Canadian four-piece RALEIGH released their latest album, the acclaimed Powerhouse Bloom last year, and are now ready to charm UK listeners with their sumptuous new video for the album single Smoke In Our Eyes, out on now via ⌘X Productions.
Featuring Broken Social Scene’s Brendan Canning on additional guitar, Smoke In Our Eyes is an evocative slice of psychedelic indie rock. Flowing with luscious male/female harmonies and layers of drifting cello and shimmering guitar, RALEIGH have created a rich swirling soundscape. As twinkling hooks are interwoven with trippy beats and steady bass lines, an ethereal splendour oozes from this captivating sonic delight, with a sound that could be compared favourably to the likes of Unknown Mortal Orchestra and Bombay Bicycle Club.
In this interview spotlight, I chat with members of Raleigh about motivations, challenges, the latest project and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Let’s dive a little deeper into You, the artist and your music. What attracted you to this genre(s) or style(s)?
RALEIGH (Brock): I think I can speak for the whole band in saying we are constantly being attracted, drawn in, and inspired by diverse and always evolving musical influences, which sometimes then filter into what we create. I’ve started losing track of genre & style as a calculable way of categorizing music. I enjoy crossing and blurring some of those lines in what we create with RALEIGH.
What led you into this journey with music? And further, what drives you to push it out to the public?
RALEIGH (Brock): Are we going back to the beginning with this one? The journey with music started when I heard songs for the first time and it felt like they had the power to create new realities. I was lucky enough to be surrounded by friends who were interested in good music, whose parents had good record collections. I feel fortunate to have had the chance to fall in love with records like The White Album, and Dark Side of The Moon when I was young, like 12 years old. That turned into wanting to be able to play those songs, learning them with friends, and then playing shows. Not much has changed.
RALEIGH (Will) : Growing up, listening to dope records. I’ve been fascinated with the ability of recorded music to kind of transcend reality and put you in a different world for as long as I can remember. There is something intriguing happening between the ears when you put on a pair of headphones and close your eyes. I remember being drawn in by these vivid experiences of my favorite bands playing right in front of my face. Sometimes you can feel the breath of a singer on your neck, or smell the stale beer and cigarette smoke in a room. You start to truly inhabit the dimensionality of these imaginary spaces. Trying to figure out how the heck you accomplish that and demystifying the black magic of the record making process has been a driving influence ever since.
RALEIGH (Clea) : I grew up with older sisters who played music and got into it very young, so there isn’t a time in my cognisance where I wasn’t already playing. I was always intrigued by the idea of not just learning someone’s music but creating your own, with it’s own sentiment and content propelling a song forward. What drives me to push it to the public is the hope that I can leave an impact on a person for a moment that makes them pause and be present, or briefly fire up their imagination.
Who or what influences your creativity? Have your tastes in music changed over time?
RALEIGH (Brock): My tastes have evolved over time definitely, but they have maybe just expanded, without excluding old interests. I love discovering something new, but I also still listen to albums I heard 15 years ago. I don’t think there is anything that does not have the potential to influence my creativity. I try to be an experience sponge, and then try to make sense of things, and then sometimes that process results in translating through music.
RALEIGH (Will) : Absolutely, my tastes are constantly evolving. I think on some level everything I’m exposed to has bearing on how I think about creating and digesting art. Discovering literary devices through books and films, examining techniques of old impressionist painters and serial composers, listening to conversations about art and modernity through podcasts – constantly considering how all these different concepts and ideas can be adapted and integrated into our process of creating music is kind of an endless fuel source for the engine of creativity.
RALEIGH (Clea) : Same same. I got here last to the party lol… Perhaps I would add that the people I meet, and their ideas and perspectives about art, music, life… That can resonate in a way that influences my taste and creativity. That is one of the reasons touring is so rad, or working with a new musician or engineer.
Were you trying to accomplish anything specific on this new project? Creatively or otherwise?
RALEIGH (Clea) : What was cool about the approach to this record was that we got to start the process at the Banff Centre for the Arts as part of an indie band residency, which was curated by Broken Social Scene. So there was some production/performance by Brendan Canning and Charles Spearin and Kevin Drew came to hang. As well we rotated through engineering sessions with Shawn Everett (War on Drugs, Alabama Shakes), Graham Lessard (Timber Timbre), and Niles Spencer (The Tragically Hip). A lot of cool ideas got thrown into the mix. So we went into the project open minded really, but at the end of the day our band had a strong vision, so where Powerhouse Bloom ended up felt like a unit of tracks that were our own, with a feel driving the album and it’s ideas forward.
RALEIGH (Will) : I think we also put a lot of effort and consideration into figuring out how we wanted to present things sonically. That circular process of demoing and re-working material in and out of the studio environment gave us some clear perspective on how certain ideas were translating through the speakers, and some of the ‘magic dust’ of the studio ended up informing certain parts and performances on the record. Adapting those concepts and integrating some new sounds into the live setting has been a big focus for us in developing a larger, more dynamic live show.
RALEIGH (Brock): We wanted to make a good, cohesive record. Exactly what that was going to look like and how it would be presented wasn’t clear until we dove in. We gave ourselves a lot of time to let things develop, and grow into what ended up on the record.
What was the last song you listened to?RALEIGH (Brock): I’m listening to “I’ve Got Marty Feldman Eyes” by Big Walnuts Yonder while writing this. That record is massive. Somehow I don’t know many people that heard it. The band is Mike Watt (Minutemen), Nels Cline, Greg Saunier (Deerhoof), and Nick Reinhart (Tera Melos)! Seriously?!?
RALEIGH (Clea) : The song I am currently listening to (not in the room but in my head) is Quarrel from Aromanticism by Moses Sumney. It has been on rotation in there for weeks.
RALEIGH (Will) : The last song I listened to is unfortunately titled ‘Don’t Wanna Be European’ – not necessarily a sentiment I share, but a really awesome track by fellow Canadian electro-pop band Bernice.
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
RALEIGH (Brock): When (if) I’m ever home, I listen to my records. A lot of our time is spent on the road, so listening to music digitally is obviously where it’s at in a van or on a plane.
RALEIGH (Clea) : Definitely Vinyl, but Brock is right, it is hard to do when you’re on the go. I think live sessions are also a cool way to listen to music like Tiny Desk, or KEXP.
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
RALEIGH (Brock): I use all three. If I am purchasing music digitally, it is almost always Bandcamp if it is available. I also really like the way they curate discovering new weird music.
RALEIGH (Clea) : Bandcamp seems to be the best for musicians and most accessible for listeners without buying into a system.
Other than the digital era overwhelming us with access to an abundance of music, what is the biggest challenge you face when trying to connect with or find new fans?
RALEIGH (Brock): Our attention spans are so short and transient these days. Sometimes I don’t think that’s a problem, because it means we are bouncing around with access to anything we want at anytime. The downfall is people’s engagement with music, art, even other people stays so surface level. Keeping someone’s attention long enough for them to feel connection is the hardest part, but when it happens, it is most rewarding for everyone.
RALEIGH (Clea) : Because online content is so saturated, I think the challenge in reaching more people comes from maintaining visibility. Our desire has always been to focus on creating cool music, but the truth is so much business actually happens behind the scenes, and we are a DIY project. The challenge is that there is more work to do than what our team can really handle, but this is also a great sign that there is potential behind what we are creating.
Where is the best place to connect with you online? Discover more music?
RALEIGH (Brock): We’re everywhere we have to be with our music online. Our website bundles it all into one place, with quick access to all of the million social channels, and photos, and videos, and oh ya, THE MUSIC. www.raleigh-sound.com The best place to REALLY connect with us is to come to a show!
Anything else you’d like to add before signing off?
RALEIGH (Clea) : Thanks for having us! We are stoked to be sharing our music with you and your viewers!
