Allah Las: An Interview with Miles Michaud

The psychedelic surf sounds of Allah Las has a familiar but new sound, which keeps evolving with each album. After connecting at the 2023 Wheels and Waves festival in Biarritz, we took the chance to ask guitarist and singer Miles Michaud a few questions about what’s inspired the band and what keeps them going.

We usually have a concept or idea that we present to a collaborator and let them run with it. It's so much better working with specialized creatives than trying to do everything yourself, in my experience.

LAST TIME WE SAW YOU, YOU WERE PLAYING AT WHEELS AND WAVES FESTIVAL, WHAT ROLES DO SURF AND/OR MOTORCYLES PLAY IN YOUR LIVES?

Three of us grew up surfing, being from the beach towns of South LA, and still try to make it out when we can, though the lineups look quite different these days. I personally never got into motorcycles; I have ridden a couple of times, ridden tons of scooters over the years, but never got further into it than that. Maybe being from LA contributed to that being the case. I would much rather ride a motorcycle on the open road or across open terrain than in a city. Especially in LA; people are such awful and dangerous drivers. Be careful out there.

YA’LL HAVE BEEN TOGETHER AND TOURING FOR 15 YEARS, WHAT’S NEXT?

We keep finding new ways to express ourselves, to keep it interesting. We're working on the early stages of a new record right now, and in many ways it's unlike anything we've ever made, in the best way.

CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE PLAYLIST YOU CREATED FOR MADRE?

A selection of tracks I’ve been listening to on repeat, maybe trying to coax a little more sun out of the sky. There’s a good amount of outsider jazz and folk stuff, which feels quite warm in a way.

IF YOU COULD SHARE A MEZCAL WITH ANYBODY, LIVING OR DEAD, WHO WOULD IT BE AND WHY?

I'd probably sit down with Malibu local Gary Busey at the infamous Dume Room, 2006. I'm sure we'd have a lot in common.

Find Allah Las here.

Photos by Thomas Lodin.

FIRST OFF, WHAT SONG IS CURRENTLY STUCK IN YOUR HEAD?

"Infinite Bliss" by Maston - We just finished up a tour of the eastern US and Maston came along as our opening as well as our keys player. He would sound check and play that song every night and it proved to be the ultimate earworm, everyone had it stuck in their heads every night.

WHAT WAS THE INSPIRATION AND GOAL BEHIND YOUR NEWEST ALBUM ZUMA 85?

We don't really set out with goals or concepts in mind when we start making a record, I think we end up being inspired by our surroundings and by the music we happen to be listening to at the time. We recorded Zuma in Stinson Beach, north of San Francisco, and that environment, I'd say, had a lot to do with how the record ended up sounding.

YOU OFTEN COLLABORATE WITH VISUAL ARTISTS DURING YOUR LIVE SHOWS AND FOR YOUR ALBUMS’ ARTWORK, WHAT GOES BEHIND THAT CREATIVE PROCESS?