Q: Hey there, so lovely to meet you! I love the old-fashioned yet modern feel of “Telephone.” It seems like a track that both I and my dad/grandpa would love! I know you’re also releasing a new album soon. Will the album have a similar feel to the single?
PROPTER HAWK (JIMMY): Thank you, nice to meet you too! “Telephone” is quite representative of our band’s bluesy, classic rock influenced sound, but I think you’ll hear quite a bit of variety throughout the album. We have a few songs that have a bit of a country twang, some that are more influenced by classic 60’s pop/soul, and a couple heavier, driving rock songs. Also, a few songs on the record feature a horn section, which really adds some extra excitement to the album.
Q: Can you walk me a bit through the production process on your upcoming album?
PROPTER HAWK (ALEC): We recorded all our bed tracks live off the floor to tape to keep things raw and real and I think that comes through. It makes such a difference to all be in the same room and feed off of those live vibes. Recording at Pineship Sound in Toronto gave us access to lots of great vintage gear so what you hear on the record is how it sounded in the room.
Q: Also curious about the writing process on “Telephone” (and other songs from your upcoming album). Can you walk me through that as well?
PROPTER HAWK (BRIAN): Alec and I started what has become Telephone years ago in an improvised jam. We carried it around with us through a couple different bands but bringing it to Propter Hawk and reworking it as a band has really brought it to its full potential. For this album, our songwriting really took full force during the pandemic. Being separated by lockdowns, Andy and Malorie would send us demos and the rest of us would record our individual parts from home. By the time restrictions were lifted we had enough material to put together a full length album before we even stepped foot on stage.
Q: As I mentioned earlier, your music has both an ultra-modern feel and a nostalgic blues rock vibe. In your own words, how would you describe the music you typically create?
PROPTER HAWK (ANDREW): I think that is an apt way to describe it. I feel like the nostalgic aspects of our sound are really us being honest about the music that we have been influenced by. But it is important as an artist to create from your own experience. We enjoy using some of the tones and aesthetic that were used a lot in the 60’s and 70’s, but the spirit of our songs is very much about where we are and more so where we are going.
Q: If you could collaborate with any artist, dead or alive, who would it be?
PROPTER HAWK (MALORIE): Steve Marriott!
Q: I’m always intrigued by an artist’s journey. Do you remember who first got you into music? Was your family musical growing up?
ALEC: I was lucky enough to grow up in a musical family with parents who loved music. ACDC, The Beatles, Gordon Lightfoot, Van Morrison and BB King were on all the time. My mum has put up with a lot of loud guitar playing and jarring sounds over the years.
BRIAN: In Grade 8, our music teacher gave up on our class because we were too misbehaved and we were given a “free” period to work on whatever we please. I brought in my electric guitar and showed my teacher a song I was working on, and he got the whole class involved; a few singers, brass players, a keyboard player, drummer, bassist, and the students who couldn’t play an instrument ended up recording the song and filming a music video. It was my own School of Rock moment. I’ve been pursuing music ever since.
Q: What has been one of the highlights of your music career so far?
PROPTER HAWK (MALORIE): Having the opportunity to work with Carlin Nicholson and Mike O’Brien on the album was an absolute thrill for us. We have been fans of their band Zeus for over a decade as well as all of the work they’ve done with Jason Collett, Bahamas and countless others. They are also the greatest guys ever, so the whole studio experience was a blast. I didn’t want it to end.
Q: Thanks so much for talking with me! What can listeners expect from your upcoming album?
PROPTER HAWK (ANDREW): I think that there are a lot of nuances to the album and people will discover new things that they hadn’t noticed before every time they listen to it. We definitely had something to say in these songs but we had a lot of fun with it too. So, you can choose to take it as seriously as you’d like.
Thank you again and looking forward to reading the article when it goes live.
Interviewed by Melissa Cusano
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