by Martyna Turczynowicz
Fast Romantics are an indie-rock band from Calgary, Alberta. Their second full-length album, Afterlife Blues, came out on October 8th. Stylus caught up with the band’s singer and songwriter, Matthew Angus, to talk about the release of their new album and upcoming tour.
Stylus: Tell us about Afterlife Blues?
Matthew Angus: It’s the first time our band has figured out exactly who we want to be. I think we were a little lost with the last couple records. It’s been eight months since we’ve finished recording Afterlife Blues, and we still really love listening to it. The people that have heard it really seem to like it, which is gratifying. I’m sure just as many people who will like it, will hate it. That’s part of the fun of doing things like this.
Stylus: What was the recording process like?
MA: It was really long. We moved from Calgary to Toronto and really took our time. We did a couple of different sessions and worked with music producer Howard Redekopp (Redekopp has worked with the likes of Imaginary Cities, Said the Whale and Mother Mother) on a few songs. Then we took a break to let it all sink in. We weren’t rushing, that’s why there’s such a long gap between our last album, the EP Kidcutter, and this one.
Stylus: The name of the album is Afterlife Blues and your most recent video was for “Funeral Song,” what’s with the morbidity?
MA: Somebody close to me actually asked me if this was a really depressing album. He had somebody close to him die and didn’t want to listen to it if it was really depressing. It’s not. There’s a weird duality to Afterlife Blues. It sounds dark from the titles, but a lot of the songs are pretty happy and party sounding. It’s a real hodgepodge of emotions. It’s the first time we’ve shared our emotions with people. There’s happiness and sadness and everything in between.
Stylus: The video for “Funeral Song,” was recorded in a very old church, what was recording that like?
MA: It was interesting; we got the oldest church in Ontario. It was really old and fragile, so it was pretty scary packing a bunch of rock’n’rollers and punks in there. We worked with the right people, so we weren’t too stressed about it. There were definitely a lot of people running around and being stressed out, but we weren’t so that’s cool.
Stylus: When do you start touring the new album?
MA: October 11th, we’re doing a CD release here in Toronto. We’re going to Montreal first and then west to Sault-St Marie. We’re being weirdos and zigzagging. The next year is going to be nonstop touring. We’re going to do a North American tour in the spring and probably Europe in mid-2014. We’ve been working on this album for so long that we want to focus on playing for people.
Stylus: You had a Pledgemusic campaign to help release your album, Afterlife Blues, how did that go?
MA: The Pledgemusic campaign was a little experiment. We’re an indie band and we’re broke all the time, so we thought we’d try it. We always want to do things over-the-top and bigger than we should. We’re at the point where we’ve maxed out pretty much every credit card we could get our hands on. If we’re going to tour and release the album properly, we’re going to need some cash. I’m always wary of stuff like the Pledgemusic campaign. It was walking a fine line, because we’re not salespeople. At the same time, we’re an independent band and we’ve got to learn how to work on our music. That’s just the new reality of things. We thought we’d give it a shot and it’s been an interesting experience. It was a nice way to get the people who were going to buy the record anyway to buy it earlier and to help us out. We gave them all sorts of fun little trinkets and exclusives. Now, we’ll be able to afford touring and gas.
Fast Romantics will be playing with Mise en Scene at Le Garage Café on Tuesday, October 15th. Doors open at 8pm.