Name: Leland Whitty

Nationality: Canadian
Occupation: Composer, producer, guitarist, saxophonist
Current release: Leland Whitty's solo album Anyhow is out via Innovative Leisure / People's Champ.

If you enjoyed this interview with Leland Whitty and would like to find out more about his music, visit him on Instagram. Or head over to the official website of BADBADNOTGOOD.  



Where does the impulse to create something come from with you? What role do often quoted sources of like dreams other forms of art, personal relationships, politics play?

The inspiration to write and produce music can come from anywhere for me. There is such a wide spectrum of emotions that are far too nuanced and subtle to describe through words and feel easier for me to express through music.

A lot of the inspiration for this album came through personal experiences, dreams and the love of storytelling through film and I tried to find ways to integrate that into the music.

For you to get started so there need to be concrete ideas - or what some have called a visualization of the finished work? What does the balance of planning versus chance look like to you?

A lot of the pieces for this record had some form of a planned idea in mind before I tried to execute the recording. Since the majority of this project was made by myself and all the collaborators usually came in to fairly developed ideas already, I tried to allow myself to stay as present as possible while making it.

I like the idea of art being a time stamp representing where the artist was emotionally at the time of creation. In allowing myself to be present during creation, I hope I captured the most honest representation of myself during that time.

Is there a preparation phase for your process? Do you require your tools to be laid out in a particular way, for example do you need to do research or create early versions?

A lot of the music from this album came from voice memos that were very early seeds of what the compositions ended up turning into. Some of which ended up on the record like the guitar loop in my song “Awake”.



That idea came from waking up from a dream and capturing a musical interpretation of the dream before I lost the memory of it.

Most of the songs from this record stemmed from simple ideas like that guitar loop which I’d sit with for a bit to realize the potential story of it and get a sense of how to replicate what I was hearing in my head.

I had the luxury of no time limit while recording most of this record out of BADBADNOTGOOD's studio so there was a lot of experimenting with different production ideas to find what represented those early demos best.

Do you have certain rituals to get you into the right mind set for creating? What roles to certain foods or stimulants like coffee, lighting, scents, exercise or reading poetry play?

All the things you mentioned can definitely help me towards getting to the right mindset but it’s often tough to overcome the emotions that you face day to day. Although mood lighting and incense were nice while recording I found that taking even a brief moment to meditate helped prepare me.

I wrote the idea and had a voice note for the song ‘Anyhow’ before going into the studio to record it, and when I went in it was pouring rain.



I decided to just record and listen to the rain for 15/20 mins to calm down before and that rain recording ended up remaining in the background of the song.

What do you start with? How difficult is that first line of text, the first note?

This can very from day to day. Sometimes it’s crystal clear what I want to say or convey and other times it feels like there’s nothing to say.

However, I like how that element of art is so intertwined with who we are as individuals.

Once you’ve started how does the work gradually emerge?

Again, since most of this was worked on by myself, the development was extremely gradual.

I had most of the melodic overdub ideas in mind but getting the right feeling and performance of it took a lot of time and often had to be reimagined.

Many writers have claimed that as soon as they enter into the process certain aspects of the narrative are out of their hands. Do you like to keep strict control over the process or is there a sense of following things where they lead you?

For me it’s a combination of both. I can hear a lot of the ideas I’d like to attempt in my head but sometimes in the moment of trying an idea out it doesn’t feel right or in inspires you down a different path.

It’s nice to let the music breathe, and let it develop in the way that feels the most organic.

Often, while writing, new ideas and alternate roads will open themselves up pulling and pushing the creator in a different direction. Does this happen to you too and how do you deal with it. What do you do with these ideas?

I think it’s good to retain the integrity of what the song is but embracing spontaneous ideas is often a great way to elevate that.

To me it’s important to allow those new ideas in because it’s easy to put blinders up and lose perception when you are too strict with controlling direction.

There are many descriptions of the creative state. How do you describe it for you personally? Is there an element of spirituality to what you do?

There are so many aspects to developing as an artist that require intense focus to progress. Having that growing foundation is incredible but sometimes when you’re searching for new ideas, it can be best to forget all of the goals and and fully immerse yourself in the moment without boundaries.

Especially in the digital age the writing and production process tends towards the infinite. What marks the end of the process? How do you finish a work?

This project features so many layers of arrangements of myself that it was easy to get lost in the idea of infinite layers.

Sometimes I just knew that it was finished, but other songs like ‘Silver Rain’ I noticed that once I began to remove some elements in the production, the song had more clarity.

Once a piece is finished, how important is it for you to let it lie and evaluate it later on? How much improvement and refinement do you personally allow until you’re satisfied with a piece? What does this process look like in practice?

This was drastically different in my process when compared with working with BADBADNOTGOOD.

When you have your friends around while creating something it’s much easier to workshop a song by hearing everyone’s opinions. Since I was largely working by myself, time away from the music was so important.

It is very easy to get lost while working on a project alone, and feelings can easily sway between overly excited and positive to crushingly depressing and self deprecating. Time allows a fresh perceptive on where it actually stands.

What’s you take on the role and importance of production including mixing and mastering for you personally? How involved do you get in this?

For this album I had an extremely hands on approach to all of that. I engineered everything as well as mixed it.

I had a pretty clear vision as to how I wanted to sound, so that seemed to be the best way for me execute that.
 
After finishing a piece or album and releasing something into the world there can be a sense of emptiness. Can you relate to this? And how do you return to a state of creativity after experiencing it?

As an introvert this is a feeling I get all the time. I feel grateful to be able to create music because it acts as an outlet, whereas if it didn’t exist it would be very difficult for me to release.

In reflection, the feeling of emptiness comes from an effort to try and put as much of yourself as you can into the music. In turn, this can end up leaving you with a feeling like you have nothing else to say or contribute.

I ultimately see it as a good thing, though, because it represents the weight and importance that the project has for you and acknowledging the cycles of ups and downs as an artist is part of the journey.

Creativity can reach many different corners of our lives. Do you personally feel as though writing a piece of music is inherently different than something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn’t or wouldn’t in more “mundane” tasks?

I don’t personally see the two examples as being that connected. A lot of mundane tasks rely on a more calculated consistency and precision to result in a great product. Although those qualities can help aid in making good art it’s not what the substance of the art is made up of.

The spectrum of music has so many subtle emotional differences that when you’re truly trying to find your individuality, it can seem impossible for anyone to replicate what you’re trying to say or what you were feeling.

When you strive to align your artistic identity to your personal identity there is no one else that can bring that voice to the table aside from yourself.