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UNA REVISTA IMAGINARIA

The13th

DEAD GUITARS | A.R. KANE

BANDAS TRIBUTO | FESTIVAL PLANCK | BRUJERÍA EN EL CINE

RANCHO RELAXO | IN CORP SANCTIS | MAL PASAR

[ Interview with Meter-BridgeTranslated: Rodrigo Debernardis ]

METER BRIDGE... WHAT A GREAT NAME FOR A BAND!

In a universe full of new bands we will present one of

the new appearances within the Synth Pop that bring us some

fresh air so addicted world of the machines. Meter Bridge was

born in 2011 as an experiment by Richard when you buy a syn-

thesizer and Jill approached, first listen to the experiments and

then began to collaborate and ended up forming the band.

Hi, our band is....

We are (name members, say something about yourselves)

Meter Bridge. The mystery that is Richard Kleef and the so-

cial media kitten, Jill Beaulieu

Our sound is......

Post punk inspired sophisticated synthpop, sometimes lea-

ning into the darkpop realms.

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?

The meter bridge on our Alesis mixer was busted and a friend

said, "hey, your meter bridge isn't working" and Richard said,

Meter Bridge, what a great name for a band!

Can you tell us about your latest LP 'Slow Motion'?

It was released in April 2015 as a completion to our previous-

ly released EP from Sept 2014. It has a fair number of darker

post industrial songs on it. The album art is mostly black and

the lyrical content is more intense.

How would you say this differs from your debut release - your

self-titled 'Meter Bridge' EP?

The EP contains 7 out of 19 songs that were all ready and mas-

tered at the same time. The EP is an introduction to our artistic

latitude. We stretch over several related genres and we wanted

to showcase our dexterity into a cohesive small package. We de-

cided on the self-titled debut as a launching platform for all that

we have to offer to a worldwide audience.

Who are some artists who have influenced you?

Kraftwerk, David Sylvian, Bryan Eno, Roxy Music, Hot Chip,

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-

cher, Morrisseau, Parrish, Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Wes-

twood, Lacroix. We are influenced by many artists including

our local multi media, pottery, textile and visual artists. Jill is

heavily influenced by nature and her ancestral roots. Richard is

influenced by uncontrollable urge to compose.

How old were you when each of you started to play music and

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-

member with her Dad and sister then getting lead roles in mu-

sicals as an elementary student. She has basic training in music

and has worked with keyboards, wood winds and percussion. Ji-

ll’s main instrument is the Kaosillator pro and her voice.

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

follow. 90 percent of the music production is created within the

time that it takes to play the song. More time is taken to arran-

ge and mix the tracks. The vocals are usually the final addition

to the song with exception to a sketched vocal track for structu-

ral purposes. We don’t labour over the songs for too long. If

it doesn’t flow forth immediately, we move on to the next idea.

That being said, we do spend time getting all the levels perfect-

ly attuned to what we expect it to sound like and then we send

the tracks for mastering to DJ Olive. We have released un mas-

tered demos on Soundcloud but for actual albums, we use cd

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

jackets. A labourious task! We printed card stock and scored,

cut and pasted each one! To top it off, we painstakingly packa-

ged each one in gossamer handmade paper instead of plastic

film. For “Slow Motion” we had cds made through cd baby.

They are simple sleeves with glossy finish and the cds have a

black background with our name and title in blue and red. We

have also been involved in several compilations and collabora-

tions. Each separate project have involved varied specifications.

All our music is available on Bandcamp as well as the usual web

distribution sites.

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 fa-

mily and an otherwise slim social life. We do sneak into the

studio as often as we can to get short bursts of recording ac-

complished. Family and friends occupy our children and give

them loads of love so we can have guilt free studio marathons.

We save money to fund our projects including gear acquisition,

mastering, album release and video production. We happen to

have very good team including a graphic artist, film maker, en-

gineer, and tech genius who assist us in our creative business

endeavors.

Are there any advantages, disadvantages and quirks to being

a music-maker in Canada?

We haven’t faced many challenges yet because we are just ge-

tting ready to present our live show. We hope to find a place in

the Canadian indie scene. We love bands like The Stars, Metric,

Purity Ring and The Dears. One of the advantages of being in

Canada is that there are small degrees of separation between the

music scene in our little art town and the bigger cities.

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

Vancouver age 14. Richard’s was Tears for Fears (Songs from

the Big Chair tour) at the PNE Coliseum age 12.

Coolest band/ artist t-shirt or other memorabilia you own...

Richard has a nearly threadbare “Check your Head” Beastie

Boys shirt, I have a really old ripped off sleeves Cure T-shirt.

The most insane concert you ever went to or were a part of....

Hot Chip at The Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver 2012.

We met Al Doyle (Hot Chip, LCD Soundsystem) on Granville

St and Alexis Taylor grabbed both our hands at one point. We

were singing every word right up front.

What advice would you offer teenagers thinking of joining a

band or making music their career?

Become a music producer, go solo! (Richard’s advice)

Take courses in communication and conflict resolution (Ji-

ll’s advice)

We recognize the amount of work involved in just getting

along and making time for band members. It is a massive cha-

llenge!!

Any modern-day indie artists you recommend we add to our playlists?

Are you ready for this?!

UNA REVISTA IMAGINARIA

The13th