Since releasing their fantastic debut, Come Into My House, in 2008, Vancouver's No Kids have kept busy with multiple world tours. Most recently, they've been touring as the backing band for Phil Elverum in Mount Eerie. Still, little has come from the band in terms of new releases. But as front-man Nick Krgovich tells Exclaim!, that's all set to change this year.
For starters, Krgovich has teamed with Colin Stewart from Vancouver's Hive Creative Labs for an album under the name Gigi. The project actually pre-dates No Kids and started way back in 2005, but the band have only recently completed their debut album, Maintenant.
Speaking with Exclaim!, Krgovich shed some light on Gigi's origins, saying, "Colin Stewart from the Hive studios just acquired these huge vintage plate reverb units and he really wanted to use them as if he was recording ['60s vocal pop group] the Crystals or something, so he asked me to write some 'classic'-sounding pop songs to be recorded live off the floor, by a large group of musicians, Phil Spector-style."
After writing two songs, the pair decided to transform the project into a full album, recruiting more guests as they went. "I basically just asked friends or friends of friends if they'd be up to lending a hand," Krgovich explains. "It was a pretty natural and instinctual process. None of the songs were written for any singer in particular so everything was really open."
The final product includes 40 different collaborators, including Owen Pallett, Karl Blau, Ida Nilsson and members of Ladyhawk and Weathered Pines. While such an enormous project could have proven stressful, Krgovich benefitted from not having a deadline. "Since we worked on it in fits and starts over such a long period of time, there never really was the opportunity for it to become overwhelming," he says. "It got a little frustrating at times, 'cause the album sat sort of half finished for a while, then we'd work on it a little bit, then it would sit again, and then eight months later we'd chip away at it again."
After four years of hard work, the album is finally complete, and came out yesterday (January 26) via Tomlab.
Now, Krgovich can go back to focussing on No Kids. The band have recorded four new songs for an EP called Judy at the Grove, which he describes as "new sounds that I'm pretty excited about." The EP will be released as a twelve-inch record via Tomlab in April.
No Kids will spend the rest of the year completing their second full-length, and will return to Europe with Mount Eerie this spring. They also have a seven-inch picture disc coming out on Oedipus Records, though the exact release date is unknown.
For starters, Krgovich has teamed with Colin Stewart from Vancouver's Hive Creative Labs for an album under the name Gigi. The project actually pre-dates No Kids and started way back in 2005, but the band have only recently completed their debut album, Maintenant.
Speaking with Exclaim!, Krgovich shed some light on Gigi's origins, saying, "Colin Stewart from the Hive studios just acquired these huge vintage plate reverb units and he really wanted to use them as if he was recording ['60s vocal pop group] the Crystals or something, so he asked me to write some 'classic'-sounding pop songs to be recorded live off the floor, by a large group of musicians, Phil Spector-style."
After writing two songs, the pair decided to transform the project into a full album, recruiting more guests as they went. "I basically just asked friends or friends of friends if they'd be up to lending a hand," Krgovich explains. "It was a pretty natural and instinctual process. None of the songs were written for any singer in particular so everything was really open."
The final product includes 40 different collaborators, including Owen Pallett, Karl Blau, Ida Nilsson and members of Ladyhawk and Weathered Pines. While such an enormous project could have proven stressful, Krgovich benefitted from not having a deadline. "Since we worked on it in fits and starts over such a long period of time, there never really was the opportunity for it to become overwhelming," he says. "It got a little frustrating at times, 'cause the album sat sort of half finished for a while, then we'd work on it a little bit, then it would sit again, and then eight months later we'd chip away at it again."
After four years of hard work, the album is finally complete, and came out yesterday (January 26) via Tomlab.
Now, Krgovich can go back to focussing on No Kids. The band have recorded four new songs for an EP called Judy at the Grove, which he describes as "new sounds that I'm pretty excited about." The EP will be released as a twelve-inch record via Tomlab in April.
No Kids will spend the rest of the year completing their second full-length, and will return to Europe with Mount Eerie this spring. They also have a seven-inch picture disc coming out on Oedipus Records, though the exact release date is unknown.
