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Eternity Mongers
Eternity Mongers (coming April 2024 via Forward Music), the latest album from Michael Feuerstack, is filled with some of the questions we ask ourselves as we navigate this beautiful and complicated world. What is the thing you live for? What is your strongest fear? What is it that makes you wonder? These twelve songs, like so many of the best songs, are born out of curiosity—a curiosity for and about all things: the world around us, the way we interact, the way we live, and the ways in which we try to live. As weighted as the subject matter of these songs at first appears, there is also a playfulness at work throughout, a sense of levity to set the balance right. Do you ever get tired of having fun?
Heading into the studio to record Eternity Mongers, Feuerstack’s aim was to create something that took the live-off-the-floor production value of a Peel session (the live-performance BBC Radio 1 music show hosted by iconic broadcaster, John Peel) and played it through an old jukebox in a diner—warm and round but with a lively presence. To capture that quality—a sound that works in parallel with many of the themes explored throughout the album—Feuerstack recorded the bed tracks at The Shed (in an actual shed) in Shad Bay, Nova Scotia with Charles Austin. The songs were recorded as live as possible and favoured rich instrumental tones, scrappy but warm overall. The result is a collection of songs that is at once familiar and utterly new. Feuerstack is pushing himself with this newest release, a departure in many ways—new sounds, new arrangements, a new approach—but Eternity Mongers also retains those familiar qualities we expect in an album from Michael Feuerstack: gorgeous, vulnerable vocals; masterfully subtle guitar work; and lyrics that reveal something new with each listen.
Translations
Translations (2022 Forward Music): I think the biggest lesson I learned from making this record is that interpretation is creation.
These are 14 songs I love by some of my favourite artists. I wanted to see what they could teach me, and also what I could bring to them.
This whole thing feels quite personal. Even though I believe that songs are for sharing, I don’t sing a lot of covers. Often I feel strange trying to embody the sentiments of others (a voice is such a personal thing). I have lots of favourites, but the ones comprised here are some that I found myself able to sing. That is to say, they felt convincing coming from me.
Normally I write and perform my own songs, or collaborate with others on their material. The original reason I got into music was to make songs, and I never really went through a period of learning by playing the music of others. This approach has given me my own impressionistic style. There is something special about stepping back now, and applying my way of creating to the unique works of others. I wanted to know some of my favourite songs in a new way.
When you get to know someone really well, your language starts to change. You begin to paraphrase your own thoughts. You become at once lazier and more precise. You take liberties, omit some details and embellish others. Somehow, all of this improvisation is part of an effort to be better understood. My favourite songs contain some of this flexibility – not just lyrically but in the relationship between the words and music as well. I’ve tried to tap into that spirit in my relationship with these songs.
I intended Translations to be listened to as an album. It feels helpful to keep the songs in conversation with one another. I collected and assembled the songs, and I invite you to listen to find your own connections.
Harmonize the Moon
Harmonize the Moon (2021 Forward Music): All over Harmonize the Moon, time—and its inherent illusory nature—is incredibly elastic. Some moments seem to stretch on forever; others are illuminated only briefly, like fiery embers popping into the sky, extinguished just as quickly as they’re recognized.
While Feuerstack arranged and recorded the album completely solo at his apartment in the spring of 2020, the songs that compose it were written over the past couple years, on wanderings and tours as well as at home. He embarked on a slow process of balancing the poetic with the narrative, producing songs that flow naturally instead of adhering too rigidly to established forms. The result is a collection that’s pensive but playful, introspective yet generous, and achingly intimate.
The tone is tentatively hopeful throughout. Over deliberately thrummed acoustic guitar and minimal drums, Feuerstack moves slowly and with intention, rendering his transmissions in intimate arrangements and his warm, expressive voice. Harmonize the Moon was mastered by Philip Shaw Bova and features artwork by Paul Henderson.
Natural Weather
Natural Weather (2018 Forward Music): There is a clichéd way to say anything worth saying, so Michael Feuerstack simply looks for the scenic route and tries to enjoy the journey at the same time. On his latest full-length album, Natural Weather, the songwriter wanted to make something gentle and complex: a recording that celebrates music as a refuge from binary thinking – a means to seek wisdom in the grey areas.
Recorded at home, Natural Weather offers a deceptively rich palette. Most of the instrumentation is provided by Feuerstack, with Jeremy Gara on drums and violin cameos by Sarah Neufeld. The background singers also figure prominently:Camille Delean shadows Feuerstack in harmony, while Michelle Tompkins and Mike O’Brien glimmer in response.
This collection balances Feuerstack’s signature dark humour and empathic inquisitiveness as the songs relax into deep ambiguity around heavy themes: love, death, memory, age, mental illness, intimacy, and ambition.
The Forgettable Truth
The Forgettable Truth (2015 Forward Music) is another collaborative affair. Michael sings and plays guitar. Accompaniment is provided by some familiar names: Pietro Amato (Bell Orchestre, Luyas) on keys, Peter Xirogiannis on bass, and Mike Belyea (Jenn Grant) on drums. While you may certainly recognize these contributors from Michael’s earlier records, the combination is new and the results are strikingly unexpected at times. Recorded at Hotel2Tango and at Michael’s home, the album also features vocals by Little Scream and Nick Cobham (Olympic Symphonium), as well as strings by Sebastian Chow. The Forgettable Truth was mixed by Mike at home, with invaluable input from everyone involved as well as some other “outside ears”.
Singer Songer
Singer Songer by Michael Feuerstack & Associates (2014, Forward Music). Here, Michael enlists friends from all over the place to sing songs that he’s written for their voices. Recorded quickly with fun as the main goal. Limited edition LP will be out in time to celebrate Record Store Day 2014. The featured singers are: Mathias Kom, Devon Sproule, Bry Webb, Leif Vollebekk, John K Samson, Jessie Stein, Jim Bryson, Angela Desveaux and Little Scream.
Tambourine Death Bed
Tambourine Death Bed (2013, Forward Music). Full-length home-made record by Michael Feuerstack. Among these 12 pensive numbers can be heard guest appearances by Colin Stetson, Laurel “Little Scream” Sprengelmeyer, Mathieu Charbonneau, Nathan Gage, Sebastian Chow, and Jeremy Gara. The cover image is a pinhole photo taken by Caro Desilets. Lyrics for Tambourine Death Bed.
Shadow/Wolves
Shadows/Wolves 7″ (2013, Forward Music). Two songs from the Tambourine Death Bed sessions that paired off together, abandoned the pack, and are stronger for it.
Snailhouse Releases (1994-2012)
Snailhouse and Michael Feuerstack differ mainly in name. All of the following titles were recorded under the Snailhouse moniker. Snailhouse was essentially a solo project, but it always relied heavily on contributions from a wide cast of Michael’s musical friends.
Sentimental Gentleman
Sentimental Gentleman (2011, Forward Music)): I made this record with the band that had been touring with me (Kyle Cunjak, Nick Cobham and Michael Belyea). We had not recorded together, and that just seemed like a crime, becasue we were amazing if I may say so. The basic tracks were recorded in 4 days at the Treatment Room studio in Montreal. Vocals and overdubs were added over the following month or two. Jeremy Gara mixed it over a few days at his home. The combination of live and leisurely collaboration characterizes the inviting and intimate feel of the record. I wanted the process to be really quick and easy – and fun. I was testing a theory that making a record doesn’t have to be like pulling teeth. It can feel like a holiday. I was right. There were also remote appearances on the record from Matt Sutton (pedal steel) and John Higney (lap steel). Pietro Amato played some French horn, and ‘Airwaves’ features backing vocals by Angela Desveaux, Katie Moore and Dara Weiss. The cover painting is by Jon Claytor.
Lies on the Prize
Lies on the Prize (2008) was recorded in the Arcade Fire’s converted church studio outside of Montreal by Jeremy Gara. We spent a year or so trying things, making demos and bouncing things around until – before we knew it – we had the makings of an album on our hands. A few finishing touches from some good friends filled it out (Sarah Neufeld, Angela Desveaux, Pietro Amato and Jeff DeButte), then we tied it all together and put it out. This one was even nominated for the Polaris Prize that year. The cover drawing is by Kit Malo.
The Silence Show
The Silence Show (2005): The Silence Show was recorded in 2005, in the homey and lovable Little Bullhorn Prods. by Dave Draves. I expected flack for it, but I considered this a soul record and tried to indulge that idea in a fashion that was true to me and the songs. This record features a band that had been touring with me a lot since the previous record was released: Jeremy Gara, Samir Khan, Aaron Booth and of course Dave Draves.
The Opposite Is Also True
The Opposite Is Also True (2001): This was a strange process. I had become suspicious of the idea of the recording of a song becoming its final destination. I wanted to mess with that concept, and so I made a double album – with the same songs in the same order on each disc. The idea was for it to be the same material, but treated differently – and for each to be as good as the other. I think I made my point to at least a few hundred people. This collection features some excellent contributions from Dave Draves, Jeremy Gara, Samir Khan, Julie Doiron, Josh Latour and Doug Tielli.
A New Tradition, 2001
A New Tradition, 2001 (2001): This EP is made up of out takes from The Opposite is Also True. Doug Tielli sings the hell out of an alternate version “The Medicine Makes My Heartbeat a Little Faster”, which I idiotically buried as a hidden track. This was back in the day when the idea of a ‘hidden track’ sounded like a much cooler thing than it ever really was. Many of the same people played on this as on Opposite, but it is rounded out by a couple of home-recorded gems as well. I remain proud of this one, but, being an EP, it never got the circulation it deserved.
The Radio Dances
The Radio Dances (1998) After having made Fine a few years before, on which I played every sound, I was really eager to start collecting contributions from the musical community I was starting to enjoy in Ottawa at the time. This record, although still essentially a solo album, was the beginning of the more collaborative approach you can find on Snailhouse records since then. A lot of great people played on this record – many of whom are still making great music: Doug Tielli, Michael Holt, Meg Lunney, Andrew McCormack, Dave Draves (who also recorded and produced it), Justin Haynes, Paul Hogan, Fred Guignon and more.
Fine
Fine (1994, re-issued 2000) This was my 1st record. It was made almost 20 years ago. Of course things were different. It was recorded by Peter Murray, and I really need to thank him for letting me be me. I was pretty inflexible, and he really respected that – even though I was wrong at least 60% of the time. Still, it’s a unique record, which contains some really interesting early songs.
A Sentimental Companion
A Sentimental Companion(2012): This is a collection of demos that were made leading up to the Sentimental Gentleman recordings. They are rough, as demos are often. They are intended to shed some light on the process and maybe provide an interesting counterpoint to the album versions. It really was all part of a big excercise in trying not to be too precious. These versions remove the songs from the collaborative approach that ultimately shaped how they were recorded, and leaves them in the solitary place they came from.
Monumental Moments
Monumental Moments (2010): This one is all orphans, outtakes and oddities. Initially it was free on CD, intended as a gift in limited edition for one of my European tours. As I was compiling it, I have to say, I became as fond of it as any of the ‘real’ Snailhouse albums. It’s definitely worth a listen if you like the other records. It features appearances by Julie Doiron, Angela Desveaux, Samir Khan, Chris Regtop, Jeremy Gara, the Sentimental Gentleman band, as well as Jeff DeButte, James Bunton and Heather Kirby.
Tribute Album to Snailhouse
Sappy Records made a tribute to Snailhouse, which features many artists singing my songs, of all things. It’s quite a trip. It’s a great album, expect for the fact that the songs are all weird. Seriously though, this may be the sweetest and most encouraging thing ever done for me. It features such greats as: John Tielli, Maritime, Aaron Booth, Moon Socket, Rick White, Sarah Hallman, The Acorn, Shotgun Jimmie, The Just Barelys, Ron Bates, Anglers Arms, Vailhalen, Paperweight and Colonial Quarrels.