Montreal-based trio, Seoul, will be casting a unique tone on the Canadian music scene with the release of their debut album I Become A Shade, on June 9.
Members Nigel Ward and Julian Flavin have known each other since childhood and have worked on various music projects together. They met Dexter Garcia in university and, all together, released the well-received singles Stay With Us and White Morning recorded independently in 2013 and 2014.
Produced by Last Gang Records, the new 12-track album mixes a light dream-pop sound with resonating R&B and unpredictable ambience.
“It was important to us that the album didn’t come off as many songs put together in a cluster,” says Ward. “We always wanted it to be a cohesive piece of art that meant as much listening to it in sequence at one time as it did listening to it song by song.”
Flavin agrees, explaining the band’s desire for the album to have a continuous flow.
“Sometimes I like to think of it as a pond,” he says. “You have this aquent, sonic atmosphere, which is mostly represented by this ambience from the instrumental sections and then the more solid lily pads are the pop oriented moments that spring up every once in a while.”
You can stream the album’s first single The Line here.
Seoul finished their North American tour last month promoting the new album.
“When you are touring, going from place to place, you need to learn as a human being how to respond best to different situations and people and give the best version of yourself on the fly over and over,” says Flavin. “My favourite parts of touring don’t dissolve after the tour, but can apply to your entire life.”
Similarly put, Ward enjoys being on the road for its sense of uncertainty.
“Not knowing what to expect results in a certain vulnerability that is unavoidable and you just have to accept it,” he says. “It’s kind of nice because you forget about trying to control everything, which is good for me personally.”
The band plans on launching another full North American tour this fall and hopes to be making a stop in Ottawa.