The13th AÑO: 4 | NÚMERO 44
UNA R E VISTA IMA GINARIA
HELIGOLAND IT WAS A VERY UNUSUAL AND MEMORABLE PLACE TO MAKE A RECORD
[ Interview With Karen Vogt and Steve Wheeler from Heligoland by Diego Centuriรณn ]
IT WAS A VERY UNUSUAL AND MEMORABLE PLACE TO MAKE A RECORD
3 Maybe it’s the sweet sound that catches me in this band. The warmth of their voices, the brilliance of the instrumentation, the beauty of the compositions. There are things that are hard to put into words, that tingling sensation in your mouth and then savoring something very sweet. I do not know... with you Heligoland...
with Robin they start working in 2010, in “All Your Ships Are White.” While we can say that they all enter their Parisian stage. What sets these three EPs apart from the 2010 album? Steve: We’d already come up with the basis for roughly half of the songs on “All Your Ships Are White” while we were still living in Australia. After we arrived in Europe, we got to work Hi guys, it's a pleasure for me to do this writing the rest of the album and spent a lot interview. There is something that intri- of time going back and forth over the songs, gues me and I want to get rid of that doubt, refining all the parts, and recording lots of dewhy the name of the band? mos. When it came time to make the album, Steve: I think it was sometime around the the material was thoroughly prepared and remiddle of 1999 that we decided on the name. hearsed. The process by which we wrote and It’s hard to remember all the ideas we had and recorded the EPs was almost the complete the discussions that took place. But, if I reca- opposite. All three were written and recorll correctly, there were a number of reasons ded very quickly, over the course of a week, we chose Heligoland. We liked the fact that it at different locations around France, none of was the name of a place, but that it was also which were conventional recording studios. a name that you didn’t hear all that often. The As a result, the EPs are more loosely strucname itself doesn’t suggest a particular style tured than the preceding album. It was a lot of music, nor is it obvious where the place it of fun to make some records that were more belongs to might be found. It sounds like a dis- spontaneous and to spend some time playing tant, faraway place. The music we were ma- around with different sounds and ideas. king didn’t feel closely connected to anything we’d come across in the local music scene at How was the recording of these three that time. It felt somewhat out of time and out EPs made? of place. For all these reasons, the name seeSteve: For the first EP, “Bethmale,” we spent med a good fit for our band. a week working in a tiny village called Engomer in south-western France. In the centre After listening again and again to his la- of the village is a small bar, which has a statest work, “Coriallo,” do I think I'm with ge and some monitors. The EP was written one of his best works? and recorded there. Engomer is situated in Karen: Yes, I really believe that this is our the foothills of the Pyrenees and when we felt best release so far. We all feel very strongly like taking a break from recording we’d go for about it. I’ve listened to these songs many, a walk in the countryside or a drive around the many times and each time I hear them they hills. For the second EP, “Sainte Anne,” we still feel really alive and very intense. travelled to the Franche-Comté region of eastern France. In the village of Nans-sous-SainThe EP belongs to a trilogy of EPs in te-Anne there is a small theatre that is avaiwhich Robin Guthrie produced. We are lable for theatre groups, actors, and artists to talking about “Bethmale” (2012), “Sain- hire. One of the rooms looks out over fields te Anne” (2013) and “Coriallo” (2017). But and a river, nearby farms, and, in the distan-
ce, the forest. We hired the theatre for a week and this was where we made the EP. The final record in the series, “Coriallo,” was made in the most dramatic location of the three, a former semaphore station in Normandy. Roughly half an hour’s drive west from Cherbourg is a small peninsula, Pointe Jardeheu, that sticks out into the English channel. The semaphore station is situated almost at the very tip of the peninsula. The upstairs room, where we set up our makeshift studio, has long, angled windows on three sides and looks a bit like the bridge of a ship. The view is spectacular. It was a very unusual and memorable place to make a record. The union with Robin is not only friendly, it is also sonorous. What does it mean to you that Guthrie is involved in his work, being a reference of the dreampop sound? Karen: As a singer, I adore working with
Robin. He handles my vocals with such care and attention to detail. It is always a wonderful moment when I hear how he’s mixed and woven them into the music. Over the years he has become a dear friend, but I still feel very lucky to have the chance to work so closely with him and I pinch myself sometimes. As far as dream pop and references, I see things a little differently. Robin makes beautiful music. We have always strived to make beautiful music. It feels like we have a similar vision and this is really important for how we work together. We trust him completely. I also find it really inspiring that Robin has never stopped making music. He always seems to be working on something new. People can become so preoccupied with the music he has made in the past that they miss out on the music that he is making now, along with all the productions, remixes, film scores, and other projects.
5 This year they celebrate the first twenty years of existence. In what decisions do you think you have failed and in what do you think you have made the right decision? Karen: Yes, it has been nearly twenty years! It can be frustrating when someone discovers our music and asks why they haven’t heard of us before. Finding ways to reach people has probably been our biggest failing. It is a problem we still struggle with. In hindsight, I think the decision to go to Europe was a very good one. It was important for us to get out of Australia and take our music overseas. Deciding to contact Robin and asking him to produce our music was another good decision. As far as failures, I think we have, at times, been a bit too trusting in some relationships. There have also been occasions when we have waited too long and should have pushed harder to make things happen. But there is always something that can be learned from each of these situations. It’s all part of the experience and the point of these failures is that you learn how not to do things.
hindsight, we might have handled differently. Any decisions, good or bad, feel less significant than the experiences we have had, the places we have been, and the friends we have made along the way.
Today the dreampop scene has multiplied, what differences do you find today compared to twenty years ago? Steve: I’m not sure we had much of a sense that there was a dreampop scene in the late 1990s. The type of music we were making didn’t seem to be at all common in Australia and the wider world was not as deeply interconnected then as it is now. There were music magazines, zines, basic websites, and so on, but nothing even remotely like Spotify or Bandcamp. I’m sure there were many bands around the world with a similar style and sound, but it wasn’t as easy to discover them as it is today. That is probably the biggest difference. It has never been easier to find the kind of music you are interested in. A few days ago I was listening to some songs from the most recent album by the Estonian band Pia Fraus. They have been making muSteve: What we have done as a band has sic for roughly about the same amount of time always been, more or less, entirely up to us. we have, but I’m not sure how I would have We have never had a manager or a boo- found their music ten, fifteen, or twenty years king agent and the few labels we have wor- ago. ked with over the years have been small independents. As a result, we have been able Also the market has changed, the growto develop our sound and our music comple- th of the internet has made, for example, tely on our own terms. But, this also means that today we are interviewing from Arthat promotion, for example, as Karen men- gentina. How do you experience this pationed, has often been a struggle. The same radigm shift in the distribution of music, has been true of touring and booking shows. what do you think about it? Looking back, I sometimes think we could Steve: Platforms like Bandcamp bring us have made a few more records, or, at least, much closer to the people who listen to our I would have liked to. But, for the most part, I music. The same is true of social media. Thefeel like we’ve done the best we could with the se are positive developments for an indepenresources and opportunities that were avai- dent band. But with so much new music available to us at any given moment. Over such lable, at times it can be hard not to get lost in a long period of time, there will always be si- the crowd. Finding ways to connect with an tuations or problems that, with the benefit of audience has never been more important.
Specifying about the climates and atmospheres that they create with their sounds, beyond the characteristic dreampop (thought of as the first recognizable musical style, I could add slowcore). You paint sound impressionist landscapes really perfect, and the voice is the brush that defines the soul of the work. Everything seems to be a meticulous and perfectly diagrammed work. How is the method of composition? Steve: The way we write our songs hasn’t really changed all that much over the years. We get together in a room, start playing, and listen. The basis for most of our songs comes from jamming together and coalescing around particular sounds or ideas. Once we have come up with a section or a rough arrangement, we then start to think about the individual parts and small details. Karen: Sometimes a few notes on guitar, a bassline, or a chord are all that is needed to set the mood and inspire me to start singing. I then search for a feeling in the song we’re working on as we go back and forth over the ideas. Sometimes parts of the lyrics are there from the very beginning. When I first heard the guitar ideas for the song “Trust,” in my mind I kept hearing the lyric “heart is broken.”It was clear to me that this lyric had to be included in the song. As song ideas are developed we tighten up the arrangement and this is when I listen to the music over and over to try and feel what the lyrics and vocals need to be. I often have the feeling that the song is waiting for us in the ether and all we do is bring it to life. I really enjoy making music this way because there is always a space left inside the songs for the listener to step into and find their
own impressions and meanings. While they are already one step beyond the “Coriallo” exit, we know of a new album in the making, but we’ll talk about this later. How do you feel that “Coriallo” was received? Steve: We have received some lovely feedback and comments from our listeners and followers, which has been really inspiring for the new album we’re working on. Now talking about the future... they are already in the process of a new album. Can you tell us something? Karen: We are getting closer to finishing the album. Listening back to the new songs as they’ve been developing, I feel like they are more direct. This is intentional. I also feel like the darker elements that we’ve explored on some of our other releases are less present, like a weight or heaviness has been lifted. As a result, the album feels lighter, softer, and sweeter. And to finish, what plans are there for this 2018? Karen: For the moment we are working on finishing the new album and trying to spread the word about “Coriallo.”It’s hard to think too far ahead until we’ve finished the album. I’m really look forward to that moment. We would love to tour the new album when it is released. It’s been far too long since we last toured and played some shows! We appreciate this possibility and we leave this last space for you to say what you have not said and want to add. Steve: Thank you for the interview!
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The13th U NA R EVISTA IMA GINA RIA