Owen Pallett's Final Fantasy: Well Defined Biceps

Everyone knows by now that Owen Pallett (R.I.P Final Fantasy) is an insanely talented yet humble singer/songwriter/composer/arranger, and his latest LP Heartland is proof that winning the Polaris Music Prize for his last album was only the beginning.

This is why CHARTattack wanted to speak with the guy. We know what we think we know, but upon digging deeper we learned how he measures himself to Neko Case, how he's crazy for Lady Gaga and how at the end of the day, all he wants are some slightly bulging biceps.

CHARTattack: Are you one of those guys who walks around with your iPod on, or do you prefer the sounds of the city?
Owen Pallett: I don't listen to an iPod while walking. When I put on stuff, I really try and engage with it. Also it's because I'm working so hard on music and often I'm working with headphones on, so I just equate it with work.

When we got the first Heartland master back, I listened to it while jogging and it worked really well, actually. It's because most of the record is set at really fast tempos, like 160 bmp, so it really worked well.

You've said you put a lot of yourself into this album, so are you scared to hear what people have to say? Do you pay attention?
I do pay attention, but I'm not worried. It's not that I'm extremely confident about it because this is a record that people are really gonna like or really not gonna like. I don't take things personally, actually.

One of the most positive things that came out of keeping tabs on my reviews in my life was when I read a negative review of He Poos Clouds, but it was just so well written. The reviewer had engaged with it, and you could tell that he really understood exactly what I was trying to do. It's nice to read good writing.

Music listening itself is not an exact science, and I certainly can forgive people for factual inaccuracies when they're writing about it, but I can't really get behind exhaustive rating systems that seem to have these definitive answers like the quality of a record. Like Pitchfork with their ratings or Chart with your little Cs.

I understand, it's important to make it digestible for the public, but at the same time it's just incorrect. Saying that a record is a 7 out of 10 is just an incorrect statement.

How is the name change thing going for you these days?
It's kind of redefined what the project is in a way that I wasn't anticipating. It's interesting because I feel like most the songs I've written have been under the umbrella of a pseudonym. So now to have these words that I've written come out of my mouth, when I sing "I" in a song, it doesn't mean some other narrator, it means me, a person singing to you right now. It's a little intimidating.

Speaking of intimidating, how was it working with Rusty Santos when mixing the album?
It was amazing. He's my favourite. I knew of him primarily through his work with Born Ruffians, and he's friends with the guys from Tomlab.

Rusty and I just hit it off so well, and he was really responsible for two things; first, he took the record, which was really just sounding like orchestral recordings and he stretched it like it was another world. And second, he was really instrumental in helping me with my vocals.

I think I'm a very good singer, but I'm not Neko Case. I can't walk into a room, belt it out and it's done. He really persuaded me to try other techniques, and that's when I found out that Rusty's real thing was mixing vocals.

What sets this album apart from your last two records?
I think of every record differently, and with this record I strove to do something different. I didn't get into it thinking I wanted to make a concept record. Rather, I was making an album.

He Poos Clouds was very much motivated by the idea that I wanted to keep it as a string quartet and Has A Good Home was mostly defined by the haste with which we had to prepare it.

What followed, with no disclaimers surround to it, was to afford it the same consideration I afforded the music I had done for so many other artists.

You seem to have a cool situation now where you are at times an invisible arranger and other times a Canadian music star. Do you like how this works?
My primary goal as an orchestrator and arranger has been a facilitator. I just like making good records.

Often, that means not even getting involved. I've turned down gigs just because I didn't feel I could bring anything to the table. It was already complete. So when I do work on it, I take the time to establish where the heads of the artists are, try and get into that headspace.

I've read a couple times that there's a trademark to my arranging and I've been surprised to read that because I feel like every thing I've done is very different.

I would agree. It's not like you're like Danny Elfman, where you recognize those notes right away…
It's the raised fourth. Grizzly Bear uses it, too. I think there are a lot of similarities between Danny Elfman and Grizzly Bear.

As a Canadian kind-of-pop-star, what do you think about a pop star like Lady Gaga?
I love Gaga. I got really starstruck when I was having drinks and dinner with Mika, and he was getting text messages from Perez Hilton and I was just sitting there trying to control the butterflies in my stomach.

GaGa makes me crazy. I think she's fantastic, I could not honestly say that I'm a massive fan of her music, but I think that that's what's the best about her is that her music is not greater than that. It's the complete package.

Gaga's not getting as much play in my home as the new Alicia Keys record, which I think is spectacular, but ultimately I find her a much more compelling entertainer.

Would you ever want to be that kind of pop star?
It's tricky to say. I think it would be fun, but it wouldn't really fit into my skill set. Before being a pop star, I'd like to actually be physically fit. That's actually an attainable goal. I'm definitely kind of fit. I'm slim and I can lift heavy objects, but you've seen my arms in photos.

I'd really love to be one of those guys who brings you drinks and you're sitting down and the biceps are at eye level. And it's not like they're ripped, but it's just a beautiful thing. That's what I want in my life.

We've got to ask about your epic Hillside performance last summer. What was going on in your mind while you were on stage in a thunderstorm?
It was really crazy. The crowd was just drenched. I think there were other people there more worried for my life than I was. The only thing I thought at one point is if my violin is ruined at this event, then it will have lived a very complete life.