Psyched To Meet You: Magic Wands

In conversation with LA based dark dream-pop duo Magic Wands

Originally from Nashville, Tennessee and now residing in Los Angeles, Magic Wands composed of Dexy Valentine (guitar, keyboards, vocals) and Chris Valentine (guitar, vocals) have impressed with every project since their debut album ‘Aloha Moon’ in 2012. Five albums later, their most recent project ‘Switch‘ was selected in The Best Albums Of 2023 by Post-Punk.com. We definitely agree with the high praise and so naturally we were excited to speak with Magic Wands, who have become known for their trademark “shimmering and dreamy sound, which incorporates elements of gothic post punk, and dark dream pop.”

Interview by Brandon Pestano

MOOF: How did the name Magic Wands come about & how did you both meet?

Chris: I briefly lived in Los Angeles where I met Dexy at a show her former band was playing. About a year later we connected online and I convinced her to move to Nashville to start a new band with me. The name came from a gift I sent her in the mail while she was still living in Los Angeles, of a snow globe style magic wand.

Dexy: We met online when I was living in LA and Chris was living in Nashville. We talked about music and were emailing each other songs and decided to start a band together then I moved to Nashville. The name came from a gift of a magic wand Chris sent me in the mail. I was tapping it on a table when we were trying to come up with a name and thought, how about Magic Wand?

MOOF: What blossomed your interest in exploring mystical themes through your music?

Chris: We both decided in the beginning to only do songs that had the themes of “magic” “love” or “dreams.” We didn’t want any of our music based on reality. It all had to be fantasy or imaginary ideas. Plus both of us have a lifelong interest in the metaphysical side of life so it was natural to do.

Dexy: We’ve shared some supernatural experiences together from early on and its led us to exploring mysticism. We decided to make our music all about magic love and dreams, its the name of our first EP.

MOOF: What was the concept behind your most recent album ‘Switch’?

Chris: The idea was basically to make an album that was less structured musically and also non-traditional in the approach to playing the instruments. For example, most of the guitars on the album were played with a violin bow. I think we were feeling that we wanted Switch to just be really different than our last album Illuminate, which was a cross between extreme lo-fi with a “pop song” approach. We just felt we wanted to make the music more expansive and spontaneous with a better recording quality. I also know Dexy had a vision for a lot of the lyrical themes, which revolved around her time living on the East Coast.

Dexy: The concept was to create an album that would echo the way life felt growing up on the east coast in the 90’s I took a lot of inspiration from experiences I had at that time growing up in a small beach town about an hour outside of NYC. All the music I was listening to back then played a role from Cranes to The Cure, Depeche Mode, and lots of British shoegaze bands. It was kind of me paying homage to that. I wanted to make an album that would make people feel nostalgic.

MOOF: How do you feel like you have both grown since your first album ‘Aloha Moon’ in 2012 and are there any valuable lessons you would tell your younger selves?

Chris: I’m not sure if we’ve grown much since our first album, we’re probably as immature as we’ve ever been. I do think we’re better at finishing things faster than we used to be.

Dexy: I’d tell my younger self to be more fearless. I was fearless most of my life but around 2012 I was going through a stage of anxiety. I had stage fright and a fear of flying which really held me back but then I got over it so I’d say I have grown a bit.

MOOF: Do you view the musical process as magic?

Chris: Yeah you could say it’s magic if you mean magic as something you can’t explain. I can’t explain the musical process really. I can explain how certain songs came about in a literal way but I can’t really explain all the things that led up to it and the moods and inspirations and influences of where it really came from.

Dexy: I don’t view it as magic but I believe coming up with a song can be magic because songs are gifts that come out of nowhere sometimes and most of our music feels channelled.

MOOF: Where do you find that your inspiration comes from the most?

Chris: Mainly from the feeling of wanting to try something different. Once a song or album is finished it’s great and all, but then there’s a feeling of wanting to do the complete opposite, and just indulge some new fantasy.

Dexy: Imagination, dreams, music, life experiences.