Canary Complex
... is a baroque pop / chamber pop solo musical project, with sounds inspired by impressionistic, soft oil colors and ever-changing moods. When Kasey isn't playing guitar with Flood District, he is writing and recording under the moniker of Canary Complex. A series of tragic events led to the creation of this musical endeavor, local to Raleigh NC. The debut album "When I Say Rain..." was the genesis: self-therapy by way of confessional indie storytelling.
Full band arrangements filled out the canvas, with every instrument played and every vocal part sung one at a time in his bedroom studio. This album is a collection of pensive & volatile songs; best served under an overcast sky.
The follow-up record "The Tragic Dance of Dying Leaves" lifts the veil. From the first shimmering idea to the final result, this album was meticulously crafted with a very specific intention in mind: Impressionism. Like the canvases of Monet and Renoir, this record offers a glimpse into an imagined, dreamlike past. The songwriting and musical aesthetics of Canary Complex have blossomed into a verdant bouquet of soft oil colors and a lust for life. The garden now grows unobstructed with disparate influences, from Japanese visual kei to bossa nova; 80's goth to French chansons; modern indie rock to 60's baroque pop.
Do you think that your music describes you best, as the "human" behind the artist/project Canary Complex?
Yes, absolutely. I've always found it so difficult to open myself up to other people... So when I write lyrics and vocal melodies, I really 'dig in' to find the naked vulnerable spots and then shine a harsh light on them.
It's compulsive, really. My songs are about 60% my own direct experiences. For the other 40%, I use metaphors to re-design my own experiences into stories in which I am the narrator. I’m always able to expose the vulnerable soft underbelly because I’m still singing about myself, even when I’m not. That is such a great question, by the way.
"Bel Esprit" sounds great and has "that something", what's the story behind?
Thank you. I feel like the magic of the song exists in the uncanny orchestration and the raw emotion that came through in the recording process. I found myself suddenly crying for the first time in years while recording the electric guitars in the second verse, and that was before I even had the lyrics or the concept completed! Every song I write is based on something in my life- in this case it was the feeling of loss and grief. I channeled it into a concept. It's a tragedy as old as time: a parent outlives their child. In life, this young girl was a ballet dancer during La Belle Époque (late 1800s France). I don't want to spoil the story, but anyone who has ever lost another person will agree: grief and desperation can take you to some strange, scary places.
Sidenote: The majority of my inspiration as far as my guitar playing and songwriting comes from Japanese bands of the ‘90s that would be classified as “visual kei” (a Japanese musical subculture that grew out of the glam and post-punk scenes of the ‘80s, and morphed over time into its own unique thing). Malice Mizer, early Luna Sea and Lareine were huge influences on the musical DNA of this album; nowhere more apparent than on “Bel Esprit”.
What can we expect from your upcoming album "The Tragic Dance of Dying Leaves"?
Eight songs, and at least eight distinct emotions that blend into a 30-minute experience. Anxiety, fear, solitude. Reminiscence of both the happy & sad sorts. Anger, desperation, and quiet, guilty longing. Jealousy. Loving, and being loved. Bittersweet nostalgia.
My friend/bandmate Michael (shoutout to Flood District) played drums on two tracks and helped me with mixing this record. He had this to say about it: “Deeply strange and creative music masquerading as "normal" without ever being unlistenable or needlessly zany. Meets all the expectations of what you want from a rock album (explosive climaxes, creative guitars, catchy choruses, huge drums, etc) while constantly taking unexpected routes to fulfill those expectations.”
If you take a look back on the recording sessions, what song was the most complicated to record and what was the easiest one to get finished?
Let it be known: "The Alchemist" was an absolute joy to record. Every instrumental part of the song came pouring out of me with zero effort in one recording session. Some parts are loose and improvised, which suits the mood of the song very well. When I wrote the lyrics, my hand was guided by some imperceivable being outside myself. They flowed like water, and thus I feel that it’s my responsibility never to change them. My friend Abbytheoboist recorded the lead melody on oboe for me, and that added something memorable and entirely unique to the song. The most difficult one was "Song of Healing". Compared to the rest of the album, the instrumental parts were fairly simple (except for that bass part in the bridge)... But the song has a lot of tempo shifts, and the dark, introspective nature of it is best suited to raw takes with minimal punch-ins. This proved difficult for me to record cleanly. It was a very hard process, but the stressful recording and traumatic lyrics eventually metamorphosed into a work of art. The end still carries the frustration and the weight of any mistakes- the scream at the end was improvised but I decided to keep it, and built the blasty drum part around it.
Your songs create an impressive atmosphere, where do you take your inspiration from?
Impressionism. My greatest non-musical inspirations are the canvases of Renoir, Monet, Caillebotte… all of the great dead French guys that could paint any mundane scene, and the outcome would be a dreamscape: sometimes rough and abrasive and sometimes pristine, but always dripping with a wet nostalgic haze. You can look at one of these canvases, and fall in. Feeling déjavu, false memories and a terrible longing for this place you’ve never been. Slowly falling out of love with the soft, muted silhouettes of beautiful people who died more than a century before you were born.
No matter the subject, a common atmosphere is shared between the works of impressionists of that era. I can’t describe this mood in words, but I tried my very best to make this album sound the way these paintings look; every song is a canvas that I first painted in my mind.
A finished album means touring (sometimes at least), any chance to see you somewhere live on stage?
I’ve played some local shows; just me, my guitar and my friend playing various percussion. However, I really want to convey the more baroque elements of the songs on this album… so I intend to build a full band before playing live again.
As far as touring, who knows? I’d love to. I have faith in this record and think it could really catch on. I’m not saying that it’s likely, but if the world comes calling I’ll be there to answer it.
