Minor Over Major, released this May, is both conventional, unconventional, explorative, and certain. "It's definitely my most personal album to date," she admits. Unlike her previous work, the album's eight tracks are purely instrumental. "Some tunes come from rhythms (like "West Coast" and "When It's Right") [...] others come from melody or most often textures"; there's a captivating blend of familiar instruments and dreamier sounds on tracks like "The Seafarer".
I didn't inquire about the meaning of "Minor over Major", but it's as if the album is celebrating and drawing attention to the small things in life, the beautiful parts that make up the whole. The rhythms, the melodies, the harmonies, and the textures we often overlook while focusing on lyrics and vocals. Though likely unintended, the tracks are also absolutely breathtaking when layered over one another.
That aforementioned unearthly instrument, I learned, is "called a Hang. It's Swiss, looks like a flying saucer. You can hear it on "Between Living and Dying" track," Morgan says. "It is a very beautiful instrument that is very trance like when played. Very other worldly. The instrument is very hard to get a hold of because it is only made by a couple in Bern, Switzerland in their cabin." Take a listen!
What has she been listening to lately?
"I'm a big fan of The Album Leaf and Hammock and am always listening to them. I have been listening to a lot of friend's bands like So Young, Julie Doiron and Bell Orchestre."
She expects to be touring with Kevin Drew next year, upon the release of a joint album between the Broken Social Scene musician and Andy Kim. Morgan Doctor's also currently working with Kat Lucas (P!nk's guitarist/keyboardist) on an original project called Belle Ayre."
Last week, I had the pleasure of speaking with Powers vocalist and charismatic local musician, Jamie Matechuk. Read his thoughts below on the band's upcoming (this October!) EP, songwriting, and Tim Hortons, amongst other things.
What have you been up to in the last two weeks? What's in store for the rest of August?
We played a show on a boat two weeks ago, which fulfilled a dream all of us had. One guy was 6'4 and started jumping around and literally rocked the boat from side to side. The problem was that the keys kept shifting around on Odie and Les, and things fell over. But it was all in good fun.
The rest of August? We're working hard on getting our EP done. We're doing it all ourselves, and while empowering, it's also pretty exhausting. But we're happy things are moving along.
We're playing a show tonight in the East End with our roommate Digits, and it's being put on by our good friend from Foxfire/Gay Neil Rankin. So that'll be great. The people make the show.
Being a relatively new name on the scene, what's a) the most eccentric venue you've played in? b) the best turnout you've had? c) somewhere you'd like to play?
While we're a "new" name, we've been playing together for years. So we've played in some great places, the boat (as in that real boat we played in) ranks up there, the show at OZ studios was great because we had a friend of ours doing improv'd light. We want to play more shows in strange locales, for sure.
With Powers so far we've been very lucky with turnout. Our NXNE show stands out, it was just a blast from start to finish.
We'd love to play in everyone's houses, warehouses, under bridges, on Cherry Beach. Anywhere outside the traditional bar setup really.
"Second Summer", was spontaneously written one day on a piano. Do many of TGID/Powers's songs start out improvised, or is there a more calculated approach to songwriting that you usually take?
Songwriting for me is intensely personal, calculated and messy at the same time. It's not architecture for me, but some people I've worked with (digits for example) are extremely precise and calculated while writing and it really works. Writing a song never happens in one day, even when it does. Second Summer, all of the elements of it, came in pieces, then it all came out on the piano.
Over time I've come to think that each song has a core element to it, it's raw nature and then you can produce it (play it) in a million different ways, but in the end it's the core of it that makes it good or bad. So while you found the timbaland synth sample annoying, for me I was/am completely enamoured by that kind of repetition. But in the end, that's an element outside of the core of the song, so I hope it didn't turn you off the song completely. But these production elements, these samples and textures, I'm so interested in these and how they can add colour to a song. It's all I want to do when I get home.
When did you know you wanted to be a musician?
When I was four I have a memory of standing in a hockey net with a tennis racquet listening to the Beach Boys and pretending I was holding a guitar. My cousin said, "John Lennon is better than Brian Wilson." Music made me spin in circles and jump and feel things I didn't know the name of. However, I didn't play a real instrument until I was 23 years old. It was that same cousin, Brad, who bugged me about it, and in the end my roommate Phil got me to play bass in his cover band in the Falls.
I was playing music long before I played music.
Where would you most likely be right now if you hadn't followed through?
If I hadn't followed through with music I'd be exactly where I am now.
Your favourite percussion instrument?
My favourite percussion instrument is Kevin Corlis. Can someone please call him the best drummer in the city already?
I saw Jeff Mangum at the church at Bloor and Spadina. It was absolutely unbelievable. When he sang his face contorted into something not human, his mouth and his lungs have to be too large for his body. It was fitting that I saw him in a church because his songs are quite sacred to me, as they are to a lot of people. I hope he writes new ones.
I actually went to Amsterdam to the Anne Frank Museum and told the clerk in the gift shop that they should be selling In the Aeroplane over the Sea, and he had no idea what it was. I hope he actually listened to it.
Any particular pet peeves about playing live (set up, hospitality, etc.) you'd like to share?
I think every musician has a million pet peeves. Patch cords suck, despite their life-time warranty. The sound on the stage never matches the sound out to the crowd, you never know what it sounds like. We're always told to load-in early, and most of the time we get there and no one's even there yet. We've run into a few complete asshole promoters, I could go on...
But, all of these pet peeves are outweighed by the upsides. Playing live is one of the best feelings I've ever experienced. By and large the people in the music communities across the country are amazing, giving people. And the more you play the more you can minimize these little problems that pop up.
Are you a Starbucks or Timmies person?
Starbucks for espresso, Timmies for coffee and sourcream glazed donuts. Tim Hortons is featured lyrically in one of our songs, if that means anything.
Thank you, Jamie, for the refreshingly thorough answers! I do wish that more busy people had the time and everyone else made more of an effort, not only towards the work they care to do, but the subjects they care about. He went on:
I do disagree with one thing though, you said, "I'm interested in hearing what you thought was so bad about an album I thought was so good."
I think that negative reviews have no place in our society anymore. I don't want to spend time hearing what someone hates, only what they LOVE. That way I might find something I love in return.
As a musician, it's heart-breaking to spend years on a song, to think about it and literally put your life into it, and then to have a blogger write three sentences about it, calling it obnoxious. Now I'm not saying the song might not be obnoxious to someone, but it's the flippancy that's hurtful.
Music means a lot to me. That's part of the reason why I make it. Music has, literally, changed my life. The intentions of most musicians is this. What is the intention of a bad review?
In the future I believe everyone will be their own musician, and no one will review anything.
from left: Daniel Bégin, Charles Robert-Gaudette, Ben Champagne, Martin Lavallee, Francis Mondoux; via Facebook.
Genre: melodic/progressive rock, alternative, indie Origin: Montreal, QC, Canada
With two members of one of my favourite now-defunct bands involved, it was only a matter of time before I took notice of Montreal's Nil. They've been around since 2006, a collection of honest musicians exploring and delivering the sad beauty of defeat, disappointment in society, and the destruction of hope.
If the city could be described as a vault filled with cultural gems, I would not hesitate to classify Nil as a precious stone in a raw state. It's a pity they're not making bigger waves, but at least for the fans, the music and live shows in particular are a special experience. Their sound is unexpectedly transparent, melancholic, and artistic, with equally piercing videos.
That last one with group choreography is my favourite. It was a couple years ago, when Mat Joly made a guest appearance in "Fix Me Up" that I fell in love. I find that they're very much like Daniel Vincent's gorgeous Neverending White Lights harmonies, but less conceptual and more conventional.
The band has acquired a neat, loyal fanbase through four years of touring, but I can't wait for them to release an actual compilation of songs. (Just so I can buy them off iTunes, rather than listen to static, applause-filled tracks on my iPod. While I marvel at the live aspect of music, but I like the portable aspect, too.) So I decided to go about pestering vocalist Ben Champagne. To my delight, he was very quick at responding.
The word "nil" literally means zero or nothing. Is there a reason you chose this moniker? Do the letters stand for anything?
I chose the name "NIL" since I started music on a new angle. I wanted to have a new artistic identity. For me it was like being into nothingness again. The name "NIL" was perfect.
Last we heard, your debut record, Broken Life Stories, was coming out this year- will you be pushing for a label or self-releasing?
We are currently in studio to finish the album Broken Life Stories. Of course, now we are independent, but we are negotiating with several record company to launch the album this year. If we do not get what we want, we will emerge independently.
I'm anxious to know, will it be a summer release?
It won't be a summer release. probably in the beginning of winter.
Who's the main songwriter? Is it a group responsibility?
All the song are written and composed by me (Ben Champagne).
Fairmount or St-Viateur?
everywhere (I'm still trying to figure out what this answer means. Hang tight, bagel fanatics!)
Favourite song to sing around the campfire?
"Hobo Blues" by John Lee Hooker
I'm a fan of your videos- they're a complimentary combination of artistry, emotion, and sensuality. How do the concepts come about?
Usually in my writing I talk a lot of human emotions, of desires and reality. All the videos of Nil are inspired by the reality that is already in the writing.
Sensuality and physical attraction is our reality in this modern world.
What would be the next best visual of Nil's music without lingerie models and black/white film?
The next video is now being in color. The concept is very different from past videos. I can't say too much about it, but the only thing I can tell you is that
this will be a great video with beautiful sexy nurses.
from left: Mondoux, Robert-Gaudette, Champagne, Danika Angela Ava, Bégin, Lavallee; (c) Dominic Gouin; via Facebook.
A lot of fantastic baroque pop, singer-songwriters, and modern rock outfits hail from Montreal (Arcade Fire, BRAIDS, David Usher, Malajube, etc). What aspects of the current scene do you like/dislike?
I do not hate anything. I'm just a musician and I hope I do not have to worry about it one day. the scene is changing as the music.
How's the weather like in Montreal this week?
The weather is perfect.
Name some tunes that will definitely be on your summer playlist.
"Montreal Calling" by Mobile (video)
"The Girls" by City and Colour (video)
"Into the Black" by Neil Young (video)
"I Hung My Head" by Johnny Cash (Sting cover)
"Angeles" by Elliott Smith (video)
"1901" by Phoenix (mp3)
"Bridge to Nowhere" by Sam Roberts (video)
Describe Nil's sound in a single phrase.
Nil has a heterogeneous sound which stacks the different spheres of contemporary music.
Bassist Kate Kimberley and guitarist/vocalist Katie Bulley were fabulous enough to answer a couple of questions and make EastScene a playlist of their best memories, influences, and guilty pleasure tracks.
Who are they: Faber - guitar and lead vocals Hinsley - lead guitar and backing vocals Krikit - bass and backing vocals Red Bull - drums and backing vocals
David Hinsley and Ray "Red" Bull left the band in 2008. Calvin Lechner (better known as "Poncho") joined the band shortly and they recruited a touring guitarist, before JP and Stricko were added to the lineup. Hinsley is still close to the band, recently co-writing a few songs off can'T kEep A SecrEt.
Hometown: Mission, British Columbia
Debut disc: Seven Second Surgery - 2007
Their style: Pop/rock hook songs!
Band name history: They used to be known as Faber but there is a band in the United States with that name. When Faber drives, he likes to multitask! One day, he went right through a red light because he was trying to play guitar and drive at the same time. (We do not recommend that you try that!). Red was in the car with him and screamed "FABER... DRIVE!!!" They thought that sounded cool so they became Faber Drive.
How it all started: They submitted a song called 'Sex and Love' to Vancouver's 99.3 The Fox station for the Battle of the Bands contest in 2006 - And yup, you guessed it: they won! The song made its way to the most requested songs list and to some pretty important ears (Nickelback?!) and they were signed to a major label shortly thereafter.
Yes, it was Nickelback- more specifically, Chad Kroeger who owns 604 Records. Not suprising at all; the man also manages Marianas Trench, My Darkest Days, George Canyon, and Theory of a Deadman. (Don't y'all dare diss this multi-talent again.)
What they listen to on tour: U2, Boys like Girls, and Rage Against the Machine.
I seriously approve of these choices.
You should check them out because: First and second single off the album, Second Chance and Tongue Tied, are radio chart toppers.
(Link redirects to their Myspace page.) Note again, this is not my writing and I take no responsibilty for misspellings or inaccuracies facts. These are excerpts I've retyped; I don't even write like that. All credit goes to the magazine and their employees.
In other news, 30 Seconds To Mars are out and about in the streets of New York making a music video for their single, "Hurricane". Filming started late last week, in an undisclosed location, some photos surfaced involving fishnets, latex, and photographers Terry Richardson and Aram Bedrossian. They seem to be taking an "Alejandro" approach. Kanye West is currently in Paris, France with the likes of U2. (What a win, four of my favourite artists in one paragraph).
(by Bedrossian; the photos have since been removed)
