Aidan Knight - Echoes and shadows of Vancouver Island

So, you're about to start a fairly long and extensive European tour. How do you feel about that? Given all the difficulties you had recording the album, it must be a relief for you, anxiety notwithstanding.

Everyone's pretty excited. Playing these songs in front of an audience, in new places, eating new food, is what makes the long hours of driving worthwhile. Even when you're exhausted and only have a few minutes to yourself, being able to share your music with people, connecting with them, is the best thing about this moment.

I know there were some issues early on with the live-take recording technique you used to record the songs, and then two members of the band had to leave. But the result, in my opinion, is fantastic, and it has the quality of a “restrained grandeur” that reminds me of great bands like The National, or even Wilco, with due differences. Your producer, Marcus Paquin, has worked with some of them. How did that influence your work?

Marcus isn't just the nicest guy I've ever met, he's also got a fantastic ear. He heard things I didn't hear, pushing me and the band into that less comfortable place that gave us the best results. It wasn't easy, and I don't know how we'll get back there, but I loved the challenge of working with him.

Can you tell me how close, and how far, the final result is from your initial idea?

This time? Very far from the initial idea, but that's mostly because I started with very little, and every idea can be stretched in whatever direction it wants. In the past, I sometimes used a specific palette of sounds that I thought we should work with, and then let everyone explore the corners of it. Sometimes it works, sometimes… well, not everything comes together. It's good to keep notes.

I'd say it's more a case of using them differently. Julia and Olivier have always played horns in the band, and we'd already manipulated synth, xylophone and piano sounds on previous records. I was after a certain oscillation of tone, which we found in the Roland Juno 60, which I'd bought right before recording. That warbling oscillation is a key part of "Each Other". It's a beautiful sound.

I wonder what role Full Time Hobby played in all this. Were they involved in the choice of a different production and style? How did you end up signing with them?

Full Time and I started working together after the record was mixed. I'd reached out to them for help with "Small Reveal", and I think it simply took them too long to warm up to it to help me out back in 2012. It's a slow record, almost too subtle, but I'm really glad they heard something in it. Before we finished "Each Other", I think just before mastering, we sent them what we had. You can tell those guys are passionate about music, because this is also a pretty restrained, elusive record, and yet they offered me a deal anyway. I love them.

Unfortunately, there are no plans for a reissue of "Versicolour". Maybe I'll revisit it at some point.

I like short records. I try to make records that I enjoy listening to, and the 30-35 minute format for an LP feels like a great benchmark if you think about fidelity and attention span. That said, I always try to rescue a song from the trash, so a lot of the time you end up hearing all the music we've worked on. Typically, two songs don't make the final tracklist. And, after "Small Reveal", one of those ended up on "Each Other". I hope to pay off that debt on the next record.

My perspective on songwriting is still taking shape. Trying my hand at writing many different things is part of the exploration and part of the joy of making music. The change you're hearing is me and the band after playing live many times, on many tours, in many new places, new experiences, understanding instruments and gear, context, and sound better. If I weren't making better things and maturing, it just wouldn't work for me anymore. I hold this belief, somewhere inside me, that I want to make good things. So as long as I can do that, with the people I care about, that's what we'll do.

I love being Canadian, coming from that island. I can't wait to see it again this year for a show in April, and we'll see if I can pull out some more inspiration from it, or if I'll find it somewhere else in the world. I'm curious myself to see what's in store for me. Thank you!

Ride the wave of great music

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