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Interview with Handsome Furs
Interviewed By: Tim Needles
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With a unique electronic indie-rock sound, husband and wife duo Dan Boeckner (also of Wolf Parade) and Alexei Perry, better know as The Handsome Furs, made a big impact with the release of their album Plague Park. The Montreal natives recently released their second album, Face Control on Sub Pop records and are currently supporting the album with a worldwide tour. I had a chance to catch up with them for a few questions while they were on set for their latest music video shoot, for “I'm Confused.” |
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You’ve done some really interesting videos as a group, from the highly cinematic works like “Can’t Get Started,” to the more raw pieces like “Radio’s Hot Sun,” as well as the high production videos like Wolf Parade’s "I'll Believe in Anything," which won a few awards. What is your thinking when you set out to make a video? Could you tell me a little bit about the video you’re shooting today? What song is it for, and how did it come about?
Alexei: We have only had three people make videos for Handsome Furs, including the one in production now, and we consider those people to be very close friends. We have allowed their cinematic motivations to determine the outcomes of the videos. All of our videos, though they may not look it, have been made on a miniscule budget with no thought or regard to commercial television play. I won't spoil the surprise of the video we're currently working on, but it's being directed by the wondrous Scott Coffey.
The new album, Face Control, is a really consistent album; it feels like a cohesive musical statement. It also has some terrific variations of sound and intensity within that. What was your process like when you were creating it? What was the difference in approaching Face Control after your first album, Plague Park?
Alexei: A lot of the songs on Face Control started as rough sketches while we were on tour in Eastern Europe and the Baltics. We fleshed them out as quickly as possible once we returned to the studio so as not to lose the immediacy of the thing that inspired them. Generally we like to record things as soon as they are playable. There's very little tweaking of drum patterns and sequences once the song has come to its fruition; we think that's a pitfall of electronic music that we try not to fall into. We operate on a first-take-is-best-take basis. Unlike Plague Park, almost all of the songs on Face Control were tested live, and we wanted to keep the momentum of the performance intact in our recording.
One of my favorite songs on the new album is “(White City)” which is super short at 1 minute and 29 seconds. There’s a bunch of these short songs in parenthesis on the album. What was the concept behind them, and how did they come about?
Alexei: The idea was to have these incidental bits (à la Guided by Voices) that seemed like you were scrolling through AM radio channels. Basically we were trying to get across a theme or feeling within a very limited time span.
You recently described Handsome Furs as "Wolf Parade without the guy that everybody likes and no real instruments." Is it tough being the “other guy,” as you see it, or is it freeing?
Dan: That quote was a bit of a glib jab at Pitchfork who was simultaneously interviewing me for Handsome Furs and Wolf Parade while we were promoting Plague Park. Truthfully, I don't feel like "the other guy," as Wolf Parade is really a massive collaborative effort.
What is it like being in a band with your husband/wife? Which came first, the relationship or the band?
Alexei: It's not difficult being in a band together since we both like traveling and working very much and do so easily together. The band is, in a lot of ways, an extension of our relationship together. We met well before the band started while we were both telemarketing.
For more information on the Handsome Furs check out their webpage: here. |
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