Interview: Ernest Greene, aka Washed Out, performing tonight at the Blue Moose Tap House

Washed Out w. Small Black

Blue Moose Tap House — Tuesday, Sept. 2 at 8 p.m.

Following the release of his sophomore LP Paracosm in August 2013, Washed Out (aka Ernest Greene) has been touring on a near-constant basis. And with the launch of his latest nationwide tour last month, Washed Out (along with Small Black) will be performing in Iowa City at the Blue Moose Tap House on Sept. 2 and in Des Moines on Sept. 3 at Wooly’s.

Greene recently took some time to answer a few questions over email about the evolution of his sound, new projects and his current music obsessions.

How has your initial bedroom-style approach to music evolved with the release of Paracosm, and in what direction do you find yourself venturing musically/artistically?

I still go about writing music the same way I always have — mainly, working by myself on a computer with a few keyboards and cheap microphones. The main difference on the last couple of records has been taking the songs into a studio at the end of the writing process and have them professionally mixed, which definitely adds a layer of sheen that pulls it out of the bedroom realm into something a little bit more produced.

I’ve already started work on some new recordings that I’m excited about that are actually a return to a rougher, more bedroom sound. I like the unique idiosyncrasies that come out with this approach.

Are there any new music projects in the works?

My initial instinct is always to do something very different than whatever the last project was. So after making a more “live” sounding record with Paracosm, I’ve been working on songs made up of only samples and electronic sounds. The stuff is definitely more dancey, so I’m not sure yet if it will fit with Washed Out or maybe another new project.

What do you anticipate most about the tour?

I like traveling and being in a new place everyday. I take a lot of photographs, so it’s always fun stumbling upon weird or interesting things to shoot.

Lastly, do you find yourself obsessed with anything lately — musically or otherwise?

I’ve been into a lot of instrumental New Age music. Mainly, some early new age records that were more acoustic based than the soundscapey stuff that Brian Eno made popular later in the ’80s.