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Music

Timber Timbre

TIMBER TIMBRE with TASSEOMANCY at Trinity-St. Paul’s Church (427 Bloor West), Friday (April 8), 7 pm. $20. HS, RT, SS, TM. See listing.


For the first time in his career, Taylor Kirk is writing for an audience.

“Previously I was making music for myself, so I never really cared what other people thought,” says the Timber Timbre singer/songwriter over the phone from Montreal. (He recently moved the band there from Toronto.)

“I didn’t have to gauge anyone’s reaction, because not many people were going to hear it. It’s strange to think that there’s kind of a built-in [fan base] now.”

Kirk’s first two self-recorded, self-released albums went relatively unnoticed, but his third, 2009’s eponymous Timber Timbre, gained enough traction to keep him on the road for the better part of two years.

Timber Timbre’s newest, Creep On Creepin’ On (Arts & Crafts), is their first since gaining significant international attention.

Kirk admits that gave rise to some anxiety in the studio, but it certainly doesn’t come through. Creep On’s mix of doo-wop, classical music and free jazz broadens the band’s rich gospel-blues vocabulary, while the clean production style demolishes their former “lo-fi” tag.

It takes confidence to make music so unabashedly weird, yet Kirk is soft-spoken and guarded, seemingly uncomfortable in the spotlight. You almost wonder if he added two members – violinist Mika Posen and multi-instrumentalist Simon Trottier – to the once solo project partly to avoid being the centre of attention.

“As much as I like performing, I don’t feel like I’m a real song-and-dance man,” he says. “I’m just not a showman. At least not the kind of showman you regularly see at a rock and roll show. So I try to take myself out of the equation as much as I can and let the music speak for itself.”

Ironically, Kirk’s timidity enhances the live Timber Timbre experience. The band shrouds itself in dim lighting, avoids eye contact and replaces between-song patter with eerie ambient interludes.

“We care more about atmosphere than stage presence. It’s all about tension and release. Things like big moves and stage banter are fine, but they deflate that tension.

“It’s important not to come off too self-serious, but for music like this to work we have to remain as earnest as possible. It’s a tough balance.”

Interview Clips

Taylor Kirk tells us how he came up with the name of the band’s new album, Creep On Creepin’ On.

Download associated audio clip.

One of the most striking things about the new album is its near total lack of guitar. Kirk explains why, even though he wrote the songs on guitar, he purposely left it off the album.

Download associated audio clip.

Though they’ve been a major aspect of Timber Timbre’s live shows, Creep On Creepin’ On is the band’s first album to prominently feature thee band’s more ambient instrumental compositions. According to Kirk, they’re a by-product of expanding into a trio.

Download associated audio clip.

music@nowtoronto.com

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