When BC native Rachel Zeffira finally settled in London, she made some very life-changing friends. One of them was the frontman of the Horrors, Faris Badwan, who gave Zeffira an all-important tutorial on his taste in music. From that, the two began a partnership that resulted in a collaboration called Cat's Eyes and an impressive debut album in 2011.
Zeffira now celebrates the release of her own debut album, The Deserters, which Paper Bag Records releases domestically today (March 12) (the album was released in the UK via Zeffira and Badwan's own RAF imprint). However, in making the album, which also features friends from bands like TOY and S.C.U.M., she opted not to use Badwan's talents.
"Well, when we make music together it's for Cat's Eyes," Zeffira tells Exclaim! "But Faris is always a big part of my music. I just really wanted to make this album on my own and trust myself to do it. And I like challenges. Faris is the first person I play things to, and one of the only opinions I ask for and care about. In a way he's always involved in what I do."
While she prepares to tour the album properly and yesterday announced a pair of North American shows, Zeffira says working with Badwan again is in the cards.
"We'll probably put out [the next Cat's Eyes album] after the next Horrors," she admits. "You have to schedule it accordingly. But the Horrors will put theirs out and then a few months later, probably early 2014 we'll put that out."
Having gained experience working on her own album, will that change how Cat's Eyes will operate on the next record?
"The two projects are so different though because Faris and I do everything together for Cat's Eyes, like the themes and the sound experimentation, which I didn't want to do for my solo album," she says. "I wanted to keep things purer and acoustic, and I didn't want to experiment at all. I wanted to save that for Cat's Eyes. So really, they're pretty different."
For now, you can see Zeffira's pair of upcoming North American dates below.
Tour dates:
5/2 Toronto, ON - Drake Hotel
5/6 New York, NY - the Slipper Room
Zeffira now celebrates the release of her own debut album, The Deserters, which Paper Bag Records releases domestically today (March 12) (the album was released in the UK via Zeffira and Badwan's own RAF imprint). However, in making the album, which also features friends from bands like TOY and S.C.U.M., she opted not to use Badwan's talents.
"Well, when we make music together it's for Cat's Eyes," Zeffira tells Exclaim! "But Faris is always a big part of my music. I just really wanted to make this album on my own and trust myself to do it. And I like challenges. Faris is the first person I play things to, and one of the only opinions I ask for and care about. In a way he's always involved in what I do."
While she prepares to tour the album properly and yesterday announced a pair of North American shows, Zeffira says working with Badwan again is in the cards.
"We'll probably put out [the next Cat's Eyes album] after the next Horrors," she admits. "You have to schedule it accordingly. But the Horrors will put theirs out and then a few months later, probably early 2014 we'll put that out."
Having gained experience working on her own album, will that change how Cat's Eyes will operate on the next record?
"The two projects are so different though because Faris and I do everything together for Cat's Eyes, like the themes and the sound experimentation, which I didn't want to do for my solo album," she says. "I wanted to keep things purer and acoustic, and I didn't want to experiment at all. I wanted to save that for Cat's Eyes. So really, they're pretty different."
For now, you can see Zeffira's pair of upcoming North American dates below.
Tour dates:
5/2 Toronto, ON - Drake Hotel
5/6 New York, NY - the Slipper Room
