Patrick Watson, singer in the band called, er, Patrick Watson, chats to Clash from his Montreal apartment. It’s been a busy year for him and is set to continue in the same vein, with the release of the dreamy album ‘Close To Paradise’, full of layered, wistful songs, such as stand out tracks ‘Daydreamer’ and ‘The Storm’.
Patrick has been immersed in music from an early age, and started collaborating with Simon Angell, the band’s guitarist, in his teens. While studying music, Patrick met bassist Mishka Stein and drummer Robbie Kuster, and the band “happened by accident”, starting off as more of a multimedia project. Despite the eponymous name of the group, “it’s definitely a band experience, not a singer-songwriter one. There’s a strong band chemistry but we all come together from different musical backgrounds, from jazz, rock and classical schools of music. It’s mainly a storytelling band – we use every different type of style to our disposal in order to tell stories.”
“it’s definitely a band experience, not a singer-songwriter one.”
The stories are told through more than the lyrics. “It’s not just the words but the mood set by the music that tells a story. If you’re going to be a band that brings together different styles of music, you have to be really clear about the narrative and you have to have strong limitations, because it helps it to become a natural piece of music, not something that’s forced loads of stuff together. For me if you have four guys who play different styles, then the more limitations you have, the more freedom you give your musicians as it allows them to dig deep.”
The live element remains core to the band. “At the end of the day you can download anything and I think recorded music is losing its value, because now everyone can produce a song. We’re out of the big radio playing days and record selling days, we’re now in a great live era – what sets a band apart is what they can do live.”
Seeing as it is has become so easy to produce a song, and people are releasing tracks without being able to read music, what importance does Patrick put on receiving a classical music education? “Learning about music and the past helps you to learn about the future. Anyone who’s been a changing force in music has taken influence from the past and let it melt together with new stuff. The past is important, not just in music. Whatever you’re doing, you have to really thoroughly explore it, whether you’re a writer or a musician – it’s your responsibility.”
The notion of responsibility is significant to Patrick, as he is acutely aware of the part it plays within his role as a musician. “Not everybody gets the luxury of being able to travel around the world and to take time to think about things and let ideas digest. My responsibility is to share these ideas and to bring them to people in a concert or a CD, to let them escape and get caught up in another place.” ‘Close To Paradise’ is designed to let your mind wander – “the music lets you drift off, it’s kind of surreal.”
For the year ahead, more touring and travelling, and Patrick is excited but apprehensive about the reception from Europe. For the rest of today however, Patrick’s organising his apartment: “it looks like a hurricane hit it. Home changes when you travel a lot, home becomes exotic. Hanging around here becomes the best thing ever!”
