CMW Preview: Creation In Chaos: An Interview With Suuns

By: Curtis Sindrey –

During the scorching hot Montreal summer in 2012, Quebec indie rockers Suuns began recording a follow-up to their acclaim debut LP Zeroes QC, called Images Du Futur (images of the future) with producer Jace Lasek at Breakglass Studios, all the while students burst onto the streets to protest against a proposal to raise university tuition from $2,168 to $3,793 between 2012 and 2017.

“It was a big part of where we were in Montreal all day, everyday,” says Sunns bassist/guitarst Joe Yarmush. “Some of the lyrics were taken from reading about different protests, but there’s probably not a direct influence, but more of a general mood of the city and where we were.”

On this album, they neglected the purely instrumental approach that drove Zeros, instead they wrote lyrics, which show the strength of lead singer/songwriter Ben Shemie and has allowed Suuns to evolve.

“Zeroes QC is a perfect time capsule for that era of the band,” explains Yarmush. “For Images we took our time and we were more focused and we thought more of what we wanted to put on the record.”

“With this album you can hear the lyrics maybe 90 percent of the time and where the last album some of the time you wouldn’t even know [the lyrics] being sung which is cool but I don’t think that you can do that forever.”

With producer Jace Lasek, who also produced Zeroes QC, again at the helm, Suuns benefited from their already close bond with Lasek, which made the recording process smooth and flexible.

“We were able to jump right in,” he says. “And since we know each other well it was a lot easier to just things going.”

“There was a song or two on the first record like “Marauder” that you could just tell that Jace was thinking why we would do something like that, but this time around we recorded a bunch of extra stuff, but he doesn’t have that questioning part to him anymore because he gets it.”

“If you have a big label, but your show sucks, than it doesn’t matter and people will see that.”

A Suuns gig is usually described as a short, rough set full of unhinged intensity. Their sound is loud and layered but their lack of extras like overdubs allow them to experiment freely with their songs while on stage.

“With the first record, the songs are way better live than they were two or three years ago because we played the hell out of them,” says Yarmush. “I like musicians who take chances live because that’s what you pay to go and see, their interpretation of the music that they made.”

With festivals like Canadian Music Week or NXNE, “it’s super easy to get lost in the sea of music that is happening 24/7.”

“I would suggest for bands to keep it real and be true to yourself because you’ll tap into something deeper than trying to be whatever is cool at the moment,” he says.

“If you have a big label, but your show sucks, than it doesn’t matter and people will see that.”

Despite Suuns only being in Toronto for 24 hours, Yarmush is most looking forward to seeing Montreal psychedelic folk band Valleys and UK female quartet Savages, who both play on the same bill as Suuns on March 23rd at Lee’s Palace.

“I’ve been a fan of Savages for the past little while, it’s pretty awesome that we’re playing the same show,” he says. “They’re pretty heavy, minimal rock. It’s very British, Joy Division-style rock.”