Close Talker Interview

Canada seems to be doing very well at the moment by the way of pumping out fresh new talent. We had a chat to Close Talker just before the band’s first appearance at Liverpool Sound City last month, here’s what they had to say.
How’s it going? What have you been up to lately?
Will: Hello! Its been going pretty well thanks. We are currently driving from Norfolk to Liverpool for the Sound City Music Festival, which we are really excited about. We have been in Europe for about 5 weeks now on tour and overall it has been really great. We have been able to travel to places that we thought we would never go and meet some amazing people along the way. This past week, we rented a studio in an old barn in Northern England that had a bunch of old gear that we got to use. We slept at a cottage along the sea that had no power at all, only candlelight. It was a pretty incredible experience and we also wrote some cool tunes, which was a plus!
Your latest project is called Flux. How did that name come about and was it a group decision?
Will: It was definitely a group decision. Flux, in short, means “in change” and that is sort of the season that each of us in the band are in. Being in a touring band, you have to make sacrifices and changes in your life if you really want to create something successful and sustainable, and this record is a realization of that “change” that is happening with each of us. Whether its relationships, jobs, or even future aspirations, this band has affected us all greatly and that is largely what Flux is about.
Your getting a lot of love for the track ‘Burnstick’ right now. What is the message and general ethos behind this song?
Will: Burnstick is probably one of the most meaningful songs for us as a band because it’s about a night that we all had together on one of our very first tours across Western Canada. The night consisted of us walking together across Burnstick Lake, which was frozen due to the extremely cold Canadian winters. We didn’t notice it at the time, but it was one of the most memorable nights we have had as band. The song is a call to that. Its about those moments in life where you may not realize it, but after reminiscing, you look back and see that those were some of the best times in your life. In a lot of ways, it’s a message to look back at memories in the past, and be grateful that you were able to have those experiences with people that you really care about.
What is it about Canada right now that is producing all these amazing bands? The UK really seems to be taking to Canadian bands like they were our own, why do you think this is?
Will: That’s a good question. I think the scene in Canada is really thriving right now. I’m always on the search for new bands to check out and a lot of the time, it turns out that they are Canadian. Some of our biggest influences are Canadian bands (Royal Canoe, Half Moon Run, Broken Social Scene). It also seems that bands in Canada really work hard on touring and are constantly coming to Europe and UK to tour and build a market here rather than just stay in Canada and only tour there. Our Government in Canada really values the arts and is quite involved in helping export bands from Canada to Europe and the UK.
Can we expect a UK or European tour at some point this year?
Will: We are on the tail end of our European tour right now, which saw us travel and play in France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the UK. Fingers crossed that we can come back soon!
Dream Collaboration?
Will: I’m really into the new Tame Impala songs so I’d have to say Kevin Parker, although I’m also a big Radiohead fan and working with Thom Yorke would be just as good haha. A guy can dream.
Most memorable studio moment thus far?
Will: When we were recording Flux in Montreal, we slept at the studio every night. This turned out to be extremely beneficial because it allowed us to work on different sounds late into the night and not have any pressure. One sound that came out of this was the drum beat for Blurring Days. Jace, our engineer, had a super old 808 drum machine that we ran through Matt’s guitar pedals, one of them being a reverse delay. It sounded so cool and unique that we decided to just record it. We ended up looping the beat through the verses of the song, which is now one of my favourite songs on the record.
What are you listening to?
Will: It seems like Tame Impala is releasing a new song like every day. So definitely that. The Districts are another band that I’ve been really into lately. We saw them at SXSW and they were the highlight for me. Braids new album is awesome. A band from our hometown called ACRONYMS just released their new EP and its really good. So that as well.
Check out the super cool new video from Close Talker below for latest single Burnstick.
https://www.facebook.com/closetalkerband?fref=ts