Grass is always greener on the other side of the fence

AU played in Warsaw over a month ago. This is the interview I did with Luke Wyland just after the show. Yes, they played on his birthday.

Was recording “Both Lights” hard? You spent on making it almost a year.

It was very hard. At the end of our touring in 2009, I had so many ideas for new songs, how should they sound and so on. I started to find a place to record them, and then Irecorded, produced and engineered “Both Lights” on my own. I made a space to record at a small kinda garage. I spent there 10 months everyday recording and making music. The songs came very slowly. I knew what I wanted them to sound like in my head. I knew it very well, bu I couldn’t make them sound like that on tape. It  took a bit to rehash, rework the and distill the right sound. It was the slowest recording process ever.

What’s your creative method?

Lots of my songs start as improvisations. I just play my instrument and see where it gets me to. I loop some sequences or try to play it with Dana. It springs from there, it’s like a small seed. Then I work on  that, just putting layers upon layers on this main track. I usually go very big at first, having way too much tracks. Over time I carve it out. It’s almost like sculpting something. I have this big pieve of stone and slowly I carve it out until they get shape I wanted.

On “Both Lights” plays Colin Stetson, who is now extremely busy. Was it hard to book him?

I played with him in a avant-garde salsa band. I met Colin in 2003, we played together and stayed in touch ever since. Hs first record was put out by my old record label, so we had also this connection. I ust wrot him up, said that I have these parts and want him to play them,so he found in his calendar free days, recorded his parts and that’s it. I’m very honored to have him on my record.

Why did you part ways with your old label?

It’s kind of a long story. I was working with A0goo from 2005, he’s a good friend of mine, I’ll love him till death. In 2010 he started to question what he was doing, he didn’t want to run label at all. He has three kids now, wife, normal life, so he didn’t want to risk it. It was the moment that we mutually agreed to call it quits. I miss him

You’re a two piece band, but on the last tour you played as a three piece.

Yes, our last tour in the States was with this vocalist Holland Andrews, she should be here next time. She’s now having a tour with her own band, called Like a Villain. Actually, in Portland, our home town, we play as a five piece, with small horn section as well. When we come to Europe it’s easier to travel as a small group.

Why is Dana your constant musical partner?

I’ve known Dana fot twelve years now, we met in Boston. I was attending the art school there, I’m making music ever since. He wasn’t in my band originally, there was couple of other people. After I made “Verbs” in 2008, they couldn’t tour as much as I wanted them to, they had jobs, kids and so on. Dana just wants to tour all the time. I reformed the group and rewrote the songs, so that they could fit the two piece.

Do you like to tour more America or Europe?

Europe (laughter). I think it’s common answer, but we’re treated here better. Maybe our music connects with people here better. The US is hard, the venues you’re playing in just want to make mony, so they’re bars in general, we have to drive long ways, it’s a big country. Thera are great places but you have to drive to them through smaller cities, in which people don’t tend to go to concerts, so there probably won’t be many people. Also I think, that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. For us touring in Europe, staying in new countries, getting to know new other cultures is just more exciting.

What are your influences?

I grew up playing classical piano, I love Bach, in high school I turned to jazz, more free flowing improvisational music, then very experimental noise stuff. Now I tend to listen John Cage, Steve Reich and other contemporary composers. I still love jazz and music from all over the world. I love MJ and Paul Simon, very creative musicians, who hace reached millions. I’m pretty eclectic, Dana on the other hand was a metalhead. He’s drumming is very energetic, aggressive, physical, so we push each other to the next level, especially on this new record.

What’s your birthday wish?

I won’t tell, it’s my wish (laughter)