by Sarah Knoll
Trace Mountains have continuously delighted us with their guitar-driven songwriting and twangy charm. Their latest record, Lost In The Country is no exception. Combining elements off their last record and pushing the envelope on all aspects further. I was able to talk to frontman, Dave Benton, about the process of creating this record, along with thoughts on musicianship.
Sarah Knoll: First off just wanted to say the record sounds amazing, it’s so so good. On this record you definitely push the sounds further. What were some of your intentions going into this record?
Dave Benton: So, I had a conversation with my partner and bandmate, Susanne, just about the lyricism of the last record. She started to make me realize that I wanted to go a little deeper with the words and get a little more personal. So that was kind of a big change with this record. Sonically, I wanted something a little more high-fi sounding because I’ve never decided to do that before. It was nice to just switch it up.
SK: The quality from this record from your previous one, there is a clear difference. Can you talk a little bit about your recording process?
DB: The process was largely the same. On both records we went to the studio to track but this time we just went to a nicer studio to get the drum sounds and we worked with a different engineer for that. Which he did a really good job with. Definitely the intention going into it was more to get a cleaner sound. After we got these tracks with drums and bass, I just like to take those and bring them to my home studio and this time I just did everything on my computer with ProTools. The last record I did more with a tape machine. I just got really into using ProTools and it was fun, I never really dived into using that program but it was fun. I got really into using plug-ins and that kind of stuff.
SK: Nice. I know you were in LVL UP and a couple of different projects before Trace Mountains. What differences do you notice writing as a band vs writing solo?
DB: Actually with LVL UP and a lot of my other bands, it was sort of the same where it was overall very collaborative. People brought in different things for the same project. We would still write the songs on our own and then arrange them as a band and that’s how we do it in Trace Mountains too. I write the songs and bring them to everyone. The collaborative part is more arranging them and adding random parts in and stuff like that. It’s kind of just how I’ve always done it.
SK: It definitely seems like there’s a lot of collaboration in the studio. Even in this iteration of Trace Mountains you seem to write a lot about guitar based music, so why do you think it’s still significant to make guitar based music and what do you think it brings to the table?
DB: A lot of people are experimenting with different technologies. I don’t really think that it’s really important though. Playing guitar is just kind of what I know and what I’m good at. So that’s why I do it. It’s what’s most effective for me. I feel like over the years I have thought about that question. As I’ve thought about it and thought about it, the importance of exploring new sounds has sort of diminished for me personally. It’s more about using the tools that I have to say what I want to say. I think it works for me and that’s why I choose to use guitars and things like that [to] make rock music.
SK: From what I can tell the ethos of DIY still holds value to you. What does community mean to you both personally and as a musician?
DB: I used to run a record label with my bandmate in LVL UP, and I was really involved in the NYC DIY/Indie scene. I feel like I got a lot out of that. I really enjoyed helping people do what they wanted to do and release records, etc. For Trace Mountains, I feel like this project has been a step away from the community and a step back to the DIY way of doing things. I don’t feel as much of a part of a community but I feel like how we run things in the band, it’s a return to community. With LVL UP we were part of a pretty big indie label, which was great, but with this band I really enjoy getting away from that. It feels a lot more organic and down to earth, but also as I am getting a little bit older I feel a little bit more removed from that community. So it’s a little tricky. I think that community is really important for music and I think what I do wouldn’t be possible without the network of people supporting it. It still feels rooted in something which I think is pretty special. I do feel like my community is getting smaller, which I’m kind of happy with. I can rely on them a lot.
SK: I know you mentioned the lyrics a bit before and that they are more vulnerable than those on your previous album. Would you mind expanding on that and kind of the relationship you have with vulnerability as someone who is male identifying?
DB: I think again as I’ve gotten a little bit older I’m a little bit more scared to open up in my music. I think that I’ve been trying my best to fight that inclination. I’ve gotten a little more guarded just because of my experiences in the music world. When you’re so close to something for so long you get a little jaded about it, but once you get jaded you’re not only judging other people, you’re judging yourself. Then, that can negatively impact your art and that has a lot to do with masculinity and it’s a tricky thing to tackle. As a man, you have to actively think about and try not to fall into those patterns because you’ll just become more closed off. So to some extent songwriting is a tool for me to be more in touch with myself.
SK: Cool, I can see that on this record a lot. On a lighter note, I know you’re going on tour soon. What are some tour essentials?
DB: We all have these REI pads which we love. We try to not spend so much on accommodations so if we’re crashing on someone’s floor, those are essential. We don’t carry too many snacks, we have a big rock’n’roll playlist. We’re all big into classic rock. We will just pull up to a show blasting AC/DC or something like that.
SK: Could you name 5 bands that are essential to this playlist?
DB: AC/DC, Thin Lizzy, there’s this band Prism who’s this cool Canadian hair band. We also have a playlist for driving and all of the songs are about driving. So we have Tracy Chapman who’s on that one. We like themed playlists. That lifts the mood sometimes.
SK: That sounds awesome! What do you hope people get out of listening to Lost In The Country?
DB: I don’t really have a message or anything. I hope that it can touch on something that other people have felt before. It helps to feel like you’re not the only one thinking something.