Artwork by Steven Fiche

The last few weeks have been filled with insights into the four minds that make up Animal Collective, all surrounding their latest album, Centipede Hz. First was a breakdown of Geologist’s mix for Animal Collective Radio, followed by a full-band interview with The Creator’s Project about the inspiration behind ACR and the new record. Even after all this, there always seems to be more to learn about the inner workings of AnCo.

Band members Panda Bear (Noah Lennox) and Deakin (Josh Dibb) recently sat down with Red Bull Music Academy Radio as part of the station’s Fireside Chat discussion series. In the hour-long chat, the two discuss how experimentalism, improvisation, and visualization have been driving forces that have kept the group moving forward over their decade-plus career. As Deakin states about half-way in, “Very rarely do we talk about [music] like, ‘Hey, this is what the chord progression of the song is.’ We don’t really talk about music in those terms, but we do all the time talk about the images of it.” Hear what else the two have to say about their “visual language” by listening to the Fireside Chat below.

RBMA Radio is the online home of Red Bull Music Academy, which has curated and hosted unique music experiences all over the globe since 1998. Next year, the Academy will hold their 15th annual main event in New York City, featuring a full five-week program of concerts, parties and workshops running from April 28th through May 31st.