Oh! Canada vs Ohbijou

Oh! Canada had the chance to catch up with Casey and James from Ohbijou to talk about their upcoming UK tour and the latest edition of their ‘Friends in Bellwoods’ compilation, a charity cd with over 40 tracks from the latest and greatest in the Canadian scene.

So, First Up….how are things in the Ohbijou camp? What have you been up to since we last saw you on these shores?
Things have been good in the Ohbijou camp! Busy and good! Since seeing you, we’ve released Beacons in North America with Last Gang Records, so that’s been exciting! We threw a wonderful CD release show in Toronto to celebrate the release, and played with our friends The Great Bloomers and Evening Hymns. We had an awesome group of people who go by the name Exploding Motor Car do the visuals, so it looked fantastic! They are also the people responsible for the music video for New Years, a track off of Beacons, which was just released, so that’s been exciting too. And in between that, we’ve been doing a bit of writing and recording. It’s a great time for us right now!

What’s next on the agenda for Ohbijou- will there be a UK release for Swift Feet? or are you moving on to something new?
Next up for Ohbijou will be a few stints on the road, probably no UK release of Swift Feet… though. We’ll be coming back over the sea into your neighbourhood for the month of September, going through the UK and then into the rest of Europe. In October and into November we’ll be concentrating on North America, starting out by going eastward in Canada, something that we haven’t done in a long time and are very excited about. And we’re going to be playing a string of shows with our old friends and label mates The Acorn, so that’s going to lead to some of the best kind of trouble that there is!

Are you looking forward to the upcoming UK tour? Have you played UK festivals before? How do they compare to Canadian festivals?
We are definitely looking forward to coming back overseas in September! Our last experience across the pond was an amazing one, and we can’t wait to repeat it! As far as UK festivals compared to Canadian festivals, it’s a hard one to say. It seems like festivals are unique entities, and each one, no matter if they all take place in the same country, has something a bit different to offer. We’ve just returned from playing the Hillside Music Festival in Guelph, which is about an hour outside of Toronto, and it was an incredible experience. It has such an amazing feel to it, everyone is so relaxed and supportive of all of the music that it’s just a pleasure to play. And when we were last in the UK, we played The Great Escape Festival in Brighton, which was a fantastic time as well. They are two very different festivals, but both were such great experiences. We’re just looking forward to trying out as many as we can, and going from there!

James – you are working as a producer on the forthcoming Evening Hymns record. How is that going? Are you working with anyone else we should check out?
The new Evening Hymns record is going to be fantastic! It’s going to come out on the Out Of This Spark label, which is such a great home for it as it’ll be along side other great bands and friends, like Forest City Lovers, The D’Urbervilles, and both of the Friends In Bellwoods compilations. I couldn’t be more excited for Jonas and for the audiences to finally hear all of the amazing songs that he’s been sitting on for so long! And I’m currently working on a new Forest City Lovers 7” which is sounding great, and on tracks for the upcoming Diamond Rings album, which is a solo project of The D’Urbervilles’ singer John O’Regan, which are sounding wonderful. So, I’d say to check those things out. Oh, and a band called PS I Love You from Kingston. Oh, and the bands on the Friends In Bellwoods 2 compilation, of course!

Casey- are you still doing stuff with Bruce Penninsula? Everyone involved seems to have a great project of their own as well….
Bruce Peninsula is an amazing group of supremely talented musicians. I am so lucky to have the opportunity to sing with them whenever I can and have found cherished friendships in my experiences with them. There record A Mountain is a Mouth is startlingly good and we are so happy to have an exclusive track from them on Friends in Bellwoods II.It is true that many members have other projects on the go that are truly fantastic; Snowblink, Lake Vernon Drowning, Thomas, Steven McKay, The Weather Station….so much good music.

What or where is the Friends in Bellwoods project all about? How and why did it start?
Friends in Bellwoods began a couple of summers ago when James and I decided to compile a collection of tracks from friends we met either on the road or who had played/hung out at my house on Bellwoods Ave. We wanted to capture their amazing talents and wanted to sort of make a musical time capsule of that summer. As well wanted to use it as a vehicle to help our community and therefore decided proceeds from the compilation would go the Daily Bread Food Bank. We all know how vital it is that people receive the basic necessities of life, and to help contribute to that was something that we felt was important. But really I think that any time a group of people get together and contribute their time and efforts towards a project that raises funds for a charitable cause, no matter what that cause may be, it’s a positive thing, and something that should be encouraged as much as possible!

Can you tell how the bands have changed since the original record in 2006?
There are many friends who appear on the old record that are on the follow up. The Wooden Sky, Forest City Lovers, Katie Stelmanis etc. Over the years we’ve formed strong friendships with these bands and wanted nothing more than to showcase their talents again. Also during the time between the first and second compilation we’ve been so lucky to discover and befriend many new musicians; Basia Bulat, Snowblink, Gentleman Reg, Emma McKenna, Double Suicide – along with the old these new contributions to the compilation have made it a project we are so so proud of.

Were all the songs recorded in the ‘Bellwoods’ house? Do you still put on shows in your basement?
Not all the songs were recorded at the house but many were. Some of the musicians took it upon themselves to record their own tracks and others spent a day in the basement recording with James. As for shows, we aren’t having them anymore at the house. The story becomes a little sad here – long story short: we suspected mold in the house and asked for an air quality test, mold was found, we were served an eviction notice. So the story of Bellwoods has a bitter sweet ending but the history of the house, the music that filled it’s walls will always resonate in these compilations.

Some of the artists featured on FIB 1 are finally starting to make a breakthrough on the international stage- Yourselves, Reg, The Acorn, The Rural Alberta Advantage….who can you see capturing our hearts in 2012 (or sooner!)
It’s great to see the bands and friends around us doing better and better for themselves, and receiving more and more recognition for the wonderful music that they make! We are all so proud of Gentleman Reg, The Acorn and The Rural Alberta Advantage, and everyone else who is falling on to more and more radars around the world. And if I had to guess about bands from the Friends In Bellwoods 2 compilation who are going to be blowing up by 2012, I’d have to say that The Wooden Sky are going to be one of those bands for sure. They are on the verge of releasing an incredible album that has people excited already. So, watch out for them. I think that we’re going to be hearing more and more about Kite Hill, which is Ryan and Anissa from Ohbijou’s other project, as the new disc from them will be dropping sometime in the near future, and it’s sounding stunningly beautiful. Oh, and Timber Timbre, if he hasn’t already broken through by the time you read this!

So is there anything else we should know?
We’re a busy bunch these days, always working on something or another. There are no other releases planned for the near future after the Friends In Bellwoods 2 release, but there most certainly will be! And when they happen, we’ll let you know for sure!

You can learn more about ‘Friends in Bellwoods’ here