Andy Shauf - A ghost sit-com

First of all I want to thank you for your new album, probably my favorite of last year. One of the things I did to picture “The Party” was take a Streetview tour of Regina, where you were born and raised – my only previous reference to Saskatchewan was an old transsexual woman in Vancouver who used to call you all “those hicks”. What's it really like living in Regina? And is “The Party” set there?

Regina is a beautiful place, especially for the people who live there. While writing “The Party”, a lot of the songs I was sketching out were happening in the house I lived in in Regina, so yeah – I guess it's set here.

If I understand correctly, this is your first album recorded in a studio. First of all, congratulations on the sound and on you as a musician, it's incredible! But what stands out to me is how focused your songwriting is. Was this professional setting important to your inspiration? Sometimes we're led to think there's no intersection between art and technique…

I think the studio setting for this record helped me focus a bit more, because I worked without distractions. I'd go to the studio alone and you needed a badge to get in, so I knew no one would show up there at any given moment. It was nice to be able to concentrate and try new things without the threat of being interrupted.

Do you think this will be the last album where you play most of the instruments and record by yourself?

I don't think it'll be the last. It's the way I work best. It's also the easiest way for me to be happy with what I've done. I can lean on my own ideas and try what I want without anyone telling me it's a bad idea. I mean, a lot of the things I try come from bad ideas, no doubt, but sometimes following a path helps you pull out a good idea.

Which song do you identify with the most?

"Twist Your Ankle" is probably the one that reflects me the most. I wrote it about a specific evening that happened a few years ago.

I also read that you're a fan of the sitcom "Friends" – or at least you've seen it, like most of us, I imagine. I have to ask, who's your favourite character, and which of them belongs at "The Party"?

There's definitely Gunther somewhere in a corner. I think my favourite is Chandler, he might be there too, but none of his lines show up on the album.

I think it's Paul. He's a real melodic genius. I don't listen to the Beatles' records all that much, but I keep Paul's songs as a point of reference. And then his "Ram" is insane.

I read that you won a grant for recording sessions in a German castle dedicated to musicians and haunted by ghosts (!). Can you tell us about that experience? Did you see any?

That was a fantastic experience. A really beautiful setting and a cool studio. The sessions didn't really take off, so not much came out of it. I think some of the strings on "Early To The Party" are the only German recordings on the record. As for ghost stories, we didn't have any encounters, but my friend Colin had some strange interference while calling his girlfriend on Skype, which we definitely tried to blame on the ghosts.

Also, it's not a given that musicians can actually win grants, at least not here in Italy. There might be a few scattered local initiatives, but I doubt there's any regular national system. Can you briefly explain how public support for artists and musicians works in Canada?

In Canada there are a lot of grants for musicians. The province of Saskatchewan has been extremely helpful to me, since I receive funding from an organization called Creative Saskatchewan. There are also federal programs that fund recordings and tours. I'm very grateful to have my government's support in this process, I don't know how people manage without it.

Thanks for your time, and come to Italy soon! Do you promise?

Yes! I'll be there in February! [Andy will play at Mattatoio in Carpi, Modena, on February 25th, and at Magnolia in Milan on the 26th]

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