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Interview: The Rural Alberta Advantage talk new album ‘Mended with Gold’

Jon Berrien
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Confronting ideas of love, loss, terror, and heartbreak indie-rock trio The Rural Alberta Advantage have been working hard as they gear up for the release of their third album ‘Mended with Gold.’

The LP is slated to drop September 30th, but before it does GroundSounds caught up with the Toronto based band for an exclusive interview to discuss new music, inspirations and more, check it out below.

 

We read that when “To Be Scared” was written, Nils was in a pretty terrifying place, where was the location? Can you tell us about writing this track?

(Nils):

Last Spring, I just wanted to get out of the city and try to focus on some writing- the city can be so distracting and I just wanted to unplug for a bit.  So on the recommendation of some friends I rented a cottage up in the Bruce Peninsula, a couple hours North West of Toronto.  

By the time I reached the cottage on the first night it was well after midnight, pitch black, and I remember thinking to myself that maybe the trip hadn’t been such a great idea.  Being out there in the middle of nowhere the cottage gave off a serious axe murderer vibe and I have no shame in admitting that I kept my Leatherman at arms length from where I slept.
   
It was an unseasonably cold spring, especially for that time of year, and I initially couldn’t get the heat working, so the thought crossed my mind that I might actually need to spend the entire weekend huddled under a blanket. While I was up there, I was warned about the black bears and at night it really did sound like a pack of wolves circling the cottage and howling in the night.
   
While “To Be Scared” wasn’t something I had initially worked on at the cottage, all those memories from the cottage certainly make an appearance within the lyrics of the song.
   
 As for the songs writing, Paul and I had been playing with the intro for a couple of years now (ie. the finger picked guitar line with Paul’s drumbeat), but other than the first line I could never figure out what the song was about. When we started looking at songs to focus on for “Mended with Gold”, Paul and I played around with the intro for a bit and something just clicked with the song. Once I had something to tie the song to the rest of the song, and lyrics, came together pretty quick.

Can you tell us about the writing and creative process for “Terrified?”

(Amy): “Terrified” was one of the first completely new songs (as in, not something we’d been reworking for awhile, like “On The Rocks”) from the record that we really tried to “road test” on tour. We played night after night, gauging audience feedback in terms of what people were responding to and what they weren’t. Our tour manager/sound engineer, Matt Lederman, would record it from the board each night and play it for us in the van the next day. We’d dissect every part, from Nils’ guitar strumming pattern to my bass line to Paul’s drum fills, and talk about how to make each part of the song better. By the time we got into the studio to record, we all had a really good idea of what we wanted to lay down, plus there was extra freedom there to try out other different things that we hadn’t on the road – for example, layering in those big harmonies on the chorus. 

Can you tell is about working on “Mended with Gold” and bringing it to fruition?
(Amy):

The “Mended with Gold” recording sessions were by far the most harmonious time we’ve spent in a studio as a band. I think it’s because we had so many opportunities along the way to listen to the parts each of us were bringing to the songs, both in the “road testing” of the live setting before we ever walked in to the studio, and in independent pre-production sessions, where we each took an active role in shaping the songs. Even though we often demoed our ideas separately before the sessions at Candle Studio in Toronto, we all heard everything the others’ were laying down, usually that same day. I think you can actually hear how that much collaboration throughout the process helped us change and progress as a band, in terms of both sonic improvements and the way we write songs together.

(Nils):

“Mended with Gold” was a very different experience than our first two records- I’m still really proud of what we accomplished with “Hometowns” and “Departing” but with this record we all really wanted to capture some of the live energy from our shows.  
   
To do this we had our live sound engineer (Matt Lederman) come in to co-produce the record with Leon Taheny.  At this point, Matt probably knows our sound better than we do, so having him on board was a key element to the record.  

Q: How did you guys decide on the album title “Mended with Gold”?

(Nils):

The album title is in reference to the Japanese art of repairing broken ceramics with silver or gold, known as Kintsugi, with the idea being that an object is made more beautiful for having been broken.

I can’t remember how or when I came across the term Kintsugi but the idea is something that immediately stuck with me.  With us being a Canadian band, and having the province of Alberta in our name it seemed a little strange to give the record a Japanese title, so we opted with something a little more descriptive.

I’ve always been one who’s been drawn to emotional songs that fall into the realm of happy/sadness and I think this record isn’t without its fairshare of those types of songs. I’m sure that when people hear the record for the first time they will assume that it’s a breakup record, but for me personally there is a lot of hope in the record and the idea that something beautiful
can come from loss goes to the very heart of the record.

What do you guys enjoy most about Toronto? What is one thing every visitor should see or do?

A (Nils):

Summers in Toronto are usually the best, the city comes alive after the winters when everyone tends to bury themselves in a hole.  With the amount of travel we do in the band I enjoy just being home, unpacking a bag, walkin the dog and seeing friends.

(Amy):

There are a lot of really great things about living in this city, but personally I’m a big baseball fan and I love the Toronto  Blue Jays!  It is true that being a sports fan Toronto can be tough sometimes, but if any of our teams are doing well (like the Raptors did last season) the whole city comes alive.  But I’m a die-hard Jays fan, and I’ll continue to love them, win or lose. If you are in town during the summer, going to a Jays game is a must

When you are on stage performing what typically goes through your mind?

(Nils):

 I mostly just focus on playing the songs, trying to perform the music as honestly as possible and more or less enjoying the moment.  I get distracted easily, so if something out of the ordinary runs through my mind or I start thinking about the songs then it’s almost a guarantee that I’ll going to screw something up.  I believe Matt refers to those moments as “free jazz” ha.

(Amy):

Most of the time, I just get lost in the music when we’re playing. If I can’t get wrapped up emotionally in a song, then how could I expect anybody watching to be interested? I think to give an honest performance you have to, on some level, be feeling what you’re expressing and if you can, get the people with you in the room on the same page. So for me, it’s just trying to be in the moment instead of thinking about it too much.

You guys are embarking on a huge tour, what do you enjoy most about being on the road? Also, what are you looking forward to?
 

(Nils):

It’s been a while since we’ve done a major tour like this, so I’m personally looking forward to getting in front of people, playing our hearts out and meeting people after the shows.  We’ve definitely been fortunate thus far, but there’s no better feeling than getting in front of a crowd of people that are singing the words and songs that you spent months toiling over.
   
Beyond that I really do like the drives, seeing the country side and finding different amazing places to eat.  We’ve already been building a list of things to check out, but if you have any hot tips send them our way.

 

http://www.theraa.com