#novusolis

[sometimesalwaysmusic]

NOVUSOLIS

Zachary Perron (ZP) and Amanda Lowe (AL) are the duo behind Novusolis (NS), an Ottawa post-rock band that just released their album, Collapse. The summer of 2018 is a big one for the band, with future plans to tour the UK in August. We discussed their songwriting approach, their recent album release show and the Ottawa post-rock scene. Read the interview, and then check out their latest album here.

VITALS

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/novusolis/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/novusolisband

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/novusolis/ 

Latest Release:  Collapse (Album, June 2018)

Upcoming shows: July 8 - General Assembly, Ottawa, ON July 28 - B-Side Lounge, Toronto, ON August 10 - The Forest Cafe, Edinburgh, UK August 12 - The Fiddler’s Elbow, London, UK August 15 - The Chintz, Falmouth, UK August 19 - Shout About It Festival, Liverpool, UK

SA: How did Novusolis first start playing music together? ZP: I first started accompanying Amanda on her solo project. Then we started writing more ambient music together, so we created a separate project - which became Novusolis!

SA: What bands or musicians would you cite as the biggest influences on your sound? AL: Vocals and songwriting style wise, Daughter and Keaton Henson have influenced me the most. Especially how they create a heavy feeling with simple sounds and heart shattering lyrics. Instrumentation wise we both love Explosions in the Sky! ZP: I draw inspiration from a lot of different sources that range from black metal to shoegaze to hip hop! But if I’d have to choose specific acts, I would have to say Radiohead is the biggest one for me, as well as Portishead, MONO, and Deafheaven. We try to mash up all those influences into our own blend of post-rock.

SA: Thus far in your career, what has been the band’s biggest success? NS: OUR NEW ALBUM!! We are finally super close to the sound that we want to achieve!! It’s a huge step up from our first album - and we’re very proud of it!

SA: Conversely, what is the biggest challenge you have faced, and how have you dealt with it? ZP: Balancing our romantic relationship and musician relationship can be tough. We both want to be better musicians and work on our music but we can’t let it define our relationship. We have to nurture the other aspects of our relationship, the ones outside of making music because if we don’t then we aren’t taking care of each other, and can become toxic. AL: Since we’re both busy people, we plan a schedule that guarantees at least one day a week for practice/Novusolis work. The other days are dedicated to working on us- activities, movies, eating food, relaxing!

SA: How do you guys approach the song-writing process? ZP: It depends on the song. Most of the time, I’ll create a guitar loop and Amanda will try to find melodies that fit. Then we just keep adding guitar and synth  and drum layers until it sounds full. After that we start structuring the song. Sometimes I’ll change it up depending on Amanda’s singing style. AL: For lyrics, I’ll ask Zach for 3 words describing the instrumental we just made and I’ll jot down 3 of mine. We read them out and I’ll build a song using a few of those words as themes. Then we’ll pick a song name that embodies the feeling of the song! 

SA: What are your thoughts on the Ottawa music scene, and in particular, the Ottawa post-rock scene? ZP: The post-rock scene is pretty small. We’re like a book club, we all know each other, and we play shows together. It’s slowly building up though!

SA: You recently had your album release party at Black Squirrel Books. Any highlights from the night, or moments that really stuck out to you? AL: I loved that our bill was all female fronted post-rock acts, with Adriana Ciccone of Constellation 425, Kyla Hidalgo of No Mistakes In Space, and myself! Another thing that stuck out to me we’re the comments we got afterwards, friends and strangers saying how strongly they connected to the lyrics. That was pretty cool! ZP: I was too busy running around that night, everything is a blur!!

SA: You have just released your latest album, Collapse, this June. As a band, do you have a favourite track off the release, and why? NS: ATLANTIS! We had a bit of a different songwriting approach for this one, and it turned out to be awesome. The main loop sounds like you’re underwater, which adds to the imagery of the song and lyrics. It was overall a really fun song to create and to play!! 

SA: If you had to choose, what three records would you cite as most impactful on your sound in this group? NS: 1) Every Country’s Sun by Mogwai 2) Hymn To The Immortal Wind by MONO 3) Under Summer by Yndi Halda

SA: What comes next for you guys in 2018, post album release? Good luck this coming year! NS: WE HAVE A UK TOUR IN AUGUST! And hopefully we’ll be playing more festivals across Canada and the globe! 

[natcaprock]

Novusolis performing at BSB @black_squirrel_books @sidebysidewknd @novusolis #livemusic #festival (at Black Squirrel Books & Espresso Bar) https://www.instagram.com/p/B0e_WlVlp_J/?igshid=cawj9myd2md2

[sometimesalwaysmusic]

AMANDA LOWE

Amanda Lowe Warnakulasuriya (AL) is a local singer-songwriter who captivates audiences with her beautiful melodies and haunting songs. Read on to learn more about her influences, challenges, successes and inspirations. Check out her music, both as a solo artist and with her post-rock project Novusolis. 

VITALS

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmandaLoweMusic/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MandaaLowe

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Mandaxx13?feature=mhee

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mandaa_lowe/

Latest Release: Birthmarks and Collarbones��(LP, Aug 2016)

Upcoming shows: Thursday, April 27 - Host, Café Nostalgica Open Mic. Ottawa, ON

SA: How did you first get your start in music? AL: I have a very musical family - Sri Lankan music always playing at home. But in grade one my music teacher told me I had a beautiful voice and that gave me a confidence boost to perform at school. But it wasn't until age 12 that I really took songwriting and guitar more seriously. I'd turn anything into a song - like a poem, or a short story; and I'd find some guitar chords to fit and voilà! I had written over 50 songs by the time I was 18.

SA: What bands, musicians or artists would you cite as the biggest influences on your sound? AL: Definitely Damien Rice, Coeur de Pirate, Keaton Henson, Wilfred Lebouthillier, and Explosions In The Sky. They can all make you feel so many emotions with not only their lyrics but just with the instrumentation. That's something I've always hoped to achieve!

SA: At this point in your musical career, what would you consider to be your biggest success? AL: Getting to open for Coeur de Pirate at a sold out Bronson Centre!! Getting to meet and open for your musical inspiration is very humbling. One of the best days of my existence!

SA: Conversely, what is the biggest challenge you have faced, and how have you dealt with it? AL:  Well being a woman of colour in the music industry has been the toughest challenge I have faced - not only as an artist but also as an agent/presenter/grant writer. People find it amusing to belittle me, assault me, or to not offer me the same opportunities because I'm a woman and of colour. I've dealt with it by making these challenges aware to those who do not go through it, by creating my own platform, joining collectives whose main goals are to create safer spaces for marginalized folks to showcase their work and build community - these collectives also offer anti-oppression workshops to businesses of all kinds. The fight for equality is still not over, so I'm still dealing with it. I know that as long as there is representation, resources, and love (so cheesy, I know), we can overcome these challenges.

SA: How do you approach the song-writing process? AL: Every song seems to have a mind of it's own. Sometimes the lyrics appear first, other times it's the guitar melody/chords. Occasionally a line from one of my poems will spark the idea for an entire song and I'll build from that one line. I rely heavily on painting a picture with words and making sure that what I'm trying to convey is felt and not only heard. But I'm learning to accept that some songs don't even need words, or only need a few - experimenting with that has been really fun! The actually song-writing process doesn't require much from me, I can write anywhere! If I have anything to write with, I will find a way to jot down whats on my mind - whether it's on the bus, on the toilet (story for another day), during an exam! Most importantly, I like to remind myself that I write songs for myself, and not for other people - that takes pressure off when I'm being my own worst critic.

SA: What are your thoughts on the Ottawa music scene? AL: This is a really tough question. I love the scene because of how many talented people we have - it's truly incredible. But I'm not a fan of how dismissive the scene can be to those that bring up concerns within it. A lot of people are quick to invalidate someone's experience simply because "Well I haven't had that same experience/Well they're nice to me". We have a lot to work on, but it is slowly getting better!

Representation is vital for growth. I grew up in PEI and obviously didn't see brown women like me performing so I had to become that representation for myself and for the next little girl of colour that would be moving to the island! I find myself in that same situation now in Ottawa where sometimes on a bill, I'm the only woman or only woman of colour!

Personally, Spectrasonic has helped make so many of my performance dreams come true and I know they have a good team working hard to help with representation within their shows. There is still so much work to be done to make the Ottawa music scene more representative, safer, and more fun - but I have hope because of collectives/ organizations/ promoters such as Debaser, Babely Shades, Music.Art.People., OMIC, and my beloved Ottawa Beat!

SA: A question for fun: if you could tour with any musical act, active or not, who would it be and why? AL: EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY!!!! I have cried so many tears of joy/emptiness/sadness listening to their music growing up - and I still do! They are such a big influence to my partner Zachary and I with our post-rock band Novusolis. They evoke so many emotions with just their instruments and being able to share the stage with a band that powerful and so in tune with their instrumentation would be the biggest honour. Wow my heart is racing just thinking about this!

SA: You are active both as a solo artist, as well as in the project Novusolis. When you sit down to write a song, do you have a preconceived notion of which project it will be with, or do you write in a more open-ended way, allocating songs to a project after they're written? AL: I'm still figuring that out! The song on my album "Home" was originally written for Novusolis but it ended up fitting better for my solo project. The songs evolve on their own so I never know where they may end up - but typically I write the songs for my solo project alone, and the songs for Novusolis are written in the moment with Zachary playing a new looped melody. I ask him for 3 words to describe what he feels when he's playing that melody, and I'll do the same - most of the time we have similar words and I'll build a song based off of those words/feelings.

SA: You've played a ton of high-profile gigs (Megaphono (x2), JunoFest & CityFolk come to mind). Until this point, over your entire career, could you specifically choose one gig as your favourite, and why? AL: JUNOFEST at St-Alban's was the best show I have ever played. Zachary plays with me for my solo project too, and we both agree that it was the first time that we were 100% happy with how everything sounded. There was no awkward feedback, no instruments cutting out - it was perfect! And the best part was how lovely the crowd was!! I love it when folks actually sing along, and laugh at my unfortunate life experiences (the story behind certain songs). Every show I've seen at St-Alban's has been amazing - and I had no idea I would feel the same way while performing! It was truly an ethereal experience!

SA: What comes next for you this year? Good luck with everything, and thanks for taking the time to answer our questions! AL: Playing shows, leading workshops, and working on album #2 both for my solo and Novusolis project! We're ironing out details for another little tour out east, and if all works out hopefully a lovely tour out west!

[sometimesalwaysmusic]

OBSIDIAN WILL

We caught up with the members of Obsidian Will (OW: Liam, Lloyd, and Justin) to discuss successes, challenges, favourite tracks of their own, and their most influential records. Check them out at one of their upcoming shows and witness their artwork for yourself! (Photo: Natalie Jeffery)

VITALS

Facebook: www.facebook.com/obsidianwill 

Web:  www.obsidianwill.com  

Instagram: www.instagram.com/owmelammu

Upcoming shows:  May 25 - Drone Day, Ottawa, ON June 20 - L'Ordre de l'Infiniment Nada, Obsidian Will, Transmit vs. Intangerines, Bar Robo, Ottawa, ON.

SA: How did Obsidian Will first start playing music together? OW: OW started in 2013 in the office of the Carleton University archives and rare book room, where Liam used to work and Lloyd still does. We were both in other bands, Liam’s was ending as his band mates moved out of town, and Lloyd’s was still going but winding down. We discovered a mutual appreciation for classic heavy metal and various metal sub-genres: black metal, folk metal, witch house, etc. and both came across funeral doom while poking around bandcamp and itunes. It was also around this time that Lloyd started experimenting with making soundscapes on garageband and integrating lyrics. Liam also went to see Merdaratha, which incorporated pre-recorded ambient loop tracks that could be played over by a live band. Liam thought it would be cool to layer some guitar over the soundscapes Lloyd was making, and Lloyd could provide the rhythm. That’s sort of, but not quite, what we ended up doing.

We decided to jam together and booked some time at the rehearsal space under Irene’s called Noise Annoys. The room was great but the shortest amount of time you could book was four hours. Four. Hours. It ended up being a lot of time but allowed us to work for long periods and figure out what our version of funeral doom would be. Originally, all of our songs were between 12 and 20 minutes long. The tightened-up versions of the songs we wrote at this time - like Ghost Acres and Marked Hands - are still part of our sets and are notably slower tempo and sparse-sounding. Eventually, we would move away from trying to fit into the funeral doom genre.

We got lucky somehow and booked a few gigs as a duo, including opening for Topon Das, Greylights, Black Oak Decline and Empty Vessels. We also did our first out-of-town gig at a nudist colony in Vankleek Hill. After we had played our original set list a few times, we decided our sound was a bit too sparse and thought twice about always having a pre-recorded backing track to break-up the silence. Luckily, Lloyd met Justin in an esoteric/occult reading group he started. Their conversation quickly turned to music and Lloyd invited Justin to join with the band to play violin and be the “live loop track” that would replace the pre-recorded one. A few weeks after Justin came on board, we had our first gig with him. We didn’t really have time to prepare, so we just told him to improvise as we played through our set list. Justin eventually purchased an electric violin and now an electric cello, and is integrated more fully into the songs and overall sound of Obsidian Will.

SA: What bands or musicians would you cite as the biggest influences on your sound? OW: At the beginning it was certainly Doom bands like Skepticism and Nortt, as well as folk metal bands like Wardruna. Merdaratha was a huge initial local influence as well, as was Gates from Toronto. We are individually and collectively influenced by many different bands and styles of music and sound art, and as we have continued to work together more of our influences outside of the metal genre have crept in like The Mars Volta, Laibach, Lustmord, and many of the artists on the Cryo Chamber label.

SA: Thus far in your career, what has been the band’s biggest success? OW: It’s all a success. Every time we get to play a show is an extreme privilege and it’s wild to us that we get to share the stage with some of the most exciting bands we know. It’s still a total novelty that we can contact bands that we like, or, even crazier, get contacted by rad bands out of nowhere, and have them agree to/want to play a show with us.

Picking out a few specific examples though, doing an Ottawa-Montreal show swap with Le Pélican Noir is a definite highlight. We are super glad to have met Sylvain and Maxime and are excited to collaborate with them in the future. Being asked to play the Ottawa Experimental Music 5 year anniversary show is also huge for us, and it’s kind of unbelievable that we got to be on the same bill as amazing local bands we admire like Novusolis, Clavius, Deathsticks, RAAS, and Forgotten in the Woods Again. Also, having an album and EP recorded by Topon Das at Apartment 2 Studios is like a dream come true, and, thanks to his production skills, having them turn out wayyy better than we thought possible was an added bonus.

SA: Conversely, what is the biggest challenge you have faced, and how have you dealt with it? OW: Obsidian Will doesn’t really fit into any one genre, or at least one of the genres you can pick from a scroll-down list on bandcamp/soundcloud/spotify etc. Our sets can range from quiet drone/ambient to a crushing doom-infused wall of noise. A blend of those two extremes isn’t always an easy sell. This might make us a bit more challenging to put on a bill, because we’re not really a fun high-energy band that would get booked for your usual bar or festival gigs - we have a tendency to bring the mood down. That said, we’ve managed to find a core group of local bands and artists we are similar to and that we work well with. We are still working to build our audience and find other artists to collaborate with. Having the ability to disseminate our music online helps when your project is more niche, like ours.

SA: How do you guys approach the song-writing process? OW: We’re still working on figuring this one out. Our older approach, when we were a two-piece of drums and guitar was to kind of work independently and rely on visual cues from on-another, mostly nods and looks. Essentially, it was the law of the jungle, but we made it work.

Once Justin joined the band, and now that Lloyd is incorporating synth, we realized we would need to work on coordinating. Right now, we’re working on a new song that will require a lot more structure and coordination between the three of us. We’re currently building a structure based on a few variations on the central theme.

Usually one of us has a concept or an idea we want to explore with the band. We sit and talk about it and then see if we can translate that narrative into sound. Occasionally we will also bring a riff or soundscape forward and work with that.

Also, we usually write lyrics first and try to build a song structure around them, or, for less structured and more ambient songs, pre-record the lyrics and play them over what we’re playing. For these less-structured songs, we end up doing our own thing to a great extent, recording it off the floor, and listening back to it to make sure everything we’re doing fits together. The tricky part is remembering what you were playing!

SA: What are your thoughts on the Ottawa music scene? OW: There are positives and negatives. We recognize that we are a niche project and our music/performances don’t appeal to everyone; that’s totally fine. As a result of this, though, we had a hard time finding shows at first and are still working on building a local audience. Maybe this is commonplace and not exclusively an Ottawa thing, but it seems like crowds tends to follow specific promoters, and promoters tend to focus on specific genres, which totally makes sense. This can just make it a bit difficult to do something different and still play locally. That’s probably more on us than on “the scene” though.

That said, we’ve been super lucky to get support from other bands and locals. One of our earliest supporters was Topon Das. Not only did he record, mix, and master our self-titled album and the Night Sky EP at Apartment 2 Studios, he headlined our first show and also got us on early bills with bands we were amazed to play with like Black Oak Decline and Empty Vessels. We are super appreciative of all the help he’s given us and feel privileged that he’s been involved in the band’s development.

Another huge help to us is Adriana Ciccone (AKA Baba Ganoush). Finding the Ottawa Experimental Music facebook page was extremely helpful for promotion and finding shows. Adriana has been very supportive of OW, plus she’s a super talented musician herself that is contributing a lot to the Ottawa music scene as a performer, community radio host, writer, organizer, and show promoter. We consider her a very positive force in the Ottawa music scene and are extremely grateful to have met her and to have shared a stage with her. Check out all her stuff if you haven’t already! Forgotten in the Woods Again, Constellation 425, Ottawa Experimental Music, Hexon Bogon on CKCU. She does so much that is no doubt an incomplete list.

Ottawa Drone Day has also been a big help as well (full disclosure: Liam has helped organize Drone Day for the past 3 years). It’s always encouraging to see that there are so many local performers doing very different styles of music than you would normally see at shows, and it is great to be a part of that. Overall, though our niche is specific we are very encouraged that we’ve been able to find local bands to play on the same bill with and that like our music, and likewise, we like theirs.

SA: From Tamtu in November 2016, all the way to Night Sky, in November 2018, what kind of progression has there been in your music? Or, has it rather stayed constant over time, in terms of theme and expression? OW: Over time, we have played with the idea of structuring our shows and recordings as ritual spaces. As the ones creating the experience, we are guides bringing the listener on a sonic journey. We have structured our sets and albums to do this, trying to be conscious of what’s being communicated overall and being sure to open and close the ritual space of the performance before and after. This idea developed early on and has been a through-line throughout our performances and recordings... most of the time.

Similarly, we consider our songs, with and without lyrics, as meditations. We are often trying to explore things that inspire awe through their ineffability or by the contradictions they embody. Sometimes we borrow from classical mythology to do this, like in The Mother of Eleven and Marked Hands, and sometimes we look to the present like in Teratogenesis or Salvage. We are often writing songs about forces beyond our control and the feeling of powerlessness.

As far as recordings go, we’ve alternated between more structured songs and more improvised, noisy, and experimental “songs” (calling them songs would be kind of a stretch). Tamtu, Hollow Witch, and Night Sky are all less structured experimental pieces we recorded for Noisevember. For these, we try to tell a story through sound and sometimes incorporate pre-recorded lyrics. For Hollow Witch, we stayed at a friend’s house deep in Lanark County and recorded the songs in various parts of the house as well as one outside. We ritualized the session overall as well as each recording, and in the end, the album ended up being an ode to the house itself. Our self-titled album and Melammu are recordings of some of our more structured songs and is a bit less consciously organized overall. The elements are still there, but the songs are more able to stand alone.

Also, in the time we’ve been playing together we’ve all grown as musicians. We’ve also grown in terms of gear. We started with drums and electric guitar and now we have drums, baritone guitar, electric violin, electric cello, 3 or 4 synthesizers, and collectively we probably have 20 pedals. This allows each of us to shape our sound to better reflect the stories that we set out to tell with our music. As we grow as musicians our sonic vocabulary grows along with the amount of gear we have to load-in.

SA: Thus far in the band’s repertoire, what is your favourite track, and why? Liam: My favourite tracks are some of our earliest: Marked Hands and The Gestation of Homunculi. They are very simple but I never get sick of playing them when we are going through the set list. They are probably the most emotive songs in our repertoire.

Lloyd: My favorite track to play is Teratogenesis basically because it’s fun to smash through the song. My favorite song to listen to is The Mother of Eleven. For me the song is an invocation of the dark reaches of mystery. Each time we play it I treat it as a personal ritual.

Justin: The Gestation of Homunculi is awesome! This was the first song I wanted to learn and play when I joined and I still love playing it.

SA: If you had to choose, what three records would you cite as most impactful on your sound in this group? Lloyd: Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath

Liam: Skepticism - Stormcrowfleet

Justin: Type-O-Negative - October Rust

SA: What comes next for you guys in 2019? Good luck this coming year! OW: We are working on a couple new songs and will most likely be playing Drone Day on May 25th. After that, we are playing June 20th with L’Ordre de l’Infiniment NADA and Transmit vs. Intangerines at Bar Robo - this show is so new there isn’t even an event to link to yet! We’ll probably also do another crazy noise recording for Noisevember and other stuff, stay tuned! 

[sometimesalwaysmusic]

OTTAWA EXPERIMENTAL MUSIC

For this edition of Sometimes Always, we chatted with Adriana (AC) from Ottawa Experimental Music. We learned more about the background of the site, the tremendous progress they’ve made since 2013, and upcoming plans to keep the momentum rolling. Read on and check out more of what the Ottawa post-rock and experimental music scene has to offer!

VITALS

Web: https://www.facebook.com/OttawaExperimentalMusic/

Email: forgotteninthewoodsagain@gmail.com 

Upcoming shows: 

Sunday, November 11 - OEM Five Year Anniversary show. RAAS, Clavius, Forgotten in the Woods Again, Obsidian Will, Novusolis, Deathsticks. $10. 7PM. Minotaure, Hull, QC 

SA: Tell us a bit about the origins of OEM. When did the website start, and what was your main goal in doing so? AC: I officially created the page on September 8th, 2013. My main goal in creating the page was to specifically help promote the experimental music scene here in Ottawa. There are a lot of great music related pages on Facebook that generally speak to music in Ottawa but I felt like it would be helpful to have a page that showcased this particular scene with bands from not just Ottawa but all over Canada and the world. I also thought it would be a great tool for connecting these bands.

SA: Are there any other websites, in the experimental music realm or not, that serve as inspiration or a model for OEM? AC: Definitely. The Post-Rock Community page was a big inspiration at the beginning. There's also wherepostrockdwells and sites such as Echoes and Dust etc.

SA: Thus far in the website's existence, what has been your biggest success? AC: The biggest success has been connecting with so many wonderful and awesome musicians, bands, writers and promoters from near and far. Each time the page receives a message from a band, musician, fan etc, that's a measure of success, knowing that they thought enough of the page to contact us.

SA: Conversely, what is the biggest challenge you have faced, and how have you dealt with it? AC: The biggest challenge has been to get people out to shows. It's a constant struggle and a reoccurring topic of discussion.

SA: Do you have any advice for somebody looking to start a music website in this day and age? AC: My advice would be to have a clear mission statement, don't do it alone and think about what you will and will not do. Posting and/or re-posting events, music/band info will inevitably lead to other things such as writing reviews, putting together shows and helping bands find other bands etc. This is all great but can quickly get overwhelming if you have competing priorities.

SA: If you had to choose a favourite Ottawa show you've ever seen, which would it be and why? AC: This is truly a tough question. I don't think I can choose. In the last 5 years alone, many of the shows I've been to have given me inspiration and have further fortified my love of music. If I may rephrase the question...which show would you categorize as having a classic rock n roll moment? Now this is a little easier for me to answer. Last year, The City Gates, a shoegaze band from Montreal, played at Bar Robo. The band was on fire and the singer was in the zone. In the middle of this one track, the singer falls, face first. I gasped, I'm sure many did. And as quickly as he fell, he got up and continued singing the song without missing a beat. I remember being shocked, relieved and having this overwhelming feeling to laugh at what I had just witnessed. I thought to myself, now that's rock n roll man.

SA: You are personally active in a number of local bands, including Forgotten in the Woods Again and Constellation 425. What is your favourite Ottawa gig you’ve ever played, and why? AC: Another tough one Pierce. I don't think I can choose. Each show I've played with FITWA and the couple I've done as Constellation 425 have been pretty awesome. I've had the opportunity to meet and play with some great musicians/very cool people. At each of these shows, I came away with a new and wonderful experience. I guess most recently, FITWA was invited to join Wisconsin band Searchlights, on a couple of their Canadian dates during their North American tour. This one was special to me because I've been friends with the guys in Searchlights since the OEM page started, almost anyway. We met online, liking each other's music and remained friends. To finally get to meet them and hear their music live was a dream come true.

SA: What are your three 'deserted on an island’ albums and why? AC: Whoah, this is almost impossible to answer. I hope I never get deserted on an island! I'm already regretting my choices and missing all the other albums I would have brought with me! Here it goes: 1. Mogwai's Hardcore will never die, but you will. I love every track off this album. It's imaginative, heavy, atmospheric, patient and epic. 2. Hammock's An Introduction to Hammock. This band is my warm blanket on a cold day, my calm place in a storm. 3. 65daysofstatic's Wild Light album. A perfect album in every way. It's emotive, and the keys on this album are out of this world.

SA: What comes next for OEM in 2018? We wish you the best, and good luck! AC: I'm not too sure. Probably more of the same, continue to share the music being made in the experimental music scene and help bands out as much as I can. I should say that there's a festival of sorts planned for November 11th at Minotaure in Gatineau to celebrate OEM's 5th year of existence. We have a great line-up and a lot of giveaways to mark the occasion. I hope many will attend to help celebrate the occasion. Thank-you Pierce for this opportunity to be interviewed and all that you do for the music scene here in Ottawa. Cheers!