Sunleadsme Magazine

I first heard Half Moon Run’s 21 Gun Salute and the intensely dramatic beginning to that song with lead vocals by Devon Portielje on the CBC at a live show, just a couple of months ago. It was meditative even ambient – and I was entranced –instantly inspired – including other songs like Full Circle.Although I had not heard of them before, I felt it was a new mission of mine to share the gift of music with my family (including my preschool age children on some certain tracks (Call me in the afternoon even by one by one [x2 ]is sung around the hosue like a Christmas Carol substituting some words in for the obvious) and all my friends and social network so they too could enjoy this gift. That being said there was something sacred in hearing them for the first time. It was so different yet modern but there was a comfort in it that seemed to be missing in most modern music, and not felt by me personally, since artists like Bob Dylan, and Ballads from Simon & Garfunkel, I was introduced to in my youth.
That same day after discovering and enjoying the first album on iTunes (Dark Eyes Released June 2013) My musical journey with HMR led me to discover the second album which coincidentally was released that same day!
Sun Leads Me, Released Oct 23, 2015
It was a groovier sound and a more uplifting album than the first. It assisted in my creativity and put me in a greater mindset, having just emerged from the writing depths, after 10 years and creating again myself personally.
In researching the journey of the band, from recording in the desert (Texas) to California (For some seaside inspiration, leading up to the Second Album, and living in a dome shaped Oceanside house fit just right for a inspirational surf all day and late night magic sessions ) To experimenting in Europe in what appears to be a bit of a Rave Scene – road testing songs like Trust - it all lines up triumphantly.
I was lucky enough to experience this live set of troubadours on Dec 7th, 2015 at Sugar Nightclub in Victoria BC to a sold out show where some fans paid 9 x the door price just to get in. After staying late and meeting the eclectic mix of supporters, including a High School French Teacher and his wife who also thought their sound was as transcendent and made the journey to support them from up Island (Where most of the band hails from in Comox), to the sprawl of young woman who clearly were there for the "act" to the Lead Vocalist Devon Portielje who you could say in my excitement of après show and with my slight nerves "When a sip of gin saved an hour of speech - Nerve " I didn’t quite get the interview I thought I would - instead Briefly – you could say I found speaking with Devon clearly exhaustive from his end.
This band tours and plays almost nightly I would have asked him who "stole his Sunny Day" – but I could tell he was wiped. I asked him if the band would emerge on the Island again soon (Returning to play Rifflandia in 2016 like in 2014 but he didn’t commit to that.)
I spoke to his interests and would he get a chance to Surf the Jordan River on his visit to the Island but he said they only had 8 hours in the city and then off to Vancouver for the next nights sold out show at the Imperial.
This Band works hard – you forget sometimes when you haven’t seen an emerging act for awhile ( My last show was UB40 in the summer at the Commodore in Vancouver ) that to really put yourself forward you have to put in the hours (years ) on Tour (They actually toured Dark Eyes for three years !)
Just the fact that the Lead from the opening act for that nights show (Nick
Vallee from Folly & The Hunter) was assisting behind the counter at the merchandise booth after a long night and travel… well that’s a team of working mans bands.
More on the Music, there is huge variety in sounds on the current album, Sun Leads me – with the gritty Narrow Margins - There is a hint of Flamingo music that quickly folds into a somewhat Hip Hop beat – the sound not found anywhere else on the album, speaks like a story its very cool and soulful. It wasn’t played in the show, as I had anticipated – it’s a story of sorts that sounds very introspective.
Highlighting the further talents of Connor Molander (Harmonica being my favorite) one can find a cover done of the modern, Chvrches –The Mother we Share on the BBC Radio 1 (01/2014) then found again in the finale to the current live show touring with the Cover to Bob Dylan’s , Shall be released – seeing it live is spectacular - it was clever and mirrored the original art but with a tang of HMR.
There are confessional tones and a little sadness on both albums – and stories of what appears to be glimpse into the world of addiction – Music is a challenging business for anyone who has had this in their lives – this band however appears to live clean and is into a very healthy lifestyle from surfing to organic gardening mentioned to me by a family friend at the show about Issac’s Symonds (Mandolin extraordinaire and haunting vocalist) wishes for at organic landscaping book for Christmas.
I have heard Dylan Philips (Drummer – who has a great timing and a soulful sound as a professionally trained pianist – and always rocks the keyboard) said in other interviews that in terms of personal struggles that they have had the music guide them as a group – I noticed words formed around the struggle with being saved and loss of faith - perhaps even a loss of hope there – I hope they will continue to explore some further element of faith and that this translates to even more extraordinary music from this talented group, I am proud to call Canadian and will continue to share as their talents that will be sure to surprise us with further gifts in the future.
I clicked the you tube link on HMR’s website and watched some videos they had favored and found: TORA : and now I feel like the gifts just keep giving.
In the next feature story coming in January 2016:
　
Artist Profile: Half Moon Run
Singer Devon Portielje on vocals, guitar and percussion;
Conner Molander on vocals, guitar and keyboard;
Dylan Phillips on vocals, drums and keyboard;
Isaac Symonds on vocals, percussions, mandolin, keyboard and guitar.

Sunleadsme

CAPITOL TO CAPITOL Travel review tie in

Family event the Blues School and all Family photos

FOO FIGHTERS NIGHT 1 JULY 10

1. All My Life

2. Learn to Fly

3. The Pretender

4. The Sky Is a Neighborhood

5. Rope

6. Drum Solo

7. Sunday Rain

8. My Hero

9. These Days

10. Walk

11. Blues Jam / Another One Bites the Dust

12. The Dee Da

13. Imagine / Jump / Blitzkrieg Bop

14. Under Pressure (Queen cover)

15. Monkey Wrench

16. Run

17. Breakout

18. Dirty Water

19. Best of You

20. Still:

21. You Oughta Know (Alanis Morissette cover) (Dave and Taylor with a brief… more )

22. Big Me

23. Times Like These

24. Everlong

Foo Fighters rock Bluesfest
Concert review

Foo Fighters, Greta Van Fleet

City Stage, RBC Ottawa Bluesfest

The Foo Fighters have a response for the pundits who keep saying rock is in danger of extinction, certain to be taken over by country music or forced to the backburner by hiphop and R&B.

The Foos’ stance on the issue was obvious on Tuesday as the band demonstrated its vitality with a loud and thrilling knockout punch of a rock concert in front of a sold-out crowd at RBC Ottawa Bluesfest.

“Hey, I know we’re at a bluesfest right now,” hollered singer-guitarist Dave Grohl, who was dripping with sweat by the second song, “but I came here to play some rock ‘n’ roll. You want some rock ‘n’ roll?”

The crowd roared its approval, and off he went with his bandmates, careening through a marathon, close-to-three-hour show that bristled with intensity at every turn. The Grammy-winning U.S. rockers blasted out of the gates going full-tilt on All My Life, hitting top gear in a fraction of a second and barely letting up on the gas, except to banter with fans and introduce the band.

Blowing a kiss to fans, the 49-year-old Grohl promised to play at least one song from each of their nine albums. He was clearly having a great time dashing across the stage, wielding his sky-blue guitar and screaming into the microphone, possibly even more fun than the fans packed onto the LeBreton Flats plaza. A diverse crowd ranging from grizzled rockers to young punks pumped their fists and sang along.

The pace was intense through Learn To Fly and The Pretender, two of the Foos’ most popular and radio-friendly singles, and they kept it up for The Sky is a Neighbourhood, one of the tracks from the latest album, Concrete and Gold. Later on came another flurry of singles, including Monkey Wrench, Breakout and Best Of You, plus a version of a newer tune, Dirty Water, that featured Grohl’s daughter, Violet, helping out with the vocals.

The concert also featured a wicked display of guitar dexterity by lead guitarist Chris Shiflett, which morphed into some blues for the occasion. “I don’t think we’ve ever played a blues song,” declared Grohl. “Let’s play a blues song.”

Somewhere in the middle was an entertaining medley that included an inventive keyboard mashup of the Beatles and Van Halen, as well as snippets of Queen, the Ramones and more.

RELATED
Fans don’t have to battle long Bluesfest lineups to get in to see Foo Fighters
The barrage of melodic hard rock was interrupted for some of the obligatory rituals of a rock concert, including, of course, a drum solo. In one interesting aside, drummer Taylor Hawkins referred to his time touring the world with Ottawa native Alanis Morissette. That’s when he first met Grohl, he said, giving props to the city of Ottawa and Alanis for the opportunity that led to his long career with the Foos.

Alanis came up again when Grohl returned to the stage for an encore, teasing an Alanis tune and reminiscing about the time he and Miss Thang had the same pigtail hairstyle in separate, mid-90s music videos. In honour of the “serendiptious hairdo” memory, he played that old-school Foos’ song, Big Me, before ripping through Times Like these and Everlong.

Grohl was well aware that it had been a decade since the band last performed in Ottawa. It was long enough that anticipation was at a fever pitch for their Bluesfest debut, which was also one of the rare occasions the festival has declared a sellout in advance. Organizers opened the gates ahead of schedule to accommodate the throngs, although they should have had more personnel serving beer, too.

The main-stage opener, by the way, provided further proof of the positive state of rock music. Michigan’s Greta Van Fleet consists of the three Kiszka brothers, with a friend, Danny Wagner, on drums. In their ’60s-inspired outfits of fringes, feathers and bellbottoms, the baby-faced crew played with the passion of Led Zeppelin and The Who combined, their energy focused on a curly haired singer, Josh Kiszka, whose searing voice rose to Robert Plant-like heights. It was a great match for the Foo Fighters, solidifying the case that rock is most definitely not dead.

lsaxberg@postmedia.com

DMB BluesFest 2018

1. So Much to Say

2. That Girl Is You

3. One Sweet World

4. Don't Drink the Water

5. What Would You Say

6. Again and Again

7. Sledgehammer (Peter Gabriel cover)

8. Samurai Cop (Oh Joy Begin)

9. Jimi Thing

10. You Might Die Trying

11. Can't Stop

12. Crash Into Me

13. Warehouse

14. Why I Am

15. Ants Marching

16. Encore:

17. Do You Remember

18. Pantala Naga Pampa

19. Rapunzel

RBC Ottawa Bluesfest
Wednesday
Dave Matthews Band
Still cooling off from the fire and fury of the Foo Fighters the night before, Bluesfest returned to its lazy, hazy summer ways Wednesday with the Dave Matthews Band taking over the tie-dyed festival grounds.

The venerable Virginia-based jam-band made their long-awaited festival debut — their local contingent of loyal fans petitioned Bluesfest for years to offer DMB an invitation — with an epic set of groovy jams showcasing each bandmate’s supreme musicianship.

It’s been awhile since the band played the capital. Their mammoth tours once made the old Corel Centre a regular stop during their late-90s hey-day, and local music-lovers still talk about their 1996 club show at a packed Barrymore’s.

Matthews and Co. made up for the extended absence (their last show here was in 2002), with a two-and-a-half hour set stacked with crowd-pleasing favourites from an extensive repertoire.

“It’s been a long time, we’re very, very grateful,” the affable Matthews said by way of introduction. “I love visiting this very civilized country to the north of the one I call home. So much so, on occasion I’ve wondered about moving up here.

But while other heavyweights may have fallen behind the times, DMB not only survived the era, they keep their fans under a spell by creating more of the same magic on their studio efforts as they do in their live performances.

Their latest, and ninth studio album Come Tomorrow, peaked at number one after its release in June, proving again the band’s staying power and crossover appeal.

Part of that has always been due to Matthew’s front man charm, on full display at centre stage as the band started up the new tune That Girl is You from the latest record, Matthews strumming his ever-present acoustic, his falsetto soaring above the bed of percussion and stinging guitar lines.

And Matthews has always surrounded himself with the finest of players to support his songwriting, the band’s membership now swelled to a seven-piece after the departure of founding member and violinist Boyd Tinsley.

Tinsley’s flashy presence was missed most dearly on set pieces like Jimi Thing and Ants Marching, where in place of his usual flame-thrower fiddling, the band had trumpeter Rashawn Ross and sax-man Jeff Coffin trading licks with keyboardist Buddy Strong and longtime Matthews collaborator Tim Reynolds on electric guitar.

But the star of the show for many in the crowd was the powerhouse drumming of Carter Beauford, navigating an enormous kit and weaving intricate splashes of cymbals and percussion, or pounding out a furious double-kick beat.

The interplay between Beauford and Matthews was near-telepathic on the vintage One Sweet World, from a collection of their earliest recordings released back in 1993.

Matthews snarling voice was only amplified by Beauford’s thunderous beat on Don’t Drink the Water, and they continued to play off each other’s intersecting rhythms on the funky What Would You Say, from their 1994 smash Under the Table and Dreaming, now serving as a launching pad for Coffin and his searing sax.

The band touched on its entire catalogue, with hits Crash Into Me and fan-favourite Ants Marching mixed with road-tested tunes from their new album.

Again and Again and Samurai Cop were among the best of the new batch, served up before breaking into a midset highlight with a ripping cover of Peter Gabriel’s Sledgehammer.

There are few who can take on such a daunting tune, but DMB shot it into the stratosphere. And they were just getting warmed up.

Bluesfest continues with festival favourites Blue Rodeo Thursday.

ahelmer@postmedia.com

Blue Rodeo / The Lynnes

But after Shaggy pulled out and Blue Rodeo stepped in, it meant the hip hop crew became the warm-up act for Canada’s beloved country-rock stalwarts, which was something of a head scratcher for everyone involved.

Leave it to Bluesfest to come up with one of the most unlikely pop-music pairings conceivable, although credit goes to both acts for making it work. After all, both rose to popularity in the ’90s, and it seems they share a certain, slim demographic of fans.

For Blue Rodeo, it was their 12th concert at the festival since 2001, and all the elements fell into place for yet another enjoyable night. The weather was beautiful, the sound was terrific, and the crowd was a manageable size.

Co-singer-songwriter Jim Cuddy greeted folks like old friends: “So nice to be back at Bluesfest,” he said, getting into the spirit of the night. “Don’t worry we’ll keep the hip hop going up here.”

Well, not exactly. Blue Rodeo followed their usual roots-rock groove, but kept it upbeat and played with a swagger, almost like there was something to prove.

And maybe there was.

After a hearing problem experienced by co-frontman Greg Keelor caused some uncertainty in the Blue Rodeo camp this year, the band may be feeling the need to flex their musical muscle on this string of summer dates.

Whatever the reason, they played remarkably well, and it was reassuring to see the full lineup operate at peak capacity, cranking out shapely arrangements of the familiar songs that so many Canadians have grown up with.

The oft-requested ballad Five Days in May was a starting point that drew everyone together, the lush version decorated by the guitar work of Colin Cripps. The old nugget, Diamond Mine, was extended with an intense and trippy keyboard interlude by keyboardist Michael Boguski, who also provided an accordion flourish to Bad Timing.

Young Jimmy Bowskill, who’s a part-time member of the band when he’s not busy with Sheepdogs gigs, added a range of textures to the songs, too, contributing mandolin, violin and pedal steel to the proceedings.

The contrasting, honey-and-grit voices of Cuddy and Keelor were strong and true, and they had some assistance from Ottawa singer-songwriter Kathleen Edwards, who made a surprise appearance singing backup vocals on Try and Lost Together in the encore, joined by a chorus of thousands in the audience.

Earlier in the evening, the New Jersey hip hop trio Naughty By Nature delivered a show that was designed to please a wide audience, kicking it off with a soft-rock singalong and a show of respect for elders born in the 1960s.

It was an easily digestible beginning for an audience that looked to be mostly Blue Rodeo fans seeing Treach, Vin Rock and DJ Kay Gee for the first time. All three performers worked hard to build a party atmosphere. Shots of liquor were consumed and single ladies were encouraged to disrobe in the 25th-anniversary hiphop celebration.

Highlights included the old-school hits O.P.P. and Hip Hop Hooray, the beats getting heavier as the show progressed. References to Tupac, the Humpty Dance, Marty McFly, and A Tribe Called Quest were tossed out along the way, a series of pop-culture tidbits that helped ease the transition between American hiphop and Cancon campfire tunes.

BECK

1. Devils Haircut

2. Loser

3. Mixed Bizness

4. Qué Onda Güero

5. Wow

6. Colors

7. l'm So Free

8. Go It Alone

9. Lost Cause

10. Debra

11. Raspberry Beret(Prince cover)

12. Blue Moon

13. Dreams

14. Girl

(Kanye West's 'Power' snippet)

15. Up All Night

16. E-Pro

17. Encore:

18. Where It's At

19. Good Times / Miss You / Cars / Once in a Lifetime / In the Air Tonight

20. One Foot in the Grave

21. Where It's At

(Reprise)

Beck came to party Friday night, the L.A. troubadour delivering a dynamic performance touching on every phase of his eclectic career as a horde of fans turned Bluesfest’s sun-baked lawn into a giant dance party.

His crack eight-piece band striking a pose along the laser-lit stage, with the flashing neon grid backdrop looking as if it was lifted from Tron, Beck stood centre-stage with his guitar held aloft as the thunderous opening riff of Devil’s Haircut came crashing down around him.

“How ya doing Ottawa?” Beck shouted over the teeming spectators, all raising their hands to the heavens as the unmistakable slide guitar hook of Loser washed over them.

The catchy chorus, ultra-funky beat and stream-of-consciousness lyrics somehow still sounded as fresh and distinct in the flesh Friday as it did when it first soared across the radio waves back in 1994.

“Thank you so much for welcoming us and embracing us,” the just-turned 48-year-old Beck told the boisterous crowd on his Ottawa debut.

· “I’m in the mood for something soulful, a little bit moving. Something to take it a little bit higher.”

GALLERY:

PHOTO GALLERY: BLUESFEST ON FRIDAY NIGHT (JULY 13, 2018)

· Beck on the City Stage for a Friday night performance during RBC Ottawa Bluesfest continues on...

· Sturgill Simpson and his band perform on the City Stage of RBC Ottawa Bluesfest on Friday...

· Sturgill Simpson band members Miles Miller on drums, and Chuck Bartels on bass guitar, perform...

· Sturgill Simpson and his band perform on the City Stage on Friday evening. Wayne...

· JW-Jones performs on the City Stage on Friday. Wayne Cuddington/Postmedia WAYNE...

· A close-up view of the guitar of JW-Jones during his Friday evening performance at RBC Ottawa...

· JW-Jones performs on the City Stage on Friday evening. Wayne Cuddington/Postmedia WAYNE...

· Cassidy Taylor performs in the Barney Danson Theatre during RBC Ottawa Bluesfest on Friday...

· Cassidy Taylor performs in the Barney Danson Theatre of the Canadian War Museum as part of RBC...

· Hip hop performer BLACK IRI$H on the Black Sheep Stage on Friday evening. Wayne...

· Fans of hip hop performer BLACK IRI$H cheer him on at the Black Sheep Stage on Friday evening....

· Megan Kardos, 19, is all sparkled up for a night at RBC Ottawa Bluesfest on Friday. Wayne...

· The performer BLACK IRI$H joins with fans at the Black Sheep Stage of RBC Ottawa Bluesfest on...

· Beck performs on the City Stage during RBC Ottawa Bluesfest on Friday night. Wayne...

· Beck on the City Stage of RBC Ottawa Bluesfest on Friday night. Wayne Cuddington/Postmedia

· Beck on the City Stage for a Friday night performance during RBC Ottawa Bluesfest continues on...

· Sturgill Simpson and his band perform on the City Stage of RBC Ottawa Bluesfest on Friday...

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When the band didn’t play it hot enough for his liking, Beck took it upon himself to rev up the tempo with Mixed Bizness, the disco-infused hit single from his hard-partying Midnite Vultures album.

He instructed the crowd to “Giddy up” on the throbbing Wow, from his latest Colors, then busted out the dancey title track, which he (fairly accurately) described as “psychedelic Michael Jackson,” while pulling out his best MJ dance moves.

Always eclectic, Beck showed he had been equally adept at keeping up with his contemporaries with slickly-produced robotic beats, synth sounds and electronic bleeps and blips colouring new tunes I’m So Free, Wow and the furious Up All Night, its club-worthy pumping beat with shades of Timberlake.

He took time out to showcase the many other sides of Beck, though, gathering his band along the front of the stage for some acoustic samplings of the best of his back catalogue: the beautiful Lost Cause, rendered even more spare than the album version on Sea Change, the haunting Blue Moon, from his Grammy-winning Morning Phase, and the hilariously cheesy Debra, with Beck inserting an ad-lib vocal about driving around Ottawa listening to his favourite song on the radio and teasing a tidbit of that tune, Prince’s Raspberry Beret.

By the encore, a roaring version of Odelay smash Where It’s At, Beck had already worn each one of his influences loudly on his sleeve.

Still, in case anyone missed the clues, he cued them all up in sequence with riffs on The Beatles’ Strawberry Fields Forever, The Stones’ Miss You, a verse of Once in a Lifetime by the Talking Heads and a rip-snorting take on the Delta blues of One Foot in the Grave from his earliest days as an anti-folk hero.

***

Sturgill Simpson and his band perform on the City Stage at RBC Ottawa Bluesfest on Friday night. Wayne Cuddington/Postmedia WAYNE CUDDINGTON / POSTMEDIA

Making a fine example of Bluesfest’s new festival format pitting two headliner-worthy acts on the main stage, early-arriving fans were treated to a scorching evening set from Sturgill Simpson.

The self-professed purveyor of Metamodern Sounds in Country Music — the title of his 2014 breakthrough album — Simpson and his band blazed through another genre-bending set, equally at ease with the earnest ballads, soul-infused heavy blues, heartland rockers and outlaw country boogie that make Simpson so difficult to define.

Opening with It Ain’t All Flowers, Simpson let loose his gritty growl and searing Telecaster licks as his lean, mean four-piece churned up a deep groove seeped in soulful Hammond organ.

The band barely took a breath cutting into The Promise, a cover of the ’80s new wave hit given the twangy Nashville treatment. Simpson said only a quick hello before that tune broke into the thick funk intro of Some Days from his self-funded, self-released 2013 debut High Top Mountain, with Simpson showing off his hot electric guitar licks and wearing influences of Highwaymen Waylon and Willie on his sleeve.

The band — drummer Miles Miller, bassist Chuck Bartels and Bobby Emmett on keys — had barely broken a sweat by the time they shifted seamlessly into Turtles All the Way Down, the thick blues riffage and chunky beat of Keep It Between the Lines, and the rippling waves of Breakers Roar, from his Grammy-winning 2016 album A Sailor’s Guide to Earth.

His cover of ’60s Stax soul hit You Don’t Miss Your Water, later featured on The Byrds’ essential Sweetheart of the Rodeo album, was further proof both of Simpson’s cross-genre appeal and his defiance of any convenient category the music industry may try to apply.

ahelmer@postmedia.com

Beck has been promising since 2014 that his latest (then next) album Colors would feature "high-energy songs, designed for live shows," and boy if he didn't deliver on that promise. Tracks like "Wow" (which was accompanied some ridiculously psychedelic visuals) and title track "Colors" were downright uproarious.

But those were only offered mid-set. He began his Toronto show with a slew of classics from his earlier albums, immediately whipping the crowd into a nostalgic frenzy. First on the list was "Devil's Haircut" from his 1996 record Odelay. It was an opener that not many expected, but one that was most definitely appreciated. He then followed it with his breakout single "Loser," which then ran into "The New Pollution."

Up to this point Beck was still guitar-less, simply jumping around donned in one of his trademark hats. This was fairly short-lived though, as he cracked out his acoustic for "Mixed Bizness." From there on in his set was a perfect blend of intimacy and hype. To accomplish this, Beck could have easily ran through a mix of his latest album, and his previous, award-winning record Morning Phase, but that wasn't to be case — this was a show packed with oldies and goldies. Surprisingly a lot of the highlights came from his divisive 2005 album Guero. "Go It Alone," "Earthquake Weather," and "E-Pro" proved to be some of the best tracks of the night.

His covers of other artists' songs stuck out like a jazzy thumb; his slowed-down version of Prince's "Raspberry Beret" was one of most beautiful parts of the night. This was probably overshadowed, however, by perhaps the longest interlude of any live performance to date. Here, halfway through "Where It's At," Beck took some time to introduce the band and let each member bang out a 30-second jam of their choosing: the bassist treated us to a snippet of Chic's "Good Times," the keyboardist gave us a slice of "Takin' it to the Streets," by the Doobie Brothers, before the rest of the band dished out "Cars," by Gary Numan, "Once in a Lifetime," by Talking Heads, and a whirlwind of a solo by drummer Chris Coleman.

At this point it was easy to forget that they were actually in the middle of a song, and though no one wanted the funky renditions to end, "Where It's At" had to kick back in some time, and kick it did. Just before that though there was a lovely moment when the whole crowd sang happy birthday to Beck (he was turning 48 at midnight). If his birthday wish was to put on a majestically memorable show, then he must have blown the candles just right, because that's exactly what he got.

MANSIONAIR : Jack Froggatt , Lachlan Bostock, Alex Nicholls

(Above) March 8TH, show at the Imperial nightclub in Vancouver, BC

Mansionair - The Making Of Shadowboxer
"Too often we let our shadows define who we are and we let them become bigger than they need to be. The making of Shadowboxer and the record itself is about that story.”

Runnin' From My Shadows

P Tinham 02.28.2019

Mansionair is an Australian indie electronic trio formed in 2014. Sunleadsme Magazine was first introduced to Mansionair during a highlight of our Seattle neighbours Odesza, In 2017, when they collaborated with Mansionair and WYNNE on the very beautiful hit track, "Line of Sight”.

With their first full-length album, Shadowboxer, released on March 1, 2019 via Mansionair (Glassnote Records) The harmonic band have curated their favored singles including, "Easier", "Astronaut - Something About Your Love", and "Violet City", (which landed on the Billboard Rock Airplay charts) and many more amazing numbers into one wonderful listen (Shadowboxer). SLM caught up with lead singer Jack Froggatt in his childhood suburb of hometown, Sydney, Australia having a lovely break between tours. We chat about the album release , upcoming tour and the evolution of their musical artistry. Shadowboxer, the long-awaited debut album from Mansionair, diarises the band's journey so far in one sprawling sitting.

The Grammy nominated trio - Jack Froggatt, Lachlan Bostock and Alex Nicholls - have shared seven singles and collected over 100 million streams since forming in 2014, but they have always had designs on something bigger.

Featuring popular singles 'Falling', 'Violet City', 'Astronaut (Something About Your Love)' and 'Easier', Shadowboxer is a story of how self-doubt and internal battles can coalesce into something beautiful. Through luminous electronics and emotive vocals, this 16-track release is a masterclass in shifting moods and dynamic intensity.

Recorded/ produced by Mansionair and mixed by Eric J (Flume, Flight Facilities).

SLM: The album artwork is so unique from what I have seen so far and what appears to be symbols in the artwork for the album. What can you share with us about what they represent, are they representative of each track?

Jack: It's funny how it all came together. Over the years we really wanted to create something with lots of tones and colors and we worked with a designer, Johnathan Key (jonathankey.com ) on it.

I had this crazy idea of cutting out a logo for the art work, and eventually we went through the motions over the last eighteen months of designing this campaign which lead towards these strange hieroglyphic symbols. They were really a bit of an afterthought and I think when we all saw them, we fell in love with them.

Each single cut is representative of each song on the album. There's no real giant concept behind it, but more kind of a way to identify each song. I mean I love the symbols, think if I had it my way, the songs would be called “The Symbols” (laughs). We've just been finding all these new ways to incorporate them into our merchandise. They were literally one of the last things we did before we finished up for the year last year and now they're kind of leading us forward into the release.

SLM: The single "Shadows", released last week,tell us a little bit about this track in particular as it relates to the album.

Jack: Shadows is one of our oldest songs, it was actually the first song we wrote for the album, back in August 2015. I had this concept of running from your shadows and that really propelled the idea of Shadowboxer and as we wrote more and more songs for the record we realized that this is that we really wanted to talk about. So, in a way Shadows is kind of the crux of the record. Where I was living I would always go out on these night walks and I loved the way the street lights would cast light on the road. When we were working on that song, I identified that scene and took in a bit more of a conceptual idea of running from our shadows or looking at the dark sides of mental health, or maybe things in our life we can't really solve with this idea of, instead if facing it all the time, there's not a lot you can do about it. So we all conceived the idea of a record about turning away from focusing so much on the things we can't fix and looking at the good things in your life and the struggles that come with that. Shadows really spearheaded that concept.

Shadows is the grounding pole of the record, we spent so long working on it and it has so many different versions that we were never quite happy with and I think when we finally got it there, we were just so excited to set it free. As an artist you spend so long on certain songs, you lose your passion for them in many ways. Shadows is one that lasted for so long in our hearts that I can finally see it now. It was just a bit of a victory. By the time they've come out we've run our course with them, but then we get to move them over to whoever wants to listen to them.

SLM: You can release them into the world and then move forward.

Jack: Yeah exactly. Once I release a song I never ever listen to it again. I've listened to Shadows I would say close to a 100,000 times. But it just comes out never having listened to it at all. Yeah you really do spend your life with it and when it comes out you really di give it to the world and say "Here you go."

So there's the story of it.

SLM: Tell us about the latest track, Falling and the lovely video that goes with it.

Jack: We wrote Shadows, Falling and Technicolor just months a part, they're very intertwined. Falling was funny actually, I remember writing the lyrics, the first line of that song, “I think I’ll borrow tomorrow’s happiness for today”, When I was out with some friends and I said it and my friend John was like "You should write that down, that might be a song." I have people say that to me as a joke all the time, but this one was actually one that turned into a song.

I never really saw Falling as a love song but when people hear it they say, "Oh that's such a beautiful love song." To me, it was just me admitting to myself that I was spending too much time doing things that weren't very beneficial to my head space at the time. The lyrics of the song were really turned toward the end about how we can continue to reach for things, but at the end of the day as long as you're reaching for the right things and you fall back down next to the people who are going help you get back up again then it doesn't really matter, at least you tried.

That song has so many different facets towards it that and people say "Oh it's about falling in love." I remember a friend telling me "Oh you're saying falling, falling, I'm falling in love."

"Well actually I'm not but also if you hear that, then that's awesome too." So at this point, my version of why I wrote the lyrics is very different to how someone else wants to hear it.

That's what I love so much about song writing in general. To us this record is about so much struggle and too much over thinking and not really feeling confident. Now that Shadowboxer is finished, we can say "Ah yes this is who we are."

SLM: I love it.

Jack: The great thing about ART is that it is always contradicting itself.

SLM: Easier is also so amazing, and also has a brilliant video with it as well. Who do you work with for your video with these tracks?

Jack: Easier was a video we shot- starting off the video for a different song at the time, called Pick Me Up, which was one of our earlier songs out on our Pick Me Up EP, which had Speak Easy on it as well. I think we were just a bit slow at getting everything together and eventually the video never came out. When we wrote Easier, that song was such a big moment for us because we really felt like we had not only written a great record with a song we felt was really great, but also it was the first time we really put ourselves into these songs.

I still remember the exact scene I was in when I realized I wanted to write a song based on a scene in the movie Lost in Translation , I walked in to Lachlan's place and said "I have this idea, I want to write this song from this scene and I want it to be a consequence of life which doesn't get easier and like why is life so shit sometimes."

SLM: Easier is also so amazing, and also has a brilliant video with it as well. Who do you work with for your video with these tracks?

I still remember the exact scene I was in when I realized I wanted to write a song based on a scene in the movie Lost in Translation, I walked in to Lachlan's place and said "I have this idea, I want to write this song from this scene and I want it to be a consequence of life which doesn't get easier and like why is life so shit sometimes."

When we were looking through our old hardrive and we found the video for Pick Me Up, we just looked at it and said “Maybe this should be the video for Easier." The idea of pulling each other apart and dancing with someone maybe you're dancing with another person, like a lover or a friend or you're dancing with yourself and it's this whole idea of pulling to pieces and also trying to hold each other together and I think that visual element really complements what we were trying to say in the song. Our friend Matt Thorne helped direct that.

SLM: I love you're saying dance track. I feel like Technicolor is a great dance track. Astronaut as well, that's a really popular one, they're both beautiful. Do you have a favourite of your own? Like one that's not released from Shadowboxer (At the time of this interview only tracks had been released)

Jack: Yeah the last track on the record was a song we're all very, very proud of and it was a real test for me lyrically, (HEIRLOOM) I wanted write a song that was not so much about me, but about someone else. I wrote this song a about Dennis Wilson (Beach Boy) and his story towards the end of his life. We tested each other in that song quite a lot and I think that shows a real different side of us and a side we're all very proud of. I think musically, some of the best song writing, and the arrangement is something when you put it on you actually feel like you're underwater. I am obsessed with water and we all grew up by the beach and swimming a lot through the process of writing. The idea of water is very much threaded through this record.

There's also this other song towards the end of the record called Harlem, which is one of the last songs we wrote for the album. I remember when Lachlan first played me the guitar part he wrote for it, I knew that feeling that he was trying to explore.

We began to finish writing that song and every time we played it, we'd all be transported into this emotion that the song was creating. I remember we were trying to work on the lyrics "We don't need to say too much because the music says more than words ever could."

SLM: I know that you guys spent some time in LA and Violet City, that's sort of stand out single, it kind of appears that Los Angeles is your muse in this video. What was that experience like being in LA compared to being back home writing?

Jack: Violet City was really about struggling to find L.A inspiring. Coming back in last couple years, I do really love L.A now, but I think when we went over there to write, I know I felt like an outsider and tried to change who I was a little bit. We were only there for a month but that song was a real reaction to what was going on in our lives at the time. I feel like the song is about trying to let go of everything and stop feeling the need to control so much. I love controlling everything. Going to a city like LA, where everyone is doing something amazing creatively and everyone's trying to do something great and I guess maybe as Australians felt like maybe we shouldn't be here. Maybe we should go back to the slower paced life of living in Sydney, but I think writing that song and being in LA for that, really pushed us to explore different parts of ourselves as songwriters.

I think it was a really big catalyst for helping us finish the record.

SLM: I remember Jimmy Vallance (Bob Moses) having a similar feeling to L.A, they were ready to try out new places now, to record as well, when we chatted in our interview for our last issue (BOB MOSES INTERVIEW). You guys recently went on tour with Bob Moses , how did you connect and go on tour with them?

Jack: I've been a big fan of Bob Moses over the years after falling in love with their first EP. After looking at our touring schedule last year their name came up that they were doing a tour and we were just like "Oh we'd love to be on that tour." We're all big fans and we e take a lot of inspiration from dance and house music too and we thought perhaps our music could complement theirs music in a good way. They're such great guys and their whole crew is like family now and I guess that's the greatest thing about touring with so many different people, is you really get to join different families on the road for months at a time.

We're going to be crossing paths with them at some festivals in the near future in the states and we're really looking forward to catching up with them again.

SLM: Absolutely. You're playing Laneway in a couple weeks and Coachella 2019, that will be amazing. Have you ever played Coachella before?

(Bob Moses, Mansionair and fellow Australians Rufus Du Sol and Tame Impala all play at Coachella 2019)

Jack: No, not with Mansionair, I went up on stage with Odesza last year to sing a song we worked on with them. I had never been to Coachella before. The boys, Loch, and Alex came along as well. First time going to Coachella and we're rocking out to the main stage entrance. The back stage and main stage entrance, walking up onto the main stage and getting to sing a song was a bit of an express path, I felt a bit guilty because I hadn't worked my way up to that just yet, but it was a breathtaking experience.

SLM: Do you know what stage you'll be on this year?

Jack: No, not sure just yet. But honestly just to be on that line up, like we've watched that line up get poster for years and to be on it is such an honor. I'm very excited. It's the end of our North American tour. We'll have all our new songs in the set and our album will be out. We're planning some pretty fun things for the show. So yeah we're so excited to get onto that stage.

Coachella and Mansion Air for the first time ! (See set above at Coachella Live Stream)

Check out our pictures from Imperial show (Vancouver) and Coachella above and for more from Mansionair at www.mansionair.com