In Fall of 2012 I stumbled across the low-key gem that is Cemeteries’ debut album, The Wilderness. I was entranced enough by the record to give it the highly coveted position of #40 in my Top 50 Albums of 2012 list (which you can find here, by the way). When I contacted Cemeteries mastermind Kyle Reigle about doing an interview, he got back to me almost immediately with an enthusiasm I could have only wished for. Over the course of our exchange over the following few weeks, I learned that Reigle is not only an excellent musician and songwriter, but a fantastic person in general. If you haven’t had a chance to check out The Wilderness yet, I highly suggest you do so. The LP can be purchased over at Lefse Records website. Anyway, let’s get down to business. Here’s 15 Questions with Cemeteries.
1. Let’s start this off in the vaguest way possible: why do you make music?
Maybe this answer is a bit cliche, but it all comes down to expressing myself. I’m a shy person and I spend a lot of time inside my head so creating music really helps me to communicate my thoughts. It’s very therapeutic.
2. I first came across your music after NME gave The Wilderness a particularly glowing review. How does it feel to have the backing of one of the biggest music publications on the planet?
It feels great. I try not to put too much thought into reviews (negative or positive), but NME really helped me out. It’s hard to brush off support from someone/something so renowned.
3. Describe your writing process.
My writing process usually stems from boredom or watching films. If I have nothing to do or I’m inspired by something I’ve just seen, I sit down at the piano or grab my guitar. Sometimes I love what I come up with, sometimes I hate it. Once it’s a decent rough draft with vocals, I translate it to full instrumentation.
4. I’ve read in a few interviews that the majority of the The Wilderness was recorded solely by you, in your apartment, and this sense of isolation comes across in the music. Do you think your next record will be as much of an individual effort?
The writing process will almost always be an individual effort for me, but the next record will have more people involved as far as recording and producing goes.
5. Speaking of which, can we expect some new music in 2013? The only correct answer hereis yes!
Hopefully! If everything goes as planned (which it usually doesn’t), I’ll have two albums out this year. A Cemeteries record and an album or EP from my side project. I’m currently working on both and I’ve been collaborating with a musician I really love on a track for one of my favorite music blogs.
6. For a band named Cemeteries, your music often seems to embrace the light as often as it does the darkness. How important is this dichotomy to you?
I really wanted to show that music and art in general can be dark without it being heavy or disturbing. As much as I love eerie things, I’m a pretty positive person. I don’t want to isolate any listeners to certain feelings so I hope my music is open for interpretation instead of me saying “this is how I felt making it so this is how you should feel listening to it”.
7. What is it, exactly, about John Carpenter’s Halloween that inspired you so?
I grew up mostly in the 90’s so my premature idea of horror was based on movies like Pet Sematary and Candyman (which I love but they’re not necessarily great films). I caught Halloween late one night and it was (in my opinion) an extremely well-shot, well-scored, bloodless horror film that focused on atmosphere instead of gore or extreme nudity. It was terrifying, but I couldn’t really explain why and that always stuck with me. There’s so many more films that have inspired me since and I probably like some of them even more than Halloween, but that will always be the first.
8. How is your relationship with your label, Lefse Records? Be completely honest, we won’t tell them I swear!
Lefse is amazing! I owe everything to them and they’re all great people to work with and great people in general. It’s always hectic when I actually see them because we’re in crowded venues for shows or festivals, but I’ve grabbed a few beers and talked extensively about Sci-Fi novels with them.
9. What software do you use to record your music?
I still record most things with my trusty Tascam DP-004 and I actually use a variety of softwares for editing/mixing. They’re always changing. I haven’t found anything I’m extremely comfortable with yet.
10. Any plans to tour in the new year?
I hope so! I’m planning a move to Chicago right now so hopefully once that’s all figured out, we can start playing more shows. I’m always open to it.
11. What is your favorite episode of Twin Peaks?
That’s a really tough question considering I always watch it all in a few sittings. It all blends together. I’ve probably watched the pilot more than any other episode, but I remember certain moments of the show more than the episodes themselves like *SPOILERS* Leland dying, Pete discovering Laura’s body, any scene with Deputy Andy. It’s a tough question to answer!
12. All of the tracks on The Wilderness are equally superb, what made you decide to use Summer Smoke as the “single” for the album?
Thanks! “Summer Smoke” was the first new song I wrote for that album (“Young Blood” and “Leland” were written a few years before) and it just seemed to be a favorite among people that had heard the whole album. We released “The Wilderness” first as a sort of teaser but “Summer Smoke” was always meant to be the first real single and video.
13. WHY CAN’T I FIND YOUR RECORD ANYWHERE?!!?
It’s available at lefserecords.com! I’ve seen it at a few record stores which is always exciting. It’s my first album so hopefully the next one will be all over the place, who knows?
14. You are label-mates with How To Dress Well, and I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Tom Krell a few times last year. Isn’t he just the sweetest guy?
I’ve never actually met him, but I’ve always wanted to. His album last year was phenomenal. He seems like a really great guy and I’m sure we’ll cross paths at some point.
15. What 2013 releases (music or film) are you most looking forward to?
A lot of my friends and label-mates are working on really exciting stuff that I can’t wait for people to hear. I really hope we get new albums from Deerhunter, Gem Club, Avi Buffalo, Austra, etc. There’s always a ton of surprises that come along every year. Film-wise, there’s a few I’m looking forward to. Before Midnight, Only God Forgives, the Evil Dead remake. There’s a horror film called You’re Next that I’ve been dying to see for years and it’s finally getting a U.S. release in August so I’ll be there opening night.