TLOBF >> Interviews

TLOBF Interview :: Editors

Laura Snapes — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:00:01 +0000

Despite a Mercury Music Prize nomination, two number one albums and two platinum records, Editors have rarely found favour with alternative music critics. As an isolated case, it’s possibly understandable – the influences in their work are anything less than subtle and their sound has admittedly diluted over time, but when set alongside feted acts like Kasabian and the practically self-parodic Franz Ferdinand, they seem to have done very little wrong in comparison. A great deal of dislike for the band seems to come from singer Tom Smith’s relationship with Edith Bowman, which, again, is an argument it’s easy to see both sides of – their liaison should be entirely inconsequential to listeners’ appreciation of their music, but on the other hand, it grates like ragged nails down a blackboard whenever you see Bowman on the BBC3 festival couch hailing them the best band in the world.

Laura Snapes caught up with bassist Russell Leetch to get his take on the haters, their spot on the New Moon OST and their new single.

Amidst the good reviews of your album, many of the bad ones have taken quite personal swipes at Tom’s life – is that what you’re referring to when you’ve said in the past that you prefer the European music press?
In the UK people are so obsessed with celebrity and celebrity culture. We just don’t give a shit about that, and to make accusations about people that are very private or to attack someone’s integrity is an insult that we don’t like, the UK is obsessed with that and we prefer places that just listen to us as a band without anything else hindering.

It’s interesting that people make such personal attacks about an album whose lyrics are rooted in observing other people and making up characters. Where did those characters come from? They’re very obliquely constructed.
Quite. It’s not about the writer’s life this time and more creating stories in a third person narrative. A lot of this came from London and living in London. It has become the concept on this record.

‘No Sound But The Wind’ was originally inspired by The Road – was it how you imagined the soundtrack to be, or a musical response to the plot of the novel, and did you have any qualms about putting it on the soundtrack for a teen phenomenon film? Was becoming known to an American audience a concern?
The song at first wasn’t soundtracking the novel. It was written about the power of the book and basing it on the characters in it. When we were approached about using the song on a different film we weren’t sure at first especially with how literal some of the lyrics were. Tom decided to have a re-think about some of the lyrics in the song and it seemed to work better! The soundtrack has seemed like a good thing to be involved in and if a younger US audience gets into the band because of that then that has to be a good thing.

It’s been interesting reading the motivations from each artist who’s contributed to the New Moon OST, and I’ve read in the past that you’d never consider giving your song to an advert. What makes this different? It’s still a huge commercial thing.
I think movies are a very different thing to adverts. We’ve always been fans of movies as an art form. We have never been fans of adverts and the thought of putting music on for usually a lot of money and to be associated with a product just doesn’t fit well.

Have you listened to the other bands on the OST or seen the film?
We are yet to see the film but have heard some of the soundtrack. We are all fans of Grizzly Bear and Bon Iver. I thought the Lykke Li song was fantastic.

Did your influences change? There seems to be a very literary bent to parts of the record, the song originally written with The Road in mind, the title of ‘Papillon’ etc. What were you reading at the time of recording?
I think literacy has always been part of the band, with some references not so obvious, or it may be the case that we just haven’t told anybody about references before. I don’t think anybody was really reading in the studio as such as we were just wrapped up in the making of the record. ‘Papillon’ has a passing reference to the film based on the Henri Charriere’s novel. It’s not really just about that, but a line in the song does have reference to that book/film. I think the song is one of the most obvious dance singles we’ve ever written and the most obvious on the album so it felt right to put it out.

How did the Tiesto remix come about? He’s been feted by a lot of indie bands recently, which seems quite strange…
Yeah, he is the dance remix king of indie bands. We have liked what Tiesto does for quite some time and it’s always fun for someone at the top of their game to make a dance anthem out of one of our tunes.

Do you know which you’ll be releasing next?
I think the next single will be ‘You Don’t know Love’.

Tell us about the Google Street View project you did to launch the album – whose idea was it, how and why did you do it?
This was a Sony idea. It was their creative department, it seemed like a good way for people to hear the album – we were just annoyed that it didn’t come out just before!

From reading past interviews, it always seems as though there’s an element of uncertainty before you start recording a record, what gave you the impetus to make this one now? How much reassurance did Flood provide?
Flood was very confident in the songs and this confidence rubbed off on us. I don’t think we were uncertain about the songs I think just in the style that we were going to record them. We’ve always been self confident as a band and if we weren’t we wouldn’t have made the record at that time.

It’s quite short in terms of the number of tracks – why nine?
Yes, it’s quite short in the number of tracks but not in length. Anyway, lots of great records have nine songs on them. When we were trying to sort out the running order of the songs it was hard to sort out as we had lots of tracks recorded and putting them in an order that worked took a lot of time to get the flow right.

I read that at one stage there was going to be a children’s choir on the record – what happened with that?
We had the idea for ‘Bricks and Mortar’ but it didn’t work out.

‘Eat Raw Meat = Blood Drool’ – the title reminds me a bit of Radiohead, of Stanley Donwood and Dr Chock’s sloganeering. You’ve mentioned that it’s a ludicrous pop moment – is it supposed to serve as an alleviation from the at times more difficult sounds present elsewhere?
I guess it’s us having fun, being slightly cheeky and doing something playful. We’ve always liked opposites and having a ridiculous title for a very pop song made us at least chuckle!

Guitar bands taking a synth direction isn’t anything particularly new, this year in particular – what makes what you’re doing different?
Well I don’t think the record really sounds like any other band in what we’ve done. There is definitely a grit and a roughness to the synths rather than sheen and crispness, which we could have gone for. We just wanted to try something a little different and to write on different instruments, and this is the result.

How does it work live, switching between the old and new material? Have you reworked the older stuff on synths?
We haven’t reworked the older material on synths, we just play it how it was written and recorded. I think it would be dangerous to reinterpret the songs in a different format. The old and new songs really balance well and give the set a good balance.

Is there a new group dynamic? Russell in particular seemed to have more backing vocals on Papillon – did you have to re-evaluate your performance style a lot? And Ed, I’d imagine there’s a lot more to do now?
There is definitely more things for each member to do on stage. Ed’s got a load of triggers and samples to change and play at various points in the set, I’m singing more and Chris has a whole new world to play with.

What exactly is your relationship with Kitchenware now? I heard that you won the company in an arm wrestling match?!
The band is signed to Kitchenware. I do technically own Kitchenware but keep Keith Armstrong running it.

What are you all listening to at the moment? I noticed the Mobius Band are your top Myspace friend – are they a band you’ve encountered in New York?
We’ve toured with Mobius Band many times and they are a great bunch of people and musicians. We love their music. Other bands that we’ve been listening to at the moment are The Antlers, Doves, Doveman and Grizzly Bear.

What with three of the band living in New York, is that an indication that you’re going to be trying to break America? Have you toured there much before?
We’ve toured there a lot. It’s such a big place and every town is so different and far apart it is hard ‘to break’. We’ll continue going there but who knows if it will be as successful as other places!

There’s a huge scene built up around Brooklyn – do you get to check out many bands?
When I’m there I do really like going to gigs. There are some awesome spots to play and to check out bands, Union Hall is great in South Brooklyn.

TLOBF Interview :: Hudson Mohawke

Sean Bamberger — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:00:55 +0000

Hudson Mohawke is a busy man. Straddling the geographical divide between Glasgow’s fresh and vibrant arts and music scene and the fetid yet all powerful bastion of modern music that is London, one can imagine Hudson (a.k.a. Ross Birchard) spends a lot of his time in transit. And this is exactly where we find him today, our e-correspondence being carried out on a train rushing from Glasgow to London after ‘a heavy weekend up north’. This endless to-ing and fro-ing hasn’t exactly dampened the man’s spirits however as Mr Mohawke has just dropped Butter, an elegant slice of hip-hop based electronica which is currently wowing critics and music aficionados alike. So what is life like now he’s signed to taste-maker label Warp? Constant cocaine parties and groupies galore?

“My life is pretty different to be honest, definitely in a good way but not quite at the constant coke parties yet, maybe one day, heh. I’m able to do music full time which is my dream, I’m able to travel and see some of the world. It’s pretty amazing to be honest, especially because it’s been my dream to be able to do music for a living since I was about 8 years old.”

While Hudson may not have been able to step into the musical limelight from the tender age of 8, he has been making a strong impression since his early teens. A DMC finalist at the age of 15, searching for “DJ Itchy” on YouTube will furnish the viewer with a video of a young Ross Birchard steaming through a mix, cutting beats across two decks and throwing out all kinds of crowd-pleasing samples. Since then it seems Mr Mohawke has been studying hard, learning the craft of self-sampling and song construction, and this is evident in Butter, which possesses a silky smooth, luxuriant and unique sound that fits the album title perfectly. Musical butter. You COULD almost spread it on toast.

When hearing a hot new sound, its the general standard that critics, fans and peers alike want to know one thing first and foremost. How do they do it? So not being one to disappoint, TLOBF waded straight in with the geek-talk to please the people (any excuse!). So is it hardware, or software that floats the Mohawke’s boat?

“Yes. I have some hardware, an Ensoniq VFX and Roland W30 for lots of vintage dancey sounds and a Korg M50 which is more up to date, super clean and in your face. I put everything together in Fruityloops, that’s pretty much all I use for the computer side of things. Also I have lots of various percussion instruments and stuff. It’s a basic setup though, but all I really need.”

It seems that Hudson Mohawke prefers a more equipment-heavy approach to the in-computer stylings of MIDI based twiddling. Does this mean that Hudson favours audio samples over MIDI input and if so, how does this affect the creation of his music?

“It’s totally 50/50, I come from a hiphop/sampling background, these days I still love to sample but I am more into making the samples myself and that involves a lot of midi programming and then sampling the results. It’s a nice blend I think, allows me to keep sampling but without any of the musical limitations of sampling a finished track as I can separate all the different elements and go in any direction I want.”

This elemental style can be heard across Butter, in tracks like “ZOo00OOM”, a discombobulated mess of blips united by a heavy beat and interwoven with stabs and vocal cuts. And for anyone wondering about the phlegmtastic sample at the start of the aforementioned track, this is straight from Hudson himself:

“Mmm, it’s me trying to beatbox and accidentally coughing up a loogie, yes.”

For the new listener, if all this paints Butter to be just another glitch-hop album, think again. There is plenty to keep both pop and progressive purists pleased, and Hudson is adept at creating masterworks in both schools of musical thought. The progressive aspects aren’t an attempt to appeal to a fanbase though, far from it. The Reich-like vocal layerings of ‘Fruit Touch’ were pre-meditated, but only as far as mental process goes.

“[It] mainly comes from just stuff I hear in my head, I can’t really explain it, I never really thought of it as really experimental or progressive music, I’m just trying to translate sounds from my head into music.”

Hudson Mohawke is a musician operating purely on his own terms, a refreshing idea considering many creators of electronic hip-hop only exist to produce the next ‘crowd-slaying beat’. On Butter you can find tracks both down-tempo and up-tempo, and it’s the latter that prove to be especially invigorating listens.

“I’ve always made a whole range of styles and I wanted to put that across in the album, but I would never sit down and think right I’m gonna make this kind of track now, it always happens organically as I go along.”

An individual in terms of style, Hudson is however not afraid to collaborate both on and off Butter. He has worked with fellow LuckyMe member Mike Slott as Heralds of Change and filled a DJ/Producer role for hip-hop group Surface Emp. On Butter, Hudson enlisted the vocal talents of the elfen and sultry Nadsroic on “Allhot” and the soulful and passionate crooner Dam-Funk on the classic RnB tinged “Tell Me What You Want From Me”. The most impressive outside contribution to the album however comes from Olivier Daysoul, a charming and versatile singer who has quite a surprising day job.

“He’s a friend of mine from Washington DC but now lives in Oxford in the UK, working as a scientist at Oxford Uni believe it or not. We worked together a few times before, I think he’s an amazing talent, absolutely killer vocalist. I’m hoping to do a whole album with him at some point.”

One hopes that this last statement will bear musical fruit in the near future, as “Joy Fantastic” and “Just Decided” are stunning tracks, and have easily enough potential to be massive pop hits, in an underground way. With the current rise in the hip-hop/dubstep/glitch-hop movements, mainstream radio filler such as these tracks could be the first to pave the way for a new popular music style. Glitch-pop? Maybe so.

So when creation is all said and done it’s time to take the music to the masses, and where better to do so than the now legendary Low End Theory night in Los Angeles. Regularly displaying hot new talent in the world of alternative electronica, this night has built up a reputation worldwide as being the place where careers are launched and crowds are slayed on the regular.

“I’ve played over there twice now, it’s a great party, grimey venue (even had a cockroach crawling across my laptop last time…) and totally hyped up crowd. The reception was great, I think they play a few of my tracks quite regularly at the club so people are much more familiar with the sound than at a lot of the other shows I do.”

So, after playing to possibly the most receptive crowd of knowing music fans, what is more fun for Hudson Mohawke…getting the backpackers heads nodding or attempting to convert large crowds of people who may not be quite so au fait to the style?

“Trying to blend both. Big crowds are a lot of fun, even tho I guess 80% of them don’t give a whutt. Smaller shows are more personal and memorable and sometimes can be even more rowdy than the bigger shows. Can’t really choose, both have their pros and cons.”

With an impressive debut album and live experiences that many artists would kill to have, Hudson Mohawke has both the reputation and the talent to hit it big in a world of technically demanding music. Amidst the whirring and clattering noises of his Glasgow to London train, he is asked to give some advice to any young musicians looking for success in a similar style and takes the opportunity to explain what he did, and what he thinks people should avoid doing.

“To be honest, I was never really a fan of hammering shit in people’s faces all the time. The only things I really was doing in the last few years was keeping MySpace updated pretty regularly and doing some mixtapes every so often, and trying to make sure the relevant people in radio/taste-making circles get some new music from me every so often. I’ve never been a fan of spamming people up though, I really hate that shit. I think most of it has come from just trying to carve out a niche that’s sort of my own and then hoping people pick up on that and start coming to me rather than vice versa.”

Thanks to that style of subtle yet efficient self-promotion, Hudson has managed to stay away from buzz until it was the right time and in doing so has managed to time his ride on the
hype wave perfectly. With Butter Hudson Mohawke, a name that was always in the mind of the discerning listener is now stamped dead centre on their forehead. The impact has been made, and all that remains is for Mr Mohawke to hit the road to tout his wares. This already seems to be in the motions now, with dates in the Europe, Japan and Australia in the coming months, and it is easy to imagine Hudson Mohawke becoming a heavyweight artist in his field by as early as the start of the New Year. And if the planned album with Olivier Daysoul goes ahead…well…

The world is his oyster. Be prepared, listener and critic alike. 2010 will definitely be the year of the Mohawke.

TLOBF Interview :: First Aid Kit

Catriona Boyle — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 07:58:23 +0000

After several false starts involving faulty alarms, work commitments, and me spewing my guts for the best part of 3 days, I finally got some time with Klara and Johanna, also known as First Aid Kit.

So where are you guys today?
We’re at home, finally!

When did your first start singing together?
Well being sisters, we’ve always sung together. But properly for about 2 years.

Where are you off to next?
We’re doing a Scandanavian tour. Then supporting Port O’Brian on a European tour.

You recently supported Slow Club and Fanfarlo – did you have fun?
Slow Club were lots of fun, they’re great. And so are Fanfarlo.

I saw you in Southampton…
Oh yeah, that was a great show, everyone was so quiet!

So you’re from Sweden, but your influences are mainly American – where does this strong affection come from?
There’s not a lot of folk music in Sweden, we don’t have the county roots. It’s hard to say why we’re attracted to it. There’s stories and story-telling, and the fact that they’re sometimes sad stories. We like sad stories. And we like the vocals and the harmonies.

You sing about themes such as marriage, being a housewive etc, where do you get the inspiration from?
Books… everything. Just because we’re young, we don’t have to write about school and partying. Every song a song writer writes isn’t autobiographical. We think about bigger things in life too.

Speaking of which… how hard is it to keep up with school?
Well we’re hoping we don’t have to come back to it!

So is music something you want to do for the foreseeable future?
We wand to this for the rest of our lives! But there’s lots of other stuff too, like write books, make movies. But right now I can’t see myself doing anything else.

You’ve done a lot of travelling recently, what’s been your favourite place?
Norway was amazing because they have money! We get lots of food, they treat us like real stars! Better than in the UK where it’s just water and beer! There’s a buffet, personal servants. And the audiences are great too. We really liked Glasgow in the UK though, it was beautiful. (It may be important to note that Glasgow is the only place in Scotland First Aid Kit went to.)

You guys ask your fan for requests and then perform them, why did you decide to start doing that?
We like to have a connection. We wanted people to be a part of it, and give something back and do more. We’d love to be able to spend more time on all of them, like the Fleet Foxes cover we filmed in the forest. That was amazing.

What’s the strangest request you’ve had so far?
Britney Spears! I mean I used to listen to her, but come on. We said no to that one!

What are you listening to at the moment?
I’m actually only listening to one song at the moment, by Nick Drake. But also the Monsters of Folk album is great, thank goodness. And Alela Diane. We love her.

Finally, when’s the album coming out?
January next year. We’re finished. Done. Over. It’s always hard to let go of something, but it feels good that these songs will be out there and we’re not carrying them around anymore.

Buy music on iTunes

TLOBF Interview :: Copy Haho

Matthew Britton — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 10:04:13 +0000

When playing live, Copy Haho are definitely amongst the most captivating of the new crop of unsigned talent about at the minute. Consisting of Joe (vocals/guitar), Richard (bass), Stuart (guitar) and Rikki (drums), they’ve recently released single ‘Wrong Direction’ on the exclusive Too Pure Singles Club label. Later on that evening they’d be storming through a 40 minute set in support of Los Campesinos!, snapping two guitar strings, blowing a microphone and breaking it’s stand along the way. They’re a beautiful mix of chaos and precision, constantly seeming to be on the brink whilst actually being in perect control. In conversation, they’re just as engaging, being both opinionated and refreshingly realistic – just don’t ask them about where they grew up…

We heard about you being robbed – what happened?
Richard: We left the van, as you do – you can’t take it inside – came back, window smashed, bag gone, everyone sad. About 24 hours later, window fixed, my debit card a little bit sadder, Joe’s bag still gone, Joe’s parents didn’t seem to care.
Stuart: I wasn’t that sad – none of my stuff got taken

That aside, how’s the tour going? Is this your biggest tour yet?
Richard: I guess so. We’ve been on tour before as a band, but I guess that this is the one in which the shows have been busiest. It’s been really fun – I knew Gareth and Neil (Los Campesinos!) before, but everyone else is new. Them included are very nice people

And how was Swn festival? Who did you see and did you manage to meet Huw Stephens?
Rikki: We’ve met him a few times now
Richard: I hung out with him when he DJ’d in Aberdeen a couple of weeks ago. He’s amazing. At Swn it didn’t really feel like we were playing a festival because we were just there for the day and we played one venue.
Rikki: It looked like a theatre, which was pretty good.
Richard: I saw everything where we played. I saw Dananananaykroyd, Munch Munch, Internet Forever and Sparky. We didn’t see anything else, but we went to the silent disco. That was totally ace.

You’ve just released your latest single, ‘Wrong Direction’, on Too Pure Singles Club. How did that come about?
Stuart: We got to go to Abbey Road to master it, so that was pretty good. It’s amazing – we got to see our vinyl get cut as well
Richard: We just got an e-mail asking if we’d like to do the single, then we recorded it maybe two weeks later, finished recording on the Tuesday at midnight, flew down to London at 6 a.m., mastered it, gave it to the label and got a bus back up to Glasgow and played a show pretty much as soon as we got back. It was pretty intense but really fun.

Have you got any news on an album yet?
Joe: Basically, what needs to happen is someone needs to give us money to record it – until that happens we can’t really do it. The songs, I think, are almost there. We’ll stay positive. But in January or Gebruary we’re going to try and go to Ireland, and then Europe hopefully. We like playing in the UK, but we’ve done it a lot, so we’d like to go and play in a different country. By about summer we should have a record coming out, because, if by then we haven’t recorded it, then it’ll never happen. Well, by that time we’d like to have it out there.
Richard: Joe’s really negative all the time…
Joe: Just realistic. So: touring and then album.

Is there anyone in music who you dislike at the minute?
Joe: The View? But only because someone compared us to them in a review and it made me sick.
Richard: That’s such an easy target.
Stuart: I met him and he was the biggest arsehole.
Richard: So the official Copy Haho line on The View is that they’re a bunch of arseholes, but I think most people know that including their fans and their parents.
Joe: And them.
Richard: I think they’re too stupid to form any thought whatsoever
Joe: This would be good if it turned into an actual feud. Maybe we’d get famous from it.
Richard: It’d just be another excuse not to go to Dundee

Everywhere that’s written about you starts with a paragraph on you being from a small town in Scotland. What’s it like in Stonehaven?
Richard: It’s not like the back and beyond or anything, there are 10,000 people and it’s 15 minutes on a train to Aberdeen. We grew up with internet and television—
Stuart: Nickelodeon—
Richard: I don’t think it’s really any different from growing up anywhere else in terms of missing out on things.
Rikki: Every show someone will mention that we’re from Stonehaven, so that’s probably why everybody writes about it.
Richard: Hardly any people grew up in, I don’t know, Shoreditch, they haven’t been going to secret gigs every day since the age of seven so, I can’t imagine it being any different to growing up anywhere else in the UK.
Stuart: I think it’s got its benefits
Joe: You get bored pretty easily when you’re a teenager. But maybe that’s good for music?
Richard: So good and bad points like anywhere else.

Photo courtesy of Miriam Baynes

Copy Haho’s single ‘Wrong Direction’ is available to purchase on 7” vinyl online at http://www.toopure.com/

Introducing :: The Drums

Rich Thane — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 11:00:58 +0000

From paper boys to pin-ups. We caught up with Moshi Moshi’s latest signings: Hipper than thou Brooklyn 4-piece The Drums. Made instantly likeable to me by listing The Tough Alliance as their influence on their MySpace page. We find out what else makes them tick..

Can you recall the moment when you first decided you wanted to become a musician?
We haven’t experienced such a “moment” yet.

Where do your songs come from? What’s your inspiration?
Out of thin air. Typewriters are inspiring to us as of late. Things like that… objects, images, storybooks.

Name your Top 5 records.
Our favorite records of the moment are by the following bands:
Knight School.
Surferblood.
Cats on Fire.
Desolation Wilderness.
The Non Chalants

What was the first gig you ever played and was it a success?
It was at the Cake shop here in NYC. May 2009. Yes it was a success, a bit shaky but successful.

What one piece of criticism has stuck in your mind and was it justified?
“You guys dont play your guitars well.” I guess it was justified being that it’s completely true.

What one thing has caused you to waste your free time in the past 6 months?
Honestly, we really haven’t had much free time. We’re constantly working on some aspect of our band. We enjoy work, much more so than we do “free time”

If you weren’t making music, what do you think you’d be doing?
Flight School, Paperboy, Auto Mechanic, Military

What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?
Jon really hated being a paperboy. Adam pumped gas for a while but thats actually really cool.

We’d like you to make us a mix-tape. Pick five tracks with a theme of your choice.
“Music By Bands We Like”
‘Gardeninginging’ – Knight School
‘Harmonix’ – SurferBlood
‘The End Of State Street’ – Cats on Fire
‘Lonely Girl’ – Desolation Wilderness
‘French Navy’ – Camera Obscura

Buy music on iTunes

Oh! Canada presents:: The Wilderness Of Manitoba

Ro Cemm — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 07:30:04 +0000

These days we seem to be bombarded with a more or less constant stream of new bands, shows, movies, junkfood and beard grooming kits. Sometimes it gets too much and it is all to easy to get cynical about those who run about championing things as the greatest this or that since, er…the last one. Yet, every now and then something or someone gets through the cracks, rises above the general morass and makes you sit and take stock, even for just a few minutes. From the moment I hit play on The Wilderness of Manitoba’s latest EP ‘Hymns of Love and Spirits’ I knew I was hooked. There’s a stark understated beauty to it’s 8 tracks, which combine perfectly executed four part harmonies intertwinned with muted banjos, solitary cello and subtle fingerpicked parts. There’s a clear homage to the ‘classics’: Joni, Neil and CSNY but the heavily reverbed guitars and slow pace also call to mind slowcore lynchpins Red House Painters and, to an extent Neil Halsted’s Mojave 3.

We were lucky enough to catch up with the band earlier this week to find out a little bit more about who they are and how the EP came about:

For people out there that have never heard of you. Give us three reasons why they should?
It’s haunting, yearning and sweet AND we really love making this music.

How did the band come in to being? And where did the name come from?
Last October, Will and Scott were writing a batch of new songs that had no home. In the spirit of the shows and bands that were coming through Delaware House, they found themselves with songs – acoustic based, minimalist and full of vocal layers – that would become the foundation of the new project. Melissa, who had played at the House and who was a friend, was asked to join Will and Scott for a few shows that had been set up and from there Stefan joined shortly after to fill in some holes with his voice, and instrumental talents. Once the four voices were in place, and song-writing duties became less about two, and more about four, the band began to fly.

The name was inspired by an art installation called “Wildflowers of Manitoba” and morphed into “The Wilderness of Manitoba” one night while Scott and Will were throwing around cool sounding band names and it stuck. Even though none of us are from Manitoba, it seems like the kind of place where our music would feel at home – somewhere in the frozen forests with lots of creatures running around.

What Inspires you? It seems from both the band name and the name of your other band (Provincial Parks) that nature is a pretty big influence?
It’s true, nature is a big part of what influences us – staying close to it is important. It’s also about feeling through the music and not over-thinking things too much.

Is it true that one of your mom’s wrote one of the songs on the record?
Yes, Will’s mom, Wendy Blackburn, wrote the song Evening. Will had wanted to do the song and when the rest of us were presented with it, we really loved the sound. Stef reworked it a little to suit our four voices and it’s a song that we hold really close to our hearts. We included Wendy’s original 1960’s version on our EP as a bonus track.

What is the most memorable gig you have played, and what can we expect of your live show? Any plans to come over to the UK?
The two most memorable shows for us, so far, were the opening slot at The Rural Alberta Advantage’s CD release in July and the release of our own EP in the barn at Delaware House. Both shows were packed but had totally different vibes. The RAA release was buzzing with excited fans which lent a lot of energy to our set and our own release was a laid back affair with many of our close friends quietly stuffed into a small barn in the August heat.

As for coming to the UK, we hope to play the Great Escape in May which should open things up in terms of overseas touring – we’re definitely keen on the idea!

What one thing has caused you to waste your free time in the past 6 months?
Well, in Canada, we can have pretty brutal winters and even when you dress warmly and deal with it, and maybe even enjoy tobogganing, drinking hot chocolate and sitting by the fire, watching the snow fall silently outside, we LOVE summer. A lot of our free time in the summer was spent outside in the sunshine, biking, sitting and playing in parks or even just hanging out in the backyard with close friends. So since we’re moving out of summer now, it’ll give us more time to reflect and work on recording the next album!

If you could have played on or written any song, what would it be?
Although we all kind of wish that we’d written Helplessly Hoping by CSNY, we have different answers for this -

Stefan: Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright by Bob Dylan, I’m often found playing this song around the band house.

Scott: I don’t really care about the song, I just wish I was in Neil Young’s band Crazy Horse… Seriously, I would play ANY instrument to be in that band.

Melissa: I’m going to say Cactus Tree by Joni but I’m sure there are other songs by people like Patty Griffin or Townes Van Zandt that I would be equally happy to have written.

Will: is away right now so we’re going to say that Will would be happy to be on the cover of ANY Joni Mitchell album. No but really, we think she’s amazing.

We’d like you to make us a mix-tape. Pick five tracks with a theme of your choice.
The theme is Halloween! Since it’s coming up on October 31st, here are some spooky songs to listen to:

1. Werewolves of London – Warren Zevon
2. Demon Host – Timber Timbre
3. Night of the Vampire – 13th Floor Elevators
4. Sons & Daughters of Hungry Ghosts – Wolf Parade
5. Weighty Ghost – Wintersleep

One Canadian band we should listen to (that isn’t your band)?
Hands down, we all think that you should start listening to Leif Vollebekk. He’s better than the best grilled cheese sandwich you’ve ever eaten and more.

‘Bluebirds’ from Hymns of Love and Spirits will feature on Oh! Canada 6, due 30th October

TLOBF Interview :: The Antlers

Anika Mottershaw — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 06:58:53 +0000

The Antlers are due to release their epic homespun masterpiece, Hospice, on the UK next month… officially anyway. When they were over recently to play a couple of back-to-back shows in and around London, Anika Mottershaw caught up with them to talk about the New York scene, being raved about by Grizzly Bear, and where they got their name from…

I never know how to tell people about your music. How would you describe the album?
Michael: We have trouble too.

I never know.
M: People make band comparisons, and inevitably… there’s so many, for some songs… so I’ve stopped doing that. And, style, also. ‘Epic’ is a word that comes up, but it’s…. sort of pretentious, in a way, to say it.
Peter: Yeah, like… I feel weird saying that, because it has these positive connotations, it’s like saying ‘it sounds like it’s amazing’, and that’s not what we want to say! I think we want to say it sounds ‘big’
M: Yeah…
P: But a better word for big.
Darby: I think the goal with it.. was to make it really dynamic, like, being really intimate to loud, and almost aggressive, just to let it be a full range of sound, I guess. Highs are high, lows are low…
M: I also like ‘cinematic’ or ‘literary’, that almost captures a certain sense of some qualities of it…

Yeah! Well, when you read the lyrics it’s kind of like reading a book…
M: Yeah. I think so too…

Do you do any writing?
P: A little bit. I didn’t, really, for a long time. Then this summer I started to write some stuff, and I haven’t quite finished… and I’m not really sure what, if anything, I’ll do with it. But, I started to enjoy it. I was trying to write lyrics, but wasn’t quite there yet… I just tried to write something, more like stories, I guess..

Is that anything you would consider doing in the future? Maybe writing a novel, or some short stories?
P: I think a novel would be REALLY hard, I’m really unbelievably impressed by anyone who can write a novel, because I have no idea how that’s possible! But maybe some short stories or something….

So when people hear the album… because it’s so personal, it must be interesting for you guys (Darby + Michael) to play something that’s so personal to Peter, how do you guys connect with the songs?
M: After the initial interaction with the record personally, I don’t think of the lyrics… I don’t think of that perspective. It’s more… the sonic quality. It’s not like ‘oh, I’m thinking of this depressing hospital, cancer victim’ or something like that. Anybody is welcome, like, interpretation by others is great, it should be a variety. But for me, it’s not locked into what the words and the stories are explaining, it’s more the musical quality of it…
D: It definitely, it feels like…there’s portions of song, like ‘Atrophy’, it’s the sound… I think it’s all part of the story, in a way. When I heard it the first time, the lyrics… I could only hear some of the lyrics because it was recorded really badly. Scratchy vocals, pieced together, and finally know… knowing the story, it means something different.

Are you enjoying playing it live?
All: Oh yeah!
M: Very much so. We’re getting to explore some musical territory… we take it to different places. It keeps it interesting for us, we can inject some spontaneous creativity from night to night, really keeps it fresh.. keeps it fun.
P: It really keeps us on our toes, and keeps us really enjoying it. We can tell the difference between a good set and a bad set… and we’re enjoying ourselves on stage, so, hopefully… that’ll be more enjoyable to watch too. And maybe it’s unexpected… you don’t know what to expect when you go into it each night. Venue to venue, the sound is different, the crowds are different… everything is different, every night, in a way. We learn how to roll with that, bring something out of that…

Were you nervous about the show at 229? Was it your first show outside of America?
M: Well, Canada…
P: Yeah, Canada, but we haven’t gone overseas yet
D: I was nervous for soundcheck…. Primarily we were all pretty wiped out by the journey, 1 hours sleep… nerves kind of get over powered by the tiredness.
M: There’s an adrenalin rush…
b: I think we did okay with it.
M: After a very warm crowd reaction it wipes away anything to be nervous about. It’s like being with a bunch of friends, you know?

What’s been your best show so far?
M: One show?

Yeah, if there’s one show you could go back and re-live…
M: I would play the Pitchfork show just because of the massive crowd. It was our biggest show by far.
P: Yeah, that was a big, big surprise. We knew there would be a lot of people, but the reality didn’t hit us until then. We got on stage and were like… oh! We were totally, so shocked. We’ve started playing bigger shows and opening for bigger bands, but that was a huge shock. It’s not like we’re playing shows like that every day. It’s like it came out of nowhere. We had no idea how to react to it.
M: It sounds counter intuitive but once you’re there and it begins, it’s really relaxing! You start looking at the sky… (laughs)

Is there anything you’d like to change about the live show? Ever consider to get more members? I was thinking about how epic it would be to play with an orchestra…
P: For certain, it would be hard to tour with that many people…

One thing that’s really cool is Grizzly Bear are doing a one off show in London with the London Symphony Orchestra…
M: Right! They did a similar thing in Brooklyn. That would be amazing.
P: That’s awesome, yeah.
M: I would love to do that.
P: I think we’re a little less open to adding members to the band, like, full time members, the way we’re most comfortable is the three of us. But, definitely, we’ve had Sharon [Van Etten] sing with us a couple of times…
M: Like when Sharon sang with us, I love her voice, such a great voice, so… you can’t not like that.

One of my favourite parts of the album is the bit where she comes in at the end of Thirteen…
M: So good!
P: Yeah! I actually wish we had more of her…

More Sharon!
M: Yeah!

She’s brilliant.
P: She’s on a lot of places in the record actually. She pops up in places where it doesn’t necessarily sound like her. Like, she’s in Kettering, Thirteen, Shiva…

She sang on the Forest Fire record.
P: Oh cool. I haven’t heard that record. I saw that…

She sings on ‘Sunshine City’, but I didn’t recognise it was her voice. I thought it sounded like her but I just missed that it WAS her, and then when I found out it made it even more brilliant…
P: Yeah. She sings on a lot of records actually.
M: Did you see her play over here?

Yeah! She did a few shows in May. And she was brilliant. Completely brilliant.
M: Yep. She is.

So, obviously there are loads of brilliant New York bands. Are there any you would recommend in particular?
M: Well, you mentioned Grizzly Bear, they’re one of my favourite bands. Dirty Projectors, got a lot of play on tour for us this summer.

Do you go to many shows when you’re at home?
M: Yeah, we all live in Brooklyn, but we haven’t really been home that much lately. They do these free shows in the summer time in Brooklyn, but we get to see a lot of great bands on tour… now I feel less inclined to go see live music… I like to do other things besides live music.

So you all live in New York, are you all from New York?
M: Peter and I grew up in New York, and Darby’s a transplant…
D: I’m from Alabama.
M: Most people in New York didn’t grow up in New York.

Yeah, it’s the same as London. Everyone’s from all over the place.
M: People say that if you grew up in Manhattan, specifically, it kind of… breeds strange people. You kind of grow up too quickly… nobody knows how to drive….

I don’t know how to drive.
M: I’ll teach you.

Good! That’ll be amazing. How does living in the city inspire you?
P: Brooklyn especially, right now is breeding a lot of bands doing interesting things. Experimenting with textures. It encourages bands to work really hard… and be themselves, and be unafraid. Also, just New York, aside from music, has a really interesting cultural history. It has a personality of a person. A city has these things you love about it, things you hate about it. I find myself thinking about it a lot, as if it were a person. It’s got all these characteristics… a way of existing.

Could you live anywhere else?
M: Yeah. It would have to be outside of the US for me. New York… it gets in your system. It’s hard to replicate anywhere else, but perhaps a lot of European places can do that…
D: I used to live in a small town, I would never live in a town that small….
P: Yeah, I feel like I could either live in a big city like New York or London, or I could live in the absolute middle of nowhere.
M: I think it’s the dream for a lot of New Yorkers to have that getaway where you don’t check your email…

Have you had a chance to look around London much?
M: A little bit, we got to run around a bit today. It’s a great town, we feel really comfortable here.

Have you been to Rough Trade yet?
M: I have been in the past but we haven’t got a chance yet

It’s not far from here, 20 minutes walk…
M: Nice! We’re going to be at Pure Groove tomorrow….

Yeah, that’s a funny place. It used to be a record shop and now it’s like a café…
M: Yeah, it has like 6 records on the wall…
D: It’s like Cake Shop in New York
M: But it’s cool over there…

Yeah, it’s a nice place. They get a lot of good bands doing instores…
M: Yeah! I heard that.

I wanted to ask you why you’re called The Antlers. Because… I don’t know why you’re called The Antlers!
P: I don’t think there’s… well, I didn’t want to be a singer/songwriter, I wanted to be in a band. I was like ‘I need a band name’, it could be 20 people, or 6 people… it turned out to be 3. I think, at the time I just really liked the word ‘Antlers’. There’s a song by the Microphones called Antlers, which contributed to it. It’s not a great story (laugh).

You could make one up!
P: I know!
M: Great. We all like to hunt and kill…
P: (laughs).

On Song :: Band of Skulls

The Line Of Best Fit — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:00:38 +0000

Band of Skulls, whose debut album is available now, got Emma Richardson (bass / vocals) to answer our On Song questions… It’s perhaps easy to see where their bluesy, dusty influences came from with a childhood involving the British Invasion, Bonnie Raitt and Muddy Waters…

What was the first song that really caught your imagination?
When I was a young-un I sneakily put on my dads records when he was out and I discovered that Dizzy Miss Lizzy from the Beatles album Help, was the best song id ever heard as it was loud and fast and had a guitar line that made me wanna dance and jump around on the sofa and I didn’t know why but I loved playing it over and over again. That song led me onto discovering Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters and a lot of other rock n roll greats.

What was the music your parents liked and do you think it’s influenced you at all?
Their tastes definitely influenced me yes… My Dad loves the blues, he has a lot of records from the British invasion lot, and American blues legends. I remember early peter green Fleetwood Mac, the Blues Breakers with John Mayall, the Paul Butterfield blues band, Muddy Waters Hard Again, the Stones, sticky fingers and exile on main street – sweet Virginia was my favourite song for ages as a kid because of the big sing along vocals in the chorus, I used play it on repeat. My Mum would sing along to James Taylor and Simon and Garfunkel in the kitchen and Leonard Cohen, Bonnie Raitt, Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell, hearing just vocal and acoustic or a minimal band, was really effecting. They both played a part in educating me musically but I like picking up musical tip offs from anyone. I got into a lot of old jazz singers, easy listening and classical, and trashy garage rock and American punk and lo-fi through swapping stuff with people, American music was always around

What posters did you have on your wall as a kid?
Didn’t really put many posters up, I liked putting up photos and pictures from magazines I liked. I never really went out and bought them, I would rather have spent my pocket money on a tape or a cd. I remember having a tape of Michelle Shocked album short sharp shocked, on repeat for about a year and trying to learn all the chords and her phrasing with singing, I though she was amazing

Which songs or albums would you play at a party?
I like to play old time favourites, blues and jazz and rock n roll, stuff you can twist to when you’ve had a few whiskeys!

Which songs remind you of a rainy day?
If its a rainy day I would put on anything by Dusty Springfield, Lee Hazlewood, The Ink Spots, Staple Singers or Scott Walker

Which album do you seek solace in when you are feeling sad?
Anything by Etta James when she was recording with chess records, Bonnie Prince Billy, Chet Baker, Tom Waits.

Which album would you play when you wanted to get you down to some lovin’?
No distractions please

What music was, or would be, the first dance at your wedding?
I have no idea

What was the first gig you went to as a paying customer?
The Bluetones at Southampton guildhall

Name the one song you think everyone should hear?
It changes every week but at the moment im pushing… Baby Huey and the Babysitters, with Mighty Mighty… if you were ever feeling blue this would turn you right around and get you moving with a big ol grin on

Which one artist do you think not enough people know about?
Well I think more people should know about The Moulettes as they are one hell of a band check their wonderfulness at www.myspace.com/themoulettes

What’s the best thing you’ve heard recently?
As of late I have not been able to stop listening to the great great songs of a band from the US called Bishop Allen

Dead or alive, what 5 acts would you have play with you at a festival?
Howling wolf
Edith Piaff
Tom waits
Jimi Hendrix
Jaqueline du pre

We’d like you to pick us a mixtape. Pick five tracks with a theme of your choice.
Ok here is a mixape with the theme of ‘DANCE’
1. Al Bowlly – Hang Out The Stars In Indiana, from the album – the DANCE band years
2. Bunker Hill – The Girl Can’t DANCE
3. ESG – DANCE
4. Madeleine Peroux – DANCE me to the end of love
5. The Vampires Of Dartmoore -DANCE of the vampires

And finally, who would win a fight: a stoat or a goat and why?
A goat as it has better facial furniture and a mean kick

Band of Skulls on Myspace

No Age Celebrity Playlist

The Line Of Best Fit — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 09:30:09 +0000

Short. Sharp. Sweet. No Age’s Dean Spunt threw us a mixtape for various band activites…

When I Am On A Place
GAS – pop (the album). it is a great listen while you are flying, it usually puts me to sleep and helps me relax.
Infinite Body – Carve Out The Face Of My God (the album). It isn’t released yet, but it’s coming out on PPM in ‘10 and it is fantastic and i only got the rough mixes so far.

When I Am Ready to Rage
Dils – Mr Big. I love this song, could be one of my favorite songs ever.
Buzzcocks – I Don’t Mind. Another favorite, the drums are the best thing of my life.
Clive Culbertson – Time To Kill.

After Dinner
Kate Bush – Hounds Of Love (the album). Nothing compares to this record.
OMD – Architecture and Morality. This thing is brutal really loud.
John Weise – Soft Punk. If you have heard it then you know

No Age released their latest EP last week…

Interview Podcast – Efterklang on performing Parades

Rich Thane — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 07:47:20 +0000

As previously announced, Efterklang are set to perform their magnificent album Parades with the Britten Sinfonia Orchestra at The Barbican on 28th October. To prelude what will undoubtedly be one of the concert highlights of the year, our friends at Arctic Circle (promoters of The Barbican show) caught up with the band in Shepherds Bush last month to talk about what we can expect from the show.

Support comes from Norwegian 10-piece Jaga Jazzist, plus a free pre-show performance in the foyer by Sons Of Noel and Adrian. Tickets are still available for the show. Priced between £15-£25 and available direct from The Barbican website.

TLOBF Interview :: Bell Orchestre

The Line Of Best Fit — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:00:58 +0000

Bell Orchestre, who released their latest album As Seen Through Windows, last week, took some time out to speak to TLOBF about their song writing and influences. Adam Elmahdi asked the questions.

Bell Orchestre started recording their first album in late-2003, at a time which heralded a spectacular boom in Canadian independent music that hasn’t quite abated. Why do you think that was- did it come out of nowhere, or was it just that the outside world hadn’t picked up on the burgeoning scene before then?
Definitely the latter. There were fantastic canadian independent bands coming and going for ages before any international attention…

With the members of Bell Orchestre all having other projects and touring commitments, what effect did that have on the writing of the new album? It must have been hard to find time to get you all into the same room…
Yup, definitely tricky. Writing for our band is an ongoing thing, we just do what we do and make time for recording and it slowly comes together. We write in different formations sometimes when we can’t all be together.

The cover of Aphex Twin’s “Bucephalus Bouncing Ball” was an odd but inspired choice- what made you decide to cover it?
Fun. Beautiful. Heavy. Y’know.

Particularly on the new album, there’s a distinctly cinematic feel to your compositions. Have you been offered film work, or does moving in that direction appeal to you at all?
Yes it would be an interesting direction to pursue. Our music and process has a life of it’s own, an angular and dynamic movement to it that can actually make it hard to set to film. It might actually be easier to make a film to our music.

Richard is quite the talented multi-instrumentalist- what would he regard as his primary instrument?
Double bass.

To Richard and Sarah- I recently had the pleasure of seeing Bell Orchestre play a pretty intimate venue in London; how does performing in such small settings compare to the stadiums and festivals that you encountered with Arcade Fire?
Smaller. More intimate. Different. We can hang out with the audience afterwards and not have it be weird.

Whilst some bands (especially instrumental ones) treat performances as a sterile recital of their recorded material, Bell Orchestre seem to put their all into their gigs. How do you prepare for your shows? Do you consider how you’re going to play songs live whilst you’re composing, or does that come afterwards?
Afterwards. There are some recorded pieces that we can’t do live, and there are some pieces we play live that we’ve never successfully recorded. It sort of works itself out for us. Either pieces sound good when we play them live or they don’t. If it’s the latter, we stop playing them live.

And finally- what next for Bell Orchestre?
Something raucous and fun and beautiful.

Port O’Brien Celebrity Playlist

The Line Of Best Fit — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:30:11 +0000

Threadbare, the new album by San Francisco’s Port O’Brien is released this Monday (19th October) via City Slang. Here, the band make us an imaginary mixtape of some of their current favourite tracks.

“3 Peat” by Lil Wayne
One of the greatest opening tracks on any record in recent memory. It flows so wonderfully and you can tell Weezy feels every line he spits. The rest of the album, luckily for us, delivers on the promise.

“Katy Song” by Red House Painters
This song is perfectly structured building up to the repetitious jam at the end. The lyrics are delivered with Kozelek’s trademark drawl. Gorgeous and haunting.

“Birthday Sex (Up-Tempo Version)” by Jeremih
There hasn’t been a more perfect pop song in a long, long time.

“Love it or Hate it” by the Game (ft. 50 Cent)
The moment that bass comes in a little after the first verse is so amazing.

“Pulling for Gold” by Ryan Stively & His Poison Band
Our bass player Ryan recorded an EP on 4-track earlier this year and I hope beyond hope he releases it somehow soon because all of you will love it.

“You Can Have What You Want” by Papercuts
This is probably our favorite record of the year. Its so consistently compelling and addicting.

“Somewhere There Is a Mountain” by Paleo
This guy is the most prolific and amazing songwriter that nobody knows about. Cambria, especially, listens to his songs all the time. Head on over to his Myspace to hear some other songs.

“The Watcher” by Dr. Dre”
This song still sounds as fresh as it did when it came out. It makes me really sad that the Doc hasn’t released anything of his own of any substance since. We are all still holding out for Detox, which hopefully won’t be anything like Chinese Democracy.

“Here’s Where the Story Ends” by the Sundays
We got this off a 90s sampler we stole from our manager in LA. It makes us happy and makes all our driving a little easier.

“Edit the Sad Parts” by Modest Mouse
Possibly our favorite song by our favorite contemporary band.

Introducing :: Hannah Georgas

Ro Cemm — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 16:35:41 +0000

Hannah Georgas by Zipporah Wilson

We featured Vancouver songstress Hannah Georgas way back in the July edition of Oh! Canada, where we showcased the ridiculously catchy ‘Beat Stuff’ from her debut EP. Since then there’s been a lot going on: she performed with ‘Best band friends’ and fellow Vancouverites Said The Whale at Ottowa’s Canada Day celebrations, and released a split ep with touring Raconteur Mark Watrous. On top of all this shes unexpectedly been thrust in the limelight after penning the jingle to Walmart’s back to school campaign with Mother Mother member Ryan Guldemond. Although originally written as a jingle, the song has proved so popular that a campaign was started for it to be turned in to a new song which is available for free from the company’s website. She’s also been using her new found popularity to promote awareness of a cause close to her heart, Juvenile Diabetes. Hannah found time to chat to Oh! Canada about dancing like crazy ladies, the usefullness of sisters with a knowledge of hemlines and her discount bra selling hell between dates of her cross Canada tour with Said The Whale.

For people out there that have never heard of you. Give us three reasons why they should?
If you’re looking for new, original, captivating, endearing, edgy, indie pop music

Can you recall the moment when you first decided you wanted to become a musician?
Growing up as a kid I remember my dad rocking out on the piano in front of all my friends/family . My sisters and I would freeeeak out and dance around him like crazy ladies. He inspired me to want to learn the piano. I started writing music when I was really little on the piano (5 or 6) and I remember wanting to sing in front of anyone that would listen or give me the time of day. My mom forced me to compete in piano festivals and signed me up for piano camp. I remember not enjoying it at first but later becoming addicted to the rush of performing in front audiences.

Where do your songs come from? What was the inspiration behind “The National”?
Songs comes from the people I surround myself with, places/environment I’m living in, past and current relationships with lovers, family and friends, artists that inspire me, dreams,..
The National is inspired by a dream that I had. I dreamt that I ran into an ex lover of mine at one of ‘The National’ concerts. My ex and I reunited and made up in my dream. Very happy ending. In real life, him and I had a really bad breakup and cut eachother off completely for 2 yrs. Not so happy ending. It took a long time for us to move on and get over things.

Name your Top 5 records
The Boxer by The National
Marvin The Album by Frente!
Mellon Collie and The Infinite Sadness by The Smashing Pumpkins
Kala by MIA
Is This It by The Strokes

What was the first gig you ever played and was it a success? How have the live shows been going?
The first gig I ever played was at community centre in my hometown with a pop punk band I joined in highschool. Not the best gig ever but it was successful for me because it made me realize how much I love to play my music live and with a band. Live shows have been going really well. I’ve had some really great opportunities come my way and have had a blast being part of them. I feel like I improve after each show and learn something new about myself after every performance. I’m my own worst critic and want to continue bettering my performances all the time.

What one piece of criticism has stuck in your mind and was it justified?
My sister attended a gig of mine in Toronto. As I was soundchecking and getting ready to get things going I noticed her at the front trying to wave me down. I knelt down on the stage and asked her what was up. She told me she could practically see my bum cheeks because my dress was too short. Good piece of criticism and note to self…Bootie shorts must be worn while wearing short dresses on stage.

What one thing has caused you to waste your free time in the past 6 months?
the interweb. I spend a lot of time online w myspace, facebook, and twitter, and youtube,… It can consume more time than I’d like.

If you weren’t making music, what do you think you’d be doing?
music therapist, child care worker, fitness instructor..wishing I was making music.

What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?
Working at a discount bra store

What is the first song you put on when you wake up?
the last couple days it’s been Pace Is the Trick by Interpol

We’d like you to make us a mix-tape. Pick five tracks with a theme of your choice.
Theme- Amazing songs by sexy indie male artists.
Red Hot Drops by Chad Vangaalen
Driver, Surprise Me by The National
The Road Leads Where Its Led by Secret Machines
Untitled by Interpol
Listzomania by Pheonix

One Canadian band you should listen to (that isn’t your band)?
I’ll name 5 :)
Wintermitts, Mother Mother, Said The Whale, Jeremy Fisher, Chad Vangaalen

Here’s the video for Hannah’s debut single Beat Stuff, which you can also download as part of Oh! Canada volume 2

Click here to view the embedded video.

Introducing :: Curly Hair

Rich Thane — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:22:59 +0000

Curly Hair are the latest group to appear from the never ending well of amazing talent that the Brighton based Willkommen Collective seem to spit out every month or so. See; The Leisure Society, Shoreline, Sons Of Noel & Adrian, Laish Quartet, The Miserable Rich… you get the picture. Regular readers will know we have a soft spot for Willkommen spawned bands and Curly Hair are no exception. Yes, they’re a ‘folk’ band – there’s no getting round that, but their ramshackle recordings; boy-girl vocals; use of thrift store keyboards and indeed an all round lo-fi pop ethic really do pull them apart from the more traditional folk kneelings of say, Sons of Noel & Adrian or Shoreline.

Their debut release, the rather fine Ivy League EP has been on regular rotation here at TLOBF Towers for some time and shows no sign in letting up. So impressed were we in fact, we even invited the trio to perform at our monthly club night at London’s The Social on 20th October, more details on that here. We’re not the only ones who’ve fallen for Curly Hair’s charms either, Steve Lamacq, Bethan Elfyn, Marc Riley and Gideon Coe are all firm fans of their beguiling melodies, oh yes.

Download the Ivy League EP’s lead track ‘High Fives Low Lives’ and watch a suitably lo-fi video of the band performing ‘The Bush Song’ whilst busking in Berlin below.

For people out there that have never heard of you. Give us three reasons why they should…
(i) We’re very kind to animals and the elderly, and recently opened a 12 acre farm/shelter in Somerset where they can both run freely.
(ii) Our songs contain informative subliminal messages. When played backwards they offer various Curly Hair approved vegetarian savoury recipes.
(iii) We’re giving away our first single, ‘Blow The House Down’, for free. Everyone likes free stuff. Brilliant.

Can you recall the moment when you first decided you wanted to become a musician?
Benjamin: My dad bought my brother and I guitars for Christmas one year but for some reason I got an advanced classical guitar playing book to accompany it which was quite intimidating for a young boy of 7 who had never played an instrument before. Shortly after I chose early retirement from music but re-gained my enthusiasm a few years later when I realised that making music with nice people is among the best ways to pass your time. Far better than watching Coronation Street with your Mother.

Jessica: I remember when I had the urge to play guitar as it was only a few months ago (which is why Ben mostly plays guitar live). We were hanging around the Lanes in Brighton when there was a massive downpour so we ducked inside a second hand shop and in a corner I saw a beautiful 3/4 size guitar. I bought her, Ben named her Tiny and we started writing songs together as soon as we got home, carrying Tiny in a bin bag to keep her safe from the rain.

Where do your songs come from? What’s your inspiration?
We like the countryside, animals and failed loves. We’re pastoral pop.

Name your Top 5 records.
Jessica: At the moment..
The National – Alligator
Bjork – Debut
Herman Dune – Not On Top
Neutral Milk Hotel – In The Aeroplane Over The Sea
Magnetic Fields – 69 Love Songs

Benjamin:
Shellac – At Action Park
The Beatles – Revolver
Charlottefield – How Long Are you Staying?
Fleetwood Mac – Greatest Hits
Crosby, Stills & Nash – Crosby, Stills & Nash

What was the first gig you ever played and was it a success?
Benjamin: It was a house party at Dan from 4 or 5 Magicians house. I don’t think we were planning on playing shows that early as we only had a handful of songs but Dan heard the recordings and asked us to play so it gave us the impetus to get a set together.

Jessica: My hands were shaking so much from nerves I could barely play at all. I think I more or less burst into tears just after and had to go to the loo 5 times in the 20 mins before we went on. Don’t worry though, I’ve got over myself since.

What one piece of criticism has stuck in your mind and was it justified?
Jessica: Your haircut makes you look like a lesbian. Yes.

Benjamin: Your trousers makes you look like a lesbian. Yes.

What one thing has caused you to waste your free time in the past 6 months?
Jessica: Cutting other people’s hair. I can’t resist if someone asks me.

Benjamin: I’m quite into chasing woodland animals around national parks.

If you weren’t making music, what do you think you’d be doing?
Jessica: Working on a ranch in Texas or a bean farm in Mexico, finishing my degree over the internet. Actually no, I like London too much. Bicycle courier maybe?

Benjamin: Maybe some kind of card shark like Paul Newman in the Hustler. Or a Sailor.

What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?
Jessica: Working in a bookshop; it fell so far short of my romantic ideal that it was horrible.

Benjamin: I worked in an ice factory making and transporting blocks of ice roughly the same size as a large bear. One day the guy I was working with slipped and the ice went through his steel toe-caps and crushed his foot so I decided to exit that job swiftly before my time came.

We’d like you to make us a mix-tape. Pick five tracks with a theme of your choice.
Curly Hair tour drive extravaganza mix vol.1:
1. Bran Van 3000 – Drinking In L.A
2. Akron Family – Ed Is A Portal
3. Babyskins – She Won’t
4. Dire Straits – Sultans of Swing
5. Girls – Lust for Life

mp3:> Curly Hair: ‘High Fives, Low Lives’

Click here to view the embedded video.

Track By Track :: Bruce Peninsula – A Mountain Is A Mouth

Ro Cemm — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 14:00:57 +0000

Bruce Peninsula’s debut album, A Mountain Is A Mouth was longlisted for the Polaris Prize in Canada this year. It was a vindication of the hard work that went in to it since recording began way back in 2007. Oh! Canada caught up with Neil Haverty to chat about the logistics of being a ‘big band’, those BSS comparissons and to run through the making of the new record.

Hi Neil. First up can you give us 3 reasons TLOBF readers should seek out more from Bruce Penninsula?
I Never was very good at quizzes, but I’ll give it a go…
1 – We mean well (we are just regular dudes and ladies trying to accomplish a common goal)
2 – We are hard workers (it takes a lot to keep a band like this on the rails)
3 – Line Of Best Fit seems to like us (and they seem to know what they’re talking about)

You have just come back from touring Canada…how does touring work for you guys logistically? There seems to be so many people in the band?
Well, we trim down and puff up as necessary. It’s only as hard as we make it and it changes from show to show. On this recent tour, we were 7 for one leg and 9 for the next. We believe the songs can be interpreted by any group we manage to gather together. That could be 5 of us, it could be 10, it could be more. In most cases, the songs are adaptable enough to handle the membership fluctuation, as long as the people that are there are really letting loose.

You must be delighted to see so many people associated with the band doing so well- the likes of Timber Timbre, Ohbijou, The Weather Station and more? Do you see it as being difficult to get the band together to practice, tour and record more? Can you keep up with all the projects people are involved in?
We simply surround ourselves with as many talented friends as possible. There’s a core band of 5 of us that write the songs and plot everything out and then we bring in more hands and throats to fill things out when we think it’s necessary. The kind of music we make sounds best when it’s BIG so our band is usually pretty big to accomplish that. It happens that most of the talented folks we know have great bands of their own. Timber Timbre, ohbijou, Katie Stelmanis, the Weather Station, Germans, THOMAS, Isla Craig, Muskox, Snowblink… these are all projects that existed before, or at least grew up alongside Bruce Peninsula. We poach their members for our band whenever schedules suit it or when we think a song calls for it. All those bands have been jewels in Toronto for the last few years and we’ve been lucky to work with all of them. It’s getting harder to have those people at shows as their bands get more attention, but we aren’t concerned. There are tons of talented people in this city and we have a pretty fluid system when it comes to membership.

The sheer pool of talent has drawn a lot of comparrisons with the whole Broken Social Scene, er, scene.
We don’t really like that “new BSS” angle though. We like that band just fine but I think this kind of loose ensemble system existed way before they did. Look at big bands in jazz or folk collectives like the Perth County Conspiracy. It’s simply a choice we’ve made – to let the work call for the people it needs to accomplish it’s goal, rather than defining a strict roster of performers. If a song calls for a trombone part and we know someone that’s skilled with that instrument, then Bruce Peninsula expands. Why do we need to set parameters? Music is only fun because it’s an open canvas and we can do whatever we want to. If that means you can’t be sure who is in the band and who isn’t, then so be it.

Do you have any plans to come over to the UK? Are there any plans for a full UK release?
We are working on it! As with anything, it takes a lot of planning and relationship-building. So far, we’ve done everything independently. We recently took on a Canadian booking agent, but we are entirely self-managed and every decision is made within the band. That’s been relatively easy on home soil but other countries are a slightly harder egg to crack. We are starting to talk to people that can help and are tentatively trying to get everything in line so we can get over there by the spring time. Fingers crossed.

So….here is our track by track guide to A Mountain Is A Mouth

Inside / Outside
We got a couple of metallophones while I was working for the government and wasting all my time and money on Ebay. They’re beautiful instruments so we started to incorporate them as soon as they arrived. I’d like to use them more, actually, but we haven’t written much on them, outside of this song and Northbound/Southbound.
To this day, we call this song Mynah Birds. It has always been referred to that way and it actually takes a second to register whenever anyone refers to it as Inside/Outside. We always have fake names, or working titles, for songs as we are writing them and sometimes they stick (like Shanty Song) and sometimes they get changed at the last minute, like this one.

The first bounce of this recording is hilarious because it’s just a vibraphone and a really cheesy drum machine part. We worked very hard to make this song sound nothing like that first export. It came a long way.

Steamroller
When we wrote this song, I think everyone in BP shared a collective “aha!” about what kind of band we wanted to be. It’s been a foundational song for us since then because it incorporates all the styles and sounds we were chasing after in the first place. This recording was our engineer Leon’s little baby. He just loved this jam, more than any of the others, so he paid especially close attention to it and I think that’s audible. The handclaps, the toy piano at the end, some of the panning tricks… those were all Leon’s suggestions.

If you listen really closely in the choruses and the “greatest forest fire” part, you should be able to hear some tenor sax. It had to be really quiet in the final mix because so much other stuff was going on, but our friend Colin Fisher put down some really good horn parts. Maybe in the future we’ll release a remix and jack them up really loud so you can hear them in all their glory.

2nd 4th World War
There are so many shakers on this song. You probably wouldn’t know it because of the way we mixed it but they are all over the place. We had access to a room in the local university that was full of percussion instruments. I mean, every percussion instrument you could think of. We also didn’t really restrain ourselves when we were tracking so there was a lot of stuff to go through when it came time to mix. I think 2nd 4th is a real testament to the effort we put into mixing. Those were grueling, long days but they were worth it in the end.

Satisfied
This song is the most ‘live’ song on the record. Throughout the record, all the group vocals you hear were done live, with all of us singing together in the sanctuary of St. George The Martyr church. Save for maybe a tambourine or two, Satisfied is pretty much exactly as we played it. We were sure those claps at the end would clip the vocal mics but they didn’t. It just ended up producing a very raw and natural sound.

This is one of two traditional interpretations on the record. The original version that we based our version on featured anonymous school children singing it. On the recording, Alan Lomax asks the children to do it twice as fast and the result is mind blowing. Seek out that recording. You won’t regret it.

Shutters
We always imagined Shutters as the last song on the first side of the record, so that’s how it ended up as the fifth track. Just the nature of the song, with all it’s twists and turns, screamed side-closer to us. Funny thing is that, so far AMIAM hasn’t been pressed on vinyl so the sides thing hasn’t really panned out, but we’re working on it. Just scrapping our pennies together and hoping we can afford to press it by the end of the year.

We originally recorded Shutters in the very first session in Scarborough along with a bunch of the other songs. But it wasn’t entirely finished at the time so we ended up recording the final version a few months later at a different studio downtown. You can hear a slight difference in the drum sound if you listen hard enough.

Our friend Nick Storring came in and dropped some cello on the track for a little icing in the final stages of tracking. The song was big enough as it stood but we thought we’d take it a few extra steps with some big ass John Williams strings.

This is probably my favourite track on the whole record.

Weave Myself A Dress
This was the very first Bruce Peninsula song. Misha sang some lines to Matt years ago and eventually they fleshed it out into a real song. We knew the record was going to have a pretty heavy hitting first side so this was the perfect song to start the second. A little calm before we built it back up again.

I’m especially proud of the middle section, which we refer to as “the water”, because all those sound effects you hear are made on real instruments. The loon calls are really just Andrew’s lap steel and the water and wild bird sounds are just Maya scraping the bottom of her Kalimba. This recording also holds a special position for us because Misha recorded her vocal in the first few hours of her 26th birthday. Just after midnight we set her up in the massive sanctuary with just a couple candles and this is the take she came out with. After a very long day of recording, that was a really special way to cap it off.

Crabapples
So far, we’ve always played Crabapples as our set closer. It takes a lot of energy to do it justice and people respond rapturously to it so it just makes sense to blast it out last. Things are different with a record though. We wanted AMIAM to have a pretty significant denoument and so it wouldn’t have made sense to have Crabapples finish off the record.

It’s also always been a partner with Weave Myself A Dress. When we first started the band, we were keen to make connections between all the songs we played and those two songs turned out to have the strongest relationship.

Recording Crabapples was fun, just because we let ourselves go nuts on the percussion. There’s marching snares and timbales and lots of rimshots all over the place. My favourite part was when Steve just started walking around the studio, looking for things to hit. Paint cans, beer bottles, ladders… they’re all in there.

Shanty Song
About 3/4s of the way through recording, Leon decided he was sick of buying time at other people’s studios and figured it was time to start one of his own. Through a friend of his, he found a great little unfinished garage that could house his studio. There was a hell of a lot of work to do though. So recording sort of haulted and we all got to work gutting the place, insulating and soundproofing it, putting up drywall and getting covered in this gooey black stuff called Acoustiseal… It took about two months until the space was useable. That’s a long time to not be recording but we were lucky because, once the studio was done, we could go in as much as we wanted for the final stage of the record. We didn’t have to pay for studio time, really, because we had logged so many hours doing labour for Leon. We did a daily schedule after that, putting all the finishing touches on the record. We were finally up and running again… until the computer started acting crazy. Error messages, blue screens, all those terrible things that PCs do when they’re overloaded. We’d already stalled for a couple months and now we were facing another hang up.

I only mention this stuff here because Shanty Song came very close to the fire. It honestly almost didn’t make it through the crash. I can’t imagine what we would have done if it was lost for good – we really like this song because it was one of the first that really gelled for us and we thought the recording had turned out pretty well. The project file was riddled with errors and it took everything Leon had not to throw his computer out the window. Eventually we went back a few steps and salvaged it, but not without some serious machinery battles.

Drinking All Day
This is the other traditional song on the record and was probably the initial spark of Bruce Peninsula’s flame. Matt and Misha were asked to do a variety night in 2005 and, along with Weave Myself A Dress, they performed this song and a few others from the Alan Lomax archive. They based it on a recording of a woman named Vera Ward Hall. To this day, I have yet to hear a voice as effortlessly heartbreaking as hers.

Misha and Matt’s original interpretation was stranger than the BP version, with ominous tape and guitar loops, but the song has been with us since day one, so it was important to us to include it on AMIAM. We tried to record a version of this for a compilation very early on in the timeline of the band. There were 9 of us huddled in our little basement, clanging bells and playing casios. We recorded to two tracks, so some of it was totally unusable because we got too excited to consider dynamics, but bits and pieces of that recording made it into the record version. So, some of that drone you hear in Drinking All Day comes from the very first recording we ever made as a band.

Northbound / Southbound
We played this as a show opener a lot when we first wrote it but it was always fated to end a record. It’s sort of just a snippet of a song – we are constantly playing around with little bits of melody without worrying about length – but it gave us good opportunity to dial things back. We conciously made Northbound / Southbound very small so it could act as a further denoument for Drinking All Day, which we used to calm down a whole record’s worth of rocking out.

Matt and I were alone and screwing around at the studio one night and wanted to hear what a sort of tape-crunch end would sound like. We used my shitty dictaphone and recorded the choir into it and then fed it back in with the talk back mic in the control room. I think we were planning to do that properly at some point, with a real tape machine and some distortion, but it just started to sound right after a while. I never thought we would use my stupid little handheld tape recorder to end our record, but that’s what’s there in the end.

It took us a year and a half to make A Mountain Is A Mouth. We recorded it in 8 different places. We spent all of our money and way too much time on it. We were so happy to be rid of it when it was finished, but sad to see it go. Bring on record number two.

You can stream the whole of ‘A Mountain Is A Mouth’ over at CBC Radio 3 now, or download album track ‘Crabapples’ from us below. You can also download ‘Steamroller’ on Oh! Canada 1.

mp3:> Bruce Peninsula: ‘Crapapples’
PC: right click and choose “save as…”
MAC: CTRL + click and choose “save link as”

Introducing :: Phantom

Rich Thane — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 08:30:21 +0000

Photo credit: Bryn Evans

Having just released their haunting debut single ‘Great Pretender’ and seemingly turning heads wherever they go – we thought it about time to catch up with London based three piece Phantom. Here, front woman who has been described as the female Morrissey in some quarters – Elsie Martins tells us a little more about her music. Plus, as an added extra – we have the video premier of ‘Great Pretender’ at the bottom of the post!

For people out there that have never heard of you. Give us three reasons why they should…
1. If you’re a fan of something dark and enticing then be intrigued and give us a go
2. Phantom is a musical project that isn’t solely based on a nice recorded sound alone; there’s the artwork, photos, live performance incorporating ambient background sounds and projections…
3. We oppose the norm… although what is the norm anyway!

Can you recall the moment when you first decided you wanted to become a musician?
I was working as a music journalist when I first came over to London, but things didn’t pan out as well as I had hoped. Working in music I was always surrounded by musicians; I was going on tour with bands, making TV programs about them, following them in the studio etc… but if I’m completely honest it just felt like something was missing for me. When I stopped working in music I realised that it wasn’t the work that I missed but it was being close to the music. It was only a matter of time, I suppose, until someone threw a guitar in my hands and pushed me to play – that’s when I realised how much I wanted to play but never had.

Where do your songs come from? What’s your inspiration?
Inspiration demands passion. The best artists create with this passion, I am envious. I have a drive that fuels my desire to make music. I work in a way that may not be technically correct to all – I am self-taught after all – but using my strengths and skills I explore and discover what I am capable of and beyond. I am pushing myself against all odds, if you like, and continually rediscovering my passions that lie with my voice and guitar, with my lyrics, with my songs. I am learning in my own way, working with my obsessions rather than against and discovering music again and again each time from a new perspective. It’s liberating.

In terms of where the content comes from, I like to observe the world around me, but never really felt a complete part of it, hence the Phantom alter ego. My songs are vignettes of things I see, stories I hear, people who try to hurt me or who touch me. It’s completely self indulgent because it’s the view of the world through my eyes. Maybe one day I’ll write from a third person point of view but right now it feels right to be introspective.

Name your Top 5 records.
Script of the Bridge – The Chameleons
Joy Division – Unknown Pleasures
Echo & The Bunnymen – Ocean Rain
Nick cave & The Bad Seeds – Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus
Billie Holliday – Lady sings the blues

What was the first gig you ever played and was it a success?
The first time I played a gig, was on Canadian MTV. It was absolutely terrifying! I had been writing songs acoustically, and was recruiting a full band to take those further. But while I was visiting my family in Canada, the TV network approached me to do an interview and performance. Since the band was in the UK I decided to do it acoustically. These were the very early Phantom days…

You can watch it here….see the fear in my eyes!

What one piece of criticism has stuck in your mind and was it justified?
“You’re a girl, you can’t play guitar, why bother”

This offered me a strike and excuse of a reason to think “hey, sod this, I’m going to make some noise”, so I did. It’s all about being in control of yourself but never aiming too low. I continue to discover and amaze myself with what I am up to musically; it’s just a matter of keeping those eyes open! Yes I am female, yes, I sing and play guitar, “woo” I can do more than one thing at once, but so what? This ain’t just a pretty face!

What one thing has caused you to waste your free time in the past 6 months?
Murder Mysteries on TV! I love them… When I watch Agatha Christie on TV I get completely lost in it. There’s something about them I really love, stylistically they look great, but the plots, the characters and the theatrical scenes are gorgeous. TV rots your brain though so I try and keep it to a bare minimum, I can quite easily walk away from the TV set expect if I am lulled into a murder mystery drama…

If you weren’t making music, what do you think you’d be doing?
Ask any of my friends they would tell you that I would be the mad lady with a cat rescue home / sanctuary!

What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?
I’ve been fortunate enough to have decent jobs that “pay the bill”. However, being chained to a corporate office chair is pretty frustrating at times, but then again it also fuels a sense of urgency, a need to get home and do something for yourself, be creative and pick up an instrument!

We’d like you to make us a mix-tape. Pick five tracks with a theme of your choice.
I love mixed tapes, for a two reasons: the first is that there are two sides, hence the opportunity for two distinct themes, the next is that you can’t skip songs like with a CD mix, so you have to listen to each song. I’ve given and received mixed tapes, and they are still my favourite present by far!

Theme: My latest repeats on my ipod!
Twilight Sad – And She Would Darken The Memory
Teeth of The Sea – Dreadnought
Explosions In The Sky – The Catastrophe and The Cure
Mogwai – Batcat
I love you but I’ve chosen darkness – The Ghost

Click here to view the embedded video.

Phantom on MySpace

On Song :: Strike The Colours

Rich Thane — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 10:00:10 +0000

This week saw the release of Strike The Colours second album Seven Roads available via Deadlight Records. The bands frontwoman (and occasional member of Malcolm Middleton’s group) Jenny Reeve told us a little about her musical mind and what songs make her tick.

Strike The Colours play their album launch at Stereo in Glasgow this Friday 2nd October, alongside some other Scottish dates (full details on MySpace).

What was the first song that really caught your imagination?
It’s between Camouflage by Stan Ridgway and Still Got The blues by Gary Moore.

What was the music your parents liked and do you think it’s influenced you at all?
My mum was a big fan of Joni mitchell, Joan Baez and Simon And Garfunkel and we had alot of classical stuff on vinyl too. Dad was a Beatles fan so he had all their albums and he had pretty much every Pink Floyd record. He also had records by Jefferson Airplane, Yes, Bob Dylan and Thin Lizzy. I think that influence is with me still, definitely. In fact, most of those records are still kicking around

What posters did you have on your wall as a kid?
I had lots of Kylie and Madonna, and Downlands Cancara who was a horse.

Which songs or albums would you play at a party?
Party all the time by Eddie Murphy and Rick James, or Atmosphere by Russ Abbott

Which songs remind you of a rainy day?
I live in Scotland, so there’s a couple. But i’ll say The Hand That Rocks The Cradle by The Smiths, Purple Rain by Prince, Master Song by Leonard Cohen and Zero by Malcolm Middleton

Which album do you seek solace in when you are feeling sad?
Well, at the moment it would definitely be Boxer by The National

Which album would you play when you wanted to get down to some lovin’?
Plague Sounds by The Locust

What music was, or would be, the “first dance” at your wedding?
Dress Sexy At my Funeral by Smog or Help Me I Am In Hell by Nine Inch Nails

What was the first gig you went to as a paying customer?
I went to see a local band called The Hideaway Blues Band when I was 12 with my brother. It was also the first time I drank beer, out of those cans with the different woman on the front.

Name the one song you think everyone should hear.
That’s just about impossible, but i do wish that everyone knew it was Leonard Cohen who wrote and sang Hallelujah originally and not Alexandra whatsherface from X Factor, though most of those X Factor idiots brutalised that song

Which one artist do you think not enough people know about?
Jackson C Frank

What’s the best thing you’ve heard recently?
Nothing broke by Mersault, Veckatimest by Grizzly Bear, Flick The V’s by King Creosote and Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle by Bill Callahan which is awesome

Dead or alive, what 5 acts would you have play with you at a festival?
Dolly Parton, Louis Armstrong, The National, Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds, Fleetwood Mac and Arab on Radar. That’s six, so a bargain!

We’d like you to make us a mix-tape. Pick five tracks with a theme of your choice.
Ok, I’m getting the rest of the band to help me with this and chosen theme is Meteorology:
Riders On The Storm: The Doors
Listen The Snow Is Falling: Yoko Ono
Hurricane: Bob Dylan
Sun Machine: David Bowie
Come Rain Come Shine: Billie Holiday

And finally, who would win in a fight: a stoat or a goat and why?
cloven hooves, horns….goats are basically Satan. The goat would impale the stoat on it’s horns and then eat it. Goats are mean and cool.

Introducing :: Lofty Heights

Rich Thane — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 10:00:40 +0000

Photo credit: Anika Mottershaw

It’s very rare that we fall back on a press release or biography to describe a new band, but Lofty Height’s blurb sets the tone perfectly:

“Originally the brainchild of crooning minstrel Gregory Griffin; a Californian transplanted to the blasted wastes of Manor House, Lofty Heights have since evolved into a band of mid-20’s misfits peddling Colin Meloy style indie pop that plunges you into a strange world of lonesome ancient mariners and the perils of sharing the washing-up. Having honed their skills on pretty much any stage/floor/warehouse you can think of in the East London area, Lofty Heights’ live shows are a whirling dervish of surf melodies, moustaches, charangos and absurd in-jokes. Pretty cool, huh?”

Pretty cool indeed. New single ‘Eye Contact’ is a real gem of a song. Perhaps unintentionally, it apes the loose ramshackle feel of Swedish lo-fi Gods Suburban Kids With Biblical Names. Smothered in harmonies, banjos and clacking drums – it comes highly recommended from us here at TLOBF.

As a special treat, Gregory has given us b-side ‘Skeleton Apples’ to give away – so be good people and read the following interview whilst you’re waiting for it to download. Ok?

mp3:> Lofty Heights: ‘Skeleton Apples’

Can you recall the moment when you first decided you wanted to become a musician?
I learned ‘Norweigan Wood’ on the recorder in music class in the first grade back in California. I came home and figured out how to play it on our family piano. The school I think lost funding for music classes and sadly they stopped from then on (this was during the Bush senior days, go figure) but that was pretty much the moment I decided doing music was the great escape, so to speak.

Where do your songs come from? What’s your inspiration?
Lately, I’ve been entertaining myself with books that I fetch out of a skip around the corner from the warehouse that I live in. There’s this online book wholesaler in the complex next to ours that gets thousands of unwanted books from charities and dumps out the ones they can’t sell. These are usually crap, but occasionally there’s a gem: some classics, some hilariously cheesy ones, volumes of obsolete encyclopedias that were written around the time when people still professed the biles, and some books on mythology. I like to read out of these books that weren’t rated as classics and all but get swept up in the chasms of unwanted literary history. For example, one of my songs ‘The Gaul’ was inspired by reading from one of aforementioned books about the roman conquest of Britain in the first century.

Name your Top 5 records.
I kinda want to avoid answering so sweeping a question! So i’ll just say that I’ve been listening to a lot of this lately but also a lot in past years: Pet Sounds – Beach boys, Nasty Parlour Tricks – Modest Mouse, Mount Eerie – The Microphones, Internal Wrangler – Clinic and Cherry Peel - Of Montreal.

What was the first gig you ever played and was it a success?
It was back in San Francisco at a place called 330 Ritch Street. We were a rock band called ‘Turbulence’: we were just 12 and 13 years old, good friends from school. The manager of Santana came to that gig as he was interested in us and had a meeting with us after. He tried to convince us something to the effect of ‘either become a boy band or a heavy rock band if you want to succeed.’ So ensued weeks of jokes at his attempt to get us to ’sell-out’, as we decided not to take his advice. Now he’s probably still hella rich whereas i sleep on my studio floor in a shitty warehouse. Viva integrity right?

What one piece of criticism has stuck in your mind and was it justified?
I have incurred splendid amounts of personal criticism in my life; but not really much for Lofty Heights that I can think of. Well, actually there was this one time before a gig that Nathan (lap steel player in Lofty Hights) and I were playing really loudly with these legos that a promoter had setup on tables for a laugh. Suddenly, a friend of the performer on stage confronted us and basically strangled me to get us to shut up while his friend was playing! After the show the musician whose set we ruined by being too loud said reluctantly that overall he liked our music but that at times was a bit samey. I agreed with him.

What one thing has caused you to waste your free time in the past 6 months?
Engish ale and German weiss beer compounded by good friends. Living in this city it’s so hard to not be out doing something every single night. This is not a great place to live if you just just wanna stay at home and write songs. That’s why I’ve been playing the same set for something like two years now!

If you weren’t making music, what do you think you’d be doing?
Working on some sustainable farm far far away in the countryside in southwest Ireland.

What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?
I suppose it was when I first moved to London and in Kings Cross I took the first job i could get, which was for some IT telemarketing company in the most horrifyingly depressing industrial estate. It made me wonder why on earth I had actually willingly chose to move to rainy north London from the sunny rolling hills of California. My job was essentially to be vague in attempts to swindle businesses into buying IT support packages. I sat in front of a computer all day pitching monotonous phrases; getting rejection after rejection from douche bags and taking orders from managers who didn’t have a clue. It was after that job that I swore I would never work for anyone else ever again! But now I run a music studio that I started up in manor house, its called UNIT-RAD.

We’d like you to make us a mix-tape. Pick five tracks with a theme of your choice.
Theme: I don’t know… how about… “Creatures, monsters, sci-fi and scary all-sorts”
“Evil Dead” – Bones Brigade
“Ghost Mountain” – The Unicorns
“Creature Fear”- Bon Iver
“Where’s Captain Kirk” – Spizzenergi
“Zombie Holocaust” – Tristram
(bonus track) “Bleached White” – Wild Palms

TLOBF Interview :: Slow Club

Simon Tyers — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 06:00:16 +0000

There’s few things more joyful in the current British music scene then the Sheffield pair Charles Watson and Rebecca Taylor, collectively Slow Club. Whether dealing in fragile balladry or full speed ahead acoustic rock’n'roll, their debut album Yeah, So? pulled off the trick of sounding convincing right out of the gate. As our own review put it, they have “a lightness of touch and sweetness of mood even when the lyrics don’t seem to demand it. Slow Club may not belong to any one genre comfortably but they know exactly what they are.” The next single from the album, ‘Trophy Room’, is out on 12th October, with the duo currently on tour until just before that date – check their Myspace for full dates. Rebecca answered some questions for us.

Congratulations on the album. Are you pleased with how it’s been received?
Thank you, we are pleased with how it went, I think, yes. I’m not sure if it was received exactly as what we’d hoped, the word ‘twee’ popped up a few more times than we’d like, but I don’t suppose there is much we can do about that… The thing is we were just so ready to have it out and the songs feel so kinda tired for us now, I’m happy with Yeah, So? but I want to move on SO BAD!

There are a handful of old favourites that didn’t make the album proper – how difficult was it to decide what to put on the album?
It never felt that difficult, myself and Charles had gotten to a point where we knew what we could safely stand behind and be proud of, and what we felt a bit silly about and just arranged it from there.

How was the recording set up? It sounds pretty as-live.
Yeah, we went through a lot of difficult times figuring out how exactly to record. Some people want just what you see live, but it’s hard for us because it feels so boring and ugly, so we were constantly trying to find a happy medium, which ended up recording as much live as possible and then adding what ideally we’d want to hear if we had a few more members.

What was the idea behind putting a pretty much solo song each in the middle?
We never thought about them as ’solo’ really, they were just a couple of songs that we both wrote totally alone and sometimes the message needs to get across without one or the other of us. It’s also nice to have a breather from each others voice.

Do you feel there are ultimately limitations with your setup or is that something to kick against?
Yes there are limitations, and we are currently finding that more difficult. But being a duo has served us well so far, playing small shitty late night shows are easy, load in is kinda easy, travelling cheap is easy, and a ton of creative things are great because it is just a very small team with one similar goal. But it can make you go insane sometimes, other people would just be nice to have around sometimes. Also some decisions reach stalemate because I think one thing and he thinks the other. And we just both sit with the face on until we either forget it, or one of us compromises (LOSES!)

What would you say are your main influences?
Our stupid little lives and brains, parties and dancing.

What inspires your lyrics?
See above. It’s different for the two of us, it can be a collection of words and phrases we’ve heard or thought about, or a sentiment we want to put across for people to connect to. For me it’s mostly feeling sorry for myself and trying to make my life like a movie.

You seem to really enjoy playing live – is it what you thrive at, in essence?
I guess so, although we’d love to be taken more seriously on record. But yeah, live is where we are best, I guess. If a crowd is paying attention and there with us, it can be magic.

How was the festival summer?
Good! I usually hate festivals but this year I invented a new way of coping, just drink LOTS OF ALCOPOPS, in every colour preferably. Oh. and don’t take a tent or anything heavy, just hope to lay on your face somewhere, and only go for one night if that. Our shows were OK-ish, it would be nice to be placed better on a bill or stage in the future. But the last night of Latitude headlining the lake stage was sooo awesome…

Who’s been your most memorable tour support?
We supported so many amazing awesome people, it would be hard to pick. Most memorable is probably supporting Jamie T, not only because it was the last one we did (and I forget EVERYTHING as soon as I sleep each night it seems) but it was a crowd we were scared to death of and they responded really well, every show was really fun. AND I got a wolf whistle every night bar one, HOORAY FOR ME AND FEMINISM.

You were briefly lumped in with nu-/anti-folk, thrown in with the twee epithet, compared to the White Stripes as all duos now are… do you admire how you seem hard to pin down genre-wise?
Erm, I’m glad we are, but a lot of people still manage to stick that pin down as quickly as they think that we’re a couple. We’d quite like to belong somewhere, and just be able to carry on making the songs that come out of us work and have people come along and enjoy it without being told we aren’t cool or we’re in a scene. But it’s cool anyone ever cares enough to write anything really…

How are Moshi Moshi as a label?
Ha ha, erm, they are really wonderful and handsome and funny and cool.

What have you been listening to recently?
The Drums! They have a song called ‘Down By The Water’ that I am obsessed with. I’m also struggling through Rumours cold turkey as no matter where I am, all I want to do is go to my flat, put my pyjamas on, get into bed and listen to Rumours. But I don’t think its good for my social life, I have to stop doing it.

What have you got planned for the immediate future? What’s your long term ambition for the band?
I’m about to tackle my enormous fringe with a hair dryer, then we are going to practice for the first time in years and try and get some new stuff sorted for the tour of the UK. PLEASE COME, IT’LL BE WELL SHIT IF YOU DON’T. Long term we want to make a second album that doesn’t get called twee or rockabilly, tour places we haven’t been before, I’d like to get married and have five babies and I think Charles wants to start a loop pedal band. Oh, I’d also like an r’n'b career and a canal boat, thanks.

Slow Club on MySpace

Introducing :: The Rest

Rich Thane — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 10:00:56 +0000

Hailing from Ontario, Canada come The Rest. A gaggle of youngsters striving to make the ever elusive and hard to achieve “Big Music”. Music that aims unashamedly high for the heavens with a soaring self belief, y’know – kinda like fellow country-men the Arcade Fire. But don’t take that as some sort of reference point – The Rest’s music is a whole lot more intimate than Arcade Fire’s sheer bombast. We’re talking about something very special here. UK indie Something In Construction have just picked up on these guys and are releasing their wonderful debut LP Everyone All At Once on October 5th. If you purchase said LP from Rough Trade you’ll be able to take part in what can only be called a “revolutionary” pricing structure (or something). Basically, the first 50 copies of the album sold will be priced at 99p. The next 50 at £1.99 then £2.99 etc, until the ‘normal’ retail of £9.99 is reached. Basically, get in there quick and grab yourselves a bargain. Pre-order link here.

As an extra special treat, we’re giving away a free digital EP from the band called the WOW EP (short for ‘Walk On Water’ the EP’s lead track). The four track download also contains a superb cover of Swedish pop-starlet Robyn’s crossover hit ‘With Every Heartbeat’. Download at the bottom of the post.

The Rest will be over in London next month for a string of showcase shows – most are still being booked at the moment but one that IS confirmed is the TLOBF vs SiC Records Club Night: ‘ILL FiT’ which takes place at Old Blue Last, Shoreditch on 12th October. As with all ILL FiT’s nights, entry is completely free – so there is no excuse not to come along, right? Awesome French piano based singer-songwriter Sebastian Schuller will also be playing as well as a third act, yet to be confirmed.

Here, we meet the band for the first time and find out a little more about what makes them tick.

For people out there that have never heard of you. Give us three reasons why they should?
First, I would tell them that we’re a group that is interested in making great music, and we’re driven to keep eclipsing the last piece of music we’ve been working on. We have no interest in tossing out something that is sub par into the world. There’s already too much bad music filling up every corner of the information age. I want people to feel something. You may hate us, but you may love us. We’re not interested in the middle ground. The Internet may have a bottomless pit, but our minds don’t, so why fill it up with something that doesn’t elicit a strong response?

Secondly, we’re honest to goodness music fans, and we’re not making music to fit into some weekly sub genre. We all love the possibilities of music. It has the ability to directly speak to an individual, giving that person the chance to shape the music around their life in the way that they feel fits. Music also seems to have the power over other forms of art, especially now when it can be taken to so many different places. We’re hoping to make soundtracks to every facet of life.

And lastly, I only feel moderately uncomfortable talking about how much of an amazing band we are, so there has to be truth there, doesn’t there?

Can you recall the moment when you first decided you wanted to become a musician?
I can! When I was about 13 years old I was asked to be in a band. We were named after the new music television show “The Wedge”. We christened ourselves “The Wedges”, which led to a bombardment of wedgie jokes, but thankfully not any physical wedgies. Now, before you come to any conclusions, being ridiculed was not the moment I decided to become a musician, even though you learn it comes with the territory. The light bulb came on a few months later while playing “Run away from insert name” (I know, kids are cruel). We were hiding in some trees, and quickly forgot about the game and began talking about the band. We discussed songs, direction, etc all with the utmost urgency. I couldn’t wait to get to practice. I couldn’t wait to make music. I couldn’t wait to listen to music. Since that point I’ve rarely thought about doing anything else.

Where do your songs come from? What’s your inspiration?
On Everyone All At Once I took a great deal of time preparing various subjects that I thought would be a good foundation for lyrics, filling half of my journal, but when we started actually writing the record I became extremely moved by a story my great uncle told me about going to see his mother in a sanatorium, and I abandoned almost all of my previous work. In the 1930’s his mother was dying of Tuberculoses and to see her he had to make a long, emotionally taxing trip with his father. However, he didn’t tell this story with sadness, instead it was filled with a powerful importance. This particular story directly inspired the first track on the album “Coughing Blood/Fresh Mountain Air”, but also made me explore general subjects like time and place in a new light. We’re stuck in the world that keeps getting faster, and the way we perceive time is now bound to the culture moving around us, but what if we could escape that world? What if we were able to create our own microcosm and set our own individual pace and way of preserving time? It may sound like an escapist idea, but I wasn’t interested in escaping, but in possible worlds.

Name your Top 5 records.
I actually had to make a top ten list a few months ago and it took me about a week, so when it came down to making this list I stupidly thought about reconsidering the order, or possibly even changing one of my picks. I quickly just copied and pasted the albums because being overly critical of these albums is just foolish, and more importantly I cannot waste all of my free time thinking of lists, even If I really want to.

Talk Talk – Laughing Stock
The Beach Boys – Pet Sounds
Neutral Milk Hotel – In The Aereoplane Over The Sea
Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
The Replacements – Let It Be

What was the first gig you ever played and was it a success?
The first gig I ever played was my grade 8 graduation dance, and it was something that haunted me for years. Not a success any way you looked at it, but it was a good experience for the future. We thought we were a band that was inches away from stardom, and in reality we were lucky to get out alive. We had a song called “Wannabe Man”…enough said.

What one piece of criticism has stuck in your mind and was it justified?
“You don’t need to have so many people in your band”. It’s something that I’ve heard ever since we began playing together and I’ve never found it to be justified. There are limitless possibilities when you’re making music, and we’re all interested in finding new colours and textures to surround our songs. Why should we narrow our scope? I love having the feeling of boundlessness, whether or not it’s truly attainable, but having the ideology that we can bend our musical personalities in any way we see fit keeps me consistently excited for the future. Also, these 6 people are also some of my best friends in the whole world and we’ve now grown into this terribly dysfunctional siamese twin, and even though we’d sometimes like to have a surgery to free ourselves of one another, it’s just too dangerous of an operation.

What one thing has caused you to waste your free time in the past 6 months?
Other than obsessing over lists? Well, I spend a great deal of time watching movies. Not that I really think that’s a waste of time. I found this great site (They Shoot Pictures Don’t They) that has compiled a list of the 1000 greatest films of all time. It’s a great resource for cinephiles. I’ve also played a great deal of tennis over the summer months, but I’m trying to make it onto the professional circuit, so not a total waste. Federer got no chance against my Kamikaze Slice! I just noticed this was suppose to be one thing…so I’ll pretend it was three because I’ve found the activity that has actually sucked an outrageous amount of from me: reading about the Toronto Raptors basketball team. I know everything about this team. It’s a truly terrible, self-esteem sucking addiction! If they’re awful again this year it will actually depress me. A sports team causing depression, how have sunk this low!

If you weren’t making music, what do you think you’d be doing?
I’d be the first man on mars. No doubt in my mind. I loved a movie called “The Explorers” when I was really young. It was about these teenagers who built a spaceship and flew into outer space. It starred a young Ethan Hawke. I don’t know about your thoughts on this, but Ethan Hawke seems like an idiot, so if he can get a homemade spaceship built from junkyard into space then I can get to mars. If the movie taught me anything is that you can do these things as long as you don’t tell people about it. That’s when the government gets mad.

What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?
I worked for a local radio station as part of their “Rock Patrol”. This was an awful decision. You don’t get paid, or at least I never did, and you’re surrounded by people who believe that Nickelback are viable artists. Before this job I couldn’t figure out who was actually listening to these terrible “modern rock” groups, but one month of doing this introduced me to the whole cult. Nasty, inconsiderate people for the most part. It’s strange to label people like that, but I had never run into so many people that would go out of their way to be rude to you. The one supposed perk was to include free tickets to local concerts, but for the most part nothing interested me. I then saw that Merle Haggard was coming to perform, so I asked for tickets, and then got laughed at. They were skipping that concert. However, I did get a poster for Mongoose Beer, which has the amazing image of a mongoose biting the head of a snake. It’s horrible, horrible beer, but the poster is so awesome that you still want to drink it.

We’d like you to make us a mix-tape. Pick five tracks with a theme of your choice. Go!
Songs I’d like to listen to while looking at my Mongoose Beer poster:
Jim O’Rourke – The Visitor
Gal Costa – Baby
St Vincent – The Party
Jorge Ben – Oba, La Vem Ela
Delorean – Seasun

DOWNLOAD
[mp3] The Rest: ‘WOW EP’
PC: right click and choose “save as…”
MAC: CTRL + click and choose “save link as”

Bella Union Week :: The People vs. Simon Raymonde

Bella Union — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 06:00:01 +0000

Originally we intended to run this as a grand finale to our Bella Union week last week, but due to being hit by terminal server issues which caused the entire site to die we had to postpone.

But, like a phoenix from the flames we’re back, and to conclude the amazing run of content from last week we’ve come up with something rather special. Who better to interview the man behind one of the countries most respected labels than you, the general record buying public…

When we first put the word out that we wanted your questions for Simon Raymonde we were literally inundated. From old skool fans of Simons old band the Cocteau Twins to folk who discovered Bella Union via the mainstream success of Fleet Foxes – it’s fair to say we had a mixed and varied bag. Graciously, Simon answered each question one by one, and here we’ve hand picked the highlights.

Any prospect of new material from Josh T Pearson/Lift from Experience? Gus Fitzgibbon, London
I know Pearson is close to finishing up a couple of things solo-wise, and I know he and original Lift drummer Andy Young played together recently when Josh supported mbv but more than that I couldn’t say. I do know that josh pearson is a great artist and I treasure having worked with him and the band when we released The Texas-Jerusalem Crossroads, still the greatest double-disc debut album of all time.

When oh when will we see a full-length Snowbird album? Tym Rourke, Bedford
It’s a band in infancy just now. We have a few sketches we’ve been playing out live with just piano and voice which has been fun and a challenge. We’ll write some more this month and start recording very soon. I think summer 2010 is the rough release thinking just now.

Yo Simon, what are your thoughts about people who smile while their picture is being taken next to a big fucking animal they had just shot? Max Nelson, Oklahoma USA
Yo Max. Well, I love all god’s creatures, except some of the human kind. Oh and rats and eels.. (Are you sure you’re not Josh Pearson? He has a nice big gun.) And anyway, how “fucking big” of an animal are we talking here, I wonder?

There’s nothing very big about shooting a pig, cos they don’t know how to run for cover, unless you’re chasing them on all fours with a knife and fork, in which case they’re mighty elusive, but yeah I can vaguely understand a bloodthirsty feller with a smokin’ barrel in one hand grinning like a cheese stood next to a dead grizzly bear the size of a house in the other. Sure I can.

But given that even a blind man with a big enough gauge weapon should be able to stop the heart of any oblivious cross-eyed old lion, it doesn’t seem such a thing to exactly be bragging about. They say man’s a born hunter and gatherer. Which of course is utter cobblers. ‘They’ don’t know everything. I say necessity created the hunter. And I do know everything. Plenty of unarmed neanderthal cavemen folks got eaten by hungry critters before they worked out they needed clubs. And Ibiza was just a long sandy beach before they worked out they needed clubs. It’s no different. We weren’t born to kill. We were born to run. Having said that, confronted by an angry grizzly bear foaming at the mouth, I reserve the right to change my mind and bear arms. Or is it bare arms?

What is the most bizarre thing you have ever eaten? Jeffrey Letterly, New York USA
A huge black and white four-legged beast with whopping great udders who was standing in a field with all his friends, staring blankly at me, chewing gum (or something) very slowly, until I smote him with a smokin’ gun. (Part of this story is true)

Why do you rely on licensing bands from other labels rather than signing totally new bands that you’d be responsible for building the foundation for from scratch? Jeff Keibel, Bowmanville Canada
Hi Jeff, Erm…I don’t. I signed Fleet Foxes direct before anyone else, Midlake direct before anyone else, Lift to Experience, Dirty Three, Laura Veirs, The Czars, Peter Broderick, Our Broken Garden, Stephanie Dosen, the list goes on. The only band I actually ever licensed from another label was Beach House, from Car Park Records.

Laura Veirs, Fleet Foxes, The Czars, Lift To Experience, Midlake, Fionn Regan, etc were all unsigned when I found them. Andrew Bird, even though he’d never had an LP out here in UK before was distributed by other labels, which could be what you’re thinking of, but I signed Andrew direct, not licensed from a label. Dirty Three were possibly on Touch and Go in the USA before we signed them and we have worked with them for 10 years, but I didn’t license them from the label, I signed them direct from the band.

Not quite sure what gave you the impression that I just nicked other people’s bands, but it certainly ain’t the case!

Laura Veirs released three albums on Bella Union before any USA label picked up on her. She then got a worldwide deal with a major label. Fionn Regan, similar story. We found him and released his debut album, and then Universal signed him for the world after our deal ran out.

I certainly love developing artists from scratch, and seeing a band like Midlake grow with us over the course of the last 5 years since we signed them has been a real pleasure. It doesn’t always work out though. I discovered The Czars, in Denver around 1999, and over the next 7 years released 4 albums with them, I produced two of them myself, one out in Denver, and spent a large slice of time developing that band, but it didn’t pan out. The band just never sold that well around the world and eventually they broke up. I still think the Czars’ singer John Grant has one of the greatest voices in music today which is why I am about to release his debut solo record, the Queen Of Denmark. In a weird coincidence, the Midlake guys all fell in love with John’s voice too and invited him down to Denton this year to let them work on his record. They play all the instruments and produce. It’s genius.

Which female artist would you most like to work with musically? Brian Alan Diaz, California USA
In the studio? I am lucky enough to have worked with Stephanie Dosen and Elizabeth Fraser at close quarters and both have extraordinary gifts. I have been pretty spoilt. I would like to record with Victoria from Beach House, Beth Jeans Houghton, and Alessi from Alessi’s Ark, Heidi Spencer and Joni Mitchell.

What do you generally find yourself saying in response to a random fan whom you might meet on the street, train, club, etc whenever they ask you how different your view of the music industry is, now that you run a label as opposed to your view of the industry whilst a member of Cocteau Twins? Leesa Beales, Toronto Canada
Hello Leesa, I didn’t like the industry then and I don’t much like it now. It sucks for most bands and for most labels. Always has and always will I guess. The experiences aren’t so dissimilar. I am still just trying to create a label I wish we had been signed to. (I should add no one ever comes up to me on the street or on the train and asks me anything other than “what time is it?” or “ do you know where I can get these shoes re-heeled? “)

I heard that Peter Broderick was making you cry. Also I heard that you found it weird. Why? He always brings me to tears when I listen to him. I really love him. Simon Rodrigue
Well that’s not strictly true Simon. Yes Peter Broderick’s music is very emotional to me and I do shed a tear or two when I see him play live, but when I started to get a ton of texts and emails from friends after the Green Man festival last month, and saw a ton of postings saying that there were several people in tears during his set, and walking out at the end crying, I thought I would write an article called “Something weird’s going on: Peter Broderick is making me cry” which was to be a collection of personal stories of those fans of his who find his performances so moving, as I was curious to know whether anyone really knew why they were crying.

I really love him too..that’s why I signed him!

What was it like being the token Englishman in a band with a pair of Scots? Ian Mitchell, Oldham
Hi Ian, Initially I didn’t think anything of it, but when I played my first show in Edinburgh I got tons of stick from the old bassist Will’s pals. Probably justified as they would have seen me as a southern softie, but I was a bit freaked out. Haha. After their initial suspicions wore off, I did then end up going over to Grangemouth with some of their pals and going to Celtic v Rangers in the jungle end which was something of a wild experience. It’s not often you feel the warm trickle of a man’s urine down your back.

How old were you when you went bald? I’m 28 and have less hair than you! Follow on question – Do you believe there are women who like bald men, as I can’t find any! Andrew Dempster, Inverclyde
Hi Andrew, I was about 36 when I started losing my thick head of hair. I think it got fed up with me sticking lots of black and white hair gum in it every day and sticking it up in vertical spikes, so I started to shave it soon after as I don’t like staring in the mirror longing after lost bits of hair. Seemed a bit pointless.

You’ll be fine though. Jason Statham, Billy Zane, Bruce Willis, VIn Diesel and me. We all manage! Oh, and if women don’t like you, I doubt it’s cos your bald. ;)

Did you ever gyrate and or make pelvic thrusts toward the drum machine in the early days of Cocteau Twins? Edward Colavito, New Jersey USA
There is a video for ‘Pitch The Baby’ where we were choreographed by Paula Abdul in which Robin and I both mounted the tape machine in a highly sexual way, while Elizabeth mimed fellatio with the microphone. We then did a parody of Prince where we all crawled along the floor after the tape machine, which was sashaying ahead of us, and as it moved on its castors, we licked the floor in its wake. It was a pretty cool video, you can probably check it out on YouTube.

Is it possible to quantify/describe the significance of one Midlake, or more importantly and recently: Fleet Foxes, to a label of your size. Andrew Dowdall, London
I guess it depends by what criteria you define ’significance’. I think it shows that employing 300 people and having 250 grand marketing budgets isn’t the only way to sell half a million records. What’s interesting is that Midlake were probably a year or two ahead of their time, and when Bon Iver and Fleet Foxes came along, there was, in Europe anyway, more of an acceptance certainly within the key media at BBC radio and television, that music like this was worthy of greater attention than it had previously been afforded. I think unwittingly Midlake paved the way for some of the success that the Grizzly Bear, Beirut, Bon Iver kinda artists had subsequently.

We live in curious times. Many many people like C.G. Jung, Alister Crowley, and various New Age movements are saying that “something” is changing in the world, in human psyche, something inside… Do you believe in whatsoever spirituality? Maybe when you’re looking for new bands, do you take notice of the elements of spirituality? Do you think that your intuition is born from a ghost? Michał Szafarz, Sieradz Poland
Hi Michał, That’s an interesting question. I believe we are born with levels of intuition yes. And as we go through life that intuition is honed to suit our needs. For me, intuition is all I need when listening to music. Initially i don’t bother with the concerns of trade and market forces, although once I start looking into the ‘team’ behind an artist, and start planning the campaign, I guess this does come slowly into view.

A few times I have been thinking of signing a band when a little voice in my head says ‘no, it’s not right’. Is this intuition, spirituality or a ghost? I am not sure, but I try to have a child-like approach to response in music, and when I was a kid I used to talk to invisible strangers and see UFO’s all the time, so perhaps I am using this connection when I listen to music.

I am also aware that finding the music I love is partly a way of making the personal journey from birth to death as beautiful as possible by enriching a part of my soul. Something from ‘Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead’ which I did for my A-levels stuck with me. “We must be born with an intuition of mortality. Before we know the word for it. Before we know that there are words. Out we come, bloodied and squalling, with the knowledge that for all the points of the compass, there’s only one direction. And time is its only measure.”

With download sales probably greater than CD/vinyl sales, what do you think the future holds for the album? Donald Murchie, Ayreshire
In the USA digital sales are much higher than they are here, 30-40% of all music sales, here its only about 12% so the death of the physical product is in my opinion greatly exaggerated. I can’t see there being a time when CD and vinyl isn’t here anymore. If our world is solely about convenience and speed and efficiency, then I am living in another world and I am gonna stay here. I use iTunes and iPods of course, but I also buy CD’s and vinyl. The reason people don’t buy CD’s anymore isn’t because they want to buy digitally, it’s because record shops just gave up and presented music to people like TK Maxx presents clothes. In a big pickle with no love. Go into a shop like Rough Trade East and you’ll see why I don’t think the album is dead. I guarantee if you love music like I do, you’ll walk out with tons of new music and all excited to get home and read the sleevenotes. If you don’t respect the customer, she wont respect you. Sadly we have had too many years of retailers who think selling music is just like selling burgers. You have to be invested in your product to be able to sell it effectively.

If England were to fall into the sea, and you could relocate your home and business anywhere in the world, where would you choose to work and why, and where would you choose to live and why? Hattie Carraway, Columbia USA
When that does happen, I think I’ll move to Corsica. There’s just about enough room there for the UK to resurface from the ocean floor and attach itself to the mainland of France and the edge of Corsica, and then I can pop back home and grab that sweater I knew I’d left behind. Corsica would be a perfect place to work, I could sit on the beach with my feet in the water, wi-fi on listening to surf music. (That’s all there will be then). I would live in a hotel on the beach. (I’m not re-buying all my furniture again). I love room service.

Corsica looks beautiful, and I couldn’t think of a nicer spot to live and work. Think I’ll do it anyway once the kids have left home!

Imagine this is a job interview, so, where does Bella Union see itself in 5 years time? Robin Seamer, Southsea
I could be flippant but this industry has a habit of kicking the shit out of the smug and the complacent when they’re least expecting it.

We could be on the scrapheap or we could be thriving, and either of those two may come as a result of nothing we did, or something we didn’t. I would like to see us doing more cool events, doing more fun things like we are doing this month with the fanzine and the free cassette, hosting our own week of shows etc. Mark wants to do some limited edition bespoke releases of lost classic albums from yesteryear, and I’d like to take a holiday for a change. I want to continue releasing amazing artists for as long as someone will let me. I want to make Bella Union into a label that would make Chris Blackwell proud.

TLOBF Interview :: Japandroids

Rich Hughes — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 08:00:43 +0000

The Japandroids debut album has been on near repeat since I first got my grubby mitts on it. As Jude Clarke mentioned in her review, it’s a carefree return to less troubled times, all seen through a scuzzy, fuzzed-up barrage of riffs. Myself and Ro Cemm took the opportunity to fire off some questions to Dave whilst the band were preparing for their first full-time time of the U.S., before coming over to the UK in the next couple of months.

Hello! How you guys doing? How’s Brian after the recent surgery?
Brian is doing quite well, thank you. He is on the path to a full recovery. In fact, he is currently having a cocktail. And quite enjoying it.

How have you reacted to the exceedingly favourable reviews of Post-Nothing?
We have reacted by trying to take full advantage of the opportunities favorable reviews allow young bands (i.e. constant touring).

What music did you listen to as kids? What was the “eureka” moment, when you first went “I want to be in a band!”?
As a kid, I mostly listened to 5 albums: Appetite for Destruction, Lies, Use You Illusion I, Use Your Illusion II, The Spaghetti Incident. All 5 of those albums are (of course) by Guns N’ Roses. Via Guns N’ Roses, and those 5 cassettes alone, I discovered a wealth of other music that I would later fall in love with, including, but not limited to: Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Iggy & The Stooges, Ramones, Queen, Jimi Hendrix, T. Rex, Fear, Public Enemy, Hanoi Rocks, Metallica, Pink Floyd, New York Dolls, Crass, NWA, The Damned, David Bowie, Aerosmith, Soundgarden, Johnny Thunders, AC/DC, Misfits, etc.

Two name related questions – where did the band get its name from, and is the album title a nice 21st Century spin on all things post something?
The name Japandroids is a combination of 2 potential band names. Originally, Dave wanted to name the band JAPANESE SCREAM. I (Brian) wanted to name the band PLEASURE DROIDS. Neither one of us liked the other one’s name, and we couldn’t settle on one or the other, so I combined the names: JAPANESE SCREAM + PLEASURE DRIODS = JAPANDROIDS. Neither one of us especially liked JAPANDROIDS, but at least there was some satisfaction in knowing that neither one of us had to settle for a name that we consciously disliked. As for the album title, Post-Nothing is a less pretentious version of our original album title, Post-Everything.

Who took the photo for the album cover? Was it an idea you had, or just one of those great random events that turned out inspired?!
The photo from the cover was taken by a friend of mine using my polaroid camera at the end of a long night. We had set up at show at the Anza Club in Vancouver, with 3 of our favourite local bands: Ghost House, The Clips, and Run Chico Run. We had secured the venue, secured the alcohol, and spent the week before postering all around Vancouver. We even managed to trick all our friends working the door, the bar, etc. I was wondering around the show periodically taking polaroids of our friends and the bands, letting them keep the polaroids. At the very end of night, long after the show was over and we had cleaned the place up, I had one polaroid left, so I asked my friend to take a picture of Dave and I. When it came time to create the album cover, I knew what I wanted, but there were hardly any decent pictures of Dave and I together, so I scanned the polaroid and used it. At the time, it simply was the best photo of Dave and I that I could find that capture the spirit of Post-Nothing.

Carrying on from that, the entire album artwork is monochrome (and you can order the vinyl on black or white over at Polyvinyl). Is there any reason behind?
Simply speaking – black/white looks cool.

Where do you think you’ll go with your next album? Have you started writing any material for it yet, or test any new stuff on the upcoming live shows?
I have long started working on new material, though Dave and I have yet to formally discuss with one another what exactly we want to do on album #2. The tour may include some new songs, though most likely nothing that would be on our next album.

What can we expect from you as a live act? And plans to come to the UK in the future?
Disappointment. Yes, we are planning to come to the UK this fall. Thus far, we have 3 shows booked in London near the end of October, followed by a UK tour in November.

Now that Polyvinyl are releasing your album in the US, any developments on a European / UK distribution deal?
The deal we signed with Polyvinyl was in fact a worldwide deal, so Polyvinyl will not only be releasing Post-Nothing in the US, but also in the UK and mainland Europe. As far as I know, the UK/European release date is September 7th. Buy a copy for your girlfriend and/or sister.

Do you feel that you’ve had more ease establishing yourself without a label? Do you feel that you need their support to realise your potential or it’s just a means over distributing the record to the masses?!
No, absolutely not. As a matter of fact, we managed to accomplish more in 2 months of working with a label than we had in the previous 2 years doing it ourselves. Unfortunately, so much of the current infrastructure in place to support the music industry is label-centric, so it is very difficult to progress beyond one’s local music scene without some kind of label to release your music. And yes, while Polyvinyl essentially provide a means of distributing our record to the masses, they do a very good job of it, and allow us to focus on what be do best (well, not best obviously, but we do it okay) – writing, recording, and performing ‘music’.

Are there any other Canadian acts you’d like to tip us off about?
BABE RAINBOW
NO KIDS
BASKETBALL
MAKEOUT VIDEOTAPE
WORLD CLUB
TWIN CRYSTALS
BRASSTRONAUT
MODE MODERNE
RUN CHICO RUN
NO GOLD
CHET
GANG VIOLENCE
DEAD GHOSTS
LISTENING PARTY

To finish off – make us a quick ‘mixtape’ of the top 5 tracks you’ve heard in the last month!
1) Chet – The Night The Night
2) Makeout Videotape – Heat Wave
3) No Gold – Yucca Crown
4) Babe Rainbow – Shaved
5) World Club – Stay Home

Bella Union Week :: Peter Broderick vs. Laura Veirs

Bella Union — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 10:00:38 +0000

Laura Veirs performs at the Bella Union bus, July 2008. Photograph by Rich Thane.

Peter Broderick, the Portland based multi-instrumentalist, gets a chance to interview one of his favourite artists, Laura Veirs. They discuss her newest record, but also play a random word game just to spice things up…

First of all, I was lucky enough to hear your new album a few weeks ago. Simon Raymonde had an advance copy, and we listened to it in his car driving through London one day. I was really blown away. I love your records, and even after just one listen, I got the feeling that this might be your best one yet. It seemed to me to have a little bit of a different feel. Perhaps a little more rootsy? A little more relaxed in a way, yet still perfectly energized and fresh. I wanted to ask if you had a certain aim when you made the album?
Yes, I wanted the songs to stand up on their own, just an instrument and a voice. I made a special effort to limit myself to 4 tracks on my computer so as not to become distracted with overdubs. No sense in polishing a turd, you know?

Did you want to try something different? Or did you not think about it and just let the songs come out of you?
I definitely was having a hard time surprising myself initially. I wrote probably 50 songs over a year and really wasn’t finding anything ‘new’ in them. Finally I started uncovering/discovering/finding/ writing some songs that surprised me and I was off and running and feeling like I had my confidence back. It was shaky there for a while and I wasn’t sure if I was going to come up with an album of material I loved. I guess this is bound to happen at some point — this is record #7 afterall. I’m so glad I persevered past the plateau because I definitely found myself in a new, exciting place.

I assume that Tucker produced your new record, which always results in a very special sound. Do you have anything special to say about how and where and when the album was made?
Yes, we made it in our house, mostly in the living room. We put blankets on the windows and doors and lived in a cave for about three months.

Did you work on it mostly in Tucker’s studio in the house, or did you go elsewhere? Did you spend a long time on it or was it made in a more condensed period of time?
We recorded and mixed feb/march/april 2009. Pretty condensed, really. We made sure we had the songs ready and a lot of the arrangement decisions made before we started recording. We asked the whole old crew to come in (Karl Blau, Steve Moore, Tucker and Evyind Kang) as well as some great new people: Jim James, Chris Funk, Jon Neufeld, Annalisa Tornfelt and others. It was a fun mix of new and old collaborators. It was amazing to have Stephen Barber write the quartet string arrangements (performed by the Tosca Strings in Austin) — his parts are some of my favorite moments on the record.

I demoed and wrote songs for two years and tucker and I kept an A list and a B list. He listened to all the songs as I wrote them, and helped me decide on which ones to record. He has a lot of patience and interest in the process, so I’m really lucky for that. He also has great ideas about instrumentation — some of them really surprise me (like the jaw harp at the end of ‘Make Something Good’, for example). Tucker’s also great at seeing what’s strong about a song and what isn’t, and encouraging me to work on them longer than i normally would to make the whole song good. it’s wonderful to have someone so trusted acting as my editor as i go along. I have a slash and burn mentality with songs and can cut them too easily, and he’s able to convince me to work harder and have faith in them. Sometimes just a little tweak in the structure or lyrics can rescue them from the trash heap.

What is your favorite instrument to play?
My nylon string goya guitar. It was hanging around the house growing up and I hung onto it. It’s a beater but sure has a lot of songs in it!

And your favorite instrument to listen to?
Ooh that’s hard to say. Viola?

What comes first for you — a song and the melody, or the lyrics?
Usually the chords and the melody come out together. I have a harder time with the words and always feel lucky when I write something that I like and that feels true. Occasionally I’ll free write to have material lying around so I don’t have to start writing a song from a blank page. Sometimes a line from a book or poem can get me going, too.

Does it sometimes feel like music is your entire life, or do you think about and do many other things? What do you like to do that doesn’t involve music?
I do a lot of non-music stuff. I like wholesome stuff like making quilts, making dinner with friends/family, hiking, swimming in lakes and rivers and the ocean, reading, camping and canning. Since my non-touring/non-recording work is pretty solitary I like to be social as much as I can. I love recording and touring because by nature they’re collaborative. I wouldn’t make much of a straight-up writer; I love having time to myself but I’m not a loner. I also enjoy gardening in bursts, but i’m never consistent with it.

What’s the best book you’ve read recently?
David Foster Wallace’s book of essays called ‘Consider The Lobster’. He was such a damned brilliant genius.

You moved to Portland, Oregon shortly before I left. How do you like it there? Do you get to spend much time there?
Yes, I’ve spent a lot of time in Portland since I’ve been taking a break from touring in the last year. It’s been so nice to get rooted in this community. I have a lot of friends and family in the area now and it’s very grounding. For a while when I was touring a lot I started to feel uncomfortably unrooted. Some musicians are happiest out on the road, but I like to strike a balance between being gone and being home.

What’s the first word or phrase that comes to your mind when you hear the name Rachel Blumberg?
Sparky.

Do you like to cook? If so, what are your favorite things to make?
I like to make interesting salads, and simple stuff where you can taste the actual food, like roasting corn on the grill. I’m mostly vegetarian, so I make enchiladas and pastas and soups. I like making pies with other people, but I never make pies on my own. Making a pie and eating it with a friend is a really satisfying experience, especially if you picked or grew the fruit. Sometimes my friend and I will can things together — we canned ‘July Flame’ peaches last summer (still have a jar left) and this year we picked raspberries and made jam.

What’s your favorite way to listen to music? On a turntable at home, from laptop speakers, in your headphones, at a live concert, at the studio right after it’s been recorded, in the car?
Turntable, with me lying on the couch in the living room.

Do you have any dogs or cats or other pets?
Carlos and Earl, the 2 year old black cat brothers, and Francine Hopper, the new pond frog.

Coffee or tea?
Coffee is heavenly, but I’m trying to drink less. Tea does the job but never as well.

How often do you really look at the stars?
Not often. I used to as a kid much more because my Dad was obsessed and we’d camp high in the Colorado mountains and we’d get the clearest view of the most dazzling night skies and Dad would explain the constellations. I miss the Colorado sky. but sometimes I’ll go camping in the NW and take a gander up there and try to remember all the stuff Dad taught me…

I’m going to list some letters, and I would like you to answer with words using those letters, from the top of your head, or you can think about it if you like (for example — C and G — cat good)

H and K?
Happy Kamikaze

R and W?
Rufus Wainwright

P and U?
Potato Umbrella

A and S?
Alligator Soprano

W and M?
Warped Marsupial

L and T?
Laura and Tucker.
Too cutesy, how about Lutes Terrific?

And finally, please tell me one simple thing that you love, and one simple thing that really drives you crazy.
Love a purring cat. Pompousness drives me crazy.

Thanks Laura! I look forward to hear the new record some more when it’s out!!
Thank you!

Peter Broderick on MySpace
Laura Veirs on MySpace

Bella Union Week :: Warren Ellis vs. Dustin O’Halloran

Bella Union — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 11:00:08 +0000

In an almost reverse conversation, we welcome the return of Dustin O’Halloran to our Bella Union week. But, instead of him setting the questions, we’ve got our mate Warren Ellis back – full time Dirty Three member and regular Bad Seeds contributor – to put him through his paces.

Last time I saw you was in Italy in some beautiful town, I hear you have moved to Berlin,what prompted that?
I think mostly I was just ready to be back in a city again. I had been living in Italy in a small town for many years..and was pretty isolated. It was great working for a while there, but then I arrived at a point where it was just me in my head for too long and I missed having the chance to collaborate with others. And I was ready for a change too…Italy is a beautiful country buts its also at a pretty low cultural/political point in its history and you can just feel it everywhere. I will miss the food though!

How has it impacted on your work?
I think moving to a new city is like starting a new relationship…it feels fresh and there is an uncertain energy that can breath new life into your work. I moved a lot in my life…lived in a few different countries, and maybe for better or for worse I have a restless spirit. I have a hard time staying in one place for too long..but so far Berlin has been good for me…I am working well here…its still a very open city, and I think all the experiences here somehow are finding their way into my music. I particularly love the sound of the street tram passing by my house.

When was the golden age of music making or are we indeed in it now?
Hard to say…sometimes I listen to the great composers and I think they have done it all, and yet there is so much great music now…I think if I don’t believe in music today than there would be no point for me to continue…and then maybe I would paint?

What film score composers do you admire and why?
Nino Rota – he had a real magic to his work…wonderful melodies, playfulness and always amazing sounds!
Francois de Roubaix – A French composer who did a lot of cool early experiments with analog electronic sounds, piano and strings…he died pretty young from a scuba diving accident.
Bernard Hermann – for his incredible orchestrations.
Georges Delerue – A deep emotion to his work…Jules et Jim is one of my favorites of his.
Miles Davis – he didn’t do too many scores..but his score for “Ascenseur pour l’echafaud” is one of my all time favorites. Just has the most amazing mood.

How do you see the role of music in films?
I think a score should just completely capture the mood and feelings of a film… and take you back there when you listen to it later. I’ve been thinking a lot about why so many old scores stand so well on their own , and so many modern scores fall flat without the film….maybe there was more experimentation in the past, more risks? I think a lot of modern scores sound pretty boring and most films have way too much music in them. I think music shouldn’t be underscore to help bad acting.. It should be the invisible character that glues it all together.

What’s your favorite color?
Dark green, somehow I always end up painting my studios this color…it always makes me feel creative but not overpowered.

How do you know when you’ve done your best?
When I can finally sleep.

The high road or the low?
I always seem to take the harder path…so I guess its the low road for me?

What are you working on at present?
I just finished a collaboration with Soulsavers and Mark Lanegan on vocals, we did a version of a Palace Brothers track, came out really nice I think. You can hear it on the new Soulsavers record coming out. Also I have been working on a new record that I can say is simmering. I’ve been working on it between score projects and decided not to rush it, but let it cook slow till I thought it was ready. I am really trying to finish it this summer though…dont want it to burn!

What kind of piano do you have and how do you get that great sound on your recordings?
My first 2 records where recorded on the same piano, a 1930’s upright Swiss Sabel. Not a very well know maker but this one in particular just sounds so beautiful. I was always convinced in some way it was more the piano than me writing the pieces. Well as for the sound…honestly I think it was just me trying to make the bad equipment I had try to sound interesting…letting it be intimate and not sound hi fi. I think the hammer sounds and pedal squeaks can be beautiful…and maybe they are a part of my sound now!

Do you have any new releases on the boil?
Working on my new record which hopefully I can finish this summer which is turning out to be something beyond a piano solos record…lots of other instruments and some guests performing as well. I am also working on a Vol.3 Piano Solos….but thats farther away..slowly collecting things in my head.

Do you ever want to make loud music?
Well I did make some loud music in the past…and sometimes I do miss it. I have been thinking for a while it would be cool to make a loud record with piano…or three pianos!

Which pianists do you admire?
Bill Evans, Martha Argerich, Philip Glass, Tsegue-Maryam Guebrou, Gyorgy Ligeti, Erik Satie, Olivier Messiaen

Which key do you like the most? Black notes or white ones? Major or minor?
I guess I work mostly in the black keys, somehow they always sound more interesting to me. E flat minor always sounds unique.

Two words you despise
No
Can’t

Two words you love
Harmony
Bliss

Ever done bungee jumping?
Funny enough yes, in mexico. And I am happy to be alive!

Who do you prefer, Donald Duck or Daffy?
Gotta say Daffy…!

Dirty Three on MySpace
Dustin O’Halloran on MySpace

Bella Union Week :: Simon Raymonde vs. Midlake

Bella Union — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 08:00:03 +0000

Midlake in the studio, recording The Courage Of Others // Photo Credit: Jon Beck

Midlake. Last seen, well, sometime ago, parading the impressive Trials of Van Occupanter around the UK and taking Album of the Year plaudits from just about everyone. Since then, they’ve taken themselves off the radar, recording the follow-up, The Courage of Others. As part of our Bella Union week, label boss Simon Raymonde tried to find out what his charges were upto, and how the recording process was going…

Do you feel an external pressure to get back into the studio after an album as successful as Trials Of Van Occupanther? Or are you self-motivated to get in there and write new songs?
Tim Smith: We liked Van Occupanther, thought it was a good album, were slightly worried about the possibility of never having another ‘Roscoe’, but felt we could make a better album overall. There were many things about VO that we wished we could change. Our standard of what was acceptable had risen after touring. We wanted a better album and knew we could make one. Even if it took us 10 years, we wanted to be pleased with it. Other people’s expectations of us were never really a bother.

With the new album Courage of Others, I know you’re trying to better the last album. Of course as an artist, there would be little point in going in to the studio at all if you felt you couldn’t, so now a few years have gone by, how does the approach differ on this new album to previous ones? Give me a typical ’studio day in the life of..’
Eric Pulido: This album has been more of a communal and organic process than ever before. Its been nice this time around not having a day job and treating Midlake as such. We work 9-5 and sometimes 7-midnight as well Monday through Friday, and an occasional weekend also. You would think we would have finished 3 albums with a schedule like this – believe me, it feels like it – but there were many growing pains and lessons learned to bring us to where we are today. We feel like we’ve matured both musically and personally these past couple of years and for that we are grateful. The growth has made us a better band, and without that, we may have just hung it up and called it quits. We don’t feel like we reinvented the wheel with Courage of Others, it’s just a representation of where we’re at and what is influencing us as a band.

For those of us who have been in bands, we know what a tough dynamic it can be to keep spirits up, and keep everyone happy. Have there been times where some of you have thought about doing something else? As I am sure the answer is yes, were those moments just fleeting or do they surface regularly?
Paul Alexander: Yes, being in a band is like being married to four other dudes. Any time you have to work closely with another person for years on end your own shortcomings and theirs become magnified. Multiply that by 4 and you have a totally dysfunctional family. There definitely have been moments for each of us where one wondered if we could keep doing this, either personally, musically or financially. Those moments are usually in conjunction with great difficulty or stress, so I’d say making this album has almost broken us, several times.

For us fans, one of the beautiful things about Midlake is the journey your music takes us on. There are vivid pictures in my mind when I listen to ‘Roscoe’, ‘Bandits’ etc. Since the 1980’s when the former boss of 4AD took me to see the films ‘Stalker’, ‘Mirror’ and ‘Andrei Rublev’ at the Paris Pullman all-night cinema, I have been a huge fan of the film director and writer Andrei Tarkovsky, and his book ‘Sculpting in Time’ is a wonderful collection of thoughts and essays on culture and art, and how music and film affect us. Listening to your music takes me to a similar place as Tarkovsky does. It’s often very sad, yet utterly beautiful and spiritual. (This is a long question isn’t it!) My own band Cocteau Twins were often described as making sad and beautiful music. Our fans I think expected us to be sad all the time which was funny. Tarkovsky said: “Art is born and takes hold wherever there is a timeless and insatiable longing for the spiritual, for the ideal: that longing which draws people to art.” Do you feel that longing and are you drawn to music to fulfill that longing?
Paul Alexander: Yes, Tarkovsky said it better than we could and likely understood it better as well.

Often bands have a ’sound’ that is a product of their environment. I don’t feel this with Midlake. If I didn’t know you were from Denton, Texas, I might think you were from Thomas Hardy’s Wessex! Are you visualising PLACE when you are writing and recording? I remember for the Trials of Van Occupanther, you had the photo that ended up as the front sleeve, on the wall of your studio during the recordings and I know you mentioned were a fan of Breugel around the time of the last album. What images have been inspiring you this time round?
Tim Smith: This time around we didn’t use a specific image, place or time. I think there’s just some imagined sound, a sound that we feel, a sound that could somehow fall into the spaces left by other bands.

From the subject matter that has dominated your first two albums, should we conclude that Midlake feel that ‘Modern Life Is Rubbish’?
Paul Alexander: People are the same in 2000 AD as they were in 2000 BC, we just have iPods now. So modern life isn’t total rubbish, but it is distracting. So i suppose one of our aims musically is to make people forget that it’s 2009 and remember that they are just human, that many have come before, that we aren’t necessarily more advanced. We want to remind people about the great mystery of our existence and this genius place that we live, despite our fatal flaws and fickle nature.

With a sound so carefully constructed under laboratory conditions in your own self-built studio, how do you cope with the vagaries of live sound and touring all over the world, or have you adapted yourselves to this challenge over time?
Eric Nichelson: Yes, we’ve gotten better over time with the live situations. I know in the early stages of touring we had to figure out a few things to make the songs translate in the best way. Obviously with this new record we will have to go through that process all over again, but hopefully we will have learned a few things from last time, and the live show will come together quickly. Hopefully our soundman will have an easier time with us since we wont have ten keyboards going all the time!

Click here to view the embedded video.

I would imagine that making videos to accompany Midlake songs often seems like a headfuck ( I always found it so ), but of all your videos, I think Jason Lee’s Balloon Maker was my favourite. Even though the song has a magical mystery tour vibe to it, the film is like Cocteau’s ‘Orpheus’, surreal, dream-like and thought-provoking. How do you feel about this and videos in general?
Eric Pulido: I agree, ‘Balloon Maker’ was one of my favourite videos as well. The time period, video process, and friendships created all made for that being a special video for us. Jason was actually in Denton recently and shot footage for another video that we will have for ‘Courage of Others’. We used to really rely on videos as an integral part of our live show and it was cool to have a visual to go with the music, but during the VO touring, we started to feel like it may be a distraction and traded them in for a static image. Also, it became a daunting task to try and make a fitting video for every song live (which is why we began using edited movies!), so we’ll see what happens this time around. Maybe we’ll get dancers!

You’ve all been involved with some pretty wonderful names in recent times, Flaming Lips, Chemical Brothers, St Vincent, Regina Spektor, etc. Have these non-Midlake activities helped with perspective when returning to the Midlake fold?
McKenzie Smith: It’s really great to step out of the band mindset for a minute and play with other great musicians that you respect. I really enjoy playing in different musical settings and being challenged to perform well in the studio in a very short amount of time. Touring is different than recording with other artists but I also enjoy that and find interesting the many similar and many different dynamics between Midlake and other bands. Coming back to Midlake is really incredible though because I get perspective and distance from it and then realize how fortunate I am to be playing with these guys. They are all like my family and my best friends and I have a hard time imagining life without Midlake. Musically speaking it is always amazing to come back to because I’m constantly amazed by Tim’s songwriting and the rest of the guys I get to play with in this band and see how special being a part if this band is.

Since VO, a number of new artists with a feel for pastoral folk, inspired by Steeleye Span and Fleetwood Mac who were influencing you several years before, have now come through, with a similar style to Midlake, artists like Grizzly Bear, Bon Iver, etc. Is that something you’re aware of and how does it sit with you?
McKenzie Smith: I think it’s great that more bands are coming out with sounds that are influenced by great artists like that or any genre for that matter. The more great bands the merrier, although it does make us have to work harder to “up” our game and still be considered in the same league. We are happy for bands when they are able to break through all the mediocre and just plain awful music and actually have a bit of success. I hope they feel the same and we are all on the same team and not competing against one another.

Midlake in the studio, recording The Courage Of Others // Photo Credit: Jon Beck

Mckenzie really is the best drummer in the world. He used to tell me he was pretty good, but I recently had him in, with Paul from Midlake on bass, to drum on the debut album from English singer-songwriter Lucas Renney, and I couldn’t actually get over how good he really is. Do you guys realise?! Seriously, you’re all fabulous musicians, but where does the search for greater musical knowledge or technique end and is the seeking of inspiration and an original approach to your writing more important to you? What I mean is do you worry about one day becoming ‘too good’ as a musician and too technically perfect? (This is why I rarely practice!)
Paul Alexander: Mckenzie is an anomaly, he cant even remember learning how to play drums. But in general, technical facility is only a tool, we all have it to some degree and rarely in pop music is it very much required. So technical perfection in a rock band probably equals some of the worst music you’ve ever heard. For a professional orchestral player its different, but still only a tool. The most important thing is the feeling inherent in a song or composition and the honesty with which it is conveyed. If playing your instrument well helps that emotion, wonderful. If it hurts it, then you better know how to play like shit.

What would you all be doing today if you were not in Midlake?
Eric Nichelson: Tim would be working at Arby’s fast food restaurant, Paul would be driving a forklift in a sweltering hot industrial building, Eric P would be a professional baseball player, Mckenzie would be playing drums for a much shittier band, and I would have graduated college and have a much more normal job.

Somehow I cannot really imagine anyone else ‘producing’ Midlake, so how have you dealt with all that?
Paul Alexander: We cannot imagine it either and we must do it ourselves. If we are unable to produce something beyond where we have been or cease to be able to work together in the studio, our band is finished. The way we handle it is we get to work. It takes us a long time to make an album so the relationships within the band are very important. I think our label understands that this is the only way to get a new Midlake album. Luckily for us, Bella Union just leaves us to do our thing.

When will it be out do you think?
Maybe February 2010, sorry for the wait.

Midlake Official Site
Midlake on MySpace

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