This year’s SummerWorks Music Series will be bringing together musicians Aline Morales and Sandro Perri together on one bill and to get acquainted with each other in time for their show, we sent Morales to interview Perri!
Be sure to catch their Music Series show Thursday August 16 at the Theatre Centre. Tickets are on sale now at Rotate This! and Soundscapes!
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Aline Morales: Where are you from?
Sandro Perri: Right whereToronto and Etobicoke kiss, a little east of Kipling station.
In the song “Changes” the beat at the end sounds like a samba – was that intentional?
I’ve never thought of the end of “Changes” as a samba but you’re right… it’s in there. It was not intentional. If I tried to make a samba it would probably sound hilarious! I don’t think my brain organizes ideas that way…it’s more like a soup in there.
The role of the producer is to provide an objective ear for the artist. Do you find it hard to be artist and producer at the same time?
With my own records it’s essentially the same process, I don’t find I distinguish much between the two. Writing bleeds into production which influences writing and so on. Maybe I like doing both precisely because it can be difficult. There’s so much room to push further. There are a lot of opportunities to learn about structure and timing, and telling a story. I think the main thing for me is to not be precious… if I can let go, self-producing is a little easier.
When producer David Arcus and I were finishing up work on our album, there were times when we worried that people wouldn’t get what we were going for – especially because we were mixing so many different styles. Do you ever worry about this when making your albums? Does it affect how you go about your work?
I’ve never considered it probably because I’m naive. When I like something I think everyone else will too. The thing I worry about is, did I bring this to life or is it just… “Music”?
When writing and arranging your songs, do you consider how they would be performed in a live show, or do you approach the album as a piece of work all its own and figure out the live show later?
I always work on them separately. The record is both separate from and related to live playing, but it always comes first. Recording is like a controlled fantasy, playing live is the messy reality of life. And I approach them differently because I don’t have the resources to create the illusion that they are the same. Or, I’m not interested in developing those resources, which is not money but.. the drive to create a brand…and sustain it.
