We learned about Alex Southey in late 2022 with the release of their Common Fantasies EP and we’ve been keeping a pretty keen ear to them ever since. Since then Alex has released a bunch of new music, done a series of mini-tours across Southern Ontario, hosts an open mic in Toronto and most recently started their own PR company Oh Marlene! With so much on the go, I was stoked that alex could make the time for interview to bring us up to speed.
CF: Last year you released a couple of singles, Never Listen and I Think I Smell A Melody. Are these part of an upcoming EP or LP release or are you a singles guy?
AS: I am not a singles guy. I know that’s the way things are going… a little like the 1950s. But that just makes me believe things will swing back to longer form stuff and when it does my music will be waiting. And yes, the singles will be on the record!
CF: I love the production on the latest two tracks. Can you tell us a bit about the recording process? Who did you work with and where was it recorded?
AS: Well things were a little stretched between “Never Listen” and “I Think I Smell a Melody”. The former was recorded (mostly) at Union Sound with Alex Gamble at the helm. Christina Dare played bass and sang backing vocals, Gab Lavoie played synth, and Craig McCann played drums and percussion. “I Think I Smell a Melody”, on the other hand, was almost entirely recorded in my room in my condo, and a little bit at Alex Gamble’s smaller shed-studio, Raventape. I like both experience types, but may prefer holing up in my room and making a meticulous demo and bringing it to have it come to life and emphasized (the “I Think I Smell a Melody” way).
CF: What would you say your melodies smell like? Lavender? Paprika? Something else?
AS: Haha. I like the idea of lavender… Maybe wet forest in some cases. Coffee. Maybe I’m just thinking of coffee.
CF: I love when the drums come in towards the end of ITISAM. It’s so unexpected and the steady rhythm add a whole new character for the brief time they enter and sit in the track. It’s one of those unique production choices that will keep me coming back for another listen. Was the drum beat initially through most of the track and you stripped it back or did the idea come later to intentionally give the song that boost towards the end?
AS: It was a little too “floaty” (slow down Shakespeare) for me. It needed something to anchor it to the ground. A past EP I put out called My Nights On the Island made use of (extraordinarily simple) beats instead of drums. I thought that would be an interesting marriage to this. Turned out it was! Added a little cinematic flair.
CF: You’re an artist that I would say uses vocal melodies more as an atmospheric instrument in that it often seems to sit well within the arrangement instead of on top of the mix. Is there an artist you listen to that this stylistic choice is inspired by?
AS: I don’t think I really sit down and think: I am going to blast this full of voices/use it as an instrument. I’ve been doing it since my first album (Christmastown) and it was purely because I lacked any other resources. Now, even though I do have resources, I’m kinda set in my ways. I don’t think I’m Whitney Houston or anything, but my voice can get pretty elastic if I want it too, and that allows me to use it more as an atmospheric tool, or like an instrument, rather than just a tool for words. Hope that makes sense. Oh but who am I influenced by? Thom Yorke does that a lot. John Frusciante. Bon Iver. This will surprise no one haha.
CF: Lyrically I find you very interesting because I’m never quite sure where you’re going to take the story you’re telling and you’re very poetic in the language you use. What types of experiences drive your lyrics?
AS: I find I have a distinct theme or idea (or two) in my head, and the lyrics you don’t see (the first drafts) are usually a lot more literal. It’s a little bit like painting a picture of a landscape. Something we can all understand. And then chopping the painting up into 5 different sections and re-piecing them together so the art’s context changes and creates a lot more depth. That’s one way I write anyway. It’s not always that way. I think in the past I drew a lot more from my personal life. Now a song idea might start with something I experience, but it inevitably moves away from me and becomes some other world I get to inhabit like anyone else.
CF: When you’re not working on your own music you run a biweekly open mic at The Imperial Pub in Toronto. What made you want to get involved with the open mic circuit?
AS: I felt pretty disillusioned with the other open mics in the city. Not because they were bad, or because the people running them were bad people, they just didn’t give me what I personally wanted. Almost all were treated like showcases. I wanted something a little more… forgiving, for lack of a better word. My roommate had been encouraging me to meet someone he volunteered with at SickKids, and finally I went to meet him at his open mic, and I’d taken so long to getting around to meeting him that it happened to be the last open mic at that spot. So I was just like…. Can I take over? And he said yeah. And that was the Imperial Pub, 4-5 years ago. Now I’m an old, old man in a rocking chair.
CF: Who are some of your favourite new artists you’ve discovered at your own open mics or others you frequent?
AS: My own open mic: Leesh, Jasper Maxx Payne, Daniel Fishbayn, Supreme Taste Band, Jason Pilling, Phillip Vonesh, Olivia Cox of Waxlimbs, the last goes onnnn. I don’t want this to come across the wrong way but I don’t really go to other open mics anymore. I just don’t have the time.
CF: What would you say to the new singer songwriter who has never performed at an open mic? Why should they try one?
AS: It’s all about what they want out of music. If they want to be a singer-songwriter for the sake of writing songs and not performing, then by all means stay at home and just enjoy yourself! If you do want to make a career of it, then the first step is definitely going out to open mics. Not only is it a good way to see if people are interested in your music, it’s also a good way to meet people, or see other up and coming performers. Maybe you’ll see someone do something that inspires you, or alternatively you’ll see someone who teaches you not to do something. It’s all beneficial. There’s no getting around it you just have to get up…
CF: I’m always amazed by how much you’re doing as an artist, from the open mics to booking short run tours country-wide, putting together music videos and of course releasing new songs, so I guess I was both surprised and not when you unveiled your new PR business Oh Marlene! Was this a natural progression given how much you were already doing for yourself and at what point did you realize you had something you could offer other up and coming artists?
AS: Yes, well, that is all sort of related to my disappointment with the industry as it is. There are plenty of great PR companies in town and in the country… but it feels as though there are even more that are predatory. Bluntly, I started Oh Marlene Music PR for three reasons.
1) I needed to make a little gosh darn money,
2) To teach my clients how to do PR for themselves after they work with me (as in, I will show them the emails I’m sending and the way I write them so they can take that instruction and do it themselves, and save themselves money in the future), and
3) I oversold the number of reasons I’d have for starting the company when I began this answer. Woops.
CF: For those that aren’t aware of what Oh Marlene can help with, can you give us a brief rundown?
AS: Sure. It primarily focuses on Canadian college and community radio stations, reviews, and some blog posts. At the moment, we do some submissions for playlisting, but there are no promises there.
CF: At what stage would you say it’s a good idea for an independent artist to explore their PR options?
AS: I learned from experience it’s not a good idea to get PR too early. I went too professional too quickly when I didn’t have the assets (music videos, following, whatever) that would’ve made the PR stuff work a lot better. So, wait until you have a bit of momentum or steam behind you, in addition to a few singles or an EP so that people have context. Also, it never hurts to start doing PR yourself first. That way you’re not totally blind when it comes to engaging with PR companies. A tip for up and coming artists who are curious about Canadian college and community radio play and don’t know where to start: Look up Earshot and learn about it.
CF: Is expanding Oh Marlene! and entering the gig scene as booking agent something you foresee happening in the future?
AS: I feel as though it’s likely but not certain. As I answer these questions I’m thinking woo boy I bit off more than I could chew with my own activities, I think!
CF: What is your best piece of advice for musicians who are currently working on their own first tours?
AS: Factor in: Where you’re going to sleep, budget for food on the road (I.e. when you’re traveling city to city), your day-job work schedule. For example, if you work a 9-5, monday to friday, prioritize Saturday night gigs so you have the day to travel and you don’t have to take off work. If possible, be the only act not from that city you’re traveling to. Otherwise it’s much harder to draw. Be aware of sound guy fees, door fees, merch cuts, and etc. Don’t be afraid to stick up for yourself. People will try to take advantage of you in passive ways. With all that negativity out of the way: You’re also going to meet a ton of really great, supportive people, and you’ll wonder why you weren’t touring sooner (if you had the means). Just like open mics, you have to learn about touring by touring. All the books I’ve ever read about bands touring were so unrelated and irrelevant to my personal experience as a musician in Toronto in 2018 onward it was laughable. Speak to peers you respect about what and how they’re doing “it”, whatever “it” is.
CF: Finally, in addition to a slew of new tour dates, you’re performing at this year’s Wintersong Festival on January 20th 2024. The lineup is super stacked this year. Who are you most excited to see perform?
AS: I’m incredibly excited to see: Pony Girl, Mother Tongues, Cinzia and the Eclipse, Joey O’ Neil, Status Non Status, House Wife, Rise Carmine, Rebekah Hawker, and more I am forgetting and will feel bad.
CF: Anything else you’ve got coming up that you want people to know about?
AS: Third and final single before the album comes out is called “God’s Green Earth”. It’ll have a video (you can see a sneak peek on my instagram by the time you are reading this). Single is out Feb 8, 2024. Same day I play the Burdock Brewery here in Toronto. See you there!
CF: Thanks Alex!
Be sure to catch Alex when he rolls through your neck of the woods. Here are his current listed Ontario tour dates:
January 20th – Toronto – Wintersong Music Festival Performance & Live Panel
February 8th – Toronto – Burdock Brewery with Dante Ravenhearst & Brock Mattson
February 24th – Guelph – Jimmy Jazz with Harmony on Mars & Innes Wilson
March 9th – Kingston – Wolfe Island Hotel
March 16th – Ottawa – LIVE! on Elgin with Beams & Eric Montpol (Noise Hotel)
April 6th – Windsor – Phog Lounge
May 18th – London – Palasad Social Bowl with Willem James Cowan
Learn more about Alex and Oh Marlene on his website.
https://www.alexsouthey.com
https://www.alexsouthey.com/ohmarlenepr
Looking for a little more? Here are some music recommendations based on the interview:
Crooked Forest 