ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: THE BESNARD LAKES

As I submerged myself into The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night, I found myself swimming amongst My Bloody Valentine, Sons of Freedom, Guadalcanal Diary, 24 Gone and Rain Parade. All of the artistic elements that made these bands shine on their own individual pinnacles are present here, but the power of the Besnards’ compositions is far too superior to even suggest that they would borrow a sound. The sheer reality is that the Besnards have created and written a new sound, one that their predecessors should and will honour.

The Besnard Lakes are husband and wife Jace Lasek and Olga Goreas, drummer Kevin Laing and guitarist Richard White. The third album from this Montreal group was tracked and recorded at Breakglass Studio on Lasek’s latest acquisition, a 1968 Neve germanium mixing console which was used to record portions of Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti. The album also introduces some new instrumentation for the band: 12 string guitar, flute, omnichord and mellotron.

In spite of the demanding tour schedule, Olga graciously took the time to sit down for a quick Q & A.

Which song on the new album surprised you? By that I

mean: was there a song that was “average” going in, but sounded

that much better as a final result?

The last song on the album, "The Lonely Moan," would be the surpriser. The first version of it had a canned bossanova beat from an old Hammond organ. It was charming but it definitely needed to be reworked. When it came time to put in the rest of the instruments, it hadn't occurred to us that this would be without drums, and a very minimal amount of bass. I think it's a great end song, and it really has a Julee Cruise meets Brian Eno sort of feel to it.

SXSW is coming up for you, any thoughts on this festival?

Love it! Endless barbecue, much better weather and lots of great bands. What more could you ask for?

What do you fear most about this upcoming tour?

Missing a flight.... don't jinx it!

It seems that you’re playing almost every night. Is this tour the most intense ever?

Yes, by far this is the most extensive tour schedule we've had yet. We hardly have time between SXSW, New York and Europe, and then coming back from Europe and starting the North American tour is pretty tight too.

If you were not making music, what would you be doing?

I can't even imagine. Or maybe that reality is being played out in a "Lost" sort of way - literally lost.

Touring van: Newer vehicle or a piece of crap?

Used to be a piece of crap - that for some ridiculous reason someone felt they had to unburden us of. Now a newer, rented vehicle.

I see one open date in between Chicago and Cleveland. What would it take for you to play an intimate Windsor/Detroit venue?

Hmmm.... Detroit might work, so as to not have to cross and re-cross the border. What is the name of that bridge? Ah yes, the Ambassador Bridge! That's a good one, had a very interesting border experience there. I think I remember the guard asking me to sing a song and then she'd let me go across!

When you're not making music, what are you listening to?

The TV. I know how bad that sounds. But seriously, when you're done playing a show or finished recording something, really the last thing you want to do is listen to music. I just want to laze on the couch.

What are your hopes for the European tour, what would make it the best you have ever done?

I'm pretty excited about the tour in general. We've played Europe before and it's always such a nice experience, across the pond there. I suppose if the tour van had some more amenities – such as, more video games and a couple extra bunks; that would make it the coolest! Yeah, watch - the driver will pull up in this totally pimped out tour van complete with black lights and pull-out ping pong table.

Besides music, what are your passions?

Food. Making it, tasting it, and trying out new things. I recently made an amazing duck dish with orzo. My cooking ethic can be a vegetarian's nightmare, but not always - I've rocked a pretty decent falafel and veggie roti in my time. I've tried to go veggie and I have cut down the meat consumption.... once or twice. But if you say "bacon," it's a pretty immediate Pavlovian response around here.

The 1968 Neve germanium console is getting quite a bit of attention. Will it have its own Facebook page soon?

That is brilliant! Totally it should.

Their third studio album, The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night was released on Jagjaguwar on March 9, 2010.

2010 NORTH AMERICAN TOUR:

March 2010

11 - Toronto, Ontario - The Horseshoe
12 - Montreal, Quebec - Il Motore
17 - Austin, TX - The Mohawk (SXSW)
18 - Austin, TX - Stubb's BBQ (SXSW)

April 2010
27 - Minneapolis, MN - 7th St. Entry
28 - Winnipeg, Manitoba - Royal Albert Arms
29 - Regina, Saskatchewan - The Exchange
30 - Saskatoon, Saskatchewan - Amigo's

May 2010
1 - Edmonton, Alberta - Pawn Shop
2 - Calgary, Alberta - Broken City
4 - Victoria, British Columbia - Lucky Bar
5 - Vancouver, British Columbia - Media Club
6 - Seattle, WA - The Crocodile
7 - Portland, OR - Mississippi Studios
8 - Eugene, OR - W.O.W. Hall
10 - San Francisco, CA - The Independent
12 - San Diego, CA - Casbah
13 - West Hollywood, CA - Troubadour
14 - Tempe, AZ - Sail Inn
15 - Tucson, AZ - Plush
20 - Dallas, TX - Granada Theater
24 - Chicago, IL - Venue to be announced

******DETROIT WOULD FIT HERE******
26 - Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom
27 - Washington, DC - Black Cat
28 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
29 - Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's

www.thebesnardlakes.com

http://radio3.cbc.ca/bands/THE-BESNARD-LAKES