Pier gets back to basics on solo album
Pier has sharper lyrical focus on gripping, stripped-down solo album
Singer, songwriter, and guitarist Ford Pier usually can be seen fronting his bands the Vengeance Trio and Strength of Materials. For his latest album Gormful in Maya, though, the Vancouver musician has gone the solo route, writing and recording for voice and guitar; the result is an immediate, gripping work. We talked to Pier about the new record.
Q What are you doing with the extra time on your hands as a result of the quarantine?
A Finishing things. I always have a number of creative projects on the go. They’re not connected to any real timeline so they don’t force my attention. They’re lying around in fragments. And I’m making some progress on the stack of books I never get around to. And I have the Met Opera on Demand app on the television so I’m watching at least one opera a day.
Q Have you always had an interest in opera?
A That’s where it all begins for me. When I was nine or 10, that was the first music that really grabbed me. It wasn’t too long after that that I discovered punk and the Who and Devo and other things that got me into rock music. But I think it was probably in the space of nine months, the discovery of that stuff and getting super into Wagner and Verdi.
Q How are you thinking about the songs differently when you write for a solo record?
A It’s a little bit more lyrics-forward and often less melodic. The melodies for VT and SoM are oblique or weird or dissonant, but they’re melodies. The vocal delivery is on equal footing with the text. It’s a little less so with just words and chords. I hadn’t written a song like that just because I hadn’t had an idea for a song like that in a long time, and that’s because there wasn’t any place I was going to play it. It was a fun project; I always like setting myself little assignments like that. It was inspiring to say, What if I were to write like this again? Oh yeah, I remember how to do this. So that was fun.
Q What was on your mind when you were writing the lyrics? In the press release, you say that certain themes might speak to the moment, “when identity is a commodity” and “when compassion is a bloodsport.”
A I don’t think there were any pressing ideas that I had that I felt a need to communicate. But with this kind of a song, as opposed to a song relying on its full meaning for delivery by a specific group of people, I think I went toward making the songs more earthbound. The songs on Gormful are more concrete. They deal a little bit more with characters. Each of the songs on the new record is in the voice of somebody who isn’t me. They’re monologues, as opposed to disembodied sentiments. It’s not the language of thought, it’s the language of language.
Q You posted the album on bandcamp.com, with plans to release physical copies in the fall. Is that timed so you’ll be able to play some shows again?
A Yeah. And it suddenly occurred to me, what am I waiting for? This is the way that everyone listens to music anyway. There’s a handful of people scattered across the world who are interested in me, and they’re going to get a record when it comes out. I’m a figure of singular non-importance to the music-listening public at large. Being too precious about any sort of a release campaign is like, what a waste of energy. This is done. I would prefer to train my focus on whatever the next thing is.