Tennessee Williams’ Passion
Los Angeles, Calif.

Corsica Arts Club is a “band with the passion of Tennessee Williams,” says Arash Parsee. He founded the synth-pop group about a year ago along with Brendan Thompson, who he has been collaborating with in some form or another ever since they met in a high-school music-theory class. Parsee thinks that the group’s chemistry stands out particularly during their performances, noting that not only do they enjoy playing music together, but they also hang out socially. And the band’s moniker is somewhat of a “homage to how we’ve been getting together and making music since we were kids.” Parsee continues: “We’d listen to the same albums and geek out over certain synthesizer sounds and drum machines. What continues to inspire me is that sheer enjoyment of writing songs and recording music with my best friend.” The sound is “real and spectacular,” he adds. “We try to amp things up a bit more live: The drums are a little louder, the guitars are a little edgier… Kinda like the videos of New Order performing live in the ‘80s, where it’s almost a bit more punk compared to their recordings.” The group released their self-titled debut EP this year, and Parsee explains that they wrote between 10 and 15 songs before “California I Follow,” which became “the barometer by which we measured everything else.” Lately, Corsica Arts Club has been focusing on growing their fanbase locally in the LA area, and after a successful trip to New York for this year’s CMJ, they are looking forward to spending more time writing and recording.