by Erinn Fortson
From the beginning, Stornoway independently championed their success in the studio. Flying solo with production can go one of two ways; either it works or it doesn’t. Stornoway has never had to worry about the latter half though. Being on their own has resulted in good music so far and the quality can be credited to control of creativity.
So, what happens when you add more numbers to a perfect equation? In the midst of releasing their newest EP, You Don’t Know Anything, Stornoway made the decision to put their trust in another party; an outside party that will join them in the production of their third album. Because the newest member of the creative team is still in the process of being recruited, the man in the shadows will remain a mystery until the time is right for an unveiling. The only thing lead singer Brian Briggs could tell me is that the producer has a reputable resume, having worked with some big names in the industry.
I talked with Briggs right before Stornoway dove into their most recent tour. With the band playing the final show last week and the mini album now out on the shelves, they are shifting their focus primarily on the next record. Briggs and his band mates have begun writing and can now dedicate more attention to actually recording tracks. Although there is much excitement in the air about the new place set at the production table, Briggs admits that the band is apprehensive about sharing the reins with someone else.
“That’s definitely going to be the hardest thing and it’s not something we’ve done before,” he tells me. “So, it will probably be a bit uncomfortable at times, but maybe in a way it might be useful, creatively, just to shake things up a bit and try a different approach.
“[The band] doesn’t like confrontation [and] we don’t like arguments,” Briggs continues. “The person in mind [for production] is someone who is quite laid back, but I know for a fact that it’s someone who also won’t shy away from giving his opinions on stuff. So yeah, it will be interesting. But I think we feel a bit more relaxed about it now cause we’ve done a couple of albums and we kind of know what we’re doing these days. And we feel more opened to a change in approach and [to] see what someone else has to say about [our] songs.”
So ultimately, it seems as though any doubt Stornoway has about the direction of production is overshadowed by the optimism of what a newcomer can bring in the studio. Briggs is right to be confident in his band and the upcoming record. Being independent has only helped Stornoway to grow and mature inside and outside of the recording booth. And that should give the band and listeners all the more faith that the music will be where it needs to be, with or without another player in the game.
The motivation behind the EP, You Don’t Know Anything, had to do with an overflow of music. There were a few songs that ended up on the cutting room floor when Tales From Terra Firma was in the process of being recorded. The band still wanted the opportunity to expose listeners to what didn’t make it on their second album. Thus, the release of a mini record.
“They were songs that didn’t really fit in with the journey of [Tales From Terra Firma], but at the same time we thought they were good ones, we were proud of, that we wanted to put out,” Briggs explains. “We didn’t want to sort of take the risk and see whether they did or didn’t fit into a full-length album, so it made sense to put them out now; especially while we’re about to hit the road. We’re just excited about the songs, basically. They’re kind of slightly weirder than our usual songs. They got a bit more of a mix of influences and less acoustic sounding overall. [They’re] just songs we had a lot of fun recording that we really wanted to let our fans hear as well.”
As with their other music, Stornoway’s lyrics are vividly descriptive throughout You Don’t Know Anything. Personal experiences meet a multitude of instruments, which is typical how the band begins an idea for a song.
Geography and more natural environments also play a really big role in Stornoway records. There are times when Stornoway will literally connect the outdoors to their music and do field recordings to feature in their work. Birds, forest fires, and factory machinery are just some of the sounds you can hear within the songs the band creates. Briggs has a background in wildlife conservation and he and the band often bring that world into the studio to create a feeling of remoteness.
“I’m actually living in quite an wild, coastal area in the moment,” says Briggs. “I get out a lot and there’s a lot of amazing nature, nature reserves, and some wild Atlantic Coast Line. So, I feel fairly well connected with that side of things, luckily, at the moment; more than I did when I was in Oxford, actually, which is about the furthest point you can get from the sea. I think Americans often find [Oxford] very beautiful. It’s very green, but it’s kind of tame and manicured around Oxford; quite quaint, if you know what I mean, and gentle. I prefer things to be a bit wilder.”
It was when he was in Oxford, studying in graduate school, that Brian Briggs met Jonathan Ouin. The two didn’t have infinite plans to become rock stars. Just being able to play music was the objective; where it would take them was the unplanned part. After the Steadman brothers joined the band, Stornoway became more of a future and less of a hobby.
“I think deep down, both [Jonathan and I], even before we met, had it in mind that we’d love the idea of playing in a band and being able to do that for a living,” says Briggs. “But, neither of us ever really kind of believed that might actually happen. We were old enough to have worked in the real world a bit because we were doing our graduate courses, and [John and I] had both been in bands [before] as well. So, we knew how slim the chances are of ever getting anywhere in a band. I think we were fairly realistic about it and that made it all the more enjoyable and amazing when we got our various, lucky breaks and found ourselves touring the world.”
