Alex and Light in August get in the "Sweater Weather" mood this Wednesday in Pontiac.
Light in August started out as a project by multi-instrumentalist Alex Wand while he was enrolled at the University of Michigan School of Music program. Formed back in 2007, Wand and his band have created lush sonic landscapes that range in various styles of folk and pop with their debut album “Places”. Light in August is now back and getting in the mood of the season (Winter, not Christmas) as the band is preparing to release their sophomore effort, “Sweater Weather”.
When I had a chance to interview with Alex Wand, the frontman was yearning for the cold weather and the change of the season. Currently out in California working on a Masters of Music Composition at the California Institute of Arts, Wand is preparing to make a trip home for the record release party for “Sweater Weather”. During our interview, Alex and I discussed the production differences with the new album, and how an upstart website helped get the funding in place for the new album.
Here’s my interview with Alex:
AW: I think one major difference is the production of the album. We went with Jim Roll as our producer, who had a lot to do with its overall folksiness. Choices like putting minimal compression and effects on the tracks and not using pitch correction made the album a lot more organic sounding than our last one. Lyrically, I meant it to be a kind of celebration of the four seasons in Michigan, so I used a lot of weather conditions for imagery. I also used the weather to represent something more internal, which is an idea that came after reading a lot of Dylan Thomas, particularly the poem “A Process in the Weather of the Heart”. As far as the music, I think the songs are more diverse, ranging from instrumentals featuring sitar and tabla to bare-bones acoustic tracks to all out rock songs. We were going for the Sgt. Pepper’s philosophy of having lots of different sounds on one album, rather than trying to be overly cohesive.
AM: If you could go back and change on the first album, how would you improve on it?
AW: Well, everything is a lot more compressed on “Places”, which was much more suited to the poppiness of those songs. However, if I had to redo it, I would have wanted it to be a bit less processed and more organic sounding. I think there’s a natural warmth on the new album that wasn’t there before.
AM: You have learned a ton of instruments over the years, what instrument did you feel most out of your comfort zone?
AW: Definitely the sitar- I think that was the first instrument that really put me outside of my comfort zone. Being a fretted instrument, it was familiar to me. Yet, after spending a month in India during my junior year at U-M and studying with a guru, I soon realized what a massive undertaking it is to really know the instrument. I still feel like I have so much to learn with it. I am still studying it with a professor at Cal Arts and am planning on doing a more indian classical influenced album with a new group that Rachel (the flute player) and I formed called Enjira.
AM: The band used kickstarter.com to help fund the album- did you find it easy to go through this method to get the album made?
AW: It was a great experience using Kickstarter. In a sense, it’s a pre-sale to the album, by donating the 10 dollars to the making of the record and you get a digital copy of it once the album’s done. I think there’s a feeling of solidarity with this because by donating, you are helping the artist out in a much more immediate way than if you were to just buy the album after it comes out. We were able to raise $1,000 in 3 weeks for the mixing and mastering of the album.
AM: What can we expect from the upcoming record release show?
AW: Opening is our good friends Gun Lake, who are also recording with Jim Roll. Most of the songs are going to be from the new album, with a few of the older ones thrown in as well. There will also be a guest appearance from Dan Piccolo from Nomo. In 2011, we’ll have a CD release party in LA and will play some shows in the Oakland (CA) area and perhaps a more full blown tour later in 2011.
Light in August’s record release party for “Sweater Weather” takes place this Wednesday (December 22nd) at the Pike Room. Tickets are $10 and are available at www.ticketweb.com. Additional tour dates and band info can be found at www.lightinaugustmusic.com.
