Caribou Lets Loose And Goes Pop

With a PhD in math and a reputation as one of electronic music's most intricate and detailed wizards, Caribou (a.k.a. Dan Snaith) sat back and let inspiration take over for his latest psychedelic indie pop trip, Andorra.

"Right at the beginning of recording, I didn't have a clue what I wanted to do," Snaith says. "But it's always important for me to do something I haven't done before.

"This time it was really about songwriting, and realizing most of my favourite music in the world are pop songs that make you get a lump in your throat — where the melodies and the way things hook together somehow have an emotional punch, like an amazing Zombies song. I wanted to get that lift or euphoria while I was making the music."

Allowing his favourite pop bands to guide him through his newest venture paid off. Andorra is a nine-song tour de force that mixes acoustic sounds with bounding electronic beats, blips and loops. Every track has vocals, mostly recorded by Snaith, and carries a sense of joy, warm retro-rock and stickiness. There are lyrics and choruses, which help make the songs more memorable.

"The lyrics came from the music and melody," Snaith explains. "I'll try singing the syllables over the music, which evokes a mood, and the lyrics work around that. It's not autobiographical or thought through, it's more a sketch of a mood."

A fresh, happier mood by the sounds of it. The cover art for Andorra is a collection of bright yellow fruits, vegetables and flowers placed on some logs. Snaith handed control to photographer Jason Evans (as he has on his past three records) for the artwork.

"Jason is an amazing photographer and huge music fan," gushes Snaith. "So I give him the music and ask him to make what he feels from it.

"There are many shots that were taken where I helped him carry things around to set up these still life pictures in the country. It was a time to let go, where I shouldn't be telling him what the cover should look like."

Snaith and his newly assembled troupe of four are rehearsing to tour Andorra with a new and improved interactive film stage experience, and he's now understanding more about what Caribou is.

"I always felt I had a pretty good gage on my singing ability, which was pretty limited," Snaith says. "But just through touring a lot and recording this past year, I learned the limits of what I could do and improved on them.

"I'm not Pavarotti or anything, but I feel I'm comfortable where I wanna be."

Caribou will do a couple rounds of touring in Canada this fall and winter. Here are the first few dates:

Sept. 28 Hamilton, ON @ Casbah
Sept. 29 Waterloo, ON @ Starlight Lounge
Sept. 30 Toronto, ON @ Rivoli
Oct. 1 London, ON @ Call The Office
Oct. 2 Ottawa, ON @ Babylon
Oct. 3 Montreal, QC @ La Tulipe