PLEASE ALLOW ME TO INTRODUCE MYSELF – Wintersleep

Wintersleep are one of Canada’s most exciting acts, yet they haven’t yet made the same impact in the UK as some of their contemporaries. Certainly though, after repeated appearances at Great Escape and a number of tours, their profile is on the rise. A while back I caught up with lead singer Paul Murphy to do an interview for another site. Sadly though, they have failed to publish it, so here, for your reading pleasure is the chat we had.

Canada’s best kept secret are beginning to be heard about in the UK, read on to find out more about them!

Wintersleep are a band that this writer has been keeping an eye on for some time, importing CDs from Canada to keep up with their releases. With their soaring, mesmeric tunes and unique outlook they’ve taken audiences by storm at home and now they’re making inroads into the UK. We’re really excited that they’re about to come back to the UK for another short tour, so when is a better time to catch up with the guys?

Hi guys, I guess we should start at the beginning, tell us about how you all met and what persuaded you to form Wintersleep?

I guess it started unassumingly enough.. Tim and I played in a band called Kary and Loel and Tim played in a band called Contrived.. We were big fans of each others bands.. We ended up recording a bunch of songs for fun in Loel’s apartment at the time, which was basically this big, badly built 30 story tower that swayed in the wind [I think it is swaying to this day:)].. Ugly, ugly thing. It’s a Halifax problem actually.. Big ugly buildings.. Anyway, nice acoustics in Fenwick Towers.. I guess after recording and then showing the songs around to people, the response was really positive.. and we had a lot of fun doing it most importantly, so we wanted to make a full length record.. which involved touring enough to pay for the full length.. I guess it kinda went from there.. It has certainly come a lot further than initially intended. We’re all really grateful for that.

How would you describe your music?

I’ve always thought descriptions were best coming from objective sources… and not band members How would you describe it? (actually I’d describe it a mellower take on Radiohead, with a jam band feel and lyrics that are less dramatic and more witty – Matt) You’re from Halifax, Nova Scotia, which isn’t an area traditionally known for its music scene. Do you feel your home has shaped your music and given you a different perspective to other bands?

Ever hear of the Rankins?

We actually aren’t from Halifax proper.. We grew up in really small towns, Yarmouth NS and Stellarton, very much on the outskirts of Halifax.. Well, hours away really… We started playing music together in Halifax though.. I guess NS is a pretty rural feeling city, which makes it different than a city like Toronto… A lot of green, pretty landscapes.. the ocean.. fishermen.. farmers.. a great sense of community.. A cool art scene.. A horrible bus system.. Propeller beer [yummy local micro-brew beer].. Some great coffee shops.. Good music.. A great appreciation for music and art in the community.. A nice place to be a band in for sure.

I came across you guys after a recommendation from a Canadian friend and ended up at your gig at The Mod Club, Toronto in November 2007. It was a superb night and I was struck by the response from the crowd, who were both rowdy and at the same time very attentive, how do you find the crowds differ in the UK from Canada?

I guess generally the UK crowd is slightly more reserved than the Canadian crowd, that is just judging on the limited amount of shows we’ve played in the UK of course.. I guess we’re relatively new to the UK, so a lot of people come not really knowing what to expect and I guess they’re making us earn it a bit more in the UK.. Which is a good thing!!

Welcome To The Night Sky is your first UK release, I think it’s probably the most instantly accessible of your three albums so far, was this a conscious move and if so why?

I think writing songs together and playing live, you get better and more confident at what you’re doing, you learn how to drive the point home as quickly and clearly as possible. I think Tony really helped us bring the more melodic parts to the forefront and was all about getting the best possible performances of the songs.. I think it was a pretty natural “move,” if a “move” can be natural in this context.. I guess it wasn’t a move really.. it just sorta happened.. so maybe “move” is the wrong word.. “move” is actually kind of a cool word. It feels weird on the lips when repeated as much as I’ve repeated it here. I am on a plane, and will be for another 3 hours.. And then a 5 hour layover.. Forgive me for dwelling on this move thing..

You’re openly supportive of tapers and photographers at your gigs; this is something you don’t often see from UK bands, was it a conscious decision to allow tapers to set up at your shows?

We have lots of friends that are interested in that sort of stuff and yeah, as long as you ask before hand and make intentions clear.. People have been very respectful thus far with that sort of stuff.

Are there plans on the table for your next album? If so, what can we expect from you guys in the future?

I guess we are always working on new material.. We have some songs in the works. Been hard to really suss them out with all the touring. BUt.. all in due time as they say:)

You’ve shared the bill with some big names in the past, are there any bands that stand out and any stories you’d like to share with our readers?

Hmmm. The tour we did with Wolf Parade was pretty stand out for us.. Just being on a tour with such a solid band.. We got robbed on that tour actually too, in Louisianna.. and then had to fly to a music festival in British Columbia that day, minutes after finding out all of our stuff had been robbed.. Pemberton festival in BC.. It was a pretty big festival.. Jay Z played it and I think Coldplay did too.. Needless to say, the line-up of cars to get in the festival was completely blocked. .So we had no way of getting into the festival to play.. Except that the festival arranged for a HELICOPTER to fly us in:) So.. yeah,, we basically hopped in a… helicopter.. and were dropped really close to the stage we were playing.. We played [with borrowed equipment] and headed to the airport directly after the show to meet Wolf Parade in Atlanta.. We felt like Linkin Park or something.. Weird..

You guys won a Juno award (Canada’s equivalent of the Brit awards) in 2008 for Best New Group, it must have felt good to get industry recognition for your work?

Yeah.. Was a pretty boozy night… Forgot to thank a bunch of people..

Thanks for taking the time out to answer our questions, is there anything else you’d like to say to our readers?

Thanks so much.. A pleasure to do it..

P XOXO