Part 2

Could you take us through a day in your life, from a possible morning routine through to your work? Do you have a fixed schedule? How do music and other aspects of your life feed back into each other - do you separate them or instead try to make them blend seamlessly?

My routines change a lot, especially based on the season. With Covid my routine has been pretty consistent.

In normal times, in winter for example, I might wake up, have breakfast, put on some coffee, then head right to my studio room to work on whatever I have on the docket. I find it helpful and less overwhelming to have a to-do list for the week or month. If I have the privilege of working on something creative, my day can be very unstructured or discombobulated. I often create my best work when I’m fully dialed in, working for several hours with no breaks, and uncertain of the time. I’ll often forget to eat lunch on these days. I find the best times to zone in are at night when there are no distractions and people are usually asleep. For this reason, I fit the stereotype of the musician who’s not a morning person.

My creative spark can often occur from just listening to music as well. I might feel inspired and then suddenly I’m working on something for three hours. In this way, I recognize that music and other aspects of my life are constantly feeding back into each other. I don’t mind that though. I know some people like to separate the two for their sanity. To keep sane I try to get outside at least once everyday while it’s daylight (which sounds easy until you see what winter in Montreal is like) and go for a walk and listen to a podcast or an album.

Could you describe your creative process on the basis of a piece or album that's particularly dear to you, please? Where did the ideas come from, how were they transformed in your mind, what did you start with and how do you refine these beginnings into the finished work of art?

I’ll use the band’s latest album Eddie as an example for creative process.

This particular album process was all over the place. As a band of eight members, it’s always interesting to see where ideas can spawn from. We had a ton of demos that we eventually refined down into the album’s tracklist (with the help of producer/mixer Neal Pogue). My contribution to the album was rooted in song-writing. Each track came about in a different way. For “Clouds” (feat. Amber Navran) for example I remember getting together with Scott and Chris (from Busty) and scatting ideas into a mic over top of the instrumental of the song. The melodies and lyrics were mostly improvised and refined later. Most of my lyrical content from that time was rooted in heart-broken feelings from a relationship that had run its course (most obviously displayed on “Time Don’t Make Me A Stranger”).

Eddie also saw us working with household names like Macy Gray and George Clinton. Having artists like that on the album further cemented the album’s direction of nostalgia and reflection, and paid homage to some of the masters who have helped influence us over the years.

There are many descriptions of the ideal state of mind for being creative. What is it like for you? What supports this ideal state of mind and what are distractions? Are there strategies to enter into this state more easily?

Like I mentioned before, my ideal state of mind while working alone is deep concentration without any distractions. The best way to get into this state (without substances) for me is to come back from a walk and dive right into my work. Sometimes a joint can help. Sometimes a drink. But those can lead to a slippery slope of having to rely on something to kickstart your creativity.

In a group setting, the number one ideal state of a “collective mind” is trust. You have to have trust in a creative space in order to feel connected and in tune with what you’re trying to accomplish. A judgement-free space is necessary in order to explore paths outside of the box, while allowing you to push past your comfort zone. This usually requires checking your ego at the door.

How is playing live and writing music in the studio connected? What do you achieve and draw from each experience personally? How do you see the relationship between improvisation and composition in this regard?

Playing live is usually a reflection of what you have already created in the studio. Sometimes it’s the other way around. But the two are very often connected. Depending on the gig, there can be a large variance when it comes to improvisation. When I write music, however, I usually improvise ideas and scat melodies until they eventually become the composition. I’ll pick my favourite improvised sections and usually re-record them later.

I draw very different emotions from performing live vs recording in the studio. Sometimes touring can feel like more of a job, especially the mundane routine aspects of it. However, being on stage and connecting with a crowd of fans who have come to see you is a phenomenal experience. I see each day on tour as this big chart that represents your emotional experience, with a straight line that goes from zero to a hundred, starting with the beginning of your day and ending with being on stage.

The studio environment, on the other hand, contrasts with this imaginary chart quite a lot. Your productivity and experience in the studio is often reflected on how you manage your own personal emotions. Some of the most natural highs I’ve felt have come from working in the studio while being fully present in my working environment with the people around me.

How do you see the relationship between the 'sound' aspects of music and the 'composition' aspects? How do you work with sound and timbre to meet certain production ideas and in which way can certain sounds already take on compositional qualities?

Considering the complexities of digital audio workstations, there are really a limitless amount of sound possibilities that one can create. I often find that going against what feels the most natural or pleasing is what creates the most original or iconic piece of music.

For example, say I wanted to have an instrument accompany a vocal melody with some sort of harmony and I know that a piano would sound great under it. But instead of resorting to what I can do best, perhaps I might ask some horn players to provide that accompaniment with harmonic pads. This could potentially bring the song to the compositional quality that I’m striving for by simply changing the timbre of one sound. I’m always looking for ways to produce a project in a way that is representative of my intended sonic palette.

Our sense of hearing shares intriguing connections to other senses. From your experience, what are some of the most inspiring overlaps between different senses - and what do they tell us about the way our senses work? What happens to sound at its outermost borders?

This sounds like a question for a neuroscientist.

Art can be a purpose in its own right, but it can also directly feed back into everyday life, take on a social and political role and lead to more engagement. Can you describe your approach to art and being an artist?

I think art is generally a reflection on how an artist views the world. That’s why Bob Dylan and 2 Chainz typically have different messages for their audiences. For me, my music usually reflects how I’m feeling or what I’m going through at the time. If I’m feeling down or gloomy, that’s usually reflected in the type of chords or songs I would choose to write. The same goes for if I’m happy or upbeat.

The social and political climates of the world are always going to affect artists even if they choose to explicitly speak about it in their art or not. Our art is a reflection of how we react to what’s going on around us. The most important part of demonstrating that reflection is having clear intentions.

It is remarkable, in a way, that we have arrived in the 21st century with the basic concept of music still intact. Do you have a vision of music, an idea of what music could be beyond its current form?

We’ve already reached a time in this world that anyone can do absolutely anything and everything that they please with any sound. This obviously poses the question of what is music vs what is sound? I think people are going to continue pushing the limits of that question and blurring the boundaries between sound and music. Computers are going to have a continuing role in shaping new styles and sub-genres, along with artificial intelligence. For myself, I wish to keep creating music that is a reflection of my intentions.