Album Insights: The Sheepdogs Reminisce About “Future Nostalgia”
On October 2, The Sheepdogs returned with Future Nostalgia, the follow-up to 2012’s platinum selling Self-Titled affair.
To celebrate the occasion, Riffyou.com spoke with The Sheepdogs’ Ewan Currie to look back on the creation of Future Nostalgia, as well as the growth his band hoped to show.
The Time it took to Create Future Nostalgia
“I didn’t sit down and go, ‘Okay, it’s time to write an album.’ Some of the songs have been around for a long time, while others are more recent. We just tried to find the best ones that fit well together and then off we went. Recording took about three weeks, then came the mixing, artwork and all of the little things that needed to be ready to go.”
Recording in the Serene Environment of Stony Lake and Why That Made Sense
“A travelling musician’s life is very chaotic – there are a lot of distractions and temptations. I think we were looking to cut out all that noise and just go some place where we could be 100% focused on making good music.”
Living within the Future Nostalgia Recording Sessions
“There is no one way to make an album. The practical side of it is understanding what we could do differently the next time. As well as what worked and what we’d do the same. By living [in the recording space] and having the album be our complete focus maybe made us too immersed in it, but it was fun. I am really proud with what we did in Stony Lake. As a musician, you try to make music that sounds like your heroes, you fail and wherever you land is how you sound. So, does the album sound exactly like it [initially] did in my head? No, but it sounds like we got pretty close and I can live with it, because that’s inevitably how we sound.”
Growth from The Sheepdogs to Future Nostalgia
“We tried different things in terms of production techniques. We did a lot of doubling of my vocals and getting that type of sound; using different instruments like trombone, clarinet and keyboards. We tried to do songs that sounded different from what we’d done before. We tried to stay in our little rock n’ roll world, but with a few diversions along the way so that we could have a variety of different songs.”
Evolving the Band’s Sound on Album, while Trying to Keep Fans Happy
“We know what our strong, identifying objects are. We try to put together catchy choruses with harmonized singing and clean guitar riffs. We try to keep all of that stuff there because that’s what we’re known for. Then, we just try to move the other pieces around. I’m not really concerned about beholding; I just want to make good music no matter what.”
Having a Whopping 18 Songs on Future Nostalgia
“Well, it takes us so damn long to put these albums out, I figured that we might as well try and cram as many songs in there as possible. But, the album’s only about 45 minutes long, so it’s not that long in terms of total time. Plus, the last six songs on the album are one suite of songs that flow together. I always liked The Beatles’ Abbey Road because it had all of these songs and the last half (the medley) flowed together – that’s like the holy grail of rock music for me, so we did homage to that. I think it’s cool when you get an album that has a ton of material on it…as long as it’s not a hip-hop album with skits.”
-Adam Grant
Tour Dates:
10/10 San Luis Obispo, CA @ Brewski @ Madonna Inn
10/13 Phoenix, AZ @ Rebel Lounge
10/14 Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress
10/15 Albuquerque, NM @ The Historic El Rey Theater
10/16 Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge
10/17 Norman, OK @ University of Oklahoma – Red Door Music Festival
10/18 Tulsa, OK @ Vanguard
10/20 Ames, IA @ Maintenance Shop (Iowa State Univ)
10/21 Milwaukee, WI @ Shank Hall
10/22 Chicago, IL @ Double Door
10/23 Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St Entry
10/25 Nashville, TN @ 3rd & Lindsley (WRLT Show)
11/27 Winnipeg, MB @ RBC Convention Centre (Grey Cup Festival Concert Series)
Please be sure to follow us on Twitter @riffyou and at Facebook.com/riffyou.
