Holy FuckI still wanteverything to bereally difficultbecause I feel likethat’s where someof our best creativitycomes from.Brian BorcherdtToronto-based electronic outfit Holy Fuck dance between techology,nostalgia, and humanity on new album DeleterBy YASMINE SHEMESH
When Holy Fuck’s BrianBorcherdt is workingon music, he dances.He prefers to be on hisfeet, moving, rather thansitting still in a chair. Ithelps boost his creativeenergy. Lately, he doesit every day—not justin his basement studio,but with his family. Theyrecently moved fromToronto to a rural partof Nova Scotia, theprovince he grew up in.When there’s not muchto do, they put on records and dance. His14-month-old daughter especially loves it.“She understands it,” Borcherdt says, overthe phone. “No one taught her. It’s just inherentto the human experience, I guess. Wehear music and immediately we start moving.”Maybe that’s one of the things we continue toretain, he contemplates. “Maybe that is wherea lot of our freedom comes from. I think thereis some form of protest in that. In a way we’resaying, ‘I’m not working right now.’”Being physically engaged has always beenimportant to the Toronto-based band’s innermechanisms, and the theme of intentionaldisconnection surfaces often on the group’snewest album, Deleter, which rejects the conceptof swallowing the technology we comeinto contact with whole. Instead—through idiosyncraticsonics that combine euphoric 90selectronica with loose, rhythmic beats and,by design, encourage freeing movement—itadvocates for a different outcome, where wecan still retain autonomy over who we are,and the art we want to consume.In the past, Holy Fuck have resistedworking with vocalists, but this time around,the songs just felt right, as did the musicallandscape.It seems like a better time now to dothis kind of thing, Borcherdt explains. “Givepeople interesting one-offs that sound a littledifferent and take bigger risks. It’s somethingI look forward to doing more, actually.”Deleter features a handful of carefullyselected collaborations, including post-punkmusician Angus Andrews on the standoutsort of-title track “Deleters,” an infectious,buzzy stomp; Pond frontman NicholasAllbrook on the ebullient “Free Gloss,” andHot Chip’s Alexis Taylor on “Luxe.” For “Luxe,”which tinges classic house textureswith a folksy warble, Taylor contributed hisvocals through a 1940s-era Voice-o-Graph,a coin-operated phonograph booth thatscratches audio onto vinyl.It’s estimated there are only two left in existence:one in Liverpool and the other at JackWhite’s Third Man studio in Nashville, whereTaylor recorded. Along with a warm vintagequality, the equipment brings a fascinatingconceptual addition to Deleter that leverageshistory to reflect the advances it representedin the 40s, and remind us how similarlyuncharted the territory feels now.“I don’t want to get caught up in that‘thing,’ where I’m just mad at the way thingsare changing—an old man who doesn’t likewhat the kids are into or something like that,”Borcherdt adds. “I think part of what makesthings exciting is that things will change. Itdoesn’t mean we have to jump headfirst intothem. I think it just takes a little precaution.”In fact, the Toronto-based electronicmusic group is known for how they eschewgenre tradition by using live instrumentationand non-instruments instead of laptops andsoftware. When they were starting out, theapproach was, in part, a reaction to how theircontemporaries were exploring a kind of limitlesstechnology in their music. For Borcherdt,infiniteness is hard to wrap his head around.“I like limitations,” he laughs. “That’s part ofwhat draws me to music: trying my best to dosomething. I didn’t study music or anything,but I’ve always loved it. Music has alwaysbeen my number one passion, but I’m comingat it somewhat as a luddite. I like to pick up aguitar or whatever to try to pour as much ofmyself as I can into it, to try to make it goodas it could be.”Borcherdt’s enthusiasm informs a questionof where that passion-to-challenge relationshipgoes as technology changes andif there’s a way to subvert the medium, so itmaintains a struggle. “I still want to strugglewhen I get onstage,” Borcherdt continues. “Istill want to struggle in the studio. I still wanteverything to be really difficult because I feellike that’s where some of our best creativitycomes from.”It persists as a fundamental considerationfor Holy Fuck, especially today where nearlyall of our day-to-day interactions happenwithin a digitized realm. Responding to that asa musician is difficult. With all the music in theworld at our fingertips, who’s really listening?“We’re actually probably reaching morepeople in one sense, so that’s kind of exciting,”Borcherdt says. When it comes to thetime and sacrifice it takes to create an album,though, it can feel disproportionate. “It leavesyou wondering how many people are makinga strong connection.”Borcherdt grew up during a time wherefinding common ideals among his peers waschallenging, especially in an area withoutmuch exposure to what he was looking for. “Itcreated this thirst for inspiration, but it alsocreated an appreciation for those things thatI did find along the way,” he says. “Whether itmeant picking up albums and spending thathard-earned money on them at the recordstore, getting home and not even really likingit. You know, that disappointment,” he laughs.“And we’ve maybe forgotten what that feelslike, disappointment. But there’s also that elationand sense of ownership, that somethingcan really represent to you. I think about thatso often because [now] we have everything.”With expansive technological landscapescome the perplexity that we don’t exactlyknow who is controlling algorithms or howour data is actually being used. Borcherdtworries if the ambiguous vastness of it allis more dangerous than we realize, and wemight not fully understand how vulnerable weare. “I think that our best protection of that isjust being aware of it,” he continues. “I enjoyhaving the option of unplugging and I enjoyhaving the option of deleting.” ,TORONTOHappy Hour 3pm – 6pm Every Day$3.50 GUINNESS PINTYOUR GO TO SPOT FORALL THINGS SPORTSMONDAY$20 BURGER, FRIES, & BUD LIGHTHAPPY HOUR EXTENDED ‘TIL MIDNIGHTTUESDAYTRIVIA NIGHTALL YOU CAN EAT NACHOSWEDSNESDAYDART TOURNAMENT$18 BURGER & BUD LIGHTTHURSDAYPOOL & PING-PONG TOURNAMENTHALF PRICE WINGSFRIDAYLADIES NIGHT (FREE BEFORE 11PM)9oz WINE FOR 6oz PRICESATURDAYNFL PLAYOFF SPECIALSSATURDAY NIGHT SHENANIGANSSUNDAYNFL PLAYOFF SPECIALSJOIN US FOR SUPERBOWL LIVSUNDAY, FEBRUARY 2ND250 ADELAIDE STREET WEST, TORONTOWWW.DUBLINCALLING.COM | @DUBLINCALLINGTOJANUARY 2020 BEATROUTE 19
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