Russh Magazine

As Feist releases her third album Metals, hype continues to swell around her first two (this, though, might be partially our fault. We haven't taken them off our playlists since 2004…). Four years since her last Laneway performance, we catch up with Feist before she hits our sands again.

We were still listening to Let It Die when Metals came out. It seems to have come about pretty quickly?
My God, you should just LET IT DIE! Yeah, I recorded the album really quickly, but mixing was a little more difficult. We recorded it in February, I didn’t give it to the label until August, and then it was only a two-month turn around. It feels like the momentum has been allowed to stay alive.

As for the tracks themselves what was going through your mind when you were writing them?
After touring for so long it’s like you’re building a new world to go and live in. You play these songs on the road every night, so when writing them you’ve got to be like, ‘OK, what do I want to be living in every night?’ I think in a lyric sense I always want to document things; I watch a lot of Planet Earth documentaries, they’re probably in there.

On to inspirations, what makes you tick?
I like to say from books and films and conversations. Jean-Marc Vallee’s Café de Flore was one of the most incredible things I’ve ever seen. I was stunned, sitting there in awe that someone’s mind was able to construct something so complex and beautiful … I have no doubt that I’m gonna be feeling that film when I’m writing for the next 20 years. Also, that photographer from New York - Bill Cunningham - who knows what made him seek out things he sought out ... so beautiful. It’s not usually other musicians that are influencing me, though of course they do, but I listen to music like a listener; it’s a soundtrack to get through the day.

How are you feeling about coming to Australia again?
It’s so easy to be in Australia, because it’s like Canada, but on the other side of the planet. It’s an adventure that it’s so far, but intellectually and culturally, it’s not very far. On a running from-the-winter-level, it’s perfect timing. It makes for everyone who’s feet have been cold for five months a gift. And, on a musical level, people are really open there.

So you notice differences in the crowd?
People coming to my shows are all of a similar mentality. Until you go to a place like Japan where you really do feel like you’re somewhere else and the culture is so extremely different. Even in Mexico City, it’s not that much different once you close the door.

How do you feel playing festivals as opposed to your own shows?
In festivals, there’s always a lot of variables and it’s always a bit chaotic, though there’s a nice spirit to it. I don’t necessarily like playing them - for the reason of it’s harder to feel like I’m doing what I want to. Similarly, I don’t really go to festivals, because I feel the bands have been given ten minutes to throw their gear on stage and be who they are, and they’re struggling … on some level. I love playing small venues - I love walls and a ceiling. It’s like singing in the shower as opposed to singing in an open field. The noise can bounce around, and stay alive.

And some of your band members will be performing separately as your support at Laneway, right?
Mountain Man yeah, they’re part of the band. They sing with me every night, and most shows they do one of their own songs too, so I wanted to give them a chance to show what they’re capable of without band around them. They’re so phenomenal, people are always just screaming like they’re the Rolling Stones.

GEARING UP FOR LANEWAY FESTIVAL? READ THE RUSSH INTERVIEW WITH AUSTRA