Future Islands Shares How Shows Helped Shape The Music, Discusses ‘As Long As You Are’

In art school as a college student, Sam Herring, front man for the Baltimore-based post-wave band, Future Islands, studied sculpture and stage performance. He was a conceptual and performance artist. But – maybe it was laziness, he says, maybe it was the Mary Jane – his work wasn’t taking him where he wanted to go. His sculptures weren’t of Michelangelo’s caliber. But he had a revelation. Herring combined the two subjects. He began to, in a philosophical manner, consider himself to be his clay. The body was the sculpture. He adopted a bombastic stage persona, “Art Lord,” striking Shakespearean poses (or jokingly doing the “Robot” dance). He started a band with good friends. He gesticulated wildly. It worked. The local bars – and then the world – noticed. Now, his group is set to release its highly anticipated sixth LP, As Long As You Are, on October 9th.