knows what they’re going to get with an Attawalpa song. What can be counted on, though, is that it will always be beautiful.
It would be amiss to cover Attawalpa without taking time to highlight the music video output, which is creative and often rife with joyful abandon. The music video for “Peter Gabriel’s Dream,” a track with an unforgettable “woah-oh, woah-oh” refrain and lyrics that touch on being in a haze of malaise, features Felber as a cat on a quest to reconnect with his spirit (a role portrayed by an adorable little dog). “Take a Bite” explores the zany and colorful world of Central London street performers, where Felber stars as one who makes a pact with the devil. “Tucked in Tight” may appear to be a love song at first listen, and it is — but it pertains to the “love” between people and their phones. The track’s music video features a montage of Instagram-friendly #relationship moments until it takes a deliciously Lynchian twist. Attawalpa’s music videos not only serve to highlight the skills of the creative “family” (more on that later) that exists around Felber’s work, including wife Lena Dunham and longtime collaborator Emma Chitty, but presents Felber as an artist who simultaneously takes their work seriously and isn’t afraid to have fun with it too. It’s refreshing.
Attawalpa’s work feels as if it exists in its own ecosystem of dreams. Each track is imbued with its own sense of otherworldliness. Maybe it comes from Felber’s knack for successfully wearing the hats of both a troubadour and an experimentalist at the same time, or maybe we’ll never know. Maybe we shouldn’t. Experiencing splendors we cannot source and excitements we cannot explain is important. We not only need fantasy, but we need to surrender to the urge to investigate it. It keeps the parts of ourselves that used to believe in magic alive. It’s impossible to say what makes Felber able to curate a shimmering land of elsewhere, but what can be said is that it’s a lovely place to be. It’s important for music to root us in reality, and so much of it does, but it’s also important for music to transport us. Here, Felber excels. While reality is still present in the work, we’re allowed to float above it rather than be anchored to it. Real life is still real life, but we’re granted the ability to view it through a dreamy technicolor lens.
This year, that ecosystem of dreams is set to grow. 2025 will see Attawalpa release a new album, EXPERIENCE, the follow-up to 2022’s PRESENCE. Some of the tracks on the album will feature in the forthcoming Netflix series Too Much, where Felber serves as co-creator, co-writer, and executive music producer alongside Dunham. This month delivered the first taste of what EXPERIENCE has in store in the form of “Always The Girls,” a warm and wonderful track born out of Felber observing that he felt “calmer and happier around feminine energy.”
“It’s a celebration of our mothers and the general embarrassment/lack of wisdom that comes with being a man,” he explains.
While Felber is now set to enter a sparkling era of his career, the arrival of this moment is the result of years of hard work. He put on club nights. He was involved in several bands and projects. He knows what it’s like to try and create inside the label system. These experiences paved the path that led to the creation of Attawalpa. What began as something between Felber and bassist/producer Matt Allchin has evolved into a sprawling creative community, a family. Many artists often hesitate to go solo out of a fear of losing the infrastructure of a team, but Felber is living proof that magic can happen when you work to build your own.
In the interview you’re about to read, Felber discusses building community around his work, how Attawalpa has broadened his creative horizons, EXPERIENCE, which “commandment” he’s leaving behind in The Band Bible, and more. Enjoy.
Photo by Greta Ilieva
You have a new album, EXPERIENCE, on the horizon. Is there anything you're able to share about it?
Yes! The photo cover art was taken before we recorded a note on the album. It was shot by Greta Illieva and it depicts one of the constant experiences of being an artist/ in a band — I’ll list some here:
Waiting around for the moment to come. Whether that is recording a vocal line, playing a show or inspiration not quite hitting- it’s about the in between moments.
Sitting around in a green room waiting for that hour of bliss and release on stage…
Waiting for an opportunity to come, be it via email, a phone call or just casually day dreaming, hoping your music might show itself.
You've been involved in bands before launching your own project. Has Attawalpa allowed you to explore any new creative paths that you weren't able to before?
I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say Attawalpa has opened me to the possibility of exploring ALL the NEW creative paths. The founding of Attawalpa correlated with my sobriety/putting a stop to my addictions and bad habits (I hung up my drinking and drugging in 2018 — around six months before my first EP SPELLS came out). So in a way the world and my creative space went from quite a downer black and white groundhog hangover day to a birthing blast of colour. I found my voice and each bit of work I put out is a personal evolution. It also started me on my path to writing television as my wife heard my lyrics and they inspired dialogue. Artistically I feel like I am just getting started. Every day is a new opportunity.
Which element(s) of Attawalpa bring you the most joy?
Playing live. For me that has been everything, ever since I realised I had the stomach for it at the tender age of 17. It’s the pay off and ultimate release. I get to explore these worlds I’ve helped create on a stage with people I trust and love. When the audience connects and gives you some energy back, no matter how many people are watching, it’s pure magical bliss.
Attawalpa grew from a solo project to a "six-piece family." How did you foster a sense of community within and around your work?
As an independent self releasing artist I feel like it’s almost closer to a ’20 piece family’. You have distributers, pr and radio contacts, mixers, masterers, venues, studios you like and you tend to build around that. Every one of these people is involved because of their love of what we do, not for financial gain — that’s special.
It took me a long time to find the musicians on the record and I adore them. I’ve known some of them for 25 years and some for only two, but we dig deep and inspire and lean into each other in a healthy way. It’s about allowing everyone to offer their truest self.
Collaboration is the key to great art. I think communities are fostered by staying prolific and not over thinking too much. Just keep making things. The more I make, the more I put out and the more I put out, the more I collaborate with the people I want to collaborate with — I am open always meeting more. I’m currently planning a trip to Peru to explore the music of my people and to try and learn from my own heritage and expand my tool kit. Those moments are as incredible as the ones we share on stage.
Lastly, which "commandment" would you like to leave behind in The Band Bible?
Make what you would want to listen to. Listen to what you would want to make. Support the artists you believe in, and make music your community.
A big thank you to Luis for taking the time to share such thoughtful answers. To keep up with Attawalpa, click here to visit the official website — there, you’ll find links to socials, merch, show info, and more. Speaking of shows, those in London will want to click here to get tickets for the April 1st gig at Below Stone Next.