Kevin Bronson on May 10th, 2020

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In 2019, Talk Time released their debut EP “Year of Self.” Now that 2020 has turned into the “Year of Hell,” they’re fine-tuning the songs for EP No. 2, Edson Choi tells Buzz Bands LA’s QUARANTUNES. He shares his wish list — and playlist, including the album he went to when he was “super-emo.”

THE LATEST FROM TALK TIME

Last spring, Talk Time released its debut EP, “Year of Self,” a five-song collection of dreamy Californian indie-rock imbued with a sense of yearning and wonder. “A lot of this has ended up being providence,” singer-guitarist Edson Choi said at the time. Fate has again intervened as Choi and principal collaborator Mike Nissen embarked on the eagerly anticipated follow-up. 2020, after all, has turned into the “Year of Hell.” “Our sophomore EP is slowly but surely being finished,” Choi says. “We started principal tracking with producer Matt Bishop like a year ago, but, funny enough, this pandemic is the third act of God that has delayed finishing it. We’d be more complain-y, but we’re just rolling with it, with each delay we get more time for the songs to evolve. And maybe because of this process, they’re feeling really great, with sort of a refreshing spirit to the tracks.”

HOW ARE YOU HOLDING UP AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MANAGE THE ‘STAY AT HOME’ EDICT?

Edson Choi: Thankfully, we’re super lucky to have our studio so isolated, so I’ve been just holed up working on music. Other than that, I’m lucky my house has a yard, so I’ve been gardening my ass off. Mike is fortunate to be working from home, and we video chat, but it ain’t the same as a proper face-to-face, especially with music and shitty internet connection.

WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO WHEN THIS IS OVER?

Edson Choi: We were tracking our sophomore EP with producer Matt Bishop, so it would be awesome to finish that. The silver lining to that when we finally get to finish recording the music and vocals (which weren’t tracked at all yet), it’s going to bring such a different energy into the lyrics and songs, I’m kind of excited to see how it turns out cause it’s definitely shifted.

Mike and I both really miss catching live music or comedy shows. The fellowship of our artist community here in L.A. is also sorely missed. It will be amazing to be among the community absorbing and supporting the arts.

Oh, that and biting my thumb at other drivers while stuck in wonderful L.A. traffic.

ANYTHING WE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THIS PLAYLIST?

Edson Choi: You should know we totally cheated on this playlist. … There are playlists. First, I’m recommending a full album — João Gilberto’s 1973 album in its entirety (it’s not on Spotify so I included a YouTube list). About a week into the quarantine, when I began feeling super-emo and giving into stir-crazy anxiety, I put on this record and started drawing on a sketchbook, something I hadn’t done in years. I think João knows how to hypnotize you in a positive trance. It allowed me to achieve a state of flow that I haven’t been able to give into since the pandemic started. Was awesome, and needed.

The second playlist is a great eclectic batch of tunes, perfect for chilling at home wishing you were working while thinking about chilling at home.