Here it is, what you've all been waiting for. An interview with the fabulous upcoming Canadian folksters Woodpigeon. I had some emails with Mark Hamilton of Woodpigeon discussing his beginnings, their upcoming album due out in January and his favourite pasta dish.

You can check out their music on Myspace or just spotify them. Hey, you could even go and buy their album Treasure Library Canada. It's well worth it!

This interview is at the end of their recent tour of Britain and Europe, and just before an intimate gig at The Artworker's Guild in London, which is sure to be a really special event!

Hope you enjoy the interview!

How did Woodpigeon move from the early days in Edinburgh to the octet we have nowadays? And can you tell us a bit more about the Edinburgh times?

Well, in reality, Woodpigeon's more than a set octet, as it's more of a collective of musicians that ebbs and flows depending on the situation. For this most recent tour of Ireland, for example, we performed as a six piece made up of myself and Clea Foofat (on cello and loops) from Calgary, Aaron Meyer (AKA Honeybear, an amazing ukulele artist) from Los Angeles, Arran Fisher (on bass, loops, clarinet, masking tape [yep], and tom drum) from Doha, Qatar, and Bart Bartholomew and Malcolm Benzie from the Edinburgh band Eagleowl. For a couple of the shows, the entire night was made up of sets of Woodpigeon-related projects. As for the early days, there's not really all that much to say! I was too shy to sing, I didn't know how to play the guitar, and we only really finished one song, an instrumental called 'John Cusack on the Run from the Nazis'. It's not very good. A bit surf.

 

Why is it that you used to be called Woodpigeon Divided By Antelope Equals Squirrel?

It's the eternal equation of animal life. It also looked good as a pictogram on t-shirts. (While not working on perfecting our one song, we spent just as much time considering the merchandising). If I find that drawing again, it's definitely going on a shirt -- although the antelope's leg appears to be on backwards.

 

What can we expect from Die Stadt Muzikanten? I hear it’s related to your German heritage, can you tell us more? (And when’s it out?)

 

It's coming out in January, and currently getting mastered in Montreal by Ryan Morey, the fellow who did Arcade Fire's Funeral. The record's got a pretty big sound to it -- there's a 30-piece choir made up of our friends in Calgary, as well as a little orchestra we put together from all the people we know who play orchestral instruments. The first Woodpigeon record was pretty focused on moving and living in Edinburgh. The second was about moving home. 'Die Stadt' is interested in maybe figuring out where to go next. This time it's more of a positive view of the open road than the previous two records, I'd think. As for its link to my German heritage, it's a definite nod to my Oma, Mariechen Leinhoop-Hammerling. She was born in Bremen and always loved the city -- 'Die Bremen Stadtmusikanten' is the folk tale that kind of inspired a couple of the songs on the record (although I changed the spelling because I think it looks better as 3 words and including a 'z').

You seem to have been all over the U.K. a few times in the past few months. How do you find the British audiences? Is there any one gig that particularly stood out? ( I know I really enjoyed the opening for Andrew Bird in London)

 

Britain's absolutely amazing. We play London more than we play our home city of Calgary. As for shows that stick out, it's rather good timing that you ask that -- last night in Cork was without a doubt one of the best Woodpigeon shows since the start of the band. We played a club called Cyprus Avenue with glow-in-the-dark stars on the roof. Honeybear opened the show followed by Eagleowl, and then all of us together as Woodpigeon. The sound was great, the audience was incredible, and we ended the show by walking everyone into an adjacent bar and playing a few more songs unplugged. A great, great night indeed! As for playing with heroes like Andrew Bird, those nights always stick out in my memory, but in a lot of ways it also puts me on edge. I mean, you're setting the stage for Andrew Bird ... you'd better be at your best.

You have just played/are about to play at the Artworkers Guild in London. What’s it like playing such an intimate venue? And on the flipside, how do you guys and gals like playing the festivals, and will you be at many in the U.K. this Summer?

 

I'm definitely excited about the Art Workers Guild. It looks completely beautiful from the photographs I've seen. I think it's a perfect opportunity to try out some new songs, and I'm also excited to get to watch Honeybear play again (I could watch him over and over), as well as our new friend Stuart Silver telling some stories and strumming the ukulele. If I had a choice, I'd play rooms like the Art Workers Guild once a week if they'd have me. As for festivals, we don't really have that much experience with them, but we've been completely lucky with the ones we've played so far. The End of the Road may also be our label, but for a band coming over to England for one of the first times, it's hands-down one of the most magical experiences you can have. And the fact that they put our records out on top of all they do with the festival is a really incredible compliment. We've got a few festivals lined up this summer, and we're looking forward to it, but there are also a few smaller rooms that I'm excited to fill up with sound too...

Which bands are you into at the moment, any hot tips for what to listen to?

 

We had the conversation yesterday where each of us playing together on this tour realized that our favourite artists at the moment are all people that we know. Kris Ellestad from Calgary is world-class. Beth Jeans Houghton from Newcastle is perfect. I love The Acorn and would really dig touring with them. INDIENSOCI and BRAIDS, both from Montreal-via-Calgary are two related projects that just blow my mind. The Secret Bros., also from Calgary, are completely gorgeous too. And it's also awesome touring with Honeybear and Eagleowl given how much I love what they do. How often do you get to watch two of your favourite bands and then join them on-stage to play your own songs? I'm a lucky guy.

A bit of a broad one here that’s puzzling a lot of people in the U.K. Do you know why Canada is producing brilliant acts like Woodpigeon, Final Fantasy, Islands, Sunset Rubdown and so on while the U.K. seems to be falling behind?

 

Perhaps we spend a lot less time in Canada going out? I'm not really sure why Canada's doing so well at the moment, but I think for most of the artists you've named in your list, it's required going somewhere away from Canada first to get attention, and then heading back ... It's an interesting situation getting attention in Canada, I'll admit.

Do you have a favourite Woodpigeon song?

 

At the moment I'm going to say a new one called 'Edinburgh' is way up there. The last song on 'Die Stadt Muzikanten' is called 'Our Love is as Tall as the Calgary Tower', and I'm big-time in love with that one too.

I have a distinct aversion to Pigeons after one of them got into my kitchen and ate my perfectly formed homemade Lasagne. What is Woodpigeon’s favourite pasta dish?

 

Penne Putanesca.