The13th AÑO: 3
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NÚMERO 27
UNA R E VISTA IMA GINARIA
DEAD GUITARS | A.R. KANE RANCHO RELAXO | IN CORP SANCTIS | MAL PASAR BANDAS TRIBUTO | FESTIVAL PLANCK | BRUJERÍA EN EL CINE
[ Interview with Meter-Bridge Translated: Rodrigo Debernardis ]
METER BRIDGE... WHAT A GREAT NAME FOR A BAND!
In a universe full of new bands we will present one of
cher, Morrisseau, Parrish, Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Wes-
the new appearances within the Synth Pop that bring us some
twood, Lacroix. We are influenced by many artists including
fresh air so addicted world of the machines. Meter Bridge was
our local multi media, pottery, textile and visual artists. Jill is
born in 2011 as an experiment by Richard when you buy a syn-
heavily influenced by nature and her ancestral roots. Richard is
thesizer and Jill approached, first listen to the experiments and
influenced by uncontrollable urge to compose.
then began to collaborate and ended up forming the band. How old were you when each of you started to play music and Hi, our band is.... We are (name members, say something about yourselves) Meter Bridge. The mystery that is Richard Kleef and the social media kitten, Jill Beaulieu
what instruments do you play? Richard had his first guitar when he was 4 yrs old. He is a music college drop out and plays guitar, drums, bass, piano, and various electronic production tools suchas drum machines, samplers and synthesizers. Jill began singing before she can re-
Our sound is......
member with her Dad and sister then getting lead roles in mu-
Post punk inspired sophisticated synthpop, sometimes lea-
sicals as an elementary student. She has basic training in music
ning into the darkpop realms.
and has worked with keyboards, wood winds and percussion. Jill’s main instrument is the Kaosillator pro and her voice.
We are from.......Nelson BC one the artsiest small towns in the world. How did you come to choose the stage name Meter Bridge for your band?
Can you tell us about the process you use, from writing the songs all the way through to releasing them? Most of our songs are created musically first and then lyrics
The meter bridge on our Alesis mixer was busted and a friend
follow. 90 percent of the music production is created within the
said, "hey, your meter bridge isn't working" and Richard said,
time that it takes to play the song. More time is taken to arran-
Meter Bridge, what a great name for a band!
ge and mix the tracks. The vocals are usually the final addition to the song with exception to a sketched vocal track for structu-
Can you tell us about your latest LP 'Slow Motion'?
ral purposes. We don’t labour over the songs for too long. If
It was released in April 2015 as a completion to our previous-
it doesn’t flow forth immediately, we move on to the next idea.
ly released EP from Sept 2014. It has a fair number of darker
That being said, we do spend time getting all the levels perfect-
post industrial songs on it. The album art is mostly black and
ly attuned to what we expect it to sound like and then we send
the lyrical content is more intense.
the tracks for mastering to DJ Olive. We have released un mastered demos on Soundcloud but for actual albums, we use cd
How would you say this differs from your debut release - your self-titled 'Meter Bridge' EP?
baby as our digital distribution. Our EP has CDs available that we had burned and printed by a local guy and we made our own
The EP contains 7 out of 19 songs that were all ready and mas-
jackets. A labourious task! We printed card stock and scored,
tered at the same time. The EP is an introduction to our artistic
cut and pasted each one! To top it off, we painstakingly packa-
latitude. We stretch over several related genres and we wanted
ged each one in gossamer handmade paper instead of plastic
to showcase our dexterity into a cohesive small package. We de-
film. For “Slow Motion” we had cds made through cd baby.
cided on the self-titled debut as a launching platform for all that
They are simple sleeves with glossy finish and the cds have a
we have to offer to a worldwide audience.
black background with our name and title in blue and red. We have also been involved in several compilations and collaborations. Each separate project have involved varied specifications.
Who are some artists who have influenced you?
All our music is available on Bandcamp as well as the usual web
Kraftwerk, David Sylvian, Bryan Eno, Roxy Music, Hot Chip,
distribution sites.
Gus Gus, David Bowie, David Byrne, New Order, Cocteau Twins, The Cure, The Orb, St Saviour, The Knife, Fever Ray, Purity Ring, Phantogram, Patty Smith, Picasso, Klimt, Dali, Es-
What are some of the challenges you face as musicians and how have you overcome those challenges?
We face time management challenges between work and family and an otherwise slim social life. We do sneak into the
Vancouver age 14. Richard’s was Tears for Fears (Songs from the Big Chair tour) at the PNE Coliseum age 12.
studio as often as we can to get short bursts of recording accomplished. Family and friends occupy our children and give them loads of love so we can have guilt free studio marathons.
Coolest band/ artist t-shirt or other memorabilia you own...
We save money to fund our projects including gear acquisition,
Richard has a nearly threadbare “Check your Head” Beastie
mastering, album release and video production. We happen to
Boys shirt, I have a really old ripped off sleeves Cure T-shirt.
have very good team including a graphic artist, film maker, engineer, and tech genius who assist us in our creative business
The most insane concert you ever went to or were a part of....
endeavors.
Hot Chip at The Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver 2012. We met Al Doyle (Hot Chip, LCD Soundsystem) on Granville
Are there any advantages, disadvantages and quirks to being a music-maker in Canada?
St and Alexis Taylor grabbed both our hands at one point. We were singing every word right up front.
We haven’t faced many challenges yet because we are just getting ready to present our live show. We hope to find a place in the Canadian indie scene. We love bands like The Stars, Metric,
What advice would you offer teenagers thinking of joining a band or making music their career?
Purity Ring and The Dears. One of the advantages of being in
Become a music producer, go solo! (Richard’s advice)
Canada is that there are small degrees of separation between the
Take courses in communication and conflict resolution (Ji-
music scene in our little art town and the bigger cities.
ll’s advice) We recognize the amount of work involved in just getting
1st concert you went to and age....The first real concert Jill ever went to was The Cure (Kiss me tour) at the Plaza of Nations in
along and making time for band members. It is a massive challenge!!
Any modern-day indie artists you recommend we add to our playlists? Are you ready for this?!
The13th U NA R EVISTA IMA GINA RIA