Rain was falling in Chapel Hill, NC. A thick southern rain. Big drops drenching everything, lurid and slow through the intertwined gold-red maple and poplar trees. Changing colors stand out in the grey of a storm. Brooklyn based trio School of Seven Bells has arrived at the beginning of a U.S. tour, the last in support of their Ghostly International release Alpanisms. When identical twin sisters Alejandra and Claudia Deheza sing, they sound so similar, sound engineers can’t tell them apart. Live, the combination is rousing and possessed. School of Seven Bells’ music is a charmed snake. Poised and unsolved, inside the caravan's ear-brain. Cobras rise from baskets, controlled and moving to sound. These twins know each other’s thoughts, and somehow yours as well. All ears wait to hear what they’ll say when they sing.

Guitarist Benjamin Curtis spoke backstage before their Chapel Hill show:

You guys are headlining this tour. How is headlining different?
Benjamin: Headlining is very different. It means we can play longer sets. We’re not on and off in thirty minutes. We can settle into what we’re doing, settle into the sound. It was important for us to do this tour, headlining a tour in the U.S. We’d headlined in other countries, but not here. I think when people go to a show to hear a band, their ears are a little more tuned in to what the band is playing. You know? People are listening a little more intently, as opposed to hearing an opening band that they didn’t come to see.

Do you play differently knowing people are there to see and hear you?
No, not different. I’d say we play darker. With longer sets, the band can explore the darker corners of our world.

You all have been touring so much, does it ever wear you down?
We definitely get in a daze from all the travel. But getting to play so much makes the music better. It gets to a point where playing the songs becomes automatic, and we don’t really have think about the mechanics of playing them, it’s just second nature. And I like that, because then, you can take the songs to other places and make different decisions with them.

You all are playing new songs now. How are the new songs? How does playing them affect your set?
It’s exciting. Invigorating. Playing the new songs makes us play the old stuff in a fresh way. I think the new stuff is more simple and powerful. I wouldn’t say there’s less subtlety to them but more depth. Melodically, they’re stronger. The good parts of Alpanisms are magnified and honed in on.

Is a new album in the works? Any plans for a release?
Yeah. We’re almost finished with our next album. It’s called Disconnect from Desire. It’ll come out sometime next year.

How has the recording been? How do your songs come together?
We build stuff up and tear it down. Less slid through the filter this time around. Our songs come together a million different ways. We’ll work on something and get it to a point, then step away. Later, if a different harmony or sound comes to mind, we’ll try it. If it sounds better, we’ll delete what we’ve done. It’s painful to delete a day's worth of recording, but sometimes it’s necessary. We’re not using a producer. There’s a lot of energy right now for these new songs. We’re riding that. Until we hit a wall, we’ll keep going.

Does SVIIB consciously create, or do songs arise out of jamming and messing around?
For me, if I’m writing a song, it’s something I intend to do. Accidents happen yeah, but we set out to make this record, and write these songs. So I guess we’re consciously creating. Playing live as much we have has influenced us. We’re writing like we’re playing live, with a bigger sound. It’s more visceral. We weren’t aware of the danciness so much before. I didn’t realize the beats had so much drive. The new stuff goes with that drive. Like a car on a road at night with no headlights. When you know the road well enough, you don’t need lights.

Who makes your beats?
I do. I was a drummer before I was a guitar player with Secret Machines. I’ve always been into beats and spent a lot of time making them.

Have you ever played with a live drummer?
We played a show with Matt Shultz, from Holy Fuck, and it was cool. There are tons of drummers I’d love to work with. But our sound comes from us playing to sequenced drums. It’s an aesthetic decision for us to play this way. Playing with a live drummer almost feels like too fundamental a change. It’s like the songs don’t feel right that way.

School of Seven Bells play Neumos Saturday, Oct. 10th

What do you use for the beats?
We use Ableton Live and trigger with MIDI. At home I program with Logic. Ableton is more stable though.

Ever have your beats crap out on you?
Ha. We’ve been lucky that hasn’t happened. We’re aware of Ableton’s limitations and what taxes it. We try to streamline things. The three of us make a lot of noise on our own out of the PA, so it’s about finding that balance, and having everything exist in the same world.

What guitars do you and Alejandra play? And your set up.
We play Hagstrom guitars. Alejandra plays through a Fender Amp and I play through a Laney combo. Claudia plays an Indigo synth.

Who do you listen to? Who influences you? What are you a combination of?
I’m into minimal techno, Kompakt Records. I like analog and punchyness, like Stones Throw and Madlib. I love New Order. I’d say I’m a combination of New Order and Madlib. Synthetic and analog. I like that blend of perfect quantization and rawness. I thought to myself, could I make a pop song out it?

I think School of Seven Bells is more mystique and mystery than pop though.
Yeah. Mystery and driving at night with no lights.