Homeshake
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Homeshake

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“That was sort of the lifestyle I had for quite a while,” says Sagar. “It was crazy on the road all the time. I would be daydreaming all the time about going home and relaxing so it obviously sinks pretty deeply into most of your records.”

Although both LPs depict the joys and anxieties of being a homebody, there’s a notable disparity between the two. This is due to Sagar switching from electric guitar to synthesisers, which brings new flavour and depth to Homeshake’s sound.
“People got a little excited about that,” he says. “An overreaction almost, like there’s no guitar on the record. I just don’t want to get stuck in a rut. The last one didn’t have synth because I just really wanted to play synthesiser – I just needed something to shake it up a little bit. Maybe I’ve just grown weary of guitar a little bit. I probably would have made the same album over and over again if I didn’t shake it up a little bit. I needed more instrumentation. I don’t try and force anything, I just let it out.”

Prior to establishing Homeshake, Sagar spent a few years touring the world in Mac DeMarco’s live band. By contrast, the Homeshake project is centred on writing and recording, with touring a mere necessity. “The band that I tour with – my friends Mark and Greg are really amazing – I love hanging out with them, being on the road with them, but I just can’t tour too much. I can’t spend too much time at it, so I never really want to. I know I have to, and I enjoy it while it happens. I’m definitely excited for new places though.”

Despite his reluctance to get on the road, the non-stop cycle of writing, recording, releasing and touring leads to some interesting creative discoveries. “I do pretty much hate every song I’ve recorded and released up until now,” Sagar says. “The song Faded is about my partner Salina. She is a ceramist and every time she makes anything, as soon as she’s done she instantly hates it. Just before she finishes it she’s like, ‘I’m really happy with this one.’ I feel like I have to feel that way for at least a week to keep a song. I haven’t listened to it [Midnight Snack] in quite a while. I listened to it a while ago on tour and it was really crazy to see how different they become live. I’m a little frustrated because I listen back and I go, ‘Damn, I sing that a lot better now.’ ”

All of Sagar’s songwriting takes place in his home, and the Homeshake albums are recorded at a studio called The Drones Club only four blocks away from where he lives. He places great significance on a tight knit community of artists and friends. “A group of my friends and I, we run this sketchy studio space together and have shows there and stuff. There’s so many great acts here. There’s Sheer Agony, who are like, I don’t know, power pop. Jackson, who is friends with that band, he recorded Midnight Snack with me. And we’re currently working on the next one. I also share my drummer Greg with that band. There’s Un Blonde, a fantastic local group. My neighbour Project Pablo, he makes fantastic house music.”

Thanks to Project Pablo, Sagar has a newfound affinity with electronic music. “Everyone wants something new, and electronic music has a lot of new texture to add that you can’t get with your classic rock lineup.”

Midnight Snack was released in September last year, and the next Homeshake record mightn’t be too far away. “It’s going to be longer. I’m trying to put together 15 or 16 songs. So far I’ve just done a few poppier synth drum machine tracks, but it’ll be pretty mixed up. We’ll see.”

A few months ago Sagar posted a picture to his Instagram showing an obscure review of an album called Midnight Snack written by Jeremy Sagar. “Yeah that’s my dad,” he laughs. “He reviewed albums for a local paper in Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island where my parents live now and where my Mum grew up. One week, he didn’t have any power so he couldn’t listen to any records to review so he just made one up. A lot of little anecdotes in it are inside jokes and comments to his friends.”

Strangely, this wasn’t the basis for the title of the latest Homeshake LP. “When I told him my album was going to be called Midnight Snack, he couldn’t believe it and he told me that story. I was really surprised, because I couldn’t believe there was a story that he hadn’t told me. I had heard every story but that one. It was weird but really, really great.”

BY JESS ZANONI