YOUNG GALAXY with THESE ELECTRIC LIVES, IMAGINARY CITIES, MIRACLE FORTRESS and the WILDERNESS OF MANITOBA at Lee’s Palace (529 Bloor West) as part of CMW, tonight (Thursday, March 10), 8 pm. $15.50 or wristband/pass. cmw.net. See listing.
It must be incredibly nerve-racking for a band to send its album across the ocean to Sweden to have the finishing touches added by a producer they’ve never met. Imagine the panic Young Galaxy felt after handing over their Shapeshifting (Paper Bag) bed tracks to Dan Lissvik, only to have him extend the deadline by more than six months.
“He originally said he could do it in a month and half back in February,” says Stephen Ramsay from his Montreal home. “He kept telling us he hadn’t done much yet, and it got to a point where we started to worry. He’d play us little clips to get us excited but wouldn’t send us anything until it was done. He really kept the album close to his chest and put us through the wringer as a result.”
Ramsay and his partner vocalist/keyboardist Catherine McCandless still haven’t met Lissvik in person, but they formed such a strong bond that they’re already planning more work together. Not a bad idea, as Shapeshifting is a major leap forward and bringing Young Galaxy critical acclaim. By toning down the big-room rock vibe and beefing up the rhythm tracks, they’ve come up with a sleek electronic pop sound that’s regenerated the band.
“Creatively, we feel restless all the time. I’m easily bored with myself. There were definitely times touring the last album when I was bashing away at my guitar and feeling bored. It’s a terrible moment, but I think a lot of bands get to that point.
“In a way, this album came from a place of being a fan of music. I was constantly listening to Dan’s project, Studio, and felt it was one of the better records of the last 10 years. I just had this strange intuition about him as a musician and felt like I needed to work with him.”
After talking for hours and hours over Skype, Ramsay says he and Lissvik cultivated a “very strange modern friendship.”
When a band reinvents itself three albums in, figuring out how to bring the new material to the stage becomes a challenge. Young Galaxy’s upcoming CMW gig will be only the second time they’ve performed the songs live, and, as Ramsay is starting to realize, a delicate balance needs to be struck between recreating the record’s lush electronic textures and allowing some spontaneity to seep through.
“If we just bashed out the songs like a rock band, I wouldn’t blame people for being disappointed. On the other hand, no one wants to see you just pressing play and miming a performance onstage either.”
benjaminb@nowtoronto.com