Beatroute Magazine BC Print Edition November 2017

MUSIC
ALEX CLARE
CHANNELING PRIDE AND POWER ON TAIL OF LIONS
ADAM DEANE
NOAH GUNDERSEN
THE REINVENTION OF A SINGER-SONGWRITER
ADAM DEANE
Don’t you hate it when you’re walking down
an alley in a city in the middle of your tour in
support of your third successful album, and a
stranger mistakes you for Jonny Depp? Who
hasn’t been there? Am I right?
Alright, so none of us have been there.
Probably because we don’t own the looks,
style or vocals that Noah Gundersen humbly
possesses. Evolution has blessed this man over
and over again. You can almost follow the ebbs
and flows of his career through his album art.
Babies, snow-covered rooftops, a black and
white side-profile and his most recent LP, White
Noise – a boa constrictor wrapped around a
flower pot.
So, what’s changed? Gundersen seems to
have found comfort in his art, in himself. “No
one really knows what the f*ck they are doing.
Music is the only thing I ever really wanted to
do. Ultimately, when you make something and
put it out into the world, it’s not really yours
anymore; in kind of the best way. I feel like I can
listen to (White Noise) now and appreciate it for
what it is, instead of being nit-picky. Knowing
that we spent so much time on it alleviates the
second-guessing and fears we had about it in
the past.”
If you’ve followed Gundersen’s career at all,
you’d know this album is a far-cry from his silky
singer-songwriter roots. He admits to being
ultra-competitive, although the growth and
maturity that emanates from White Noise stems
more from never really fitting in to any category
and observing the weird and entertaining world
outside. “This is an industry full of lost-boys.
There is a form of healthy-competition that
happens within music scenes where people
push each other to grow. If I have a friend that
puts out a great record that’s really kick-ass, I say
‘okay I’ve got to make something better than
this,’ though I want everyone to succeed.”
Having gained a solid pair of legs the day it
was released, White Noise has now been out
for a month and tracks like “Bad Desire,” “The
Sound” and “After All” have been satiating the
ears of anyone with a taste for painfully honest
lyrics, moving-melodies and an active-awareness
for the unnerving place we call home. With a
writing process that involves long-bike rides
around lakes, copious amounts of coffee, and
dangerous levels of self-exploration in a city
known for being grey – White Noise will knock
you off your feet, pick you back up, console you,
and offer you a temporary retreat from reality
– completely worth the $15 you’d otherwise
spend riding your bike around the Lake to get
coffee.
Noah Gundersen performs at the Imperial on
November 12.
Photo by Dan Medhurst
Alex Clare finds a unique place for himself somewhere in between roots and electronic music.
Anyone remember Internet Explorer? You know,
the browser everyone used to use before Apple
and Google took over the world. The only browser
there was, essentially. Alright, now flashback six
years to 2011. You’re up late one night surfing
cable; Netflix didn’t exist yet, follow me here – you
land on a banging tune -- forget the commercial
-- that prompts you and about 41 million other
people to google “explorer commercial song.” And
the rest is essentially history.
Well, for Alex Clare at least, and the DJ booths
of every alternative radio station around North
America. At the time, 26-year-old Clare had set
fire to the barrier between his traditional British
singer/songwriter roots and the ever-so-lovely
electronic scene we all remember well from 2011
– almost “dubstep” if you will – with the release
of his debut album, produced by Mike Spencer
and Major Lazer, The Lateness of the Hour, and his
world-wide hit “Too Close.”
Dig any deeper into Clare’s past and you’ll
soon realize this man has dedicated his life to
much more than just music. He is also a devoted
family man, a baal teshuva to Orthodox Judaism
and a Brit Award nominated songwriter. In fact,
he and his family now live in the holy city of
Jerusalem, which provided a sturdy foundation
in the construction of his most recent album, Tail
Of Lions. “Certainly the environment you live in
sets the tone for everyday life and the way you
16
focus. It’s the center of the world. I’ve lived in
Jerusalem for two years now after going on a really
regular basis. It’s an incredible place and my words
wouldn’t begin to do the eternal city justice.”
Tail of Lions brings that same raspy, upbeat,
transitional vibe to the game that we remember
from Clare’s early work. When asked what has
kept him going throughout his career, he credits
his fans. “Every time I walk on a stage and there’s a
room full of people singing my music back at me,
it seems worth it. Every moment someone tells me
that my songs helped them move forward in life
from the negativity that was holding them back –
that for me is incredibly special.”
Listen to any of the tracks on Tail of Lions and
you’ll begin to realize Clare’s life is framed around
realness, love, and sincerity. Three things he had
trouble finding in a record label, leading him to
release his newest album without the help of his
prior label; a bold move for any artist. Alex and I
finished up with a bit of advice for any upcoming
artists. “Make a difference. It doesn’t matter what
your medium, where you’re a singer/songwriter
or a worker in a hardware store. Don’t let other
people or your vocation define you, just be the
best brother, sister, father, mother, husband, wife
that you can be.”
Alex Clare performs at the Imperial (Vancouver) on
November 9.
Noah Gunderson is making all the right sounds with his new album, White Noise.
November 2017