Waterfall Strainer‘s new LP Carry It is out today via Bandcamp. Led by multi-instrumentalist Nick Stola, also the project’s principal songwriter and vocalist, the new release finds him joined by Max Ried on drums and Sophie Mullens on keyboard/vocals. Home recorded at his Brooklyn apartment, Stola’s newest effort might be seen as an intimate response to the hustle and bustle of city life. Discussing Carry It via email this week, he explained:
“I feel like the most important thing making music does for me is provide time to slow down my life and reflect, otherwise, things go by too quick.”
Below, you can read the rest of our interview with Nick. The musician takes time to discuss the recording of Carry It, as well as some of the creative influences behind the album. In addition, he discusses life in Brooklyn, and how his search for a quiet place in the city helped shape the writing of his newest LP.
LETV: Congratulations on the release of your new album Carry It. The LP follows up your 2017 effort Suburban Wolf. At the time you billed the record by saying, “Straight from my bedroom to your ears.” What can you tell us about the recording and production of Carry It? Was it a “home recorded” album?
NS: Hey, thanks! Pretty much the same thing for this one. I recorded everything at home, just a different home than the last album. I was living out in the suburbs at that point (hence the Suburban Wolf title) so it was easier to play real drums without bothering my neighbors. For this album, I was recording in my Brooklyn apartment, so I was a little more shy about playing real drums, although I still had a kit set up and played/recorded it for some of the tracks. This kinda forced me to challenge myself to do more drum machine stuff which was fun.
LETV: Before we delve too far into things, tell us about the formation of Waterfall Strainer? It looks like the group has gone thru at least one line-up change along the way. What’s the band’s current iteration like?
NS: So, Waterfall Strainer has mostly been a solo project. I write and record everything myself but I had some help from Max and Sophie for this album. Technically, Sophie sang on the last album too, but that was actually recorded after I already put the album out, haha. Then I just replaced the songs on Bandcamp.
Right now the live band consists of Max Ried on drums, Pete DeMaio on bass, Sophie Mullens on keyboard and vocals, then of course myself on guitar and vocals. We also have Henry Raker who helps out with sax on recordings and plays with us every once in a while. He lives kind of far upstate, but I love collaborating with him remotely, such a great dude. In the past, I’ve had other friends that I’ve played with who were super talented, but something about this line-up feels magical. As we get closer we have more and more fun at practice and are able to be more creative this way. I really hope to keep it like this for a while.
Although I write alone, things are getting more collaborative as of late. Most recently I’ve been enjoying taking songs to the band before I record them, so I can see what they come up with first. But this is all for new stuff not on the album we just put out. For Carry It, Max played drums on the track “Take Care,” and Sophie sang a bunch, but everything was played by me. I guess I’m just a little too much of a control freak about the recordings, haha. But, by the time we re-create the song live, I think it’s important to let things happen a little and embrace some change. It’s also fun to let the band show some individual character a bit. For example, when we played “Please Don’t Please Me” live at our album release show, we made the drums stronger, and it improved the energy of it a lot.
LETV: As far as writing material for Carry It, tell us about the creative process that goes into putting songs together. Is there a song in particular that you might take us thru to illustrate the process?
NS: Basically, my process for a while has been to write everything by singing over a guitar. Then, when it’s ready, I record a scratch track and start figuring out the drums. Once I’m happy with that, I record another guitar/vocal scratch track that aligns with the feeling of the drums better and start arranging all kinds of instruments around it, whatever feels right. For this album though, I tried to use keyboards as not only a recording tool but a writing tool. So, for songs like “Please Don’t Please Me” and “Bright,” that started with keys/vocals. Moving forward I think I’m going back to guitar more, but the fun of it is to keep the process fluid. Like bringing a song I wrote on guitar to keys or vice versa. I try not to fall in love too much with a single part so much and try to think about the song as a whole. That’s where the magic happens. 🙂
LETV: The new album, and Waterfall Strainer in general, has a very intimate feel—something you guys describe as “timid rock.” While that might be a tongue in cheek description, there’s a quiet “bedroom” quality to the music and lyrical sentiments expressed. How would you characterize the band’s aesthetic?
NS: Haha, definitely a bit tongue and cheek, but strangely accurate. Max came up with that in practice once and I thought it was great. I’ve been giving aesthetics some thought lately and I think I’d like to make things a little more bright and colorful for future releases. I was really into the black and white bathtub album cover idea for this album, but by the time I officially chose the photo as the cover I was like, “Damn, this might be a little too bold, and gloomy”, haha. I ended up using it because I do think it reflects how I feel putting this album out: super exposed! But in the future, I’d like to steer our look towards something more friendly and welcoming, because that’s more of who we are as a band. I also like how bright colors might contrast the honest, and sometimes dark lyrics.
LETV: As far as music is concerned, who are some of the bands you look to for influence? And besides music, during the writing of Carry It, what else was influential to the album’s creation?
NS: I was really into some classics while working on this album, like Bookends by Simon and Garfunkel, On The Beach by Neil Young, and some New Order. But there was more contemporary stuff that I was playing on repeat at the time too, like Frank Ocean, Majical Cloudz, and Daniel Cesar. I seem to gravitate towards the real introspective singer/songwriter stuff, probably because I’m always listening alone.
Non-music stuff would definitely be books. I love passing time on the train by reading authors like Vonnegut and Murakami. The band name was actually taken from a small part in Vonnegut’s Cats Cradle. One of the characters throws their painting down a waterfall and Vonnegut explains how the waterfall strainers collect all the stuff chucked down there, haha. Thought that was kind of like how I write songs, just taking these thoughts that no one wants and putting melodies to them. Lately, I’ve been reading short stories by Lucia Berlin that are incredible.
LETV: Brooklyn obviously has a thriving music scene. For those of us outside NYC, how would you characterize it? Is there a good sense of community and opportunity or does the sheer number of musicians and bands make it more difficult to be heard? As economics play an important role in the health of an art community, how would you characterize living in the city from the standpoint of affordable housing and practice space?
NS: New York is way too expensive for sure, but I think people find ways around it. There’s cheap practice space if you split it with other bands. As for the community, I think the friendly competition I get out of being around so many talented people is healthy. Before I moved to New York, I was super lazy, haha. When playing a show in New York you have to go up against all the million other things going on that night. So it’s sometimes hard getting people to come out, but the ones who do are always supportive and kind. Finding time to rest within this crazy city is important too.
LETV: As a follow-up, would you say that elements of your experience in Brooklyn are reflected in Carry It? The album’s intimacy almost seems like it could be a response to the “big city”—like consciously trying to create a a “safe place” amongst the chaos and noise.
NS: Yeah, totally. Going back to the cover art, a big part of that bathtub idea came from one night when I was taking a bath with my girlfriend, and realizing how that’s the only real quiet space I have in New York. My apartment is on a busy street— right next to an above-ground train—so the excess noise is pretty intense, but the bathroom is right in the middle, away from windows. I feel like the most important thing making music does for me is provide time to slow down my life and reflect, otherwise, things go by too quick. In New York especially, I think everyone should have something that does that for them. Over the years there has been so much great music that has helped me do that by listening, and I hope to provide people this same thing with my music.
LETV: Now that you guys have Carry It released, what’s next for the band. Will you guys be touring at all this Spring and Summer? Any videos planned for the record? How about new material. Any plans for a follow up to the new record?
NS: Definitely going to try and start planning a Summer tour, but for now we just have a bunch of NYC shows set up. There’s also been talk about making some low budget videos for fun with my drummer Max, but I’m honestly most excited about all the new music we’ve been making. I already have another full length written and partially recorded, but I don’t think we’re going to release it as a full length. I think singles and short EPs are easier to digest, and thinking in smaller groups might help us refine and focus our sound a bit more. Anyway, thanks for all the great questions! Excited to keep sharing Carry It around to people who might enjoy it!
