Singer-guitarist-songwriter Christopher Smith started working with drummer Shaunn Watt, keyboardist Will Kendrick, and bassist Peter Carruthers when he was looking for someone to flesh out his solo material. That’s since led to the forming of the dub-indebted Dralms. The group’s debut Fat Possum single—“Crushed Pleats”/ “Divisions”—mixes Studio One–vintage drums with fuzz-filtered low end, and sensually spiralling vocals.

Best local release other than yours: “I’m biased, but I’m saying Failing’s The Apple in the Pig’s Mouth [which also features Watt and Kendrick]. I think what’s really cool about that record is how refined and realized it is for them being such a new band. There’s so much tension and release in their music; it’s crazy, unrelenting noise but somehow controlled at the same time.”

The year’s best gig: “Connan Mockasin [on May 12]. He’s a scrawny guy from New Zealand with a blond-white bob. He’ll sell out venues in Europe, but it was a smaller crowd at the Electric Owl. He started his set in the middle of the audience, sitting down and playing guitar. He plays arty, sexy jams and everybody was up on-stage taking their clothes off by the end of the night, present company excluded.”

Best album ever: “Blonde Redhead, Misery Is a Butterfly. If it comes up on shuffle, I never turn it off. I can always listen to it. The record is haunting and beautiful, the production is amazing, and the instrumentation is so good.”

Jonathan Simkin’s paying—where’s dinner? “Don’t Argue! Pizzeria [3240 Main Street]. It’s the best pizza in the city, it’s got great beer, and I always run into my pals there. I like their Salami Mushroom Rocket.”

In the spirit of Jason Derulo’s “Talk Dirty”, who do you want talking dirty to you? “I’m going to say my friend and labelmate Mark Hamilton of Woodpigeon. He just moved here. He’s mysterious. He’s a world traveller. He writes sweet songs about love, the books he’s read, and history, and I like that. He’s a well-cultured, well-rounded guy.”

You won Lotto Max. Where’s your club opening up? “I’d pick the abandoned building on the corner of William and Victoria that’s covered in graffiti [formerly U-Need-A-Bottle Services, 1155 Victoria], but not in that location. I would take the building and move it underneath the Burrard Street Bridge. I think that building, in that secret, secluded location, would be the perfect little hideaway.”