Timber Timbre Fear Lightning Strikes

08/10/09 3:36pm

by Phil Villeneuve (CHARTattack)

Just to clarify, Timber Timbre's Taylor Kirk does not have a hunchback or live in a dark swamp (but we do suggest saying his name three times in the mirror to see what happens).

He's a friendly city boy with a wonderfully creepy new self-titled album, thank you very much, and CHARTattack had a chance to ask Kirk about his weird world, his musical methods and his very superstitious nature.

CHARTattack: Where do you live in Toronto? I think people imagine you live in a cabin in the middle of nowhere, with 20 dogs.
Taylor Kirk: I wish. Now I live around Keele and Eglinton. It's sort of Toronto's Little Jamaica.

Can you reveal some of the ideas behind the album cover? The witch! The stairs! The mask! It's all very murky and spooky…
It didn't occur to me at the time, but we shot on those same steps-to-nowhere in High Park that The Sadies used for their last album cover.

I was wearing a coonskin cap pulled down over my face. It was totally accidental but the posture with that covering the face; it just looked like something really unholy.

When I pieced the two photos together it looked like we were practicing some bad ritual, which sort of fit with how I was thinking about the songs.

Did you enjoy working with other musicians on this record, instead of working alone, like with your two previous albums? What bothered you about working all by yourself?
I like to work alone, but I decided that I didn't want to be behind every single note on the recording. So it was very exciting to work with other musicians, even just to have other opinions and ideas influence the process.

Can I ask how you were financially able to create your first two records? Was it all self-released and recorded?
Cedar Shakes and Medicinals were home recordings, so they didn't cost anything. Cedar Shakes was recorded onto four-track cassette tapes and Medicinals onto a hard drive in my closet. The only cost was the printing/pressing but I only ever made very small runs of each to sell off stage and out of [Toronto record store] Soundscapes.

I find it refreshing that you chose specific venues for your shows, and then, hopefully the right crowd… instead of just playing anywhere and maybe having a really shitty show. You must like that kind of control?
Well, there have been many shows that didn't work well because the venue just wasn't right. So it became necessary to be selective about where we're playing shows. It's really dynamic and atmospheric music and it took a little while to realize that sort of performance won't translate well in every space.

Are there any particularly strange/favourite instruments on this album that stand out for you?
Chris Stringer, the engineer and co-producer of the record, assembled some MIDI arrangements on a few of the songs that sort of sound like a Salvation Army band playing off a warped acetate. I think it's my favourite sound on the album. He also played his old Korg to create the voicings in "Magic Arrow." In fact, Stringer added a lot of great production flourishes with his old synths and other electronic elements that I'd never had an opportunity to experiment with before.

To create the sounds and moods of the album, did you find you had to record in specific settings? Candles? Lights off? Mist? Wild animals?
Ha, no, not really. Lamps are good.

I read once that you claimed to be a spiritual person. Are you religious in any way?
I am a spiritual person, but I have never been very religious about my religion. I'm very superstitious, though.

How so?
Well, my mother was always very superstitious, so I guess that's where it comes from. I consider myself to be a very fortunate person, but with very bad luck. I have this notion that out of anyone I know, I would be most likely to be hit by lightning or shat on by birds. So I am over-cautious. No hats on the bed, no crossing on the stairs, etc. Black cats are fine, though. Touch wood.