Music Bugle Exclusive – Q & A – able machines

By Nicholas Jason Lopez

They’re ready, willing and able.

able machines recently dropped their futuristic-esque, self-produced sophomore effort ‘Digital Precision,’ notable for singles like the downright bouncy “Evidence” and angsty banger “Hope It Hurts.”

For ‘Digital Precision,’ the LA-based duo focused on the opportunity to dive deeper into their sound development, as they pulled elements from their backgrounds in different musical genres and fused it into electro-pop.

Linus Dotson – professionally known as Linus Of Hollywood – boasts a resume of being a songwriter/producer for The Charlatans UK, Bowling For Soup, Diddy, Cheap Trick and The Smashing Pumpkins. He’s also a member of Nerf Herder, notorious for the “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” theme song.

Vocalist Tay Côlieé was a ghost writer for Capitol Records and co-wrote hits for artists such as Ariana Grande and Camila Cabelo.

They celebrated the album release with a live performance at LA’s Gold Diggers, as they showcased just how they can combine catchy pop tendencies, dark themes and a mighty stage presence, all in one.

The Music Bugle had the chance to talk with Côlieé and Dotson about what inspired the “able machines” name, the biggest challenge in being a musical duo and much more, which you can check out below.

Music Bugle – How do you look to differentiate ‘Digital Precision’ from your debut?

Tay Côlieé – Our first album ‘Pathological’ set the blueprint for our sound and ‘Digital Precision’ expanded on that greatly. It’s a bit more diverse and we stretched out a bit musically.

Music Bugle – What made you want to put out “Evidence” as a glimpse into your sophomore release?

Linus Dotson – “Evidence” just seemed like the most single-y and poppy song on the record. It captures our sound perfectly and it’s basically our tribute to the Scandinavian artists that influence us.

Music Bugle – What inspired the “able machines” name?

Linus Dotson – I’ve been a huge Beach Boys fan for the longest time and there was an obscure piece of info that I learned from reading their biographies. Brian Wilson’s father owned a company called ABLE Machinery. We thought it would be a cool band name, but changed it to “able machines,” which sounded more like a band name and it has a nice double meaning – as humans, we are able machines.

Music Bugle – What excites you the most about your style of music?

Tay Côlieé – I like that there’s a lot of flexibility in being able to pull sounds from different genres of music into our style. Electronic music is a bit more “instant” and lets our songs really shine through.

Music Bugle – How would you describe Los Angeles to someone who has never been there before?

Tay Côlieé – It’s a collection of really talented people all in one place – everyone around you seems to be working on something cool and creative. It’s inspiring.

Linus Dotson – It’s the kind of place where you get back what you put into it. If you find the right people and paths, there are endless possibilities.

Music Bugle – What would you say is the biggest challenge in being a musical duo?

Tay Côlieé – I prefer being in a duo versus being a solo artist at this point in my life. It’s like having a workout partner that pushes you to be your best, even during those times when you feel like giving up.

Linus Dotson – So far, it’s been really great. We are truly a team and at this point, we are completing each other’s sentences. It’s also easier having chemistry between two people than with a full band, where you’re dealing with a bunch of often conflicting personalities.

Music Bugle – What aspects of your live performance would you say exceed the in-studio experience?

Tay Côlieé – Being able to share the moment in real time with the fans.

Linus Dotson – Yeah, it’s exciting after spending so much time working in the studio on these songs to get out into the real world and see people singing along to the songs we created. It’s magical.

Music Bugle – Who are you listening to right now, music-wise?

Linus Dotson – We love Sophie Cates, Julia Wolf, Maude Latour… and there are a ton of current Scandinavian artists we love like Sigrid, Dagny, Tove Styrke, Skaar, Moyka, etc.

Music Bugle – Where do you go when you need a break?

Tay Côlieé – Absolutely nowhere, I just stay home. I love being at home with my dog Puppy.

Linus Dotson – I like to take trips around Southern California. Within 2 hours of LA, you can get to the mountains, the desert, the forest or the beach. There’s always a quick place to escape to.

Music Bugle – What do you feel is the next step for able machines beyond this release?

Linus Dotson – More releases! More videos, more music, we’re just gonna keep going.

Tay Côlieé – We would love to hop on a tour and start reaching more people in every corner of the world.