Songs that feel like prayers: Interview w/ Dogwood tales

On April 17th, I spent the day with Dogwood Tales as they prepared for their set at TV Eye. Hailing from Virginia, the band blends warm, harmony-driven folk with a slow-burning, emotional pull that lingers long after the last note. We wandered around Ridgewood, grabbed pizza and coffee, and I convinced them to squeeze into a photobooth before they hit the stage. Somewhere in the middle of all that I had some questions for them, This is that interview.

When you’re writing, do you ever feel like you’re channeling something rather than crafting it? What does that feel like?

I often feel like the goal of making music or art is to feel like you’re channeling something rather than working to piece it together. I think when you gather with your best friends and really focus in on what you’re making, its hard not to feel like you’re channeling something. The sounds on our upcoming album, and on sending feel very naturally acquired. They feel like they compliment the songs and make them what they are. Rather than crafted, a-lot of the sounds/ moments/ songs feel tapped into, or channeled. Looking back on my favorite music i’ve made i can say all of it seems like so.

- Ben 

What’s a mistake or accident that led to something you couldn’t have planned—and kept in the final version?

Drivers side fantasy and dream are both tracks that were recorded by Kyle and I. they both are full of “mistakes” or just poor audio engineering, but i think that’s what makes them cool. The intro of drivers side fantasy is really abrupt, when normally there’s a second before a song starts, but with this recording it just starts and you’re immediately hit with that blaring blown out guitar. It wasn’t very intentional for it to start like that, and even that guitar part was added last minute. -

- Ben 

“sending” feels intimate and introspective. Was there a particular moment or experience that catalyzed the creation of this EP?

We recorded our upcoming album in February of 2024. Sending feels like an in between to our upcoming album or a link between our old music and new music. It is compiled of old and new demos. Kyle and i made “drivers side fantasy “ at my old house in harrisonburg in about a half hour. He had the song idea and it just came together very naturally.

- Ben 

In “Dream,” there's a delicate balance between melancholy and hope. Can you share the inspiration behind this track and how it came together?

“Dream” is simply about having a dream about dying and waking up and being grateful for what you have. It’s about being grateful for your life and getting through some hard times and personal battles. It’s a very simple song lyrically, but it means a lot to me. It is about finally feeling like you’re where you need to be. Finally being present.

- Ben

“I saw angels” features Terry Fang. How did this collaboration come about, and what did Terry bring to the song's atmosphere.

This collaboration came about very naturally. Terry Fang also known as Travis Legg is an amazing local artist and friend. We often make music together.. He is also the main driver for what we do visually. We love his art style and drawings. This song came about from a demo that travis and kyle made together. Travis is making beautiful sounds on his Juno 106, as he often does. Travis always brings a beautiful layer of lush, atmospheric synth or keys that carries you back to when you were a child.

- Ben

The EP was recorded in your home studio. How did this environment impact the recording process and the overall feel of the EP?

All of the Ep except for “Mt Jackson” was recorded by Kyle and I, on my laptop in GarageBand.

I think that it came together the way it did because the intentions of these recordings were to be demos, not to release them. With the help of Danny Gibney ( our bass player and engineer ) we were able to clean these songs up and give them a proper mix into what they are now. I think you can hear the demo-ness of these tracks, but they also live on, on their own.

- Ben

“Mt Jackson” was produced and engineered by Erik Romero. How did his involvement influence the track's direction and sound?

Erik engineered and produced our upcoming album, and “Mt Jackson” is a part of that group of songs. I think he did a great job helping create the space that the song now has. This song took a long time for us to figure out how to play live. Developing this song in the studio really helped it take on a new life. Erik played a huge role in helping to create the sounds on our up and coming album.

- Ben

The EP is described as “a sending, a prayer.” What emotions or messages were you hoping to convey or release through this collection of songs? What does prayer mean?

The idea for calling the EP “sending” came from a religious practice in Final Fantasy X which was a deeply impactful game from my childhood.

A “sending” is a ceremony performed to send the soul of someone that is no longer alive to the afterlife where it can be unbothered and not at risk of reincarnating as something evil. My uncle had passed away in September of 2023 and the grief was really getting to me. The day after he passed I made a little guitar recording on my tascam that got turned into our track “sending”. It was improvised and was a snippet of a longer recording. I just remember thinking of him while I played it and imagining him leaving life in peace after a lot of complications in his later years. Making the recording that day felt like my own ceremony of acceptance of his passing and a belief that it was all as it had to be, in spite of the pain my family was feeling. I am grateful to call the EP “sending” and to have that recording because it feels like a peaceful place now to feel that grief and relief all at once.  

- Kyle

Ce Qui Reste Quand Ça S’éteint - Interview w/ Corridor

You’ve mentioned that no one wanted to be the ‘main’ singer in Corridor — how has that decision shaped your songwriting or sense of ego within the band. 

Dominic : That decision was initially made because none of us thought of being lead singer in the band. We didn’t have much experience at this point. Nowadays, when we write a new song, most of the time we know by the end of the process who should sing it. I think we’ve grown knowing whose voice fits better for the vibe.

When writing collaboratively, what’s something you’ve learned to let go of — and something you insist on holding firm?

Dominic: I’m not sure if we learned something to let go of, but we clearly insist on being really democratic about the music. If someone doesn’t like the song, we do not record or release it. It can be frustrating if 4 out of 5 dig something, but it is what it is

You’ve cited influences like Chad VanGaalen and Dog Day—what’s something about their work that you think listeners might overlook but you find really formative?

Dominic: I think their music in general is just overlooked, especially for Dog Day. They were both influential on how we recorded music in our early days. So many Canadian bands tried to sound like them, so were we.

The album name ‘Mimi’ was chosen early and stuck — how did the name start to shape or influence the emotional tone of the album as it evolved?

Jonathan: I don’t remember exactly what was the spark of it all but I remember I was digging some stuffs to sample in some old cartoons. There was a character named Mimi and at some point in the story everyone is looking for her, yelling Miiiimiiiiii. I loved that part, you can even hear it at the beginning of the record. Mimi is also the name of my cat, an old grey & white furry ball without teeth that is always puking everywhere. On the group chat we were often sharing the same meme picture of an old weird looking cat that looked exhausted. I just had my daughter, and moved to a new neighborhood so I guess I felt connected to that picture. I drew it for the album cover and that’s it.

“Mourir Demain” came from real-life thoughts about mortality — what other tracks were rooted in specific adult anxieties or mundane realities that surprised you creatively?

Jonathan: Most of the album is. The idea of Mourir Demain Phase came out while I was shopping life insurances and writing a testament, things I had to do cause I was newly a dad. Phase IV is kinda post-nostalgia. I remember I was going through my old neighborhood and I felt like that page of the past was closed for good. Mon Argent is about having to care about money. You know, you grew up a punk, saying fuck this and fuck that, then you realize you’re having suppers with friends talking mortgages, doing your tax on time… Jump Cut is when I started to feel overwhelm by nowadays technologies, probably the same ways my grand-parents were with the beginning of internet. Portes Ouvertes talks about moving to a new house. Chenil is about catching animals in this new house, I had to get rid of mices, rats, racoons, all in the same year I moved in. It’s funny, I just thought the concept of a generic and beige adult life was incredible. I wanted the album to be personal and honest and so that was my life at that moment.

With Samuel Gougoux joining and introducing more electronic textures, what’s one new instrument or sound you didn’t expect to fall in love with during the Mimi sessions?

Dominic: Before entering the studio with Joo-Joo Ashworth, he suggested we get a Korg Delta for synth textures, we ended up really liking the tones of this analog synth and it’s basically all over the album. None of us really knew what it had to offer. It really saved some of the songs.

Self-producing ‘Mimi’ gave you more freedom — was there a moment where that freedom became overwhelming or chaotic? How did you rein it in?

Dominic: It became chaotic especially near the end of the mixing process. Some of us thought it was finished, some didn’t. Normally, when the producer is not part of the band, he would determine when it’s done or not, it was kind of a hard moment, but in the end we managed to finish it without killing each other lol. Also, money was an issue because every mixing session would cost money, bankruptcy wasn’t an option.

Ableton and remote work shaped this album. How did those constraints reshape the way you thought about ‘liveness’ or spontaneity in your music?

Dominic: I think this is part of what makes Mimi different from the other albums. It’s the first we didn’t record live, so everything was really clean and crisp and we weren’t really used to that. It was especially difficult when it was time to figure out how to play a live version for shows. It took Sam some time to really figure out how the setup should be. 

In a past interview, you mentioned that the whole concept for Mimi actually came to Jonathan when he bought a leaf blower – realizing he was “becoming one of those guys” who gets excited about yard tools. I love that an everyday moment like that sparked a creative idea. Are there any other surprisingly mundane or non-musical moments that have inspired your music? For example, have things like a random errand, a photo you saw, or an offhand memory ever planted the seed for a song or theme?

Jonathan: Yeah, a lot of this album ideas are coming from my everyday life. Like I said, shopping tools, working on your house, bringing your car to the garage, suppers with old friends. It just felt poetic to talk about this normality. Like there was something deeper to say about the whole thing. 

Several Mimi song titles read like nods to photography or film – “Caméra,” “Jump Cut,” even “Phase IV”. Do you consciously think in visual or cinematic terms when writing music? (By the way, was “Phase IV” titled after the cult ’70s sci-fi film of the same name, or just a coincidence?) Can you give an example of how a movie, a specific scene, or a filmmaking technique (like the abrupt feel of a jump cut) influenced the atmosphere or structure of one of your songs?

Jonathan: We actually have a moodboard for the album and most of it is action movies and explosions. We didn’t have so much music references to give to Joo-joo before recording the album so we gave him this instead. We knew, for example, that Jump Cut needed to feel like a car chasing scene in a spy movie on steroids.

Jonathan, I know you’re an illustrator and you’ve mentioned that you “have always opted for an illustration” rather than using band members’ faces on album covers. The cover of Mimi – featuring that wonderfully scruffy cat (Mimi herself, I assume) – has a distinctive handmade charm. What visual art influences went into designing that cover and the band’s overall aesthetic? Are there particular artists or art styles that inspire the imagery of Corridor’s albums and merch? And how does your graphic art background shape how you present the band’s identity?

Jonathan: I’m basically an illustrator and an animator. My references are basically what I grew up with, old NFB animation shorts, graphic novels, 70’s french comics, 40’s cartoons. So yeah, I’m far from fashion, that’s probably why you won’t see our faces on an album cover. I did some stuff for other bands before. Knowing how musicians are most of the time painful to work with, I guess it was easier (and cheaper) to do this kind of thing myself. It’s fun, you know, being able to it without someone telling you to change this font or that color for no fucking reason. Since the beginning , directing music videos and making album covers for the band were also ways for me to experiment new stuff and different techniques. It’s nice, it feels like they totally trust me with that part. I always propose a couple of ideas to the band. Somehow it’s always the shittiest idea that makes the cut. Basically, when it make us laugh, it’s a good sign. I wouldn’t say I was inspired by something for the album cover other than the picture I drew. 

Your music videos often have a playful, homespun quality. I’m thinking of “Mon Argent,” where you ended up creating a whole visual concept in a single day using whatever was on hand – a Lite-Brite toy, falling pennies, and Dom’s collection of ceramic cats – after a technical mishap on the shoot. How do spontaneous DIY moments like that influence your visual storytelling? Do you draw inspiration for your videos from any specific filmmakers or visual artists, or is it more about embracing happy accidents and creativity with everyday objects?

Jonathan: This video is a disaster. Basically I had a really cool concept. It was 3 different clips of masked characters playing through different tv screens and interacting with each others. Somehow, the day I was shooting, I stepped on the wire and it broke inside one the television. The video was due the day after so I had to figure out something else on the spot. It is what it is. I created a lot of music videos before, 5-6 for the band and I’d say that I’m kinda proud of them. But this one… It’s not embarrassing but it’s more something that I would only consider as ‘’content’’. The label didn’t even put the final version on Youtube hahaha

Interview questions & research done in collaboration with Molly Alexander.

A record built from what lingers - Interview w/ Robber Robber

Some Questions with Nina Cates (vocals / rhythm guitar) of Burlington-based band Robber Robber

You’ve said you like ambiguity—has anyone ever interpreted one of your songs in a way that made you see it differently yourself?

Yeah- I feel like I write in a way where there’s a lot of room for interpretation. People ask if songs are about something and I feel like the answer is always yes.

Even if I didn’t intend it that way to begin with, once someone finds meaning in a song, that’s what it’s about.

How did the shift from Guy Ferrari to Robber Robber reshape your identity as a songwriter?

I feel like in the Guy Ferrari days it was a real kitchen sink approach- I still like some of those songs a whole lot but it was definitely less focused in a direction.

Robber Robber feels like we’re acting on what we learned from Guy Ferrari experiments. In a lot of ways it feels like a different band.

Were there any songs or ideas from your Guy Ferrari days that you carried over into Robber Robber—or did you feel the need to start completely fresh?

Absolutely! We still play a couple carry overs here and there when we want to mix it up- Robber Robber’s definitely more representative of where we’re at though. 

Is there a song on the record that felt like it taught you something about your own tendencies—musical or personal?

Writing primarily from a 3rd party perspective even when it’s about myself was something that I didn’t really realize I did until I examined it after.

Much easier to be vulnerable that way which is something to be examined later on perhaps haha. 

How does Burlington as a physical or emotional space show up in Wild Guess—if at all?

Definitely! There are themes of examining conflicts in my life in Burlington all throughout the record. The winters are long and can be brutal in Burlington and I think that can lend to being more introspective and it’s when I tend to write more lyrics.

In “Dial Tone,” there’s a jittery, off-kilter energy—did the arrangement evolve from a jam, or was that tension always intentional?

I don’t think that one came from a jam. Just Zack and I screwing around in a basement over Christmas break from school. I think that one started with guitar and drums and then we built off of it but few of the songs start in the same way as each other 

Urian Hackney’s engineering has a punk legacy—how did his approach shape the way this record feels sonically?

We thought a lot about which songs we felt would suit his energetic, punk studio approach. You can definitely hear it on How we ball and Dial Tone. He’s great at suggesting tones and letting us layer tons of stuff and I think those songs benefited a lot from his approach! It was nice to have that contrast with Benny’s approach which felt a bit more experimental for some of the songs we wanted to get a little wavier on like Sea or War. Very glad we got to work with both of them and so lucky to have both of them local! Burlington’s very lucky in that regard

You’ve said you write from a third-party perspective—have you ever surprised yourself by how much personal truth slipped in anyway?

All the time! I’m still realizing the ways in which the songs ring true to myself. I mentioned it a little bit before but I think positioning it like that makes it easier to talk about myself and switch between subjects but there’s always a through line that sometimes isn’t obvious to me until long after the song is written. 

Do any lines from Wild Guess feel like they came from somewhere subconscious or dreamlike, rather than something you deliberately wrote?

Tons of them- I feel like songwriting is a pretty magical headspace you have to get in. Some of my friends like Lily Seabird can sit down and write a song front to back in one go which I think is nothing short of magic. I am not that way, I feel like I have to charge away at tons of lyrical ideas until I have something I instinctively feel good about and by then the meaning I started with might’ve become something very different but just as true.