Today I’m thrilled to share with everyone the latest single and video from Canadian indie-folk band, MOONRIIVR, that comes from their new LP, Volume I, out everywhere music is sold on November 8th. “Flowers on the Fire Escape” takes the listener on a great journey, where in the video the band are performing the track outside of a crowded antique shop, showing off their outsider tastes and veteran musical instinct. I was also able to catch up with this talented band for a brief interview below.
Can you talk a little about what the recording sessions like for the new record? How do you think the unique circumstances of COVID change the outcome of the record?
We recorded the record in a few different places. I tore apart my studio and dragged it out to a farm north of the city. We setup three stations: The bulk of the recording was done in a three-car garage on the property. We backed our cars up to the garage to use as ISO booths for the bass and guitar amps, and could control the bleed by opening or closing doors and windows. It was a hot summer and this was the middle of July so we opted to allow the sounds of nature in through the open garage doors in order to allow the breeze to keep us from going insane. We setup an old 8 track tape machine in the basement of the house where it was a bit cooler, this was actually where we recorded flowers on the fire escape. It’s a completely live take, vocals included, and then we overdubbed the backups on one mic and added an organ and triangle. Because of the 8 track limitations we were bouncing things together and committing to decisions on the fly. We also dragged the Tascam tape machine out to the barn to record “Run,” you can hear the cicadas buzzing around as the songs starts and finishes!
This album, and likely this project wouldn’t have happened if not for COVID. All the musicians involved play with a lot of different artists and are constantly on tour and so when the world shut down we all had a lot of time on our hands. Thankfully we found a good way to use it! We were testing constantly before we would do sessions, and there were a few masked ones I can recall as well.
Where did the idea for, “Flowers On The Fire Escape” come from?
”Flowers on the Fire Escape” was something that was inspired by a friend who had dressed their fire escape up like a backyard. Space in the city is so scarce and astro turf goes a long way! I was inspired by the different rhythm sections on a mellotron and wrote the song like that before James and I worked it up and brought it to the band.
What does the future look like for MOONRIIVR? Are you planning on recording new material any time soon?
We are constantly recording, we have almost enough material for another record and are excited to branch out and try new studios, sounds and producers. We are studio rats and so love tinkering away. We are also working as producers with other artists and have a record with Peter Dreams about to come out as well. The future will hold some touring I’m sure too, just enough so that we can have an excuse to get back in the studio and keep making music!