It might be impossible to peg down the sound of New York indie band THE BOGGS without a bag full of hyphens, but the group’s mastermind JASON FRIEDMAN tells SIMON TOPPER his city of choice is less difficult to ascertain.

If you’re ever at a pub trivia night, and you hit the always popular question “What was the album released in 2007 that contained the most different genres?” you can be pretty sure that “Forts by The Boggs” will earn you a point. However, if there’s a bonus point for listing each genre, don’t even bother. Not even the creative force and writer behind the indie outfit, Jason Friedman, knows, nor in his New Yorker way, cares.

Whether an accurate description of Forts contains words like folk-disco-industrial-pop-gypsy-garage or the dozens of others that have been slapped upon their sound like fridge magnet poetry words, Friedman suggests that there’s one constant reaction to The Boggs’ music. “On our last tour we played with Hot Chip and The Long Blondes, so their crowds are two different types of crowds right there. I would say the general response is that people tend to dance a lot, no matter where we play. The fact that we get people dancing in New York is an accomplishment in itself.”

The Boggs may not have yet reached the same level of recognition in Australia as some of their New Yorker peers, but Friedman and a fast-rotating lineup started alongside indie heroes like Interpol and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs in the early part of this decade. However, disastrous record label problems in 2003 meant that their second album would not see a US release, and it’s only now with the release of the third album Forts that Friedman feels resolved with that time in history.

His method of dealing with the problems however, gives a new perspective on running away from one’s problems. He moved to Berlin. For two years. At random. “The making of the second album, and then the collapse of the label was a really dark time. Going to Berlin was like an escape from that dark period. I was just ‘That’s it, I’m leaving, I’m going somewhere’, and my roommate who was Matty (Safer) from The Rapture said ‘Why don’t you go to Berlin?’ and I’d never been to Berlin, so a month later I was living in Berlin. It was really just because Matty wanted to go to Berlin. It was really just a chance to go away and hide, which is where the idea of Forts comes from. Berlin itself is kinda like a fort itself that I hid away and played in.”

Friedman attests that contrary to the notion of Berlin being a city of artistic romanticism, he found the town to be a lot less conducive to creativity than New York City. “In New York you have to constantly fight to stand out, so that makes people a lot hungrier for it. In Berlin there’s a lot of navel-gazing and ‘I’ll do it tomorrow’ but the bars don’t close so tomorrow ends up being tomorrow night, and you end up back at the bar.”

Friedman eventually returned to New York with a 90% completed album, with Forts’ finishing touches put on in the city of his choice. After two years away, he reassures there’s no chance of a return to Berlin any time soon. “The food was dismal. Really, really bleak. Not to save your life can you find eggs for breakfast. Who doesn’t like eggs and chips for breakfast? Germany, that’s who.”

Forts is out now through PopFrenzy.

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