Ivan & Alyosha’s Tim Wilson on sibling rivalry and the famed Sunset Sound studio

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Photo: Ivan & Alyosha
Ivan & Alyosha

Seattle indie rock group Ivan & Alyosha released their second full-length “It’s All Just Pretend” earlier this year via Dualtone. The band performs at Lost Lake Lounge in Denver on Saturday night.

For the band's sophomore album, lead vocalist Tim Wilson recruited several new members, including his brother Pete on bass and drummer Cole Mauro. The expanded lineup then went to work at Sunset Sound Recordings in Los Angeles, where acclaimed albums like The Rolling Stones' "Exile on Main Street," Prince's "Purple Rain" and The Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds" were partially recorded.

Accordingly, "It's All Just Pretend" expands upon the acoustic folk of 2013's "All the Times We Had" with a more hard-edged rock sound.

We spoke with Tim Wilson of Ivan & Alyosha on the phone prior to the band's Denver performance. Stream the interview above, and read some highlights below:

On working at Sunset Sound:

"While we were there Ryan Adams and Johnny Depp were next door recording a record. ... You're definitely thinking that the place you're standing in is hallowed ground. Then you forget about that and get down to business. But when you step out for coffee you see all the gold and platinum records on the wall."

On learning to work creatively with his brother:

"When we were super little it was just brooms or toy guitars. We'd build a stage and a big backdrop then write a fake band name on it.

"When we got to the age where we could have done something proper, he started a band with his high school friend and I started another band. We never really connected creatively until a few years ago."