BeatRoute Magazine BC Print Edition May 2018

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MUSIC MATHEW V YOUNG POP SINGER ON THE RISE COUNTS HIS BLESSINGS SEPEHR RASHIDI EVERY MONDAY FROM 2-4 PM Mathew V blends his BC upbringing with London-influenced pop to create a unique sound. After listening to the sonic maturity in his latest album, The Fifth, and learning about his songwriting contributions to some of Vancouver’s top acts, it’s hard to believe Mathew Van Voogt is only 21. Hot off the heels of the album’s release, we chatted over coffee with the young pop singer at the 604 Records headquarters about the UK pop sound, being an openly gay musician and what it’s like working with indie rock daddy Dan Mangan. After 10 years of operatic training, the BC native moved to London to pursue a career in classical music. Soaking up the city’s rich pop history, Van Voogt’s music recounts UK legends like Emilie Sande and Amy Winehouse. “I think my style of writing will always be a UK-style pop,” he says, despite his move back to Canada to pursue music from home. Fast forward to 2016 when Van Voogt was ready to release his debut EP, Sounds. Led with excellent singles like “No Bad News” and “Day I Die,” the EP created notable online buzz, landing him a feature in Nylon magazine and a record deal with 604 Records. “I think we went into the relationship smart. They believe in the product I’m creating and they know what to do with it,” remarks Van Voogt, speaking on 604 Records. “They’ve been so supportive of me and who I am.” Gospel influenced pop instrumentals provide the backbone of much of his music, particularly in The Fifth’s lead single, “Tell Me Smooth.” With a diverse list of collaborators including Dan Mangan, Luca Fogale and DiRTY RADiO, Van Voogt’s foray into other genres is pulled off with poise. On “Broken,” you see him experimenting with UK house-inspired instrumentals, featuring 604 labelmates DiRTY RADiO. This is contrasted by The Fifth’s ballad, “Let Me Go,” where Van Voogt employs Dan Mangan’s songwriting prowess to deliver a tender and memorable slow-burner. Speaking on the sonic diversity, he remarks, “I’m such a pop music listener in the sense of pop songwriting, songs that are approachable. I’m definitely not a hipster in my musical taste. As someone who listens to such an eclectic range of music, I can’t limit my output to just one style.” Van Voogt approaches his sexuality with humour and openness. Instagram stories with genuinely funny gay jokes or Facebook statuses such as “‘Thrilled to be featured in Billboard’s ‘Gay Agenda!’” allow him to come across as open but not politically charged (to be clear: he was featured in an actual article called that by Billboard). “I don’t want anybody to like me because I’m gay, but because they relate to the experience I went through,” he says. “Being gay is an aspect of who I am and I want the music to speak for itself. I’m going to be unapologetically me. What I’m not going to do is change who I am for any purpose.” Mathew V plays the Rio Theatre on May 24 with Fintan O’Brien. 16 May 2018
YAMANTAKA // SONIC TITAN DIVERSIFYING THE CONVERSATION AROUND GENRE STEREOTYPES KEIR NICOLL When BeatRoute catches up with Alaska B of Yamantaka // Sonic Titan, the band is in a Kansas City diner, on the road to support their new album, Dirt. She notes that they are the only Asians in the diner and that it’s like a mirror world. She recounts their tour itinerary, from Wichita the previous night, to Kansas City tonight, to Chicago and Indianapolis in the next few and then back home to Toronto. A lot of recent writing about Yamantaka seems to focus on a supposed fusion between rock or metal and world music. But Alaska has some very interesting things to say about this. “I don’t know if I like the term ‘world-music,’” she says. “It’s just an othering term for people who are too lazy to learn the difference between other kinds of music.” She goes on to state that oftentimes, many people are trying to attribute origins with this kind of classifying and that it is usually incorrect. She goes on to mention the Taiko, Chinese drummer, and Northern Cree Singers’ groups that have been very high profile but do not fit into the world-music descriptor. She also points out that separating rock ‘n’ roll, in its own western domain, as separate from world-music, is also shortsighted and inaccurate. Conversations about appropriation, where you assign blame to a person as well miss out on the cultural exchange that is and has been ongoing between different kinds of music. There is an unmistakable edge of metal to Yamantaka’s sometimes baroque instrument playing. Alaska reveals that she listens to Carcass and Cryptopsy but that there’s also a progressive rock influence. They are trying to create a new form of cultural output, a cultural matrix of hybridization. It would not be simple but fragmented and complex. That’s the problem with ‘world-music’ versus rock and blues and r&b and pop, it’s too simplifying. People can tell the difference between new wave and another genre from the same era, but not the difference between different cultures. “Imagine a world where you turn on the radio and it’s not all the same music on every station. That’s why we span genres more than anything else.” When asked about what sort of mythologies Yamantaka celebrate, Alaska refers to their mixed heritage of Chinese, Japanese, Filipino and Firstnations. The media always says what they do is Japanese, but in fact Alaska’s face paint is based off of Chinese opera, the Monchichi, a well-known mythological figure. Angela’s face paint is meant to represent the characters of the underworld. Alaska also references Greek and Norse mythologies. There is a similarity in the aesthetics but people tend to lump it together and fall on the side of what feels best to them, often saying it is all Kabuki. That’s where Yamantaka just stop. She doesn’t blame people for not being aware, saying instead it’s a systemic issue, where people have not been given opportunities to take things on at face value. “I feel that we’re a band that’s at odds with Y//ST think critically about genre definitions and their subjectivity. the way things are supposed to be,” says Alaska. Yamantaka are doing their part to diversify the conversation. MUSIC Yamantaka // Sonic Titan perform May 18 at the Biltmore Cabaret. FROG EYES A COLOURFUL FAREWELL FROM A DIFFERENT PLACE AND TIME MICHAEL GRONDIN Frog Eyes celebrate the end of an era and draw the shades on Violet Psalms. After 17 years of collaborating and participating in Canada’s diverse music community, Vancouverbased experimental pop masterminds Frog Eyes are closing the book on a weird and fruitful career with Violet Psalms (Paper Bag Records), their eighth and final full-length. It’s a carefully crafted Photo by Lauren Ray musical collection of tension and unease coated in hopeful melody. According to Carey Mercer, Frog Eyes’ lead singer and guitarist, Violet Psalms isn’t so much a headstone, but rather a marker of his bands legacy up to a point in time. “It seems like there’s been some kind of demarcation line created in the past couple years where it feels inappropriate to carry on a project that started, in a sense, pre-climate change, in a sense, pre-Trump. Frog Eyes was birthed in a different time,” he says. He explains that Violet Psalms was designed to be disorienting and introspective, mirroring the strange times we find ourselves in. “Let’s just put a nice end to it, and you know, the band comes with so much baggage, and when I was making the record I never thought it would be the last one, but it just feels like a right time to put an end to the name and its legacy and hopefully gain a new perspective.” Unlike their previous releases, Mercer self-recorded Violet Psalms in a studio he built in his Vancouver home with the help of drummer Melanie Campbell, keyboardist Shyla Seller and bassist Terri Upton, which gave him control over both the sonic elements and ideas. “From the first instant I started making music I was very jealous of the engineer’s knowledge, like, ‘Why do you put this mic there? These are my songs, why do you get to determine how it sounds?’ So much of the engineering affects the end product,” he says with a laugh. “We didn’t want that. We wanted this claustrophobic, disorientating, swirl of drums.” Thus, in an attempt to take the sonic qualities of this record to a new level, Mercer got creative. “Every time you listen to a record, every instrument and microphone is obviously placed, and there’s a cohesive totality to the sound. Let’s fail miserably at mimicking that, and in our failure, let’s create something with a distinct imprint,” he explains of his end game. Displaying many such examples of Frog Eyes’ outside-the-box techniques, the finished product is “a gnashing jubilee.” “I spent half my life building this studio in my mind, and then after we built it for real and made this record, I went and sold everything. I don’t know if you have to be happy when you make a record, but you should at least be engaged and focused,” concludes Mercer. “It took a very long time, and a lot of dedication to learn how to make a record on your own, to compile tracks, to make them fit. And a record, in general, is a real magical thing we take for granted.” Frog Eyes perform May 25 at Copper Owl (Victoria) and May 26 at China Cloud (Vancouver). May 2018 17
Page 2 and 3: TRIM SIZE: 10.25"W x 11.5" H, RIGHT
Page 4 and 5: WITH DAVID MACANULTY OF YALETOWN BR
Page 6: CITY BIKE TO WORK WEEK INDIAN SUMME
Page 9 and 10: The Outsider art of David Sedaris S
Page 11 and 12: (L-R) PAUL KAMON, TYLER OLSON AND L
Page 13 and 14: 1 Happy Hour $ 3 Beer til 5pm 2 Hap
Page 15: MURDER ON THE IMPROV EXPRESS VANCOU
Page 19 and 20: POOR BABY PASSING THE TIME WITH PER
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Page 23 and 24: RIVER JACKS SHOWCASING AN UNDENIABL
Page 25 and 26: BPM NIGHTMARES ON WAX OWN YOUR REAL
Page 27 and 28: MUSIC REVIEWS COURTNEY BARNETT Tell
Page 29 and 30: THE KILLERS • FLORENCE+ THE MACHI
Page 31 and 32: Iceage - Beyondless Jon Hopkins - S
Page 33 and 34: KATE NASH The Imperial April 4, 201
Page 36: CANADA’S LARGEST INDEPENDENT CONC

BeatRoute Magazine BC Print Edition May 2018

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