Time to talk: The Rural Alberta Advantage

photo by saddle creek

The Rural Alberta Advantage is a three-piece-band from Toronto, Canada, consisting of the members Paul Banwatt, Amy Cole and Nils Edenloff.
Since i know this band i love their music - starting with the debut album Hometowns in 2008 and followed by the second album Departing (2011) both released on Saddle Creek Records. Their dynamic & fresh sound, the awesome drums and the impressive folk-rock songs caught me easily - as a lot of people i fell in love with their hit "Stamp" that also has a nice music video you gotta see.
In September 2014 their third album called Mended With Gold came out. So they are touring right now and will play a show in Berlin on 3rd december at Lido.

Your new record is out for some weeks now. how is the feedback so far?

Paul: The feedback is great! We have people telling us it's their favourite record of ours at every show, and that feels amazing.

You needed 3 years from "hometowns" to "departing" and now it took 3 years again. so the next album comes 2017?

Paul: I want to say it will be sooner... But I can't promise anything. We take our time. When we rush, we are never happy about the results. Having said that, our co-producer Matt Lederman helped us be more productive than ever towards the end of our writing process, so I think there's hope for something even earlier.

What kind of shows do you like more - small clubs or the big town halls?

Paul: There's something special about each. We just played to 1900 people in Calgary and it felt really incredible. Unreal energy. At the same time, people were held back from the stage by barriers and security, and that creates a distance between performer and audience that takes some getting used to. I love smaller shows where it feels like we're all in it together.

How does it feel to play in europe? is the fancrowd different here?

Amy: Touring Europe feels different than North America in a lot of ways, but once we get on stage it feels the same as when we play at home. The fans in Europe and especially Germany have always been amazing to us, and we're very excited to be coming back.

I saw you playing in berlin some years ago and it was awesome! for me it was a big pleasure to see your energy and passion live on stage. and besides that, i think you are really cute together! whats your secret? 

Amy: Thank you! We all just really love playing live and the way we perform comes naturally to us. We like sharing our music with people, and when we can feel the energy of the crowd coming back to us it makes everything even better. The three of us have known each other for ten years now and are very familiar with how our individual minds work and how we like to express ourselves in the music. Plus we still genuinely like each other after all this time, which makes it easy for us to have fun with each other on stage.

What do you think about berlin?

Amy: We love Berlin!  I'm excited to spend more time here. Nils has actually vacationed in Berlin before, so he's going to be our tour guide and show us some of the sights while we're in town.

You are from Toronto. For me it always feels like Toronto gives birth to a lot of great bands. Can you describe the music scene in toronto? is it any special compared to other places that you know?

Nils: I’ve always found the Toronto scene to be very supportive and competitive in a very positive sort of way.

I think there are several factors that make Toronto's music scene what it is. First of all there so many incredibly talented bands and musicians in the city that it forces you to keep pushing yourself to operate at the top of your game. It's really inspiring seeing some amazing bands from Toronto getting recognition on the international stage and if anything it just makes you work harder to make the best music you possibly can. Secondly the audiences are very supportive for bands that are starting out.  The community is great and it gives bands a chance to build up and audience as they are still learning their craft.I also feel like the fact that there isn't a definitive Toronto sound is also a plus. There are so many different types of bands in Toronto right now (Alvvays, Bry Webb, Metz, PS I Love You) that the sound of Toronto is constantly evolving.

Could you describe the new record Mended With Gold?

Nils: Mit Gold Empfohlen... I don't know if that is even the proper translation, I really just threw that into google translate.
To be honest, we just tried to make a record that we were all proud of and tried to capture more of the energy of the live show than our previous albums. 

Which bands are you listening to these days? What are your favorite records this year?

Nils: I've been listening to the new Caribou and Iceage records recently. I also like listening to more ambient type stuff (William Basinski, Max Richter) when I'm trying to read or relax on the road. Some of my favorite records of the year I've been listening to are:

Alvvays - Alvvays

Black Polygons - Silence

Bry Webb - Free Will

Deru - 1979

Frog Eyes - Carey's Cold Spring

PS I Love You - For Those Who Stay (PS I Love You will be opening up this upcoming European tour for us)

Timber Timbre - Hot Dreams

Woods - With Light & With Love

Thanks so much for the interview and have fun on tour! See you in Berlin!

THE RURAL ALBERTA ADVANTAGE

support: PS I LOVE YOU

3 december at 9 pm

@ Lido Berlin, Cuvrystraße 7

Get tickets at Karrera Club