Unlike the Toronto-based Polaris jurors, it’s not easy for us Westerners to join in the festivities each year (aside from being a Grand Juror and subsequently locked in a room the entire night). In some cases, many of us have never been at all. So what goes on at the Gala outside of the live stream frame was pure mystery to me. Would there be intense amounts of Pabst Beer? Secret handshakes? Bouncy castles? Seven minutes in heaven with Drake?

None of the above, unfortunately, but the Polaris event was still incredibly fun.

The reason for my being at the Gala was because I had been invited to introduce short list nominee Austra prior to their performance. I was the only non-Easterner to present. Not only was it a pleasure to get up, represent the West and speak to a crowded room about my thoughts on the band and one of the best albums of the year, but it was also great to connect with my fellow jurors who live on the other side of the country. Sure, we all communicate via the Intertubes, but sometimes us Westerners can feel a bit on the outskirts of the excitement, so it was great to actually be a part of the end product.

Don’t get me wrong; we’re loved like the rest of the Polaris children, but when you don’t live in the centre of the Polaris universe where all the fun goes down, it makes you want to cry in a corner.

Anyway.

No, the egos didn’t take up what little space existed betwee the crammed tables. Yes, there were a lot of obscure band t-shirts under vintage corduroy jackets. No, no one got belligerently trashed (not that I saw, anyway). Yes, we were fed a steady diet of pierogis, grilled cheese sandwiches, candy, and yummy “beverages” the entire night.

I got to meet many of the people I never really thought existed in corporeal form. After six years of talking via e-mail, I finally learned that Killbeat’s Ken Beattie is, in fact, a real live person and not just a digital entity.

I also had some really great conversations with my co-jurors. Jian Ghomeshi, for one, found me and then tried to steal my pierogis. OK, not really. But he did pluck me from the crowd to chat with me for a while.

Although I managed to not screw up my Austra speech, my true awkwardness emerged a short while later when I went to introduce myself to Katie Stelmanis. I gushed about her, her record, and told her I would cry if she didn’t win, all in one breath. Then I said, “OK bye” and ran away. She probably thinks I’m nuts, or at least completely socially awkward, with the latter being quite true.

Later that night, at the afterparty hosted by The Drake Hotel, I ran into Dan Mangan and we talked about weddings. A guy I’m pretty sure was K-Os photo bombed a really nice photo of my friend and I with his big hand. My old CBC Radio 3 boss woman Andrea Gin professed her current dislike for the librarian top knot. And Sarah Harmer is a sweet, sweet lady who later accidentally followed me to my room thinking I was hosting the after-afterparty. Too bad I was just pining for my pajamas and maybe five hours of sleep.

Much glee was had connecting and reconnecting with jurors and musician acquaintances, but the real Gala highlight was the performances. Every band that took the stage sounded amazing, and I was happy to see all the deliberating we do during the year paying off. Watching each group play, one after the other, made the job a reality.

The Gala was something that every Western juror should experience, and hopefully they will in time.

I could go on to write some cheesy prose about how every vote counts, how I was given a miraculous sense of belonging, or how the Polaris machine finally worked to pick the most worthy winner (although I’m still choked Austra didn’t win). But I won’t. Because right now I’m too sleep deprived to type, and I’m pretty sure there’s still vodka in my system.

Austra, Feel It Break (Paper Bag Records) 

Louise Burns, Mellow Drama (Light Organ Records)

Kathryn Calder, Are You My Mother? (File Under: Music)

Diamond Rings, Special Affections (Secret City Records)

Rae Spoon, Love Is A Hunter (Saved By Radio)

—-

And special recognition goes to:

The Braids, Native Speaker (Flemish Eye)

Black Mountain, Wilderness Heart (Jagjaguwar)

Photo: Handout

Review and interview published in Exclaim!

Take a black-and-white photograph and bring it to life — that’s what Winnipeg, MB’s Christine Fellows did with her fifth and most innovative release, Femmes de chez nous. The 13-track record and accompanying DVD, Reliquary/Reliquaire, were written during, and inspired by, Fellows’ six-month residency at Le Musée de Saint-Boniface. Femmes de chez nous, which translates to “our gals,” celebrates Franco-Manitoban history, delving into the lives of nuns, a mermaid, a troubled runaway and a small-town stenographer crowned beauty queen. Some characters are real, some imagined, but all are connected through their experiences. Fellows memorializes her characters, telling their stories of strength and fortitude via brilliant, theatrical instrumentals. The lyrics of “Dragonfly” unsettle the soul, while the title track announces Fellow’s sympathy; she holds these women close to her, as if they’ve been placed in a locket and worn around her neck. On “Reversed Arrow,” Fellows sings: “We trip and cringe and cry/We hold our hands up to the light/We speak in languages and gestures just like yours.” Her loving voice rises above the background gang vocals and serenading violin, bringing together two languages and listeners through songs of decidedly different natures yet universally similar sentiments.

Who are the femmes de chez nous?
That’s why I wrote the record: to express these people, real and imagined, in song instead of writing stories about each or making up people. Femmes de chez nous is actually based on a book of the same name, published by a small house here in Manitoba. It’s this fantastic book; it’s basically a photograph, with a little caption and a brief history on all of these women from the French community here. I just took that format and borrowed some of the real women’s names and captions that went with them.

What kind of connection did you feel with these characters?
The museum [I spent a six-month residency at] used to be a convent. It was the home of these incredibly strong women. The first four nuns came by canoe from Montreal in the 1800s, so I felt the spirit of that building was very female and I wanted to locate the work right from that point — from those first four nuns. It’s funny because my last record was all about solitary characters and playing on that word spinster, and this was a happy accident, coming upon the idea of working on the history of nuns. I’m a completely secular person. I wanted to memorialize these women before we forget.

As you mentioned, your last album, Nevertheless, drew from the overarching theme of spinsters. Why the focus on women?
When I was in my 20s, I rejected the idea of being a feminist. I thought we were post-feminist, and by saying that it felt like a step backward in time. In my wise old years, I’ve come to realize that being a feminist is more necessary now than ever. I never, ever would’ve predicted that we would be going backwards instead of forwards, as far as women and their sense of self and empowerment. Especially in music, women are infantilized. [My music] is not a confrontational thing; it’s more about me and my work and the way I present myself, musically. It’s more from a position of strength.

Did you initially attempt to tell the stories lyrically and then add the arrangements or was it the other way around?
It’s never the same — each song comes from its own place. This project was very much research-inspired. In fact, the very first day of my residency, going to the museum, I was on the bus and I wrote a list of everything that I was interested in that I might want to write about and damned if I didn’t write about 12 of the 15 things I wanted to research. I feel like half of the work is being done by your subconscious all the time. Most of the residency, I just sat there in the building. There was a lot of research and reading, but everything just kept springing out. Writing songs is just sitting there, waiting for them to show themselves. There is no first, but you know when you’re on the path.

Your album has an accompanying DVD, Reliquary/Reliquaire, inspired by, and filmed at, Le Musée de Saint Boniface, where you also did your six-month residency. What is a reliquary?
Reliquaries are actual physical remains, like bones, teeth or hair of the saints, if you have a saint that is your primary [object of] worship. You actually carry a piece of them with you, either in a locket or a little shadow box. Most of these, in the Catholic tradition, are super-decorated, and in the centre is this tiny fragment of bone. It’s really fantastical [to be] around something so earthly or grotesque. That’s why I called [the DVD] that. At the heart of everything I love, whether it’s visual art or books, there is something about it that is absurdly human, tactile and kind of grotesque.

Why did you decide to make it a bilingual album?
This is the first time for me. I’m not a native French speaker, but I spent part of my childhood living in the south of France. I hadn’t actually spoken French in years, so this was very amazing to go back into that as an older person; it was a great experiment. The museum is in one of the oldest French Canadian settlements in Winnipeg, so I had to do it. I knew right from the outset and I was totally terrified. But I love it when people who come from other language backgrounds speak English to me, because it’s so surprising and amazing to me how people use languages that aren’t their own. They come up with amazing ways of saying things and expressing them. Whatever, we’re just all communicating.

History is a point of interest for you. Do you see yourself continuing to explore other facets of history on future albums?
I don’t know. I wouldn’t even say it’s history that’s the primary focus; it’s the people. I will probably continue to write about people. I’m really fascinated by them. Maybe there will be people who are no longer living, which will make them historical, but definitely the humans, I’m going to keep writing about them.
(Six Shooter)

Photo: Handout

Story published in the Vancouver Sun on February 1, 2011.

Louise Burns has played sidekick for pretty much her entire musical career. She’s Batman’s Robin. Maverick’s Goose. Han Solo’s Chewbacca. From the age of 11 when she co-founded the all-girl, Juno-nominated band Lillix to her present day involvement in groups such as The Blue Violets, the Vancouver-based singer-songwriter has floated by relatively unnoticed, happily slapping her bass while dancing on the fringes of the spotlight.

Burns is the ultimate wingwoman, but with the release of her debut solo album Mellow Drama, she’s ready to graduate from Tonto to Lone Ranger.

“It’s a bit nerve wracking. I haven’t ever had this much attention paid to just me before,” Burns says with a laugh. “It kind of freaks me out. But it’s new and interesting and it’s fun; I love being in control as far as music goes. Now I’m in charge of my own stuff.”

Please continue reading at www.vancouversun.com.

Here is her video for “What Do You Wanna Do.”

By Amanda Ash

Jenn Grant’s music has always mirrored her emotions. Orchestra for the Moon, the Halifax, NS-based singer-songwriter’s debut, showed us her spunky, wide-eyed naivety. Then, her 2009 release,Echoes, brought us to a heavy place filled with heartbreak, loneliness and mourning. Now, with Honeymoon Punch, Grant is ready to pull us out of the depression that Echoes left us in and show us the goofy, happy friskiness associated with cuddling a loved one on a couch. Yup, this whimsical sweetheart is totally drunk on cupid’s scotch. The record kicks things off with the groovy, up-tempo “Oh My Heart”; you can tell by the growl in her voice that she’s smitten. The jazzy, sultry, bold woman she unleashes via her playful lyricism is completely contagious, tickling every mischievous bone in your body. “How I Met You” and “Walk Away” toy with synthesizers, marking a departure for the folk artist, but they work beautifully with each song’s get-up-and-dance attitude. This lovebird’s real portrait is painted by “Getcha Good,” where she kicks off her boots and wraps herself in her favourite patchwork quilt while smiling coyly at her significant other: “I’m your lady/I’m your fire/Catch me if you can/I’m wild for you.” Rawr.

How would you sum up the time that’s passed since you released Echoes two years ago?
Making [Echoes] was a very personal journey and I think that after that was completed, I wanted to move on and make something that would really lend [itself] to a fun live show. Since then, I basically feel like I’ve been doing the regular thing like touring, but also I got engaged, bought a house, got a dog and I went to Egypt for a month. I was kind of doing a lot of things.

Was it a conscious decision to make it more upbeat?
I did feel like I wanted to make something… I felt ready to make something happier and fun. But that’s just because that’s how I feel; I’m really happy. I have a really wonderful partner and great stuff going on, personally. I think all of my records to date are little reflections of my life’s journey. Like Orchestra for the Moon, it was pre- any type of huge relationship when I wrote that album and it was kind of starry-eyed. And then Echoes was “Aww, I’m sad,” going through heartache and stuff. And this record, I feel confident, self-assured and really happy. I know where I’m going; I just feel like I can stomp my feet on the ground a little more.

When did you start writing material for the album?
It was when I went to Egypt, which was March [2010]. I just went there because my best friend lived there for a year. I went over there and wrote “How I Met You” and “Getcha Good” in her apartment in Cairo. Most of the other songs I wrote throughout the year. There were a couple I wrote before that. “All Year” I wrote before going away to play some shows in the States while having this premonition, a feeling that it was going to be difficult to go over there and play; I’m psychic! But that song kind of changed over time. This is the first time we made a record and sat with it. We went to record at the cottage the last week of May. [Beau, In-Flight Safety keyboardist and album producer] Danny [Ledwell] and I had the record all summer and just kind of tweaked things, worked on things, listened to it and let it sit. We didn’t work on it all the time, but kind of let it sit and we’d go back and listen. Usually, I feel frantic and I want to record now and put it out right away, but it was nice because there was no pressure. We were also listening to music a lot, Danny and I. We had a lot of time together at home, working on our house together, our garden and cooking and stuff. We would listen to records like Phoenix together and talk about music so much that it just seemed like, “Why would I work with anybody else other than my boyfriend?” who is my producer and knows me better than anybody. It just seemed like all the arrows were pointing to that. But I also wanted to be really careful with that, to make sure that my relationship was in game before the career stuff. But as it turned out, it was the most fun working experience everywhere; it was such a good fit.

Do you feel like this album is you drunk on love?
Yeah! Yes.

Was it all pleasant working with Daniel or did it have its trying moments?
No, we didn’t really have any moments; we would seem to come to the same conclusions as we were discussing stuff. I mean, we both went to art school and it was almost like a way of working that we enjoy, just discussing and being open and creative. And then when we went to the cottage ― it was very important to me that I found the right place to do it. I looked for a while and finally found this beautiful, really big cottage in Nova Scotia on Lake Deception. You had to drive three hours away from home through the woods on this long, winding road, you couldn’t see any houses anywhere and then you’d finally get to this place on this beautiful lake. We took the band there; it was really a group effort. I also wondered how it would be, now that my boyfriend was the producer of my band; I didn’t know if the band would be used to it, but he’s really good at giving direction and they’re all good at taking direction, so it was a nice community feeling. On Echoes, we did it really organically and played it all live-off-the-floor, most of the time, but it was so tiring on my voice that I wanted to do the opposite this time. This time, we did it in layers and built upon tracks, which I hadn’t really done. Working with Danny was definitely the highlight of my career; it was the most fulfilling thing to be in a relationship with someone and be able to make something so personal.

How personal would you say this record is compared to Orchestraand Echoes?
I would say just as personal. I mean, in some ways I feel like I made Echoes and I just wanted to let go of it, put it out there and be done with it. I still play songs from it and everything, but I just felt like I needed to do that. It was almost like a therapy. But for this one, I wanted to make a record because I like making records and I just wanted to make a fun record for the audience; I’m really happy with it. I don’t feel like I’m letting go of it; I feel like I’m really enjoying it. [All my records] are personal ― that’s the way that I work: I take what’s inside of me and put it out. This is what was inside me, at the time.

Lyrically, did you find yourself touching upon certain themes or ideas as you were writing?
Well, “How I Met You” is kind of a made-up story in my head. Some of them, like “Getcha Good,” stem from a happy place where I can write a fun number instead of being like, “I need to sing about something that is afflicting me and let it out.” This is more about feeling a beat inside of you that’s different because you’re excited and want to share that good feeling. I’m in such a different place than where I was when I made Echoes; I don’t have any heartbreak anymore. It’s over and I’m really happy and free.

One thing that I noticed when I heard “How I Met You” is you use synthesizers. It’s such a huge change in your sound. How did you end up experimenting with them?
Kate Bush was one of my influences, as was Phoenix. I just really wanted to get away from that organic sound. At first, I was consumed with “the album with the organic sound that I made on a farm,” but a couple years after that you’re just like, “I want to shake it off and do something fresh.” I know, all of a sudden my band have, like, five keyboards and I don’t even know when that happened. We didn’t really notice and then we played a show in Halifax and during sound check we were all just like, “Wow, look at all these keyboards. Where did they come from?”

I noticed that there are only ten songs on the record, whileOrchestra and Echoes both have 13.
We decided that we wanted ten because we started saying “power punch ten” all the time, and we also noticed that all of the records that we loved had ten songs as well.

Were there more songs that came out of the recording process that ended up getting cut?
Yeah, I guess there were lots more that just ended up getting chopped, but they didn’t even make it to the band. Things were kind of floating around and these were the ten that I decided to focus on. Once something makes it to the band, it’s pretty much “we’re going to do this.”

When you look back at Honeymoon Punch, in what ways have you grown since you started as an artist?
In a lot of ways, actually. Every time I make a record I feel like I’m finding my voice again. It’s fun to be able to push yourself and find new pockets you haven’t discovered yet. I don’t even think that I knew that was something I cared about when I started making music; it was more like a release. Now, I have this audience that comes to shows and I think about them more now when I’m making stuff. Like, if I change my sound, is that okay with everybody? I recognize more that what I make now is a permanent thing that I want to put out into the world, and when I put it out it will be there forever. So, what I say matters. This time, I wanted to make something that brings people happiness ― that’s my goal for this one. If that’s possible, great.
(Six Shooter)

Here is Jenn Grant’s video for “Getcha Good.”

E-mail amandaashfreelance@gmail.com with the subject line “I like the letter J!” and tell me your favourite Justin Rutledge song AND your favourite Jenn Grant song. Please include your full name and phone number. The deadline for entries is 9 p.m. PST on Monday, October 18. The winner of the two tickets will be contacted that evening.

While you’re trying to figure out your favourite Justin/Jenn songs, you might want to listen to these for inspiration. They’re my favourites.

Listen to “The Heart Of A River” off of Justin Rutledge’s latest record The Early Widows.

Listen to “You’ll Go Far” off of Jenn Grant’s latest record Echoes.

“I was writing love songs ― I guess I was writing love-pop songs,” singer-songwriter Rae Spoon says, describing the tunes he penned for his latest release Love Is A Hunter. Spoon pauses, then jokingly laughs at how the “love-pop” label must portray him. “This is terrible for my career!”

Spoon may have ventured away from his country-tinged folk songs of yore, but Love Is A Hunter is no pack of cheap bubblegum. Instead it’s an honest, emotional admission to complicated relationships, late-night dance parties and finding a community as a transgendered person. The Montreal-based musician first eased into a folk-pop sound with 2008′s Polaris nominated album Superioryouareinferior. After its release, Spoon spent an extensive amount of time in Europe and began absorbing the Euro-dance scene’s vibrant electronic flavor, resulting in a sound that has further crept into the pop category.

“I feel like for some reason, at the end of my 20s, I’m working out certain things about relationships that I hadn’t worked out yet,” he says of the album’s lyrical content, which mirrors the candidness and ease of its sound. “I think the social construct of relationships is interesting, especially how you’re only supposed to love the person you’re romantically involved with. So [Love Is A Hunter] is not necessarily all about romantic love.”

Like Superioryouareinferior, Love Is A Hunter was produced by Calgary’s Lorrie Matheson. The album is arguably Spoon’s most intimate yet; organic elements and “screw-ups” were left in the mix to make the album personal, yet the songs were purposely left unspecific to keep some clothing on his thoughts. “I am being honest, but I don’t feel vulnerable,” he admits. “That’s the nice thing about pop music. And that’s why people like it: because they can put themselves into it.”

Interview can be found in the September 2010 issue of Exclaim! or online here.

You’ve made the leap into the spotlight as Kathryn Calder, rather than as part of a larger conglomerate such as Immaculate Machine or the New Pornographers. What was the transition like writing for yourself rather than for a band?
With the Pornographers, I write my parts and collaborate with Carl and whoever else is there, at the time. And with Immaculate Machine, which I’m no longer with, I’d start writing songs and finish them with the group. What was nice about making this record was that I had full control over the songs. I could start writing it and then could finish writing it and add whatever I wanted and take it in whatever direction I wanted ― all of these creative control decisions that are easier on your own. I had no idea what to expect with this record; I knew kind of what my style was, because I’ve been writing songs for years, but really, up until this point, I’d never been able to fully realize that style because I was always getting input from other people, which would change the direction of the song. But again, it was harder, because you don’t have that crutch, you don’t have other people inputting. It took a bit longer, but I’m happy with how it turned out.

I understand Are You My Mother? is a very personal record. It was recorded at your mother’s house in Victoria, BC and was born out of caring for her when she was ill. What is the story behind the album?
It was 2007 and I was in the middle of Immaculate Machine stuff and New Pornographers stuff. I had this idea that I wanted to make a record, and the year before, in 2006, my mother had been diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease. I had this idea that I wanted to make a record and do it so that my mom could hear it. You hear a lot of stories about people doing things after someone has died and they regret that that person never got to hear it or experience it in that way, so I wanted to do it and have it done so she could hear it because I knew she wouldn’t have very long to live. That was the motivation behind it. And I mean, the record isn’t solely about that; it’s very personal to me to have a lot of that in it, obviously, but there were also all kinds of other things going on in my life because there is never just one thing happening in your life! I just started writing songs in 2007 for it and started recording in 2008. It was one part spontaneity and one part disaster.

So was the entire album recorded in your mom’s house then?
Most of it. My mom has this beautiful character home in Victoria with hardwood floors and high ceilings. It sounds really beautiful in there; it has beautiful acoustics. And it meant that I could be in the same vicinity and close by so I could be working and take a break and check on how she’s doing. The only thing we didn’t really do were the drums. Hours and hours of drums in somebody’s living room can be hard to take.

Your songs sound very lush and grand, but upon closer listening they’re actually instrumentally minimal. Did you negotiate this type of sonic texture for the album ahead of time or is it something that came out of the recording process?
I had these vague descriptions of what I wanted ― some songs I definitely had an idea what I wanted them to sound like and the others I had no idea. They’d just grow out of that; I would just add instruments until I didn’t feel like adding anymore. We’d be adding things until it felt done. I don’t like overcrowding songs most of the time ― that’s not a general rule, because some songs sound great when they have tons of stuff going on ― but some of the slower songs, like “Arrow,” I didn’t want to be too busy. I wanted it to be more about the singing and the song itself rather than all the bells and whistles. I didn’t want it to detract from the point of the song.

I understand you had friends like Neko Case, Kurt Dahle and Todd Fancey of the New Pornographers, as well as members of Ladyhawk, contribute to the record. How did they get involved?
I reached out to all of those people and they were happy to play, which was really nice. Neko was in the middle of recording Middle Cyclone, at the time, and she took a few hours out of her evening in Toronto and sang on “So Easily” and “Low.” It was all very on the fly. As it came up, we’d organize something.

Listening to the record, it sounds fairly effortless. Did the music come as easy?
Some songs, yes, and others, no. “Follow Me Into The Hills” took sooo long. It took so many retries; it was so painful to make that song, and I’m glad it doesn’t sound like it. I wanted to make a lively sounding record, and so we were working on it for so long that we were taking the life out of it. We’d take breaks and come back to it a few weeks later. But other songs, like “Arrow” and “Low,” were so easy. They required some effort, but not a lot of beating your head against the wall. They wrote themselves easily and arranged themselves easily. I don’t know why, but they did.

The emotions on Are You My Mother? are clear: they are sombre, at times, but always highlighted with a sense of joy. What do you hope listeners get out of the record?
I hope people listening to the record get some emotional connection to the record. Whatever it means to them is great, to me. It meant something to me, so I can only hope it means something to other people. It’s hard to get people to care, so that’s what I’d hope for.

Review and interview seen in Exclaim! and on Exclaim.ca

Listen to “Castor and Pollux.”

Listen to “Arrow.”

Listen to “Follow Me Into The Hills.”

Here is Janes’ performance of “Up And Down,” one of his better known songs that can be heard on CBC Radio 3.

Janes’ debut full-length record, called I Made This For You, comes out on August 10.

Here’s what Bonnetta had to say:

Tell me a bit about the conception of Evening Hymns
Evening Hymns grew out of my solo project. It was basically the typical story of a guy and a guitar, growing up and writing music, and recording in on an 8-track. I spent a lot of time in my teens making songs and recordings. Eventually, I  released a solo record under my own name and then toured it a bit and then have spent the last few years writing and playing and then finally putting out my new record, Spirit Guides.

Spirit Guides was your debut full-length for Evening Hymns. However, before that, you made a solo record Farewell to Harmony, which was was released under your own name. What was the reason for foregoing solo work (and the solo name) for Evening Hymns?
I switched to the name Evening Hymns for a little EP that I wrote and put on cd-r’s for a small east coast tour a few years back. I wanted to move away from using my name because I didn’t want people to assume it was just singer-songwriter music, although looking back on it it’s basically just a guy and a guitar and pretty much what would be classified as singer-songwriter music. Ha ha … I liked the idea of playing under a pseudonym so that I wouldn’t feel pigeon-holed. I always thought as my music as being more then just guitar and voice and I wanted to expand on that idea. The reason for the name was basically me just wanting to evoke a feeling before the music was on.  I think that the name is very pastoral and simplistic. Something that I aim for with my music.

I understand Spirit Guides was the product of a long-time fight with writer’s block. How did you finally get the songs on Spirit Guides to emerge?
The record wasn’t so much a fight with writer’s block, but more or less a battle against myself and being comfortable with my songs, or having brought them to a place that felt ready to record. Some of these songs I’ve had for a few years and some we’re wrote during production of the record. I do a lot of writing, and I certainly have my fair share of writer’s block, but I do constantly write music. So much of it just gets shelved because I don’t think it’s worth following through with. I keep them for myself. Many scraps of paper and little recordings.

I understand you had a lot of friends who assisted you with the album. What roles did they play, and how did they help?
On Spirit Guides there are 18 musicians. When Jamie, the engineer/producer, and I started piecing these songs together in the studio we started working out some bigger arrangements to fill them out. We’re surrounded by this amazing network of musicians who I love and I am grateful to be friends with and so we were able to write with certain players in mind. We’d bring them into the studio with the majority of the song in place and then work with them to come up with parts that we all thought fit the songs. It was a very free, collaborative process that worked well for us. People committed to the project like it was their own band because they had a lot of ownership over their parts and in the end I think we were able to build stronger parts because of it.

Spirit Guides reminds me a lot of Great Lake Swimmers. It feels wide, spacious and ethereal, like sitting in a mountain meadow. What are some of your influences?
Well, I do love Great Lake Swimmers. When I first started writing I listened to a lot of Hayden. I think that he still weighs pretty heavy on my music. I’m kind of all over the place when it comes to what I listen to so I don’t really think there’s one single thing that works it’s way into my music. I spend a lot of time listening to friends’ music and so I know that I write with that in mind sometimes (The Wooden Sky, Timber Timbre, Phosphorescent, etc.). I’m definitely more affected by my surroundings and environment then the music I listen to. That always finds its way into my music.

How does Spirit Guides compare to Farewell to Harmony, both lyrically and sonically?
Farewell to Harmony was a much more stripped down affair then Spirit Guides. It had lots of layered guitars and vocals and was recorded in my bedroom.  Mostly guitar and voice, whereas Spirit Guides has bigger arrangements, drums/percussion, a choir, etc.  Definitely bigger songs and I think more diverse songs. I think of Farewell to Harmony as mostly love songs, or “lack of love” songs, haha. Spirit Guides deals with a lot more than that lyrically. There are songs about love too, but also death, and hope, and trying to understand the world.

It’s been several months now since you’ve released Spirit Guides. What have you been working on since?
Well I’m in a Tim Horton’s parking lot in Taber, AB right now emailing this so that means we’re on tour to the west coast and back. Then we’re off to Europe in September to support our record coming out in France on the label KutuFolk Records. Pretty excited about that. Mostly been working in Toronto and writing more music. Trying to find some type of balance in life.

What can we expect from you in the next year?
I hope to release another record in 2011 and I’d love to put out an EP or 7″ before the year is out. We’ll see. The fall is busy for Evening Hymns with touring so it might be tough to find time to get in the studio. I’ve got lots of new music. So who knows … hopefully something recorded before too long.

Listen to “Lanterns,” by Evening Hymns

Listen to “Dead Dears,” by Evening Hymns

If you hit up the July 11 show, make sure to catch opener Bronwyn Malloy. Here’s a bit about her:

Who is Bronwyn Malloy?
As a human being, I’m a twenty-year-old English Lit student, born and raised in Vancouver BC. I plan to spend my life studying, and possibly producing, song lyrics. As a musician… I like to think that if John K. Samson (of The Weakerthans), Dan Mangan, and Joni Mitchell collectively gave birth to a child, but it was kind of a disappointment, I would be that sorry progeny. Good genes, but something’s a bit off.

Tell me a bit about your one-song-a-week summer plans.
My Summer Songs project came about after I took a creative writing course in lyrics and libretto. We had to write a new song nearly every week, and I’d never had so much fun doing homework. So I figured I’d enroll myself in make-believe summer school. I’m writing, recording, and sharing a new song every week for eighteen weeks, sometimes in collaboration with Friends With Benefits, a new local musical collective I’m a member of. I’m on week eleven right now. Yes, it’s deathly.

What the most important thing fans should know about you?
I do a fantastic velociraptor impression. That’s all anyone really needs to know.