UP IN A SNOWBANK WITH THE
RECORDING DETOUR DE FORCE BNL are back with a boldly adventurous new record ; both in the music , and in its creation
BY ANDREW LEYENHORST
PHOTO : EDWARD POND
THE COTTAGE “ LIVE FLOOR ” SETUP IN ACTION
When the Barenaked Ladies set out to record their latest album , the thirteenth all-original LP of their career , they knew from the outset that they wanted to do things a little bit differently from the production routine they ’ d gotten used to over the last decade .
A slight departure from the recording processes for their previous two records , Fake Nudes ( 2017 ) and Silverball ( 2015 ), the making of this shiny new record , Detour de Force , was a little bit more homegrown and unpredictable . After the songs were all written , the band would hole up in vocalist / guitarist Ed Robertson ’ s Ontario cottage with legendary producer Mark Howard and his host of studio equipment , and get to work right in the living room .
“ We knew we wanted to make a different kind of record ,” Robertson says . “ Our plan initially was to do the entire record up here at my cottage , which is not a studio at all … Mark was moving all his gear into the living room of my cottage . And you know , guitar amps in the bedrooms , bass amp in the bathroom , drums in the main room . We built a very cool , makeshift room in a very isolated location .”
“ That was really great ,” adds bassist Jim Creeggan . “ I mean , too many car rides with Tyler up to Ed ’ s house ,” he laughs . “ We did it in a week , and just laughing our brains out having a good time together . It really smooshed us together up in a snowbank , and that really created some special memories . And whenever we wanted to go on a frozen lake , we could , just right outside the door . Often if I was finished a track and we were moving onto the next thing , I would
grab even 25 minutes on my cross-country skis out in the middle of the lake . It was pretty awesome .”
“ We really wanted to do four guys in a room , all the gear right there , in the cottage ; an intimate setting , and where the acoustics are very natural sounding ,” adds drummer / percussionist Tyler Stewart . “ And Mark , he had some really neat vintage mics and some interesting old-school gear .”
38 PROFESSIONAL SOUND