It might be a bad thing for these huge bands, like friggin’ Metallica, who get mad about it, but I don’t even think that’s really an issue for us and for a lot of bands,” says Adam Nimmo, drummer of The Most Serene Republic, about downloading. “Free exposure is free exposure.”
In fact, the band is getting a lot of free exposure thanks to the internet. This is likely because they are the latest collective of unclassifiable musicians to receive a great deal of buzz after signing to the label Arts & Crafts. The Most Serene Republic is presently the only band signed to Arts & Crafts without a member of the critically acclaimed Broken Social Scene, but they are earning their a share of acclaim on their own.
“You know, we wouldn’t be where we are without people downloading the music all over the world and getting attention through that,” says Nimmo. “If they really dig it, then they’ll come buy the album at a show.”
Currently trucking their way across Canada for their first West Coast tour, the band is taking a light-hearted approach to their rising star and the music they make.
“We pretty much have musical ADD,” Nimmo explains regarding the creative process which produced their debut album, Underwater Cinematographer. “You know you release an album like a year ago and then it’s new to everyone, but at the same time we want to constantly be writing and constantly have new stuff so it gives people a taste of what we’re going towards now.”
The band has taken this attitude to heart. Though Underwater Cinematographer is still new, expect their live show to be littered with newer material when they come through Calgary alongside Pretty Girls Make Graves.
“We wanted to experiment a little more and we’re so happy with that because it keeps things interesting for us,” Nimmo remarks. “The new stuff is pretty intricate.”
Comprised of six former Toronto students the group got their start in the swelling Toronto scene. Eventually, their sound caught the ear of Arts & Crafts, now Canada’s prominent independent label after Three Gut Records’ recent folding. Now The Most Serene Republic find themselves recording and playing alongside their influences.
“We’ve always been influenced by some bands off the Arts & Crafts roster,” Nimmo explains. “All those bands, they influenced us and we looked up to them before. Just looking in the end that we’re with them, as job partners, basically it’s really cool.”
Perhaps it is being part of the artist-friendly Arts & Crafts label, or maybe it is because of the community-oriented Toronto scene but recent events have led The Most Serene Republic to adopt a positive outlook on the current state of the independent music scene.
“It’s pretty neat because Arts & Crafts is a really good way of working. It goes through EMI, so we’re working pretty close with a major, but at the same time we get 100 per cent creative control,” Nimmo says, allowing the band to take an ‘if it isn’t broken don’t fix it’ approach to their music in the face of their growing buzz. “It doesn’t change anything if you don’t want it to change. Some bands might change their sound a bit but we’ve just stuck to it and you know, Arts & Crafts respects that, and we respect that they respect it.”
The band is excited about the prospects of their four date tour with Pretty Girls Make Graves and Shawn Hewitt. In addition playing to different places, The Most Serene Republic will also get a healthy dose of a different sort of exposure than the internet has been kind enough to provide them.
“All the exposure we can get is great and when we can also be with a band who is like minded in some way and gets the kids out then all the power to them. It’s an honour to go and open for them.”