Greg W. Locke: Last year’s Song Islands, Vol. 2 turned out to be one of my favorite releases from you. What is the process like when it comes to putting together a leftovers collection like that? So many of those songs are A+ material in my book, how do songs that good get left behind?
Phil Elverum (Mount Eerie, The Microphones): Thanks. I accumulate songs like that that don’t make it onto “real” albums because when I’m compiling an album I focus pretty closely on making a cohesive thing, and inevitably there are songs that don’t fit the theme or sound. Also, it collects from a pretty vast period, so there was plenty of time for the songs to pile up. As far as the compiling process, I decided to divide the songs into 4 categories rather than to put them in chronological order. This led to a better flowing record as a whole. The rough categories are: Side One – “Looking At the World”; Side Two – “Telling People What to Do”; Side Three – “Covers/Jokes”; Side Four – “Recent.”
GWL: Do you have anything in the work right now for Mount Eerie? A new studio record? A new EP? Can you tell me a little about whatever you have going?’
PE: Yes, I’ve been recording a lot. I’m not sure what form it will take. My plan is to just keep recording and accumulate a bunch of stuff and then sort through it later, narrow down my ideas. It’s probably at least two different albums.
GWL: You produced this Key Losers album that’s coming out soon. What’s your history with that Katy Davidson and how did that all come together?
PE: We have been friends for years. She asked if I’d be into recording the album last year and I have always wanted to record with her (I am a fan). It was so amazing, the recording sessions, so I offered to release it and she said yes!
GWL: Can you tell me a bit about the record? It seems to somehow simultaneously be eclectic and cohesive.
PE: I feel like it all is said perfectly in Katy’s words here: pwelverumandsun.com/elv023
GWL: For a few years there you were traveling an awful lot. Have you been anywhere new or interesting lately? Any plans to go places in the future?
PE: I’ve been taking some time off from touring in order to record a bunch, and also just live life in a place. I am of course excited to tour more again in the future, but also as I get older the subtle joys of reading by a fire in a house are becoming more prominent.
GWL: A few years ago you left K Records and opened up your own shop, PW Elverum and Sun. You’ve released records, shirts, posters and more … how does that all function? Do you do most everything yourself, because it seems that when I receive a package from PWE & S it has your handwriting on it. Tell me how it all works and how you’re liking the business side of it.
PE: Yeah, I do everything myself. I am just now experimenting with having an employee to handle getting the records into stores. I also work with Chicago Independent Distribution for that. I really like being involved with all the manufacturing details. I like getting to make decisions about printing and paper and pressing, etc. It is a ton more computer time which sucks, but that’s the trade off. Packing orders and sending them out to people is actually really rewarding. Just to put these records in the mail with my own hands feels very satisfying, like the perfect culmination of all the work that went into making the thing.
GWL: From reading your book, “Dawn,” and hearing things here and there (i.e. hearing that Wind’s Poem was influenced by David Lynch/Twin Peaks), I know that you’re something of a film fan. I know you like Dersu Uzala quite a bit; can you tell me about your history with film and some of your favorite films and/or directors?
PE: I don’t have much of a history with film. I just watch movies and pay attention to them. I think it’s an amazing art form – and blockbusters are rad. Probably my favorite is Terrence Malick. His movies are unlike anything else. Total emotional immersion into his created world. There are too many other favorites to go into detail.
GWL: I work on film projects regularly myself and have always thought that you could come up with a really great score. Have you done this kind of work? Have people approached you?
PE: People have approached me a couple times. I actually did music for a short film called “The Last Hit” by a guy from Toronto a few years ago. It was just improvised electric guitar. I am always too absorbed in my own projects to be able to have spare creative brain space to work on someone else’s thing. Ideally someday I’ll make my own movie. That used to be my life plan, movie maker. I made a bunch of movies in high school before music took over. I see them as very similar forms. I would want my movie to feel the same as one of my albums, but just with accompanying images and non-sung words.
GWL: What the Heck Fest No. 10 is coming up soon. Can you tell me a bit about that festival? Have you always been involved? How involved are you? What’s the plan for this year’s festival?
PE: My involvement in the 1st one was just playing at it, but since then I’ve become increasingly responsible for organizing it. Now it’s mostly me. This year is possibly the last one. We’re planning to expand to a new quarterly concert series to make more things happen in Anacortes. I feel insane for thinking this though because it’s too much work for me to handle. This year we are aiming to have our dream lineup. I feel really good about it. Heavy! Dark!
GWL: I’m a big fan both of your music and Will Oldham. Two of my favorite things. So, as you can imagine, I was pretty excited when I saw your name in the liner notes for his last record. How did that come about … do you two have a history/friendship to speak of?
PE: Our acquaintance goes back to 2002 when I organized a show for him in Anacortes, and since then we’ve occasionally seen each other around the world, just randomly at shows and things. I am also a big fan of his. He was recording in Louisville at home for that record and I was playing in town on tour and he invited me to stop by if there was time before the show. It was very quick. I hadn’t heard the songs. I just sang some lines and then went to my show. It was mellow and fun.
GWL: I’ve always thought that you two would make a great Superwolf/Lost Wisdom kind of record, with you handling the production and the bulk of the music.
PE: Sounds fun to me too. I’ll put it on the list of things to do. That Lost Wisdom collaboration with Julie and Fred happened kind of by accident anyway, so who knows?
GWL: Do you have anything going on that we haven’t covered that you’d like to discuss?
PE: I’m also putting out this 7″ by Nicholas Krgovich, who is basically my bandmate in Mount Eerie these days. It’s just one song – an amazing hot single – and then the an a cappella version on the B side. It’s going to be a really nice package. I am doing this just because I had the song in my head for literally six months, so I decided it needed to be a 7″. Here’s some info: pwelverumandsun.com/elv024
