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Interview with Islands
Interviewed By: Morgan Davis
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Nick Diamonds, of Islands and Unicorns fame, took time off from touring behind Islands’ masterful new release, Vapours to speak with Morgan Davis about the process for the new record and what made it a more refreshing experience than Arm’s Way. He also spoke about his upcoming new comic, why Jay-Z might want to give him a call, and his plans to make avant-garde ambient music. |
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So I’ve caught you in the middle of touring, right?
Yeah, we’re in Austin, Texas.
That’s not too bad. At least you’re out of the cold for a bit.
Exactly.
I got a chance to review your new album, Vapours, and I was floored by it; I was really impressed. It seems like a more adventurous take on different genres in a similar way to what Return to the Sea was. Something I picked up on in particular, and I don’t know if this was an influence for you or not, were hints of a sound I haven’t heard since Dexy’s Midnight Runners. Did you ever listen to them?
Just the single they had, “Come On Eileen.”
Yeah, unfortunately that’s probably the worst example of them [laughs]. But the reason I say that is that I think they were equally focused on mixing different genres and inserting an ’80s aesthetic over top. Was that something you were going for?
Yeah, it was. It’s a little like drawing from the past but looking to the future. You’re referencing things that have happened before in a pop context, but you’re also trying to interest yourself and keep yourself engaged in music by pushing certain envelopes.
It seems like you stripped down the structures quite a bit, too. Arm’s Way felt like a very complex album, and Vapours isn’t completely simple, but it at least comes off like you were working with layers instead of the song structures themselves.
Exactly. The genre-jumping as well, it’s true, it’s a lot like our first record.
When it came down to the actual writing process, did you take a different approach than what you had done with Arm’s Way?
The initial songwriting process is always the same, just me and an acoustic guitar. It’s really stripped down—working the song out, working the arrangement out, the basic structure, the words and everything. The part that was different with Vapours was bringing it to the band, which was a new outfit. It was a little more plotted out this time, like the arrangements and stuff. Arm’s Way was structurally sound, but it wasn’t fully arranged, all the layers and parts and stuff. I tried to have some breathing room for the other members to build it up and write it as a group; it was a lot more methodical and a slower process. With this record, it was a lot more spontaneous. I think it was a really refreshing approach to be able to make a record that was more off the cuff. On the other hand, it was a lot more thought out. I demoed the songs myself but went into the studio with the others. It was a lot more spontaneous, having some people who were working with us for the first time.
Right, you kind of get an edge there. And Jamie came back for this album, too. Did that rejuvenate things?
Yeah, for sure. It wasn’t a question of needing rejuvenation, though. It was just the record I wanted to make was the kind of thing Jamie was feeling. It just made sense. It was a really logical move for the kind of record I wanted to make to have him help me with it.
His style, too, is perfectly suited for what Vapours sounds like. Going all the way back to The Unicorns, you guys were working with drum machines and inserting electronic textures here and there. Did he help bring a lot of that sound to Vapours?
Yeah, the drum machines and programming were definitely something that he brought to the table.
To go off on a different tangent here, I have this theory about Canadian artists and the environment of Canada and how it provokes a sense of darkness. I’ve noticed amongst Canadian singer-songwriters, especially, there’s this morbidity, and I’d say your lyrics definitely fit into that. Death is a big subject in the Unicorns and Islands discographies, and you can go back as far as Neil Young as well and find similar obsessions. Do you notice that in Canadian art? Does it seem like a particularly morbid arts culture to you?
I’m not sure if there’s a pattern there. I can’t speak on behalf of Canadian music; I can just say what I know and what I’ve experienced. I don’t know, Canada is a big country with not a lot of people in it. It’s a pretty vast, desolate landmass. Maybe the emptiness has something to do with the contemplative nature of Canadian songwriting.
I think it’s interesting that in your lyrics, and artists like Chad VanGaalen have this too, death isn’t even seen as a bad or horrible thing. Especially on The Unicorns’ debut, it’s almost seen as celebratory. Is that your way of dealing with death?
I think it’s therapeutic.
Moving on to something cheerier, I find it really fascinating that you’re particularly adept at integrating hip-hop elements into your work, with projects like Th’ Corn Gangg. I had the chance to speak to Busdriver not too long ago, and he had mentioned that, with Th’ Corn Gangg, what you guys are doing is pretty much all improv. It seems like Islands is very methodical, in a sense, so is it kind of an escape for you to have that improv project to fall back on?
For the time being, but Th’ Corn Gangg is a very loose concept at this stage. In a live setting, it’s really just because we don’t have songs. We just want to perform on the fly. It’s also got something of a production element too, where Jamie and I have made beats that we want to farm out to rappers and stuff. That’s all a part of having different modes of expression. For me it’s just key to have different ways of expressing myself.
You also have Human Highway, which is sort of your folk project as well, right?
Yeah, it’s got folk roots.
You mentioned that you’ve been trying to farm out some of your beats, so what would your dream team of emcees be to have on that?
Like a collaboration? Oh, geez . . .
Well, let’s rule out the ones you’ve already worked with, so no Busdriver or Subtitle . . .
At this point, I’d just love to work with people I kind of know already, like Anti-Pop Consortium and Cadence Weapon and Del tha Funkee Homosapien, and I just did a beat for Buck 65’s new record. I don’t know if it’s going to go on there, though. And then honestly, the heavyweights, it’d be fun to just have to do that style. I think Jamie and I could make beats that are ten times better than the shit that’s being made right now.
That’s something Busdriver brought up as well, that so much of the production style now is “stale.”
Oh, yeah, stale is definitely the word for it.
So now that Vapours has been released and you’re touring in support of it, what’s the plan? Are you looking to focus on some of your side projects for a bit, or will you be going right back into the studio with Islands?
I’m leaving it sort of open for a bit. I’ve got my comic book coming out in March; that’s the next release. It’s called This Is How We Do, and it’s coming out on Drawn and Quarterly. I feel very privileged to be on that very esteemed publishing company.
What’s the comic about?
It’s a mix of little mini stories. It’s pretty lowbrow, R. Crumb-esque nonsense. It’s not like a “graphic novel,” more gags . . .
More “comix” than novel?
Yeah, like R. Crumb’s old stuff.
Are you drawing it yourself?
Yeah, I am.
Have you seen the new R. Crumb release, by the way? His adaptation of the Book of Genesis?
I’ve seen bits and pieces in The New Yorker, but I haven’t checked it out yet.
It’s pretty weird the backlash he’s been getting from religious groups, who are outraged that he’s brought “sex and violence” to the Bible . . .
[laughs] Right, because there definitely isn’t any sex and violence in the Bible . . . But I guess I shouldn’t be comparing myself to R. Crumb; he’s, like, a master. Some of his stuff I like a lot.
So other than the comic, what else have you got coming up?
I’ve got some collections of songs and plans. Brian from Man Man and I are talking about working together on a project. There’s always room for another Human Highway record. I’ve some Islands songs, and I want to work on another Islands album soon. I want to work on an instrumental record, soundscape-y record, kind of like side B of David Bowie’s Low.
Like the ambient stuff?
Yeah, avant-garde ambient [laughs].
Since you’ve moved to Anti-, it seems like they’ve been pretty good about helping you out with these projects. What has it been like to move from a smaller indie to what is kind of the major of the indies?
It’s been good. But as far as selling records goes, it was good on a smaller indie too. It was just that it was an indie that didn’t have their shit together. We needed more accountability, and that was why we went to Anti-. But it’s a nice to have a real professional team that you feel safe with and you can trust.
Do you feel like it gives you more freedom to work with larger studios if you wanted?
Yeah, I guess. And it gives us a budget. I don’t deal with questions like that really well because it’s not where my head is at all, the business side. I just don’t even think about it at all. |
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