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| WOLF PARADE (SUB POP RECORDS) |
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New album - 'Expo 86' on Sub Pop Records
'Expo 86' is their third full length album, and was produced by Canadian Howard Bilerman, who has previously worked with over three hundred acts, including Vic Chesnutt, Arcade Fire and British Sea Power
The Canadian indie rock combo Wolf Parade formed in 2003 in Montreal, where the band's first show saw them opening for Arcade Fire. From there, bandmates Dan Boeckner, Spencer Krug, Hadji Bakara, and Arlen Thompson recorded and self-released a four-song EP, followed by a six-song recording in 2004. They eventually gained the attention of songwriter Isaac Brock, who doubled as the frontman of Modest Mouse and an A&R rep for Sub Pop Records. Brock helped the band secure a deal Sub Pop while serving as a stylistic touchstone for Wolf Parade's emerging sound.
In July 2005, the quartet issued a self-titled EP on the label by way of introduction; their debut full-length, Apologies to the Queen Mary, followed in September. It was one of the fall's most anticipated releases, recorded as it was with Brock's help and released amid a critical flurry for such Canadian bands as Broken Social Scene, the Most Serene Republic, and Stars. After considering the title Kissing the Beehive for their follow-up (ultimately dismissed for fear of copyright infringement due to a Jonathan Carroll book by the same name), Wolf Parade issued their sophomore record, At Mount Zoomer, in June 2008
www.myspace.com/wolfparade
www.subpop.com/artists/wolf_parade
www.last.fm/music/Wolf+Parade
WOLF PARADE - Arlen Thompson, drummer
Several of you also have other bands/ projects alongside Wolf Parade - how do you juggle them?
Everyone is always busy. We just have to make time for Wolf Parade. It's not really that difficult to be honest.
And what makes a Wolf Parade song specifically do you think?
I think that a WP song is the distillation of our four personalities. We all know our strengths and have a lot of trust in what the other members can bring to the table musically.
How do you think taking a year off benefited Expo 86?
The break allowed us to do what we wanted to individually and then come back to WP with a blank slate. It gave us a chance to come back with nothing but fresh ideas.
You recorded the album relativly quickly - and there is an urgency to many of the tracks ... is there a connection there?
We've always had an urgency to our work. It's the way we work best as a creative unit. As a band, we like to trust our first instincts and to not fuss over the work. We wanted the record to have a lot of life to it – to have some roughness that most records don't have anymore.
I gather you all visited the Expo 24 years ago - what were your memories of it?
I was about seven years old, so my memories have largely faded with all the drinks I've had over the last ten years. I do remember that someone died on the roller-coaster and how I was forbidden from riding it and getting to see John Lennon's Rolls-Royce.
Does the event link with any of the songs on the record? If so which/why?
The record has no thematic connection to the title. The title is more of a connection with the span of time that surrounded the project. It's been that way with all our album titles.
It seems a great time for Canadian acts internationally at the moment - why do you think that is?
I don't really know why that is. Most friends I know hate the music the was foisted on us growing up and I think that led to people making art as a reaction to that. Somehow this art resonates with people all over the world. It's much easier to get your music out into the world now. We also have some pretty decent support like CBC Radio 3 and a pretty generous grant system.
Any Canadian bands you'd recommend people look out for?
Wintersleep, Frog Eyes, Black Mountain, Destroyer, Young Galaxy, We Are Wolves, Holy Fuck, Chad Van Gaalen, The Witchies, Besnard Lakes, A Silver Mount Zion, Owen Pallet, Listening Party... too many good bands these days!
What are your plans for the coming months?
More touring and maybe we'll finish off our EP... |
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