Fresh Cuttings: An Interview with Caitlin Canty
Records come and records go. In a world where we are constantly bombarded with social media and artists being able to churn out records and songs at home in an afternoon it can be especially hard to wade through the mud to find that special pearl inside of the tough exterior of an oyster. So much is the case, that when that you are graced with the luster of that precious jewel, you hold onto it for a long time to come. To date I am not sure that singer-songwriter Caitlin Canty has produced a record that isn’t one of those pearls. 2015’s ‘Reckless Skyline‘ was a dusty introspective gem of an album from front to back that I still revisit more than most albums today and her latest release is no different.
Each song like a sticky seed pod that clings to you and stays put for days. The potential of birthing new light and life when visited again. A gentle reminder of treks through the woods and hills. Landscapes painting through inflection of a voice and careful arrangements of strings and rhythm. The palette that Canty draws from casting broad strokes across the realm of emotion and if you close your eyes, you can see the stories projected like a film on a silver screen against the back of your eyelids. That’s a rare and, sometimes, under appreciated gift that she commands in such a powerful way. Melodies linger, words hit harder and deeper. Each song’s impression, a lasting and impactful reminder of the fact that songwriting is indeed a craft, and that there are masters of it out there if you keep your ears open and allow yourself to feel the music.
We were lucky to catch up with Caitlin to talk a bit about the new album, the road and the process of getting these songs from scraps and ideas traveling the country to concrete arrangements at home to fully realized arrangements in the studio amongst friends and contemporaries old and new. Read on and get this record. I may be premature in saying this so early in the year, but I am counting ‘Motel Bouquet‘ as the most beautiful and poignant collection of songs that we will see this year.
photo by David McClister
RLR: The general aesthetic of the record, sonically, I think truly mirrors the tones and coloration of the album cover…as well as this very green-blue hued image David McClister made of you. Its just deep and haunting and it really clings on you and lingers after you push pause for a moment. I know there are things like continuity and flow you want on a record, but I mean, this really just feels like a beautifully dovetailed collection from song to song. In terms of instrumentation, songwriting, track sequencing, etc. What do you think plays into that the most on ‘Motel’?
CC: Well that’s a kind way to frame a question! I think what glues this record together is who played on it and how we recorded. The musicians who backed me up in this band are brilliant and egoless. They have their own voices and patented sound, but they don’t leap into the spotlight: they support the song. I wrote these songs over the course of years, in so many different places, but we all played in one room together; live, over just three days. I think recording in one place and time, in one frame of mind, with outstanding musicians live in a room, sews the songs together. If there’s fire in the room, it can find its way onto the record. I don’t know how to bottle the fire without singing live to a nimble band. I’ve tried recording a variety of ways, but live and over just a few days with good people is the ONLY way I’ve found to enjoy it as it goes down, and love it long after it’s packed in my suitcase.
RLR: In some ways I feel you (especially on these last two records) are a bit of an audible painter. You really cast a landscape, evoke imagery and light and color with your words and choices you make for instrumentation for songs. Was that something that came naturally to you always or something that has developed over the course of your career?
CC: I love that you see a landscape when you listen to my songs. I often see one when I write them. Maybe that comes from spending time outdoors, alone, and making a conscious effort to spend as little time as possible staring deeply into my phone or computer screen. When I just put pen to paper without any greater intention than to get the ink and my blood running, I find that what grabs me when I read back are the tangible observations; dog lying a puddle of light on the wood floor.
RLR: How about when you are playing solo. Do you find it difficult to continue to portray the way the songs play out on the record or in a full band situation or is there is a certain catharsis and reprieve in being able to just let the lyrics really breathe in a stripped down situation?
CC: I try to write songs that carry weight when stripped down to one voice, one guitar. It’s exciting to present them that way at a show, and I love touring with my band of recurring tourmates – it helps me keep the songs fresh. I like to keep my calendar balanced between solo dates and duo or band dates.
RLR: How about that album cover? What is the story behind that?
CC: I took the photo that became the album cover while on tour with Darlingside. Someone left me flowers anonymously after a show, and I carried them in a makeshift vase from gig to van to hotel to van to gig. Cut flowers in a 12-passenger van felt triumphant and ephemeral and impractical, much like traveling around singing songs. Carrying around those flowers became symbolic to me of making a good life on the move.
RLR: I’d like to ask a little about your process in terms of songwriting for this album in particular. Between Reckless Skyline and this album you were pretty busy touring and the album title kind of leads me to believe a certain backdrop as well as the aesthetic to a lot of the tunes. They had that road feel, traveling songs and lonesome highways. Were you writing a lot of this stuff on the road?
CC: I tend to collect images, words, musical seeds while on the road, but I complete songs while home. Then I take those new songs out and play them during soundcheck or slip one into a set to test it out before it’s pinned down on a record.
RLR: If so, do you find its easy to write that way or is your preference to be at home with a cup of strong coffee in the morning?
CC: Writing is never easy for me, but I love it. I love touring and I love being home. This means I’m always pining for something which keeps me writing.
RLR: How are you feeling about genre these days? Rolling Stone just called you a “country artist you need to know” for January. You run with bluegrassy types and folkies with an edge of rock and blues. A little bit of everything. I’d like to just say “a damn fine song is a damn fine song” but are you finding it easy to fit in the days of Americana Spotify playlists or do you try to not pay much attention to labels? Do you find when something like the RS article comes out it helps or kind of puts you in a box that you aren’t sure you want to be in?
CC: I moved to Nashville, I only wear cowboy boots, and I have pedal steel and fiddle on my record, so of course this will be seen as my most country-leaning release to date. I don’t get caught up in genre. You can call it American roots music, or Americana, or folk, whatever makes sense to you.
RLR: The last record was produced by Jeffrey Foucault and this time around you had Noam Pikelny wearing that hat. Let me ask two questions, first: how did the working relationship with Noam begin and what made you say “yes, this is who I want producing/having different ears on records will help”
CC: Noam cowrote two of the songs on this record, and he had played some of my songs in jams at friend’s houses or at a handful of shows with me where I had slipped some of these new songs into the set. His first take just on the fly was always so compelling. And his ideas about arrangements for my young songs felt natural and refreshing.
When we recorded, the plan was to head into the studio for one day to catch one song. He pulled the band together from our neighbors and friends. We caught four songs that day and booked two more days because it felt so good. That’s the record.
RLR: And second: how do you think having those two artists in that role on the album added to the final outcome of each album? What may have been similar and what may have been vastly different in their approach to producing and pushing you on arrangements and decisions in the studio?
CC: As I see it, a producer’s job is to help guide key decisions – song selection and band selection, keep the session running smoothly, and keep post production from getting into the weeds. And to make sure the vision and the artist’s voice remain front and center.
I think the main difference on this record was how involved Noam was in the songwriting (we cowrote two songs) and that he was playing in the live band the whole session, on an instrument that he’s not known for (he plays banjo in Punch Brothers and played electric guitar on most songs on Motel Bouquet).
RLR: I also understand you had a lot of artists on the album that you had already toured with and passed on the road over the years, but also some new to you musicians contribute. Was that a conscious decision on your part and how do you think it influenced the way in which your songs developed? Do you find it helpful to have ears that may not be as familiar to you with personally or as an artist helps you to find new spaces in your songs that may have been obscured when you are so deep in them?
CC: Some people on this session have played together for years (Noam and Paul Kowert in Punch Brothers, Jerry Roe and engineer Josh Grange in KD Lang’s band), but no one had played with everyone. In fact, this session was Paul and Stuart Duncan’s first time playing a session together, I can’t believe that hadn’t happened til now. This session felt familial and intense — we were all at ease and natural but still bringing the fire!
RLR: The few songs Aoife sings harmonies on really, really hit hard. Like punch me right in the face. Force me to listen intently. Did you guys do much of the tracking live or were harmonies mostly overdubbed? The interplay and how your voices at moments have similar tones and the next are standing out, it is just truly gorgeous how they are woven together.
CC: Aoife is magic! I got my start as a backup singer so it’s a piece of the puzzle I’m extra picky about, and Aoife has a spooky ability to support the song and the singer while shining herself at the same time. I have been going to her shows and listening to her records for years, and I feel beyond lucky to have her singing along on my songs.
To your production question; the core band was completely live, no overdubs. All of my vocals are live. Aoife and Gabe Witcher overdubbed harmonies and fiddle on a precious day off on tour with Noam.
RLR: If there was one song from this album that you hoped folks would still be listening to in 100 years, what is it and why?
CC: Ha! Any of them would be fine by me.
RLR: So, what comes next?
CC: I’ll be touring the Northeast this week with producer Noam Pikelny on guitar and banjo as a duo around one mic. Then I head out solo to support some Josh Ritter shows. And next month I’ll be touring the midwest with Eric Heywood on pedal steel.
