Q&A: Castanets' Ray Raposa Talks about Portland, Sufjan and new movie Beyond This Place

By Casey Jarman

Maybe Ray Raposa likes surprises. Maybe that's why no two albums from his band, Castanets, sound the same—they go from near-ambient sound experiments to outlaw country-styled rock records—and why Castanets shows in Portland are often such last-minute affairs. We like surprises, too, and we were surprised to hear that Raposa had been working with beloved singer-songwriter-composer Sufjan Stevens on a soundtrack for a new bicycle movie.

Well, maybe "bicycle movie" is an oversimplification. Beyond this Place is, judging from the trailer (see below) more about fatherhood and freedom than it is about bikes. We were excited to hear about the project, and even more excited once we heard the title track from the film's soundtrack, "Beyond This Place," which features Raposa front and center. The film will screen November 3 at the Hollywood Theater, with Raposa and Stevens sitting in the orchestra pit providing a live soundtrack. Portland is one of only four cities to host the movie/live score experience. Whoah!

We dropped Raposa a line about working with Suffy Suf and missing the Blazers. The interview is below, just under the title track and before the movie trailer. So much media!


WW: Are you back in Portland these days?
How do you know Sufjan Stevens, and how did the two of you come to work on this project together?
La Belle
Are you going to be playing the live dates (especially the one in PDX)?
Can you talk a little about the writing process? Were you watching the film while you wrote? Were you working in the same room with Stevens or were you guys sorta building this slowly?
Was the movie already titled Beyond This Place and you got the title track name from that?
You don't seem like a dude who would be down for soundtracking some random movie, so is this one as good as it looks?
What else is new with you/Castanets?

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