采访：The Besnard Lakes Interview

By Liu Kai, 2011年 3月 10日

《 English version 》

The Besnard Lakes是加拿大蒙特利尔的一支自赏派迷幻乐队，乐队是由Olga和Jace夫妇俩成立于2003年，正式出版了三张录音室专辑。我们知道在蒙特利尔云集了太多出色的独立摇滚乐队，包括刚刚获得格莱美最佳专辑Arcade Fire, 当然像夫妇这种乐队形式组合也不少见，多次来到中国演出的Wolf Parade乐队核心成员Dan另组的一个乐队Handsome Furs就是夫妇二人组。 在加拿大Jace有自己的录音工作室，曾和当地许多独立摇滚乐队在一起工作过，比如刚才说到的Wolf Parade, 还有像Sunset Rubdown、Patrick Watson等等。

应一年一度《觉》音乐+艺术节的邀请，The Besnard Lakes 乐队作为《觉》音乐现场演出单元，他们将于3月18/19日分别在上海和北京演出。这也是乐队第一次应邀来到中国，乘他们到来之前PBR做了一个乐队采访，预先来了解一下乐队的音乐故事。

采访回复是来自于Jace的妻子Olga.（英文校对/Josh）

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旁边儿: The Besnard Lakes乐队是成立于蒙特利尔，但名字却是来自于加拿大另外一个省，这有何来历吗？

The Besnard Lakes: The Besnard Lakes确实是来自于加拿大Saskatchewan省一个地方。灵感来源于我和Jace. 我们只想尽可能地保持它的美丽和纯净。

旁边儿: 很多人提到你们的音乐都会以Shoegaze, Post-Rock, Psych等风格来标签，你们自己如何认为的？在音乐创作上主要受到哪些影响？

TBL: 我们主要的影响是来自于The Beach Boys乐队——尤其是Brian Wilso的编排和主音以及Dennis Wilson的个人专辑”Pacific Ocean Blue’, The Bee Gees乐队的专辑”Odessa”, 还有The Beatles (当然). 来自90年代David Lynch的连续剧作品”Twin Peaks”的配乐我也很喜欢，以及Led Zeppelin, AC/DC…等，实际上我最近也有发现一些很有趣的现今乐队像High On Fire和Mastodon——我非常喜爱他们在音乐上所表现的技能和凶猛性。我们受太多太多不同的影响了，我没法说我们听上去像其中任何一支乐队，但在某种程度上说，终归有一些想法和理念对我们的创作过程都是有益的。

旁边儿: 你们的吉他音色听上去非常特别，可以说一说使用的设备吗？

TBL: 我使用Fender吉他，这一次来中国将会带上一把白色的Fender Jazz吉他，我并没有使用太多的效果器，只有一个调音表和一个极具冲击力的Big Muff失真源效果器！在家里我使用Ampeg V-4 箱头和一个Traynor 2 X 15 箱体，也使用一个老式的Ampeg SVT和 Ampeg 8 X 10箱体。因此，基本上我使用Fender贝司和Ampeg音箱。我的队友有太多太多的效果器，可我压根不知道如何开始或在哪儿结束！同时在家里Jace演奏一把Fender Jaguar吉他，Rich使用Fender Jazzmaster和Fender Vibrolux. Jace使用的音箱是由Valvetech 定制的，是仿制1963年Vox AC 30 电路的一款音箱。

旁边儿: 乐队最近发表的两张专辑封面都以火焰为主题，有什么意味吗？有特约平面吗？

TBL: 专辑的封面是由Corri-Lynn Tetz 绘制完成的，包括我们的专辑“Are the Dark Horse” 和“Are the Roaring Night”都是由他来实现的，我们也有关于一个火焰马的主题，是由Todd Stewart负责设计，他同时也为我们的EP “Albatross” 和“Casino Nanaimo”设计了专辑封面。没错，我们确实喜欢运用火焰作为主题，对于我来说，那样的喻意更加强有力和富有潜意识性，感觉是令人深刻的。

旁边儿: 你们是如何与美国独立厂牌 Jagjaguwar 建立合作关系的？

TBL: 我们之前有寄过一些歌曲拷贝给Jagjaguwar厂牌，我们很高兴收到了他们的回复。之后他们来蒙特利尔与我们碰面并决定与我们签约。与Jagjaguwar一同合作简直是棒极了，当我们在美国巡演时我们也在一起玩高尔夫球，简直就像是一个欢乐无比的大家庭！

旁边儿: 加拿大成立的Polaris独立音乐奖项，乐队的两张专辑都有入选提名，你们如何看待这个奖项？

TBL: Polaris很棒！与自己的音乐同伴们一起共聚的夜晚，有说有笑的，然后喝点酒什么的，所有一切都显得非正式且是有趣的。也很开心知道这个奖项评选是来自于加拿大许许多多不同背景的记者。总之整个过程都是非常合理的。

旁边儿: 你们同时也为电影作曲配乐，与制作专辑相比这有什么不同？

TBL: 对于我们的专辑，我想说最大的区别就在于我们从一个想法开始然后直至慢慢地完善，但与电影配乐不同的是我们一开始也先是有一个想法，但接下来我们通常不会加入更多其它的。我认为最好的电影配乐并不需要太花哨反而是极简些为好，然后再加入贴切的情绪来应合电影的叙事，当然，配乐应该别削弱了电影的叙事情节。

旁边儿: 我想这是你们第一次来到中国，你对中国独立音乐氛围熟悉吗？对于这次演出和中国的歌迷会有什么样的期待？

TBL: 对，这是我们第一次来中国，但是，我对中国的独立音乐一点也不了解，我想我将会发现一些！我期待这会是一次奇妙的经历，我们是极其幸运地被邀请到中国表演的乐队。

The Besnard Lakes is a psych/shoegaze band from Montreal, Canada. They were formed by husband and wife Jace Lasek and Olga Goreas in 2003 and have since released 3 studio albums. Jace also operates a studio in Montreal, where he has worked with local indie bands and musicians Wolf Parade, Sunset Rubdown and Patrick Watson.

The Besnard Lakes will come to China for the first time as part of the JUE festival, performing in Shanghai on March 18th and Beijing on March 19th. I asked Olga a few questions to introduce the band’s music and story to China before their performances.

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pangbianr: The Besnard Lakes was established in Montreal, and the name is from Saskatchewan. Could you tell us the origin of the band name?

The Besnard Lakes: The Besnard Lakes comes from a place in Saskatchewan. It is a source of inspiration to both Jace and I and we like to keep it as beautiful and pure as possible.

pbr: People often refer to your sound as shoegaze, post-rock, psych… What do you think your songs sound like? What are your major musical influences?

TBL: Our major influences are The Beach Boys – in particular Brian Wilson’s arrangements and vocals and Dennis Wilson’s “Pacific Ocean Blue”, The Bee- Gees circa Odessa, The Beatles (of course), the music from David Lynch’s “Twin Peaks”, Led Zeppelin, ACDC… actually the music that I find most interesting nowadays is High On Fire and Mastodon – I really am enamoured of the musicianship and ferocity of these bands. I have so many influences from all over the place really. I couldn’t say that we sound like any one of these bands but there are ideas, and ideals, in there that somewhat inform our creative process.

pbr: You have a very particular guitar sound. What kind of guitars/amps/pedals do you use?

TBL: I use Fender instruments and will have a white Fender Jazz with me this time. I don’t use a lot of pedals, just a tuner and a Big Muff distortion pedal that sounds enormous! At home I use an Ampeg V-4 head with a Traynor 2 X 15 cabinet. I also use an older Ampeg SVT with Ampeg 8 X 10 cabinet. So basically I use Fender basses with Ampeg amps. The guys have many many many pedals that I don’t know where to begin and where to end! At home Jace plays a Fender Jaguar and Rich uses a Fender Jazzmaster.and a Fender Vibrolux. Jace uses a boutique amp made by Valvetech Amplifiers which is a clone of a 1963 Vox AC 30 circuit.

pbr: Your two albums both feature flames in the cover design. What is the meaning behind this? Do you work with a specific designer?

TBL: For the album covers it is Corri – Lynn Tetz who has made paintings for “Are the Dark Horse” and “Are the Roaring Night”. We also have a flaming horse motif that was designed by Todd Stewart. He has also designed the EP album covers for “Albatross” and “Casino Nanaimo”. You’re right, we definitely like to use flames! I guess for me that imagery is very powerful and subliminal – very rooted in the unconscious.

pbr: Both of your albums were released on the US record label Jagjaguwar. How did your relationship with them begin?

TBL: We had sent Jagjaguwar a copy of a few songs and much to our delight they replied to us. The label head then came to Montreal to see us play and decided to sign us. It’s been absolutely great working with them – we play golf together when we have a tour stop in their town. It’s like one big happy family!

pbr: You have twice been nominated for the Polaris Music Prize, an award for creativity and diversity in Canadian music. What do you think about this prize?

TBL: Polaris is great! It’s just a night of hanging out with your musical peers, having a laugh and a few drinks. It’s all very casual and fun. It’s also nice to know that the award is drawn from a large pool of journalists from Canada. It seems to be a legitimate process for selection regardless.

pbr: You have also composed music for film. How do your film scores differ from your albums?

TBL: I would say that the major difference is that in our albums, we start with an idea and build on it and add to it, whereas with a film score we start with an idea, but we generally don’t add and build too much on it. I think the most effective film scores are the ones that are more stripped down and minimal and really add a depth of emotion to the film’s narrative – but the score should not detract from the film’s narrative either.

pbr: I believe this is your first time to come to China… are you familiar with the Chinese indie music scene? What are your expectations of Chinese shows and fans?

TBL: This will be our first time in China and no, I’m not very familiar with the Chinese indie music scene but I guess I’ll find out! I expect that it will be a fantastic experience, and that we’re a bunch of incredibly lucky people to be invited over to play.

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