BeatRoute Magazine AB Edition - November 2019

More documents

Recommendations

Info

MUSiC CONCERT PREVIEWS GET RICH QUICK Rich Aucoin made an album about death by celebrating life By COURTNEY HEFFERNAN SCOTT MUNN
B est known for his vibrant electronic albums and confetti-filled live shows, Rich Aucoin’s fascination with death seems incongruous. However, reconciling these ideas is central to the Halifax-based musician’s creative process. His upcoming Death Tour this fall will be a celebration of life and his dazzling new album, Release, is a colourful exploration of ideas around existence and mortality. “I knew I wanted to make a record on death,” says Aucoin, matter-of-factly, as he sits back in his chair in a bright café in downtown Toronto. “And I wanted a lot of colour so it wasn’t this dark connotation of death and was more in line with my view of the celebration of life until it’s over.” To talk to Aucoin is to understand how seemingly disparate interests come to cohesion. In conversation, Aucoin is animated and engaging; he smiles and laughs a lot, using his hands when he talks. He speaks as passionately about the art he creates with friends and collaborators as he does about existential philosophy. “The whole album is about looking at how we build our foundations for viewing existence,” says Aucoin. He talks about philosophical concepts with a warmth that makes even the most obscure ideas accessible. Release was inspired by Aucoin’s reading of The Denial of Death by Ernest Becker, a psychological text that harkens back to Aucoin’s philosophy and contemporary studies in university. One of the themes from Aucoin’s reading that resonates through the album is the idea of being present. “And presence being fuelled by a healthy awareness of death,” he says. It’s a fitting topic for Release, which is the last in a trilogy of albums rounded out by We’re All Dying to Live (2011) and Ephemeral (2014). Aucoin’s Death Tour marks an end to a creative trajectory that was nearly 10 years in the making. Though the albums are thematically connected, Aucoin acknowledges, “I didn’t have it planned out so much. They all just seemed to focus around death in different ways. Now that I’ve fully made the record I know this is a trilogy and it’s over.” On album opener “The Base,” Aucoin uses audio from Sam Harris’ talk, Death in the Present Moment. “I thought it was a nice way to start the mindfulness of the record I was trying to make,” he says. “It really puts in perspective how quickly the mind can be racing towards future anxieties.” He intends to promote mindfulness through his live show by interspersing his performance with RICH AUCOIN Friday, Nov. 1 Queens (Nanaimo) Saturday, Nov. 2 Lucky Bar (Victoria) Saturday, Nov. 30 Commonwealth Bar & Stage (Calgary) Tix:$14.50-$20, eventbrite.ca ideas from philosophers, further expanding on the ideas of each song. “I want to have the show be almost a meditation through the themes of the record,” he says. Injecting a heady dose of colour to otherwise dark themes around death and dying, Aucoin is synchronizing his Release live shows to Disney’s Alice in Wonderland. The dreamlike imagery, as well as the concept of Wonderland, resonates with Aucoin. “Wonderland is a metaphor for our own ideas and beliefs of the world,” Aucoin says. “Alice is just going deeper inside her own beliefs until it’s the end of her. That’s our journey too, to keep figuring out how we want to view everything and redefining our foundations of beliefs.” Aucoin equates the process of shaping and defining our beliefs to a game of Jenga. “When we’re kids, it’s just as simple as setting up the pieces,” he says. “In order to grow, you need to keep taking pieces out and adding more – even if it makes your whole foundation of the way you view existence teeter back and forth. Nevertheless, you have to keep going if you want to keep growing.” Though existentialism is an intense subject, it certainly isn’t Aucoin’s intention to bring the mood down. When asked how he wants his audience to feel after one of his shows, he says, “Really stoked on life,” insisting that his Death Tour will still offer the party atmosphere that has made Aucoin’s live shows renowned. In a lot of ways, Aucoin has created an immersive “choose your own adventure” experience, where he brings together philosophical themes nurtured throughout the trilogy of albums while making his audience feel like they’re part of a celebratory community. “Some people really enjoy thinking about philosophy, some enjoy the celebration of joy and the communal aspect of the party,” Aucoin says. While he’s content with an audience that just wants to feel the vibe, he admits, “I’m happy if people take away the philosophy that’s been laboured over as part of the show as well.” , Happy Hour 3 - 6pm everyday $3.50 GUINNESS YOUR GO TO SPOT FOR ALL THINGS SPORTS MONDAY DC MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL TUESDAY GAMES NIGHT WEDSNESDAY POOL AND PING PONG TOURNAMENT THURSDAY DART TOURNAMENT FRIDAY LADIES NIGHT SATURDAY & SUNDAY SHENANIGANS AND HOCKEY NIGHT IN DC SUNDAY DC SUNDAY TICKET CALGARY JOIN US AT 1637 37 ST SW, CALGARY WWW.DUBLINCALLING.COM @DUBLINCALLINGCALGARY NOVEMBER <strong>2019</strong> BEATROUTE 13
Page 1 and 2: NOVEMBER 2019 • FREE VAGABON: LAE
Page 3 and 4: Contents BEATROUTE BEATROUTE BEAT R
Page 5 and 6: COME PLAY WITH US! DISCOVER THE ULT
Page 7 and 8: MUSiC It’s such a great moment fo
Page 10 and 11: VEGAN VOGS (GOODY GOODY TWO SHOES)
Page 14 and 15: every week no cover SUNDAY THE YYSC
Page 16 and 17: BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR
Page 18 and 19: VAGABON k CONTINUED FROM PG. 17 ini
Page 20 and 21: Artist to Watch MANILA GREY'S FILIP
Page 23 and 24: Reviews ALBUM TR/ST The Destroyer -
Page 25 and 26: NOVEMBER 2019 BEATROUTE 25
Page 27 and 28: SUDAN ARCHIVES Athena Stones Throw
Page 29 and 30: Live MUSiC Calgary THRUSH HERMIT Oc
Page 31 and 32: BEATROUTE.CA Get even closer to the
Page 33 and 34: Music and Fashion Merge Explosively
Page 35 and 36: BOBBY DAZZLER Inspired by the strat
Page 37: How Sweet It Was 424 E 6th St. Foun
Page 40 and 41: 11.19YYCAGENDA NOV. 2 SKYDIGGERS QT
Page 42 and 43: TREVOR HATTER 11.19YYCMUSIC LOCAL A
Page 44 and 45: ad_HolidayRebate2019_BeatRoute_Quar
Page 46 and 47: Savage Love BY DAN SAVAGE Quickies
Page 48: CANADA’S LARGEST INDEPENDENT CONC

BeatRoute Magazine AB Edition - November 2019

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?