Samantha Savage Smith's Inspiration Lays Somewhere Between Iceland and Calgary
We talked to the Calgary-based indie-pop singer about her new approach to songwriting and what exactly a "healthy" hot dog looks like.
Samantha Savage Smith is not feeling particularly great when she picks up the phone at home in Calgary, because of what she calls “chinook-y” weather, which gives her migraines and “does a real number on my body.” Still, she is nothing but sweet during the call despite having constant headaches. That sweetness, bubbling over regardless of not really feeling that great, shines through on her new sophomore album Fine Lines, recorded at Arch Audio Studio. The record sparkles through catchy, off-kilter indie-pop held together with Smith’s songbird voice, but skews toward melancholy despite its near-saccharine catchiness. Essentially, it’s got style and substance, which is likely due heavily to Smith’s new, longer songwriting process, and a bit of a bent toward perfectionism.
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It’s been almost four years since Smith released her first album, Tough Cookie, to national critical acclaim, and she has been filling up the time by honing her songwriting. Part of that has included a trip to Iceland to participate in a collaborative project named EMBASSYLIGHTS, where she and a handful of other Calgary musicians got together with Benni Hemm Hemm and Prins Póló for three days to write an entire album, do shows in Reykjavík and then back in Calgary, and record the entire thing in one day, which she describes as “insane, a total whirlwind. Exhausting but cool.” They were quickly invited back to play the Iceland Airwaves festival. All of these new experiences have paid off in Fine Lines, which takes the raw talent of its predecessor, and builds on it, taking Smith’s craft to a new, hyper-focused level.
Fine Lines will be released on January 27 via Winnipeg indie label Pipe & Hat. Smith will be doing a small Canadian tour to promote the album, followed by a stop in Austin for SXSW. She spoke to us about what she’s been up to since Tough Cookie, living in Calgary, and what kind of hot dog she gets from the city’s famous Tubby Dog.
Noisey: What makes Fine Lines different from your 2011 album Tough Cookie?
Samantha Savage Smith: The songs are totally different. The first record I made when I was quite young. This one is just more recent with the things pertaining to my life, changes and chapters and all that. So it inevitably sounds different just from where I'm at.
How have you changed personally over that time?
I don't know. (laughs) I'm older, and more mature! Musically I have a lot more experience under my belt, I've been playing in another band. It's more of a complex process now, writing and recording songs, than it was before. [The songs on Tough Cookie] are like, bedroom songs. When I originally wrote them I wasn't really planning on showing anyone. The new one is very different, I'm proud of it. It's been all me and I've been deeply involved in it, so it's kind of my baby, I guess (laughs).
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Is there a reason there’s such a gap in time between your first album and this one?
I think songs generally take me longer to write now. Some longer than others. I think I'm a lot more heady about it. Also, now I typically record everything, like an "in-the-basement" kind of thing, so it's a different process than it used to be.
What were some of the challenges you faced while making Fine Lines?
Writing it, I guess it's all over the map, there. There were challenges in making it and I started writing some of the songs when we were touring the first record. So some of them have been around for a few years, some of them closer to the time we recorded. Definitely, in the making of it was time and money, and also being late but trying to avoid being over-perfectionist. Lorrie [Matheson] is my friend so it was easy to text him and call him a million times and be like, "you need to change this mix again and again, it's not quite right." And he would just be like, "you need to shut up." (laughs)
Did anyone ever accuse you of being a control freak?
No, I don't think so. I guess I am a slight one but I'm not that crazy. You know when you're just like, "okay, maybe it's not exactly what I pictured it to be but I like it"? That's kind of it. I can let go of things but sometimes I do obsess. But it's not on anyone else, except maybe Lorrie who was mixing it, who wanted to kill me a few times.
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What’s it like being a musician in Calgary?
Calgary has a pretty small music scene, but it's growing and has a community vibe to it. Everyone is playing in each other's bands and what not. There's a good support system here and it makes it fun to work on music. You can really focus on it when everyone else around you is completely stoked.
Do Calgary or Alberta ever inspire your songwriting?
I don't know. The songs are generally from more of a personal viewpoint. I think your surroundings do affect your creativity to an extent but I wouldn't say it's about Calgary or Alberta. But I'm here, so it indirectly still influences. It might be different if I was writing in Winnipeg or Iceland or something.
Last one, but very important. What kind of hot dog do you get when you go to Tubby Dog?
I get the slaw dog, because the cole slaw's awesome and you get chili on it too. And sometimes if you're like, "I want a healthy hot dog," you can get the turkey dog. (laughs) So I'll feel slightly better about my actions.
Who goes out for a hot dog and thinks, "oh man, I'd really love a healthy hot dog"?
I want a healthy hot dog! But there was a point where I was there so often, and having to eat there, because I had a few friends that worked there and was always there, that I had to stop and think, "okay, I'm eating these hot dogs way too often."
TOUR DATES:
Jan 23 – The Palomino – Calgary, AB
March 5 – Amigos – Saskatoon, SK
March 6 – O’Hanlons – Regina, SK
March 7 – West End Cultural Centre – Winnipeg, MB
March 12 – The Belljar – Toronto, ON
March 17-22 – SXSW – Austin, TX