DIGITAL READERS CLICK HERE was like , “ This sounds like some giant animal .” And we were like , “ Well , elephant has been overdone . What ’ s another huge animal that ’ s dope ?” Cody mentioned the white buffalo is a symbol in a lot of Indigenous cultures . Most of the time the music comes first , then a title will show up that the chorus might get built out of . Then we ’ ll share iPhone notes and just keep changing the lyrics .
into adding to the kit … I have some temple blocks and I ’ ve been looking for places to put those ; I ’ m working on adding more . We ’ ll see how it goes .
Comeau : Tablas , windchimes , indigenous flutes …
Bowles : Yes . I play indigenous flutes . I have a lot of gear . I just don ’ t have anywhere on the rack to put it .
CM : How about a flaming gong ?
Comeau : With Crown Lands , it ’ s always a gongshow .
CM : Tell me a little bit about “ White Buffalo ” and “ The Oracle ” and how your songwriting process has evolved ?
Bowles : We started writing “ White Buffalo ” around the time we were in Nashville recording “ Right Way Back ” and “ Context ” with Nick Raskulinecz , [ producer of Rush ’ s 2007 album , Snakes and Arrows ]. Kevin had this amazing riff , but we were supposed to be writing lyrics , but he just wouldn ’ t stop playing it . I picked up my sticks and ended up playing this unrelenting rhythm on the couch and we were like , ‘ This has got to be a song .’
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Comeau : The best time to write a riff is when you should be writing lyrics .
Bowles : Originally , the song was in 13 and we trimmed it down to seven .
Comeau : Would you say trimmed it , or would you say add a beat to make it 14 ? When you say we wrote it in 13 / 8 but recorded it in 7 / 8 , it sounds like a huge difference , but really it was adding a beat because 13 is a bar of six and a bar of 7 . I mean , Cody over here studying Afro Cuban drumming and I studied classical , so we are trained very differently . Cody is the master of metre and rhythm and I ’ ll just come up with random prog shit and try to play the most complicated thing I can . Then Cody ’ s like , ‘ Actually , that ’ s in 15 / 8 . Good job , Kevin .”
CM : And lyrically ?
Bowles : A lot of times I ’ m just singing melodies with no words – speaking in tongues as David Byrne would say . We find something that speaks to us ; maybe a word that slips out from my subconscious , then we slowly uncover what the song is about and work from there .
Comeau : We came up with the name “ White Buffalo ” while jamming in Nashville and it
CM : With just two of you , can you get more done quicker than , say , a four- or five-piece might ?
Comeau : Sometimes . When you have four people , one person has an idea but then you have three egos that you have to blast through to get the idea finished . Being a duo there ’ s no tiebreaker . A lot of the time I ’ m throwing ideas at the wall and Cody ’ s like … [ mimes swatting a horde of flies away ]. But then Cody will go , “ That ’ s actually a good idea .” I think we ’ re still learning how to be the most efficient band and we ’ re getting better . It usually takes us a couple of weeks to get into the groove . Then , all of a sudden , this cool magical shit comes out . I don ’ t know if every band is like that . But some bands are more a solo project or a duo , with a bunch of guys tagged on . And that ’ s not a diss against rhythm sections . Cody and I are basically a rhythm section who ’ ve been co-opted into doing the leading roles in the band ; the goofy kids in the back of the class – like Beavis and Butthead . In another universe , Cody and I are a happy rhythm section in a band , but in Crown Lands , we ’ re both at the front of the stage .
If it ’ s not abundantly apparent by now , as committed as Bowles and Comeau are about challenging themselves musically , and as serious as the overarching messages of their songs are , they don ’ t take themselves overly seriously and have an easy , inclusive way of bringing anyone talking with them into the loop . It ’ s a level of communication that ’ s as integral to their writing and recording process as it is on stage .
“ We have to have eye contact . Kevin actually conducts me with his eyebrows when we play . Everything is based on reactions . Like , if I ’ m not jazzed on a part , Kevin doesn ’ t play it ,” Bowles explains . “ He looks to get this reaction out of me and I do the same with him with fills , lyrics , and melodies . If we ’ re not both jiving on something , it ’ s not going to work .”
As light as our conversation is , it ’ s impossible to talk about Crown Lands without discussing their activism : the sheer weight behind the words of so much of their music , notably