CultureCritic interviews Timber Timbre...

Your music has variously been described as ‘haunted folk blues', ‘noir folk' and ‘night time freak folk'. It certainly has a unique sound and direct comparisons aren't immediately forthcoming, could we talk about your musical influences?

When I started this project, I was looking at the Smithsonian Folkways Anthology box set and I was really excited listening to that. In general, people like Nina Simone, Neil Young, Leonard Cohen...

Your press release describes Timber Timbre as ‘American Gothic'. Is that a description you're comfortable with?

I don't really mind. I guess a lot of non-musical influences of mine have been American visual artists, mainly, off the top of my head, William Faulkner.

People often seem more content to talk about non-musical influences in relation to Timber Timbre. Steinbeck has been brought up, and the painter Andrew Wyeth. Do these influences play a big part in your writing process?

Yeah, sure. I'm drawn to this kind of visual art because it reminds me of the landscape I grew up in, a rural world in Canada. It is very American, and even southern, but it seems to resonate with me.

Is it more of a nostalgic thing would you say, rather than a form of escapism? 

It's a little bit of both. I think it's quite a common thing for young artists, especially in Canada, this fetishising of rural aestheticism, you look at the quality of the wildlife and things.

Can you tell us about the eerie promo video for the new record?

I put it together. I literally searched for public domain horror films and these came up, and I just loved the images.

You studied film, is this a big influence on your music?

Very much. I'm much more of a visual person than a textual one in the way that I write. I prefer images and descriptions of images rather than linear stories. 

Much of the artwork on your releases so far is in black and white. Do you see Timber Timbre's music as monochrome?

Not necessarily. There's just something timeless about black and white images and I'd like to ascribe that same quality to what we're doing musically.

There are more instrumental soundscapes on the new record, in particular in the song ‘Swamp Magic' which sounds almost like soundtrack music, is that something you'd agree with?

Absolutely. When I was younger I thought if I was ever going to have a career in music I'd be doing soundtracks. I never imagined I'd be singing or leading a group and touring. I was much more interested in working that way, I still am actually. It'd be great to work with David Lynch.

There are plenty of accessible pop songs on the new record, but they are often disturbed for instance by passages of discordant drone, even screams at one point. Are you conscious of achieving a balance between accessibility and something more unsettling?

I love pop, I'm really interested in it, and most of the music I listen to is pop, but then there's this whole other world of things we're listening to. Simon [Trottier] digs out a lot of experimental music and free jazz and Mika's [Posen] is a great fan of classical music, so we're trying to bring some subtle differences to the world of pop music. 

You have said before that you would prefer to keep your personality hidden and have no visual presence as part of Timber Timbre. Do you think this is possible?

I've thought of all sorts of stupid things to do: wearing masks or bags or mosquito nets over my head...  Maybe I should just give this up and embrace it, I don't know what to do. It's kind of frustrating, but it wouldn't be if people weren't interested in videotaping every moment of our shows. There's just too much exposure now, it kind of spoils it.

Perhaps given that your vocals and lyrics are so prominent in the band's sound, people are always going to be interested in who you are.

This is the weird thing, the delivery - the vocals themselves - it's all a kind of deceptive, labored thing that I've cultivated. It's really remote in how it relates to me, personally. I think it only reflects my tastes.

Where are you currently based?

Two of us are in Montreal and Mika is in Toronto, so we're travelling back and forth on that axis a lot.

Can you give us any tips on good bands coming out of Montreal?

A guy Colin Stetson, he played saxophone on my record and has just put out his own. It's the most amazing music, solo saxophone single take stuff, really unusual. Austra, from Toronto, I also like a lot.

Creep On Creepin' On, the second album from Timber Timbre via Full Time Hobby is released on the 4th April. Read the latest reviews here.

Their current single 'Black Water' is out now, listen here.

Timber Timbre play the UK on the following dates:

27th April London, UK - ICA
28th April Manchester, UK - Deaf Institute
30th April Kilkenny, Eire - Kilkenny Roots
1st May Kilkenny, Eire - Kilkenny Roots