Interview with Ketch Harbour Wolves vocalist Liam Brown

Anachronisms is the newest offering from the Canadian rock band, Ketch Harbour Wolves. Vocalist Liam Brown spoke with me about the release which is a multi-layered, multi-dimensional CD that is a very enjoyable listen. The musicianship is top-notch and the songs are fresh, innovative and highly creative; they are powerful at times and at other times they convey an almost ethereal mood. The aspect of this disc that I found the most interesting is that while there may be many different layers at work in these songs, no part feels unnatural or haphazardly thrown in. The album as a whole seems to work well and it invites the listener to sit back, contemplate and perhaps draw their own meaning from the work. Here is what Liam had to say about Anachronisms.

Now that your brand new CD, Anachronisms is complete. How do you feel about it and are you satisfied with the outcome?
Liam: Oh, absolutely. It was something that we decided to expand upon and use other people with. In the past, with our previous releases, we had done everything ourselves, so making the decision to use a dedicated mixing engineer and a dedicated mastering engineer was a really smart decision for us. It alleviated a lot of the unnecessary work and stresses and allowed us to focus on just creating the music. As a result the music that we created at the end of the day was all the more richer for having our undivided attention, plus it sounded better in the end as well.

When you guys were putting the album together were you concerned at all about commercial success or were you just writing for writing sake?
Liam: Well, I wish I could say that we were not at all concerned about commercial success and we were just doing it for the sake of art. At the same time it would be fantastic to be able to leave behind some of our earthly commitments and take to the road or enjoy some of our successes. Having an album that actually charts and obtains some commercial success would be wonderful as well. My heart was in it but it would be nice to see it go some place as well.

The name of the band is interesting; can you tell me the story behind it?
Liam: Yeah, the name comes from a place outside of Halifax, Nova Scotia. It is a little town on the Atlantic Ocean and our singer and our drummer were living there up until 2005 and they would play music there together. They decided to come back west to Ontario and the only thing they took with them is their name.

What about the title of the record? What is the meaning behind Anachronisms?
Liam: It is kind of based around borrowed stories and thinking of objects in another place and time. ‘Anachronisms’ means exactly that, an object that doesn’t belong where it is or perhaps stories that don’t belong in the present tense and are perhaps borrowed or stolen from the past or the future.

When listening to the disc last night the first thing that struck me about it was how well it flowed. It is a pretty natural sounding album and the songs seem to compliment each other very well. Was that that a conscious effort or is it something that just happened naturally?
Liam: It was intentional. We spent a lot of time imagining how it would be listened to. It is the hardest thing to do when your music is being divided and sliced up and sold through different avenues because you end up listening to things out of sequence or people end up customizing it the way they listen to the songs on playlists or it gets played on internet radio. It ends up being bastardized well beyond what your original intention was but this time we intended to and did make the album available as a vinyl record. We really wanted to make sure that, although it is going to do whatever it does when people listen to it in their own theatre, we just wanted to provide an integral way in which we could present it in the first place; in the analog fashion with a side A and a Side B. We did put a lot of time and a lot of energy and thinking into it. This comes back to the first question you asked about commercial success because while the flow is great, I don’t know if it is a commercial flow or an emotional one.

I think to me it is more of a connected emotional flow than a commercial flow. The songs seem to be exactly where they belong. I am not a record producer by any means but it just seems they are where they should be.
Liam: Well thank you. I would say we did our job right then if that is the way you feel.

What can fans expect when they pick up a copy of Anachronisms?
Liam: I think they can expect something that on first listen gives them a certain sensibility. Then it really has a lifeline after that because there really is a lot of depth to the record. I think you can enjoy it listening to it on speakers as well as headphones because there is a lot of time and energy put into the nuances on the record. I think that comes over time of listening and allowing the album to mature. Some people listen to lyrics and some people listen music and I think both of these are there for the listener who wants to invest in it.

What kind of touring plans do you have lined up in support of the disc?
Liam: We will be active in southern Ontario during the summertime and we will be going out east again in the fall.

Any closing words at all?
Liam: Thanks, you guys run a great service online and we are big fans of that. We are just happy to be amongst some good music. I know you guys put a lot of the harder [rock and] metal online but maybe this will open up some people to some softer stuff as well.  [ END ]