Mika Posen - Timber Timbre (13/07/2011)
In an exclusive interview, we recently spoke with Mika Posen of the humble trio Timber Timbre, who have just released their fourth album Creep On Creepin' On.
Hi Mika, thanks for speaking to me today. Firstly, what has the band been up to since the release of your fourth album last month?
Well, we’ve been touring a lot: we’ve been to Europe, we’ve been across Canada, we’ve been to the States, and we’ve just had a few weeks of vacation!
Very nice! What have you done on vacation?
I’m actually currently at a cottage in northern Ontario – a cottage on a lake – and I’ve just been swimming and reading.
Could you tell me how the band first started out, and what brought you together?
The band just started out as a solo project from Taylor [Kirk, vocals]. He was playing by himself, making recordings by himself, and he released two records under the name of Timber Timbre. With the third record he decided he wanted to involve other musicians so he asked me to play on it. When it was released he decided that he didn’t want to play solo anymore and that he wanted to have a band. I played on the record and then he asked me to be in his live band and he also asked another friend who was a musician whom he admired. His name is Simon Trottier [autoharp/guitar/lapsteel], and the three of us have been a band ever since. On the last record we worked together more, with Taylor still making a lot of the decisions but Simon and I were involved as well.
There’s no doubt that the trio have a very interesting sound. Do you have any particular inspirations?
Well, its Taylor that started the visionary behind it all and I know that he is very influenced by film, mainly dark films. He’s a fan of David Lynch [filmmaker, The Elephant Man]. I think he’s also influenced by a lot of older types of music, like older rock n roll, doo-wop, older blues styles, and things like that. I think it’s really apparent in the way that he writes.
You say that Taylor is pretty much the main guy in the band. I know with some bands there is a standard composition process, that’s followed each time a new song is made. Is that the same for Timber Timbre? Does each member play a particular role?
In the composition process I’d say everyone does have a particular role: Taylor is the one who writes the songs and lyrics, and who is the basic producer of everything. Simon brings the atmospheric elements into it; a lot of sounds and noises and things like that. I guess I bring in the countermelodies because I’m a violinist and I do all the string stuff, so I’m more responsible for the string textures and melodies that come in. So that’s how it kind of works.
The band is really good at producing the sound that you want, from hearing your last album. Do any of you have a background in music? Did any of you go to college and study music or does it all just come naturally?
Yeah Simon and I studied music in university: I studied classical but I did a lot of popular music studies and played in a band, and he studied jazz and played in a few bands since then too. I think we bring our influences from those worlds. Taylor did not go to music school but he went to film school but I think that plays a major role in the way that he writes and the way that he produces music. There’s a lot of imagery, whilst Simon and I think more in terms of texture and melodies.
Timber Timbre released “Creep On Creepin’ On” in June. For the recording process, you guys were based in a converted church! Do you think this helped inspire and create some of the themes in the album?
It’s hard to say. I think that it would’ve come out as a spooky thing regardless, because that’s the sort of thing that Taylor likes. The church itself wasn’t actually a very spooky place; it was very old but it was converted into a studio. It was in a small town in rural Quebec, so it maybe influenced the way the record was made in that it was just a place to go, to retreat to for a few weeks. [We could] think about the record and be in a quiet place where we could forget about everything else and just focus on the one thing. But with the actual setting – I’m not sure! I mean it was really amazing place but it’s hard to say. I think it would’ve come out the same regardless.
How long did the whole recording process take?
The actual recording process only took about maybe 3 or 4 weeks of studio time. I wasn’t around for all of it. The preliminary recordings were done within about a week’s time at a studio in Montreal and then everything else was done in two weeks at the church studio. Then there’s all the mixing and mastering and all that stuff. The actual recording process took a few weeks, but then everything else took months.
Did you write the songs over a period of time, or were they all written within a couple of months?
Taylor had been working on ideas whilst we had been touring for the previous record [Self-Titled Album] because we had a very intense touring schedule. We didn’t have a lot of down time for him to really sit down and work out songs. He sort of had a collection of ideas written over the course of months of touring and then finally he had a chance to go away to a small town near New Brunswick in eastern Canada. He was doing an artist’s residency so he had a space to work in. I think he went for about two weeks, or 10 days, and he basically put his ideas together into all the songs that are on the record and came out with demos. It was a collection of ideas that came together over months and then culminated in about 10 day period when he was in New Brunswick that formed into songs.
Personally, what do you think is your favourite song on the new album?
My favourite song is “Too Old To Die Young”, definitely. It was, it still is, the most fun song to play but it was also the most fun to record. We did a lot of screams in the background, so doing that in the studio was really fun [Laughs].
That would’ve been fun, yeah! Do you or the band ever focus on what the critics say, in order to adjust your music?
I don’t really pay much attention to a lot of the critics. Taylor? I’m not sure, it’s hard to say if he does or not but I don’t think so. Simon does, he reads everything. He goes on the Internet and reads everything but I don’t think it really influences what we do. I don’t think we’re trying to play to critics or put ourselves in any sort of category. I don’t think any artists are!
You’re the only girl in this trio. Do you ever miss the female company?
Yes! [Laughs] Yes I do. I’m not sure how much I want to say about that but yeah we’ve had some female tour managers in the past. Recently we’ve been having male tour managers and sound guys; it’s turning into a larger group of men! It’s different to any other group that I’ve been in I guess. I’ve never played in a group with so many men so at the end of it I do miss female company, definitely.
In Timber Timbre, you play various instruments from violin to keyboard to percussion. Did you have a very musical upbringing when you were younger, apart from going to university?
Yeah, I started playing piano lessons when I was 5 years old and I took lessons for about 10 years for classical piano. I started taking violin lessons when I was nine. I guess I was always playing music; I was always very involved. I played in orchestras when I was in high school, though it was all classical until I went to university and that’s when I discovered that violin players could play in bands, which is a really interesting, different world.
Was classical a personal choice, or did you just think that you played violin so it had to be classical?
It was a personal choice; I really loved it. The first time I heard a violin recording it was [Antonio] Vivaldi. I loved it and I wanted to be able to play that music so badly. I was very into classical music and it wasn’t until much later that I discovered everything outside of that. Now I don’t do classical anymore, I exclusively do strings for a band.
Do you think you could perhaps bring in some classical music into Timber Timbre? If it would suit!
I would love to! I feel like that’s still the realm that I’m most comfortable in. I feel like when I do strings and stuff, usually what I’m drawing from is classical strings and chamber strings. We actually just worked on a new song that I feel like I did a very sort of classical arrangement. But yeah, I think it could work, it just depends on what kind of songs Taylor comes up with next! But I definitely would like to bring that in.
Could you tell us the song that you’ve been working on?
No, I can’t actually I’m sorry! [Laughs] It’s secret for now.
No, no that’s fine! I thought as much. So, as the band gains popularity in Canada and the rest of the world, where do you see yourselves on tour in the next year or so?
Well we go to Europe quite often. We’ve been doing really well in Europe, much better in the United States! We haven’t had a very good time in the US for the past few years. The last tour was quite dead but hopefully we’re going to go to some new places as well. Hopefully we’ll make it to Australia! It’s definitely in the plan, so hopefully in the next year we’ll go during our winter and your summer, which would be ideal. Beyond that, I’m not really sure. We’ll probably go deeper into Europe. I think we’re going to be doing Spain for the first time, and some other European countries that we haven’t done before.
Sweet. Now, I’ve always wondered this: If you go to a country where they predominantly don’t speak English, do you still speak English to them?
It depends. Simon and I both speak French. It’s actually his first language, he’s from Quebec, and I went to [French school]. We actually went to France where we’re perfectly fine to speak French with everyone. We can also use it in other places like the French part of Switzerland and Belgium. Everywhere else they seem to speak English so we haven’t really had a problem so far. We’ve got French [and English], but that’s it!
And to finish off, what is next for Timber Timbre in terms of creating a new record?
We’ve still got a lot of touring ahead of us with this record. It just came out so it’s probably going to be a year at least of touring and then probably start the next album – it’s hard to think about that right now! Hopefully we’ll have a chance to do some new things too. For now it’s just touring and small vacations in the woods!
Sounds fun! Well Mika thanks very much again for talking to me today. Hope you have a good time touring.
No problem, thank you!
Olivia Fusca
Hi Mika, thanks for speaking to me today. Firstly, what has the band been up to since the release of your fourth album last month?
Well, we’ve been touring a lot: we’ve been to Europe, we’ve been across Canada, we’ve been to the States, and we’ve just had a few weeks of vacation!
Very nice! What have you done on vacation?
I’m actually currently at a cottage in northern Ontario – a cottage on a lake – and I’ve just been swimming and reading.
Could you tell me how the band first started out, and what brought you together?
The band just started out as a solo project from Taylor [Kirk, vocals]. He was playing by himself, making recordings by himself, and he released two records under the name of Timber Timbre. With the third record he decided he wanted to involve other musicians so he asked me to play on it. When it was released he decided that he didn’t want to play solo anymore and that he wanted to have a band. I played on the record and then he asked me to be in his live band and he also asked another friend who was a musician whom he admired. His name is Simon Trottier [autoharp/guitar/lapsteel], and the three of us have been a band ever since. On the last record we worked together more, with Taylor still making a lot of the decisions but Simon and I were involved as well.
There’s no doubt that the trio have a very interesting sound. Do you have any particular inspirations?
Well, its Taylor that started the visionary behind it all and I know that he is very influenced by film, mainly dark films. He’s a fan of David Lynch [filmmaker, The Elephant Man]. I think he’s also influenced by a lot of older types of music, like older rock n roll, doo-wop, older blues styles, and things like that. I think it’s really apparent in the way that he writes.
You say that Taylor is pretty much the main guy in the band. I know with some bands there is a standard composition process, that’s followed each time a new song is made. Is that the same for Timber Timbre? Does each member play a particular role?
In the composition process I’d say everyone does have a particular role: Taylor is the one who writes the songs and lyrics, and who is the basic producer of everything. Simon brings the atmospheric elements into it; a lot of sounds and noises and things like that. I guess I bring in the countermelodies because I’m a violinist and I do all the string stuff, so I’m more responsible for the string textures and melodies that come in. So that’s how it kind of works.
The band is really good at producing the sound that you want, from hearing your last album. Do any of you have a background in music? Did any of you go to college and study music or does it all just come naturally?
Yeah Simon and I studied music in university: I studied classical but I did a lot of popular music studies and played in a band, and he studied jazz and played in a few bands since then too. I think we bring our influences from those worlds. Taylor did not go to music school but he went to film school but I think that plays a major role in the way that he writes and the way that he produces music. There’s a lot of imagery, whilst Simon and I think more in terms of texture and melodies.
Timber Timbre released “Creep On Creepin’ On” in June. For the recording process, you guys were based in a converted church! Do you think this helped inspire and create some of the themes in the album?
It’s hard to say. I think that it would’ve come out as a spooky thing regardless, because that’s the sort of thing that Taylor likes. The church itself wasn’t actually a very spooky place; it was very old but it was converted into a studio. It was in a small town in rural Quebec, so it maybe influenced the way the record was made in that it was just a place to go, to retreat to for a few weeks. [We could] think about the record and be in a quiet place where we could forget about everything else and just focus on the one thing. But with the actual setting – I’m not sure! I mean it was really amazing place but it’s hard to say. I think it would’ve come out the same regardless.
How long did the whole recording process take?
The actual recording process only took about maybe 3 or 4 weeks of studio time. I wasn’t around for all of it. The preliminary recordings were done within about a week’s time at a studio in Montreal and then everything else was done in two weeks at the church studio. Then there’s all the mixing and mastering and all that stuff. The actual recording process took a few weeks, but then everything else took months.
Did you write the songs over a period of time, or were they all written within a couple of months?
Taylor had been working on ideas whilst we had been touring for the previous record [Self-Titled Album] because we had a very intense touring schedule. We didn’t have a lot of down time for him to really sit down and work out songs. He sort of had a collection of ideas written over the course of months of touring and then finally he had a chance to go away to a small town near New Brunswick in eastern Canada. He was doing an artist’s residency so he had a space to work in. I think he went for about two weeks, or 10 days, and he basically put his ideas together into all the songs that are on the record and came out with demos. It was a collection of ideas that came together over months and then culminated in about 10 day period when he was in New Brunswick that formed into songs.
Personally, what do you think is your favourite song on the new album?
My favourite song is “Too Old To Die Young”, definitely. It was, it still is, the most fun song to play but it was also the most fun to record. We did a lot of screams in the background, so doing that in the studio was really fun [Laughs].
That would’ve been fun, yeah! Do you or the band ever focus on what the critics say, in order to adjust your music?
I don’t really pay much attention to a lot of the critics. Taylor? I’m not sure, it’s hard to say if he does or not but I don’t think so. Simon does, he reads everything. He goes on the Internet and reads everything but I don’t think it really influences what we do. I don’t think we’re trying to play to critics or put ourselves in any sort of category. I don’t think any artists are!
You’re the only girl in this trio. Do you ever miss the female company?
Yes! [Laughs] Yes I do. I’m not sure how much I want to say about that but yeah we’ve had some female tour managers in the past. Recently we’ve been having male tour managers and sound guys; it’s turning into a larger group of men! It’s different to any other group that I’ve been in I guess. I’ve never played in a group with so many men so at the end of it I do miss female company, definitely.
In Timber Timbre, you play various instruments from violin to keyboard to percussion. Did you have a very musical upbringing when you were younger, apart from going to university?
Yeah, I started playing piano lessons when I was 5 years old and I took lessons for about 10 years for classical piano. I started taking violin lessons when I was nine. I guess I was always playing music; I was always very involved. I played in orchestras when I was in high school, though it was all classical until I went to university and that’s when I discovered that violin players could play in bands, which is a really interesting, different world.
Was classical a personal choice, or did you just think that you played violin so it had to be classical?
It was a personal choice; I really loved it. The first time I heard a violin recording it was [Antonio] Vivaldi. I loved it and I wanted to be able to play that music so badly. I was very into classical music and it wasn’t until much later that I discovered everything outside of that. Now I don’t do classical anymore, I exclusively do strings for a band.
Do you think you could perhaps bring in some classical music into Timber Timbre? If it would suit!
I would love to! I feel like that’s still the realm that I’m most comfortable in. I feel like when I do strings and stuff, usually what I’m drawing from is classical strings and chamber strings. We actually just worked on a new song that I feel like I did a very sort of classical arrangement. But yeah, I think it could work, it just depends on what kind of songs Taylor comes up with next! But I definitely would like to bring that in.
Could you tell us the song that you’ve been working on?
No, I can’t actually I’m sorry! [Laughs] It’s secret for now.
No, no that’s fine! I thought as much. So, as the band gains popularity in Canada and the rest of the world, where do you see yourselves on tour in the next year or so?
Well we go to Europe quite often. We’ve been doing really well in Europe, much better in the United States! We haven’t had a very good time in the US for the past few years. The last tour was quite dead but hopefully we’re going to go to some new places as well. Hopefully we’ll make it to Australia! It’s definitely in the plan, so hopefully in the next year we’ll go during our winter and your summer, which would be ideal. Beyond that, I’m not really sure. We’ll probably go deeper into Europe. I think we’re going to be doing Spain for the first time, and some other European countries that we haven’t done before.
Sweet. Now, I’ve always wondered this: If you go to a country where they predominantly don’t speak English, do you still speak English to them?
It depends. Simon and I both speak French. It’s actually his first language, he’s from Quebec, and I went to [French school]. We actually went to France where we’re perfectly fine to speak French with everyone. We can also use it in other places like the French part of Switzerland and Belgium. Everywhere else they seem to speak English so we haven’t really had a problem so far. We’ve got French [and English], but that’s it!
And to finish off, what is next for Timber Timbre in terms of creating a new record?
We’ve still got a lot of touring ahead of us with this record. It just came out so it’s probably going to be a year at least of touring and then probably start the next album – it’s hard to think about that right now! Hopefully we’ll have a chance to do some new things too. For now it’s just touring and small vacations in the woods!
Sounds fun! Well Mika thanks very much again for talking to me today. Hope you have a good time touring.
No problem, thank you!
Olivia Fusca