Funeral Lakes
RECOMMENDED: Funeral Lakes new EP Redeemer out 20 August 2021
We had a chat with Canadian girl/boy duo Funeral Lakes > Sam Mishos and Chris Hemer.
A fiercely independent act, with a strong DIY work ethic, self-releasing and self-producing all their music we first featured the band last year for their Golden Season EP. Funeral Lakes new EP Redeemer is released on 20 August 2021 buy it ⬇️
Listen at https://open.spotify.com/artist/5lsy9HwmsSnj3swvOWudrs Buy via BandCamp https://funerallakes.bandcamp.com
Facebook: @FuneralLakes | Instagram: @funerallakes | Twitter: @FuneralLakes
We featured you last year for your Golden Season EP, we’re big fans, tell us a bit about Funeral Lakes, how did you meet, how long have you been together?
We appreciate the continued support! We met at uni many years ago, but started this project together in 2018. We began learning how to self-produce music in our apartment in Vancouver, BC, but have moved around a bit since then.
Your new EP Redeemer is released on 20 August, how does your songwriting / recording process work and do you take inspiration from what's going on in the world or focus on more personal experiences / themes?
With every song, the process is a bit different. But it usually starts with a chord progression. We try to find a melody or phrase that is meaningful to us and gets stuck in our heads. Oftentimes we draw from a combination of personal experiences and emotions, and what’s going on in the world on a more macro level. We recorded everything at home, like our first record. Andrew McLeod (Sunnsetter) replaced the midi drums on Solstice and Place I Stay, and then our friend Colin Spratt mixed and mastered the tracks. It was a very insular writing and recording process, so it was great to have the two of them join in with contributions.
Things are looking good for the return of live music here in the UK, is that the case in Canada and if so do you have any live gigs in the calendar?
There are some events and shows popping up here and there in different parts of Canada. We’ve been playing it safe, so we don’t have any live shows planned yet. We want to be sure that there is a safe environment for everyone before we start playing again. But live streams have been really exciting from an accessibility standpoint, and have helped us to connect with folks from a distance.
How has the pandemic been for you, anything positive or all bad?
Like for so many others, it has been an incredibly difficult time so it’s hard to think of positives. But we are grateful and fortunate to be fully vaccinated, and in a position to be able to continue making music at home.
We can hear a little bit of an Arcade Fire vibe / influence in your music (no bad thing as far as we’re concerned), would you agree / are you happy with the comparison or is it annoying?
It’s always interesting to hear what other people compare our sound to, so definitely not annoying at all! They are one of the groups that have really influenced the way we approach music, and they’ve had quite a profound impact on the Canadian music scene in general.
What are your plans for the rest of 2021 and into next year?
Hopefully supporting this release with some live shows, as soon as it is safe to do so. We’re always working on new music too, and have a project in the works that we’re pretty excited to share sometime in the future.
What do your career highlights look like so far?
We didn’t really expect our music to reach as many people as it has, so I think we’re just incredibly grateful for everything we’ve achieved so far and for all those who have taken the time to listen or write about what we’re making.
Tell us something most people won’t know about you?
We’re both in grad school at the moment - Chris researches commemoration and Canadian national mythology, and Sam researches health, environments, and communities. It definitely influences the music we make and is where the bulk of our energy goes outside of this project.
Funeral Lakes EP Redeemer is out 20 August 2021