October 16, 2025 • 32 mins
The first spark was private: long walks, headphones on, and albums that asked for total attention. From there, Living Hour grew into a band that treats dynamics like storytelling—opening with noise that dissolves into hush, letting melodies carry both weight and warmth, and trusting listeners to lean in. We sit down with Sam and Gil to trace the arc from university jams in Winnipeg’s DIY rooms to a studio session that captured the bold confidence of Internal Drone Infinity, their new record dropping October 17.
We unpack how ambient influences—Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Explosions in the Sky, and the Social Network score—shaped a patient, spacious approach to songwriting. Sam explains how ideas begin as fragments and vowel sounds, how a riff earns its place by refusing to fade, and how lyrics stepped forward across albums until the new songs felt fully owned. Gil maps the shift from guitar‑forward interplay to arrangements built around Sam’s melodies, and what happens when a new drummer changes the band’s gait in the best way. Touring comes to life here too: the van routines, modular setlists that fit quiet rooms and rock clubs, and the small onstage transitions that make the show breathe.
You’ll hear why release season feels like nesting and training, how social media becomes part amplifier, part chore, and why November’s run is designed like a marathon. We also look ahead: February dates on the West Coast, hopes for Europe and Australia, and a folder of demos that might become an EP. Sam’s ambient side project, Pure Pulp, threads back to the beginning—proof that the private room where songs start remains the core of the band’s voice. If you love indie rock steeped in ambient textures, slow‑core dynamics, and heartfelt vocals, this conversation will lock you in. Subscribe, share with a friend who needs new music, and leave a review to help more listeners find the show.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
colleyc (00:36):
Here we are, people.
Season six ifitbeyourwillpodcast coming at ya.
Today I I I love reaching outacross our country.
We we're all Canadians and Ihave Living Hour here with me
today from Winnipeg.
So we're doing a a crosscountry check-in.
They're actually uh an hourbehind me.
(00:58):
So I'm seeing their future.
It looks good, guys.
Don't worry.
So I have Living Color comingin from uh Winnipeg.
And uh I have two of themembers here with me.
I have Gil and I have Sam.
Sam uh uh takes on a lot of theuh fronting of singing and
(01:20):
playing, and Gil is very intohis uh guitars, some electrics
and sometimes vocal.
We have 25 minutes to learn allabout Living Hour and also this
great new record calledInternal Drone Infinity coming
out in October, and then they'llbe hitting the road in
November.
So we'll remind you all beforewe check out.
(01:43):
And when you read my post onthe podcast, you'll see all of
this information so you can gocheck a show out.
Sammy Gill, thanks so much forjoining me today.
It's a real pleasure having youguys.
Uh longtime follower, longtimelover of what you guys do.
Uh so I was really excited touh not only talk to fellow
Canadians, but also talk to aband that I've just uh loved for
(02:06):
many years.
Sam (02:09):
Yeah, we're happy to talk with you today.
colleyc (02:12):
Thank you.
So, Sam, I'm gonna start onyour end.
And uh I'm gonna ask you boththe same question because uh and
then we'll see how it mergestogether.
But uh what were some of yourbeginning explorations into
music as something as uh thatcould evolve into uh a career or
(02:33):
something that you would justalways be doing?
Sam (02:37):
Yeah, I mean, I guess I grew up making music and
learning music when I was a kid,and I did like the piano lesson
route and then a lot of likeband and in high school played
the trombone and uh I did somechoir too.
And yeah, so I was always kindof in that world, but then also,
(03:01):
you know, loved downloadingmusic and like discovering music
with you know CDs and going torecord stores and stuff, and
also through movie soundtracks Iwould find a lot of music that
I liked, but it was very likeprivate for me, and I would just
like really, really listen tomusic alone all the time walking
(03:22):
around, so that was like alsohelped me develop a love for the
thing.
And then uh I met Gil inuniversity and I was determined
to be a scientist or something,and and I stopped playing music
for a year and I felt really sadand unmoored.
And then Gil was like, Well,why don't you just be in a band?
(03:45):
And I was like, that sounds sosilly.
We just kept you just kepttelling me to be in a band, and
then we just slowly started thehours, which then turned into
living hour, and then I wasconvinced and I was very happy,
and then I just kept doing it,and now we're here.
colleyc (04:06):
Nice, nice.
And when you were kind of youwere mentioning kind of uh the
the privacy you like having withthe music that you're exploring
and giving it a good listen andstuff.
What were some of those recordsway back that uh still stick
with you today?
I mean, pitchfork calls them ano-skip records, like were there
some of those records that youuh like were fundamental in in
(04:29):
pushing you to uh say, okay, uhscrew science, I wanna rock it.
Sam (04:36):
Yeah, I mean, a lot of it was like ambient music.
So I loved Godspeed, you blackemperor, and listened to a lot
of explosions in the sky.
And then also like somethingthat I've revisited recently on
a road trip was this one therecord the soundtrack to the
(04:56):
social network by Tarant Reznorand Atticus Ross.
Like I love that soundtrack,and there's this one piano line
that just like changed my life,it feels like.
But yeah, they have the Neutronsoundtrack coming up.
That's true.
But yeah, that that recorddefinitely listened to a lot.
(05:17):
And then when I got older, Iwould listen to Florist outside
of Bird Sang, like mate, likehundreds of times.
Like that was a really goodrecord for me.
Um, but yeah, just lots of likeambient stuff.
colleyc (05:32):
Yeah, yeah.
Very reflective to uh music,you know, like it it demands
your attention in a way to thefocus that you need to kind of
pick out the pieces and what isactually going on, how this is
all built and constructedtogether.
It's interesting that too,because I'm hearing that in your
well, the latest record, I'mhearing that in and uh your past
(05:55):
records as well.
Like it's a speckledthroughout, which is uh yeah,
very cool.
Very cool.
Yeah, uh Gil, you you met inuniversity.
What was it that you saw in Samthat had that had you saying
you gotta start a band?
Start a band.
Like what what what was thatevents or circumstances that
(06:18):
took place that led you guys tothat?
Gil (06:21):
Well, I I mostly just thought Sam was cool.
And we I mean Adam from LivingHour at that point had just
started putting on concertslocally, and we still do that
today.
We still put on a lot of showsin the local scene here in
Winnipeg.
And Sam came to one of theshows that I was playing with an
(06:46):
older band at this place calledVP Nights, which was like the
upstairs of this restaurantcalled Vietnamese Paradise, that
they let us put on shows there.
And the guy was super happy tohave all these sort of new young
people at his at his spot.
So Sam came to a show, and Iknew so I kind of knew she was
(07:08):
interested in the scene a bit.
And one of her friends, who's awho's a close collaborator of
ours, Tulula, sang a couplesongs with our other friend,
Adam, who at one of our shows.
And so she was Sam was sort ofadjacent to the to the scene
that we were sort of buildingalready, and we sort of just got
(07:31):
to talking, and she told methat she listened to some jazz
music with her dad.
And I just I remember that.
So yeah, but and then she toldme that she played piano and
sang and played guitar, and Iwas like, Oh, well, we should
jam sometime.
And eventually we we did at ourmy friend Zach's old apartment,
(07:54):
and I showed her a couple songsthat I had written, and I was
like, Oh, yeah, and maybe therecould be like a keyboard part,
and she's like, Oh, well, Icould play that, and then she
played it like way better thanme.
So that was sort of like aquick and the same thing
happened with like singing thesongs.
I would like sing a song that Ihad written, and then I would
get Sam to do like some backupsor doubling or whatever, and
(08:16):
then very quickly I was like,What if you just sing?
And that was sort of how itstarted.
colleyc (08:23):
So I'm kidding why you said at the start of this that
yeah, I don't really do a lot ofvocals, like yeah, like Sam
that takes care of that.
Gil (08:31):
Sam does a lot, and then Adam Adam sings a lot of
harmonies now, and he sings leadvocals on one of the sides.
He's got a like a real voice ofan angel as well, right?
Amazing.
colleyc (08:44):
And Sam, what were like when you first started jamming
with Sam?
Like, what potential did youstart to see with a potential
collaboration or a potential,hey, let's see if we could put a
few songs together, or youknow, an EP, or hey, why don't
we go play at a open mic orwhatever it might have been?
(09:06):
What what what did you see inthe potential of Sam at that
time?
Gil (09:10):
I was just excited.
So, because I had never had aband with a really good singer
before.
And so I think I just invitedSam and Tulula to sort of jam at
my parents' house a coupletimes, and then it just happened
very sort of organically.
(09:30):
And I think it took maybe alittle convincing, but I was
like, we should play a show, andthis was right around the time
we got Adam to join the band aswell.
And his first show with us waslike a Valentine's Day thing at
this place called 555 Osborne,which was like a basement venue
in Winnipeg.
And yeah, it just sort of itwas just very organic.
(09:55):
I don't know, it was exciting,and we never really looked back,
honestly.
Right, right.
colleyc (10:02):
What do you where what do you recall from those early
coming togethers of jammingtogether?
Sam (10:08):
And yeah, it was a lot of it was like a slow burn for me
because I was I had neverexpected to be in a band, and
and then it was like suddenlywe're playing shows and writing
songs, and it's all kind ofhappening, which was like
because I feel like you werevery determined, and then like
(10:30):
Solly or Adam too, and you justkind of had this like vision and
understanding of what a sceneis and how to like do it, and
then I I only went to like yeah,had my ambient music going on,
and then I would go to somehardcore shows, and like I was
going to shows and going and wasin the scene, but I just never
really realized like, oh, I cando this too and be a part of it
(10:53):
in a band.
And so it just kind of took awhile for all those pieces to
click for me, and then like along time, and then I feel like
eventually I was like, Oh, likeI'm just in a band now, and like
we're touring, and it's allit's like happening.
I think like around like ourlike second record at the end of
(11:14):
our second record coming out, Iwas like, I'm in a band.
colleyc (11:18):
It took two releases to kind of get to a point where
yeah, yeah.
And so I I'm interested in thistoo.
That so you say a slow burn tokind of get to like what were
the moments along that journeythat really started to to spark
saying that this is somethingI'm really enjoying.
(11:39):
I want to continue this.
Like when did it start to lockin that you're in a band?
Sam (11:47):
I think when we went on tour, that helped it feel more
like a real thing when we wereon tour, and then getting
feedback from people who didn'tlive here who were like, Oh
yeah, this is like we like yourmusic.
And I was like, Okay.
So that for sure was a a markerof convincing.
(12:10):
And then I don't know, and thenyeah, like just kind of like
spending more time in the studioand recording helped a lot too.
But yeah, after the secondrecord, it was kind of like when
we wrote some days today, whichis like our third record.
I was like, okay, I might startlike cracking open my journals
(12:31):
and like like writing my ownlyrics and like really putting
more of like a piece of myselfat the front of the band.
And that was like reallyvulnerable and kind of scary.
But then it felt really goodwhen you're performing those
later, like on tour, and thengetting the feedback again, and
then they're like, Oh yeah,okay, so it is clicking, it is
(12:53):
resonating.
Like yeah, and then this, andthen like our our latest record
is like I feel like the mostlike I'm letting you have it.
Um you know, like I'm I am hereas a musician, like yeah, so
that's just it's just beenreally like fun to watch.
colleyc (13:11):
Cool.
Yeah, like the start of therecord too, it's like noise in
your face and then just dropsout to this beautiful, like slow
corey, dreamy, you know, song.
Like, I love how that that youyou're grabbing people's
attention and saying, listen.
Sam (13:32):
Yeah, good.
colleyc (13:33):
It's uh cool with that.
Yeah, right, right.
And how was it that the bandcame to understanding uh what
sound they wanted to do?
Like was that the two recordsprior that kind of were the the
the sculpting ground for as towhere you guys wanted to go as a
(13:54):
direction girl?
I'll throw that over at you.
Like, what how did you guysstart to decide or come to the
sound that you now have and thatyou know this new record is
based upon?
Gil (14:06):
I think it's it's really related to what Sam was talking
about with like her developmentas a songwriter, and also like
you know, a lot of our earlierstuff, like Adam and I are doing
a lot of like guitar interplayand like guitar monizing and
things like that.
(14:26):
And Sam was more so playingkeyboards at that point, and
then Sam she always playedguitar, like, but not so much in
the band.
But then you Sam just wrote abunch of songs on guitar and
baritone guitar and bass,actually.
And that sort of was the startof sort of like a new era of our
(14:50):
sound, I would say, because itforced in a good way Adam and I
to sort of reevaluate the kindof guitar stuff we were writing,
and instead of and then Sam wasalso coming in with all these
vocal melodies, so her melodiesinformed what we were playing
(15:10):
and writing.
So that's a definitely a partof it.
And then I think also justbeing on tour so much, because
we've toured a lot as a bandover the last several years, and
I think we all kind of havebeen influenced by other artists
along the way, whether that belistening to artists just in the
(15:31):
van, like on the radio or CDsor whatever, or also seeing
bands live and being and thentalking about it after, being
like, oh, that part was reallycool, like we could do something
like that, or just you know,maybe it's more subtle than
that.
But we've all been kind ofinspired by you know, being on
tour and seeing tons of livemusic, and so that's part of it.
colleyc (15:57):
And Sam, your process for starting to rate the songs,
I mean, do you rate most of thedid you write most of the songs
that are on the new record foryeah, the new record?
Sam (16:10):
I think yeah, like yeah, because I yeah, moved into the
space you see behind me.
It's like our gram space, butalso my living room, and then I
like you know, like all theguitars and drums are here, so
then I wake up every day andthey're just there.
So then I would just startwriting, and then Gil would come
(16:31):
downstairs and play drumsbecause he'd hear me like play
guitar.
So that's a lot a lot of howthe song started, but then
everyone like added a lot, andlike we would like discuss form
and different things, and likeyeah, but definitely like I
think with like the words andstuff for sure.
I was I was kind of starting itoff.
colleyc (16:52):
How does that seed become a song that you want to
bring to the band?
Like when do you know when whena song has legs to it and when
it's just maybe an idea that isnot flight?
Like and know when it's time tobring something.
Sam (17:10):
Yeah, like that's a great question.
Cause I sometimes I have liketoo many ideas and then they're
all kind of scattered intolittle fragments.
But if I keep coming back toone, then I think okay, maybe I
like this one because I keepcoming back to it.
And then sometimes we'll go tothe scattered fragments and try
and like bring in other parts tolike make it more of a song
(17:32):
song.
Um but sometimes I'll come andI'll be like, hey, this is like
this is something, this is achunk.
And then you guys will be like,well, what about this?
If we add this thing, and thenand then it kind of like
develops more.
But yeah, I usually bring itwhen we've played it a bunch of
times practicing, and then I'mlike, Yeah, I want to hear what
(17:53):
this sounds like with bass nowand drums, and then we're like,
bring it to the band, andthey're usually like pretty
excited.
colleyc (18:01):
And but yeah, is it like just lyrics with melody, or
do you have a line, like aguitar line that you might be
like, okay, this connects sowell to it, but we could add
that to the intro, or are youpretty much here's what I have,
help me, or is it kind of likeno, here's here's the line I I
(18:21):
want?
You know, I I was talking thatthis is where this comes from.
Like we were talking, I wastalking to an artist about
sometimes the guitar lines areactual vocal lines, right?
They're necessary a part of thesong.
You're not gonna take, youknow, like sweet child of mind
line out, you know.
Yeah, that's that's a part ofthe song.
Right.
How much liberty and freedom doyou give your members to
(18:45):
interpreting what you'rebringing in?
Sam (18:47):
Yeah, I mean, usually I'll present the song with um like no
lyrics, and it's just soundsthat or like one thing that I'll
repeat over and over again, orjust vowel sounds that I'm like,
oh, maybe I'll find a wordthat'll fit that later.
But usually it's like that witha lot of just guitar chords and
(19:09):
strumming the chords and kindof giving form to the song that
way.
And then yeah, like the andthen we're really good about
just kind of being like, okay,how can we form this where we
can use everyone's skills?
Because like you and Solly areare definitely way better like
like riffing guitar players thanI am, and you have like really
(19:29):
creative minds with like comingup with guitar parts, whereas
like I'm ultimately a bassplayer, but when I do play
guitar, it's like very straight,or I'm like on the acoustic,
kind of doing some like likeambient like Americana stuff, so
it's like I live in that world,but then you guys are like,
(19:51):
what about this riff or likeeffects or there's like a lot of
beefing it up just like well II'm definitely like Sam's
biggest hype person when she'sgot a a song idea.
Gil (20:13):
Like I I'm usually quick to tell her that I think it's good
and and that I want to work onit.
And so I think we just knewthat we had a lot, a lot of new
ideas that we were excitedabout.
And sort of going off what Samwas saying, like when she brings
(20:34):
an idea to the band, it's sortof a bit of like a balancing act
of like everyone sort of wantsto contribute their own creative
ideas, but you also want tolike give space and respect to
like her initial idea withoutchanging it too much.
(20:56):
And so like getting to thepoint where everyone is like
excited about it as a wholepiece is like always an
interesting part of it.
And yeah, I mean, with this newalbum, it was kind of just like
we have all these songs thatwe're excited about.
We added like a new member,Isaac, who plays drums, and we
(21:21):
had never recorded with him, sobut we really love love playing
with him, so we were keen torecord with him.
And we had done some demoing ofearlier ideas and a couple
collaborations and things likethat.
So we were sort of in the wewere in the recording kind of
head space already, and we knewwe didn't want to do any big
(21:43):
tours until we had a new album,because sometimes you can tour
too much, and so we wanted to bemore kind of on the ball and
strategic with planning out ourtours and stuff.
So yeah, it was kind of justit, it was time, and we were
able to bring in our friendMelina to produce the album.
She came in from LA toWinnipeg, and that was a really
(22:06):
good experience.
colleyc (22:08):
Yeah, that sounded like she was able to flush out some
of that spirit of you guys quitewell, which is pretty cool.
So the the cycle is upon you,right?
You're two weeks, a little lessthan two weeks away from
dropping the your latestinternal drone infinity October
(22:28):
17th, is that correct, guys?
Yeah, yeah, two weeks.
Yeah, next time.
What do you how do you likewhat's what's life like now
pre-launch and then alsoprepping for hitting the road in
November?
What are you guys going throughright now?
Sam (22:46):
Um I'm feeling like I have to clean my whole house.
Like we were saying before.
Like I feel like I need tobecome healthy and prepared.
A little nesting before Yeah, alittle nesting, yeah.
Yeah and then kind of likeyeah, maybe starting some good
(23:07):
habits this month that I havebefore tour month, and to kind
of keep that going.
Because we have our show likealmost every night, and I just
want to like make it what's thatwhat's that cycle like?
colleyc (23:21):
Like, Gil, can you like put some words like what is it
like playing every night?
Like you have no chance torecover, right?
Gil (23:28):
So you're is your mindset looking at the month as a whole
rather than yeah, it's it's Imean, we have a lot of
experience doing it, but it isyou know exhausting for sure.
Luckily, all five of us candrive the van.
And so if people need a littlequiet time in the back to relax
(23:52):
or put in headphones or read ornap or whatever, there's a bit
of an opportunity to do thatevery couple days at least.
But typically, like on tour,like if the shows are good, it
gives you that momentum to getto the next one.
And you know, I think we'replaying with a lot of great
(24:14):
local bands in each city, and wehave some, you know, friends
and fans in most of the citieswe're playing.
So I think it's just, you know,it you have to pace yourself,
you know.
We don't want to do any hugeparty nights or anything like
that because there's really notime to sleep in.
(24:35):
So we kind of just need to beon it and treat it more like a
job kind of.
It's still really fun,obviously.
It's like a marathon.
It's a marathon.
Sam (24:48):
Yeah.
Gil (24:54):
Yeah.
And there's also a lot of yeah,the the driving and the
logistics, and there's also likesocial media, which is
something that we're sort ofhave to do as part of it, which
can be fun, but also sometimesfeels like a chore, you know.
So yeah.
Sam (25:11):
And just like the like emotional energy of like singing
every night.
But I'm really excited aboutthese songs, and I think it like
Gil was saying, like it'll likefuel us energetically to like
have that exchange with theaudience and just like hang out
with the songs on stage and thenbe like, oh, we have them in
(25:33):
physical form, like actuallyhave the record.
Because I'm a sort of usedbecause I feel like this past
year we would play a couple ofthe songs, and I'd be like, it's
not out yet, but like soon.
So I'm excited to have it likeeveryone.
I think we like we like to havea set that we play with like
(26:01):
optional like one or two songsthat can move or come in and
out, just so that we can becausethere's a lot of switching in
our set, like instruments, likedrums, guitar, like we're always
like moving around.
So we try to design it so thatwe are not switching as much or
like less if possible.
(26:21):
Yeah, and then I just I likewhen we get like tour tight and
it's like really fun with thetransitions because we'll like
put in some transitions andstuff that like aren't on the
record but are like adjacent tothe sound, and yeah.
Gil (26:35):
Yeah, and like because all of us are sort of busy with our
own lives and that kind of thingleading up to the tours, like
we actually don't have a ton ofrehearsal time.
So it's it's sort of wise forus to like get that set that
(26:56):
we're all comfy with and feelgood about, and then get that
tight and then you know, adjusthere and there, like Sam said,
depending on the length of theset or the vibe of the show.
Like sometimes we'll be playinglike more of a quieter venue,
more intimate, or we're playingmore of like a rock show, and
those are things we consider.
(27:17):
Amazing, amazing.
colleyc (27:19):
Well, I want to thank you guys for coming and sharing
a bit of time, kind of exploringthe new record, looking a
little bit back in the past.
I guess my my final question iswhere so you head out your your
record comes out October, youhead out on tour November.
What would the rest of 2025into 26 look like for Living
(27:41):
Hours?
Gil (27:43):
Um we're gonna be on the West Coast in February.
We haven't announced that, butwe have a another tour in
February, and hopefully moretouring after that.
Sam (27:55):
I hope we go to uh Europe.
That would be really fun.
And one of our record labels isbased in Australia, and and so
I would love to go ahead downthere if that's possible and
just kind of like go around, Iguess.
Gil (28:13):
Yeah, load of touring on the on the yeah, lots of
touring.
Because that's like when wemake the most fans, that's when
we sell our merch, that's whenwe get better as a band.
And you know, hopefully peoplelike the new stuff and
opportunities arise.
But yeah, it's exciting.
colleyc (28:32):
Yeah, it's kind of like the beginning.
Once that record drops, the anew journey kind of begins,
right?
With this new artifact that youguys have created.
And I imagine that the song ison songwriting is ongoing, Sam.
Like that is something that doyou do that on tour as well?
Like you'll find some time tolike sit around with a guitar or
(28:53):
your bass and just uh usuallyit's just at home.
Sam (28:58):
A lot of times it's like in the winter, like fall winter,
like when it's kind of colderout that you have to stay
inside.
But we have like, I was lookingthrough my computer and we have
like so many ideas already thatlike I was even thinking we
could start like an EP at leastlike for like next year, at you
(29:18):
know.
And then I also do like my soloproject Pure Pulp, it's like
ambient music, and I'm gonna tryand release some stuff uh next
year and all that.
colleyc (29:29):
So well, I want you to come back and talk to me about
your ambient stuff when it hits.
I I have never talked to amusician about ambient music,
and I've always wanted to.
So please when it drops, I'llreach out to you.
Sam (29:45):
Yeah, that's great.
colleyc (29:46):
Yeah, amazing.
Well, guys, this has beenreally fun.
People go and check a show out,support this uh Canadian uh
amazing band Living Hour.
They got this new album comingout, Internal Drone Infinity.
Pick it up.
Sam (30:44):
Standing at the back of the board You see me, you see me at
the silence wait to hunt youfeels just like you see what you
(31:06):
see.
I'm probably in my two roomsday, half time spare Searching
(31:45):
up your name Capital.
Sitting back in the car, justlike that.
Here we are, people.
Season six ifitbeyourwillpodcast coming at ya.
Today I I I love reaching outacross our country.
We we're all Canadians and Ihave Living Hour here with me
today from Winnipeg.
So we're doing a a crosscountry check-in.
They're actually uh an hourbehind me.
(00:58):
So I'm seeing their future.
It looks good, guys.
Don't worry.
So I have Living Color comingin from uh Winnipeg.
And uh I have two of themembers here with me.
I have Gil and I have Sam.
Sam uh uh takes on a lot of theuh fronting of singing and
(01:20):
playing, and Gil is very intohis uh guitars, some electrics
and sometimes vocal.
We have 25 minutes to learn allabout Living Hour and also this
great new record calledInternal Drone Infinity coming
out in October, and then they'llbe hitting the road in
November.
So we'll remind you all beforewe check out.
(01:43):
And when you read my post onthe podcast, you'll see all of
this information so you can gocheck a show out.
Sammy Gill, thanks so much forjoining me today.
It's a real pleasure having youguys.
Uh longtime follower, longtimelover of what you guys do.
Uh so I was really excited touh not only talk to fellow
Canadians, but also talk to aband that I've just uh loved for
(02:06):
many years.
Sam (02:09):
Yeah, we're happy to talk with you today.
colleyc (02:12):
Thank you.
So, Sam, I'm gonna start onyour end.
And uh I'm gonna ask you boththe same question because uh and
then we'll see how it mergestogether.
But uh what were some of yourbeginning explorations into
music as something as uh thatcould evolve into uh a career or
(02:33):
something that you would justalways be doing?
Sam (02:37):
Yeah, I mean, I guess I grew up making music and
learning music when I was a kid,and I did like the piano lesson
route and then a lot of likeband and in high school played
the trombone and uh I did somechoir too.
And yeah, so I was always kindof in that world, but then also,
(03:01):
you know, loved downloadingmusic and like discovering music
with you know CDs and going torecord stores and stuff, and
also through movie soundtracks Iwould find a lot of music that
I liked, but it was very likeprivate for me, and I would just
like really, really listen tomusic alone all the time walking
(03:22):
around, so that was like alsohelped me develop a love for the
thing.
And then uh I met Gil inuniversity and I was determined
to be a scientist or something,and and I stopped playing music
for a year and I felt really sadand unmoored.
And then Gil was like, Well,why don't you just be in a band?
(03:45):
And I was like, that sounds sosilly.
We just kept you just kepttelling me to be in a band, and
then we just slowly started thehours, which then turned into
living hour, and then I wasconvinced and I was very happy,
and then I just kept doing it,and now we're here.
colleyc (04:06):
Nice, nice.
And when you were kind of youwere mentioning kind of uh the
the privacy you like having withthe music that you're exploring
and giving it a good listen andstuff.
What were some of those recordsway back that uh still stick
with you today?
I mean, pitchfork calls them ano-skip records, like were there
some of those records that youuh like were fundamental in in
(04:29):
pushing you to uh say, okay, uhscrew science, I wanna rock it.
Sam (04:36):
Yeah, I mean, a lot of it was like ambient music.
So I loved Godspeed, you blackemperor, and listened to a lot
of explosions in the sky.
And then also like somethingthat I've revisited recently on
a road trip was this one therecord the soundtrack to the
(04:56):
social network by Tarant Reznorand Atticus Ross.
Like I love that soundtrack,and there's this one piano line
that just like changed my life,it feels like.
But yeah, they have the Neutronsoundtrack coming up.
That's true.
But yeah, that that recorddefinitely listened to a lot.
(05:17):
And then when I got older, Iwould listen to Florist outside
of Bird Sang, like mate, likehundreds of times.
Like that was a really goodrecord for me.
Um, but yeah, just lots of likeambient stuff.
colleyc (05:32):
Yeah, yeah.
Very reflective to uh music,you know, like it it demands
your attention in a way to thefocus that you need to kind of
pick out the pieces and what isactually going on, how this is
all built and constructedtogether.
It's interesting that too,because I'm hearing that in your
well, the latest record, I'mhearing that in and uh your past
(05:55):
records as well.
Like it's a speckledthroughout, which is uh yeah,
very cool.
Very cool.
Yeah, uh Gil, you you met inuniversity.
What was it that you saw in Samthat had that had you saying
you gotta start a band?
Start a band.
Like what what what was thatevents or circumstances that
(06:18):
took place that led you guys tothat?
Gil (06:21):
Well, I I mostly just thought Sam was cool.
And we I mean Adam from LivingHour at that point had just
started putting on concertslocally, and we still do that
today.
We still put on a lot of showsin the local scene here in
Winnipeg.
And Sam came to one of theshows that I was playing with an
(06:46):
older band at this place calledVP Nights, which was like the
upstairs of this restaurantcalled Vietnamese Paradise, that
they let us put on shows there.
And the guy was super happy tohave all these sort of new young
people at his at his spot.
So Sam came to a show, and Iknew so I kind of knew she was
(07:08):
interested in the scene a bit.
And one of her friends, who's awho's a close collaborator of
ours, Tulula, sang a couplesongs with our other friend,
Adam, who at one of our shows.
And so she was Sam was sort ofadjacent to the to the scene
that we were sort of buildingalready, and we sort of just got
(07:31):
to talking, and she told methat she listened to some jazz
music with her dad.
And I just I remember that.
So yeah, but and then she toldme that she played piano and
sang and played guitar, and Iwas like, Oh, well, we should
jam sometime.
And eventually we we did at ourmy friend Zach's old apartment,
(07:54):
and I showed her a couple songsthat I had written, and I was
like, Oh, yeah, and maybe therecould be like a keyboard part,
and she's like, Oh, well, Icould play that, and then she
played it like way better thanme.
So that was sort of like aquick and the same thing
happened with like singing thesongs.
I would like sing a song that Ihad written, and then I would
get Sam to do like some backupsor doubling or whatever, and
(08:16):
then very quickly I was like,What if you just sing?
And that was sort of how itstarted.
colleyc (08:23):
So I'm kidding why you said at the start of this that
yeah, I don't really do a lot ofvocals, like yeah, like Sam
that takes care of that.
Gil (08:31):
Sam does a lot, and then Adam Adam sings a lot of
harmonies now, and he sings leadvocals on one of the sides.
He's got a like a real voice ofan angel as well, right?
Amazing.
colleyc (08:44):
And Sam, what were like when you first started jamming
with Sam?
Like, what potential did youstart to see with a potential
collaboration or a potential,hey, let's see if we could put a
few songs together, or youknow, an EP, or hey, why don't
we go play at a open mic orwhatever it might have been?
(09:06):
What what what did you see inthe potential of Sam at that
time?
Gil (09:10):
I was just excited.
So, because I had never had aband with a really good singer
before.
And so I think I just invitedSam and Tulula to sort of jam at
my parents' house a coupletimes, and then it just happened
very sort of organically.
(09:30):
And I think it took maybe alittle convincing, but I was
like, we should play a show, andthis was right around the time
we got Adam to join the band aswell.
And his first show with us waslike a Valentine's Day thing at
this place called 555 Osborne,which was like a basement venue
in Winnipeg.
And yeah, it just sort of itwas just very organic.
(09:55):
I don't know, it was exciting,and we never really looked back,
honestly.
Right, right.
colleyc (10:02):
What do you where what do you recall from those early
coming togethers of jammingtogether?
Sam (10:08):
And yeah, it was a lot of it was like a slow burn for me
because I was I had neverexpected to be in a band, and
and then it was like suddenlywe're playing shows and writing
songs, and it's all kind ofhappening, which was like
because I feel like you werevery determined, and then like
(10:30):
Solly or Adam too, and you justkind of had this like vision and
understanding of what a sceneis and how to like do it, and
then I I only went to like yeah,had my ambient music going on,
and then I would go to somehardcore shows, and like I was
going to shows and going and wasin the scene, but I just never
really realized like, oh, I cando this too and be a part of it
(10:53):
in a band.
And so it just kind of took awhile for all those pieces to
click for me, and then like along time, and then I feel like
eventually I was like, Oh, likeI'm just in a band now, and like
we're touring, and it's allit's like happening.
I think like around like ourlike second record at the end of
(11:14):
our second record coming out, Iwas like, I'm in a band.
colleyc (11:18):
It took two releases to kind of get to a point where
yeah, yeah.
And so I I'm interested in thistoo.
That so you say a slow burn tokind of get to like what were
the moments along that journeythat really started to to spark
saying that this is somethingI'm really enjoying.
(11:39):
I want to continue this.
Like when did it start to lockin that you're in a band?
Sam (11:47):
I think when we went on tour, that helped it feel more
like a real thing when we wereon tour, and then getting
feedback from people who didn'tlive here who were like, Oh
yeah, this is like we like yourmusic.
And I was like, Okay.
So that for sure was a a markerof convincing.
(12:10):
And then I don't know, and thenyeah, like just kind of like
spending more time in the studioand recording helped a lot too.
But yeah, after the secondrecord, it was kind of like when
we wrote some days today, whichis like our third record.
I was like, okay, I might startlike cracking open my journals
(12:31):
and like like writing my ownlyrics and like really putting
more of like a piece of myselfat the front of the band.
And that was like reallyvulnerable and kind of scary.
But then it felt really goodwhen you're performing those
later, like on tour, and thengetting the feedback again, and
then they're like, Oh yeah,okay, so it is clicking, it is
(12:53):
resonating.
Like yeah, and then this, andthen like our our latest record
is like I feel like the mostlike I'm letting you have it.
Um you know, like I'm I am hereas a musician, like yeah, so
that's just it's just beenreally like fun to watch.
colleyc (13:11):
Cool.
Yeah, like the start of therecord too, it's like noise in
your face and then just dropsout to this beautiful, like slow
corey, dreamy, you know, song.
Like, I love how that that youyou're grabbing people's
attention and saying, listen.
Sam (13:32):
Yeah, good.
colleyc (13:33):
It's uh cool with that.
Yeah, right, right.
And how was it that the bandcame to understanding uh what
sound they wanted to do?
Like was that the two recordsprior that kind of were the the
the sculpting ground for as towhere you guys wanted to go as a
(13:54):
direction girl?
I'll throw that over at you.
Like, what how did you guysstart to decide or come to the
sound that you now have and thatyou know this new record is
based upon?
Gil (14:06):
I think it's it's really related to what Sam was talking
about with like her developmentas a songwriter, and also like
you know, a lot of our earlierstuff, like Adam and I are doing
a lot of like guitar interplayand like guitar monizing and
things like that.
(14:26):
And Sam was more so playingkeyboards at that point, and
then Sam she always playedguitar, like, but not so much in
the band.
But then you Sam just wrote abunch of songs on guitar and
baritone guitar and bass,actually.
And that sort of was the startof sort of like a new era of our
(14:50):
sound, I would say, because itforced in a good way Adam and I
to sort of reevaluate the kindof guitar stuff we were writing,
and instead of and then Sam wasalso coming in with all these
vocal melodies, so her melodiesinformed what we were playing
(15:10):
and writing.
So that's a definitely a partof it.
And then I think also justbeing on tour so much, because
we've toured a lot as a bandover the last several years, and
I think we all kind of havebeen influenced by other artists
along the way, whether that belistening to artists just in the
(15:31):
van, like on the radio or CDsor whatever, or also seeing
bands live and being and thentalking about it after, being
like, oh, that part was reallycool, like we could do something
like that, or just you know,maybe it's more subtle than
that.
But we've all been kind ofinspired by you know, being on
tour and seeing tons of livemusic, and so that's part of it.
colleyc (15:57):
And Sam, your process for starting to rate the songs,
I mean, do you rate most of thedid you write most of the songs
that are on the new record foryeah, the new record?
Sam (16:10):
I think yeah, like yeah, because I yeah, moved into the
space you see behind me.
It's like our gram space, butalso my living room, and then I
like you know, like all theguitars and drums are here, so
then I wake up every day andthey're just there.
So then I would just startwriting, and then Gil would come
(16:31):
downstairs and play drumsbecause he'd hear me like play
guitar.
So that's a lot a lot of howthe song started, but then
everyone like added a lot, andlike we would like discuss form
and different things, and likeyeah, but definitely like I
think with like the words andstuff for sure.
I was I was kind of starting itoff.
colleyc (16:52):
How does that seed become a song that you want to
bring to the band?
Like when do you know when whena song has legs to it and when
it's just maybe an idea that isnot flight?
Like and know when it's time tobring something.
Sam (17:10):
Yeah, like that's a great question.
Cause I sometimes I have liketoo many ideas and then they're
all kind of scattered intolittle fragments.
But if I keep coming back toone, then I think okay, maybe I
like this one because I keepcoming back to it.
And then sometimes we'll go tothe scattered fragments and try
and like bring in other parts tolike make it more of a song
(17:32):
song.
Um but sometimes I'll come andI'll be like, hey, this is like
this is something, this is achunk.
And then you guys will be like,well, what about this?
If we add this thing, and thenand then it kind of like
develops more.
But yeah, I usually bring itwhen we've played it a bunch of
times practicing, and then I'mlike, Yeah, I want to hear what
(17:53):
this sounds like with bass nowand drums, and then we're like,
bring it to the band, andthey're usually like pretty
excited.
colleyc (18:01):
And but yeah, is it like just lyrics with melody, or
do you have a line, like aguitar line that you might be
like, okay, this connects sowell to it, but we could add
that to the intro, or are youpretty much here's what I have,
help me, or is it kind of likeno, here's here's the line I I
(18:21):
want?
You know, I I was talking thatthis is where this comes from.
Like we were talking, I wastalking to an artist about
sometimes the guitar lines areactual vocal lines, right?
They're necessary a part of thesong.
You're not gonna take, youknow, like sweet child of mind
line out, you know.
Yeah, that's that's a part ofthe song.
Right.
How much liberty and freedom doyou give your members to
(18:45):
interpreting what you'rebringing in?
Sam (18:47):
Yeah, I mean, usually I'll present the song with um like no
lyrics, and it's just soundsthat or like one thing that I'll
repeat over and over again, orjust vowel sounds that I'm like,
oh, maybe I'll find a wordthat'll fit that later.
But usually it's like that witha lot of just guitar chords and
(19:09):
strumming the chords and kindof giving form to the song that
way.
And then yeah, like the andthen we're really good about
just kind of being like, okay,how can we form this where we
can use everyone's skills?
Because like you and Solly areare definitely way better like
like riffing guitar players thanI am, and you have like really
(19:29):
creative minds with like comingup with guitar parts, whereas
like I'm ultimately a bassplayer, but when I do play
guitar, it's like very straight,or I'm like on the acoustic,
kind of doing some like likeambient like Americana stuff, so
it's like I live in that world,but then you guys are like,
(19:51):
what about this riff or likeeffects or there's like a lot of
beefing it up just like well II'm definitely like Sam's
biggest hype person when she'sgot a a song idea.
Gil (20:13):
Like I I'm usually quick to tell her that I think it's good
and and that I want to work onit.
And so I think we just knewthat we had a lot, a lot of new
ideas that we were excitedabout.
And sort of going off what Samwas saying, like when she brings
(20:34):
an idea to the band, it's sortof a bit of like a balancing act
of like everyone sort of wantsto contribute their own creative
ideas, but you also want tolike give space and respect to
like her initial idea withoutchanging it too much.
(20:56):
And so like getting to thepoint where everyone is like
excited about it as a wholepiece is like always an
interesting part of it.
And yeah, I mean, with this newalbum, it was kind of just like
we have all these songs thatwe're excited about.
We added like a new member,Isaac, who plays drums, and we
(21:21):
had never recorded with him, sobut we really love love playing
with him, so we were keen torecord with him.
And we had done some demoing ofearlier ideas and a couple
collaborations and things likethat.
So we were sort of in the wewere in the recording kind of
head space already, and we knewwe didn't want to do any big
(21:43):
tours until we had a new album,because sometimes you can tour
too much, and so we wanted to bemore kind of on the ball and
strategic with planning out ourtours and stuff.
So yeah, it was kind of justit, it was time, and we were
able to bring in our friendMelina to produce the album.
She came in from LA toWinnipeg, and that was a really
(22:06):
good experience.
colleyc (22:08):
Yeah, that sounded like she was able to flush out some
of that spirit of you guys quitewell, which is pretty cool.
So the the cycle is upon you,right?
You're two weeks, a little lessthan two weeks away from
dropping the your latestinternal drone infinity October
(22:28):
17th, is that correct, guys?
Yeah, yeah, two weeks.
Yeah, next time.
What do you how do you likewhat's what's life like now
pre-launch and then alsoprepping for hitting the road in
November?
What are you guys going throughright now?
Sam (22:46):
Um I'm feeling like I have to clean my whole house.
Like we were saying before.
Like I feel like I need tobecome healthy and prepared.
A little nesting before Yeah, alittle nesting, yeah.
Yeah and then kind of likeyeah, maybe starting some good
(23:07):
habits this month that I havebefore tour month, and to kind
of keep that going.
Because we have our show likealmost every night, and I just
want to like make it what's thatwhat's that cycle like?
colleyc (23:21):
Like, Gil, can you like put some words like what is it
like playing every night?
Like you have no chance torecover, right?
Gil (23:28):
So you're is your mindset looking at the month as a whole
rather than yeah, it's it's Imean, we have a lot of
experience doing it, but it isyou know exhausting for sure.
Luckily, all five of us candrive the van.
And so if people need a littlequiet time in the back to relax
(23:52):
or put in headphones or read ornap or whatever, there's a bit
of an opportunity to do thatevery couple days at least.
But typically, like on tour,like if the shows are good, it
gives you that momentum to getto the next one.
And you know, I think we'replaying with a lot of great
(24:14):
local bands in each city, and wehave some, you know, friends
and fans in most of the citieswe're playing.
So I think it's just, you know,it you have to pace yourself,
you know.
We don't want to do any hugeparty nights or anything like
that because there's really notime to sleep in.
(24:35):
So we kind of just need to beon it and treat it more like a
job kind of.
It's still really fun,obviously.
It's like a marathon.
It's a marathon.
Sam (24:48):
Yeah.
Gil (24:54):
Yeah.
And there's also a lot of yeah,the the driving and the
logistics, and there's also likesocial media, which is
something that we're sort ofhave to do as part of it, which
can be fun, but also sometimesfeels like a chore, you know.
So yeah.
Sam (25:11):
And just like the like emotional energy of like singing
every night.
But I'm really excited aboutthese songs, and I think it like
Gil was saying, like it'll likefuel us energetically to like
have that exchange with theaudience and just like hang out
with the songs on stage and thenbe like, oh, we have them in
(25:33):
physical form, like actuallyhave the record.
Because I'm a sort of usedbecause I feel like this past
year we would play a couple ofthe songs, and I'd be like, it's
not out yet, but like soon.
So I'm excited to have it likeeveryone.
I think we like we like to havea set that we play with like
(26:01):
optional like one or two songsthat can move or come in and
out, just so that we can becausethere's a lot of switching in
our set, like instruments, likedrums, guitar, like we're always
like moving around.
So we try to design it so thatwe are not switching as much or
like less if possible.
(26:21):
Yeah, and then I just I likewhen we get like tour tight and
it's like really fun with thetransitions because we'll like
put in some transitions andstuff that like aren't on the
record but are like adjacent tothe sound, and yeah.
Gil (26:35):
Yeah, and like because all of us are sort of busy with our
own lives and that kind of thingleading up to the tours, like
we actually don't have a ton ofrehearsal time.
So it's it's sort of wise forus to like get that set that
(26:56):
we're all comfy with and feelgood about, and then get that
tight and then you know, adjusthere and there, like Sam said,
depending on the length of theset or the vibe of the show.
Like sometimes we'll be playinglike more of a quieter venue,
more intimate, or we're playingmore of like a rock show, and
those are things we consider.
(27:17):
Amazing, amazing.
colleyc (27:19):
Well, I want to thank you guys for coming and sharing
a bit of time, kind of exploringthe new record, looking a
little bit back in the past.
I guess my my final question iswhere so you head out your your
record comes out October, youhead out on tour November.
What would the rest of 2025into 26 look like for Living
(27:41):
Hours?
Gil (27:43):
Um we're gonna be on the West Coast in February.
We haven't announced that, butwe have a another tour in
February, and hopefully moretouring after that.
Sam (27:55):
I hope we go to uh Europe.
That would be really fun.
And one of our record labels isbased in Australia, and and so
I would love to go ahead downthere if that's possible and
just kind of like go around, Iguess.
Gil (28:13):
Yeah, load of touring on the on the yeah, lots of
touring.
Because that's like when wemake the most fans, that's when
we sell our merch, that's whenwe get better as a band.
And you know, hopefully peoplelike the new stuff and
opportunities arise.
But yeah, it's exciting.
colleyc (28:32):
Yeah, it's kind of like the beginning.
Once that record drops, the anew journey kind of begins,
right?
With this new artifact that youguys have created.
And I imagine that the song ison songwriting is ongoing, Sam.
Like that is something that doyou do that on tour as well?
Like you'll find some time tolike sit around with a guitar or
(28:53):
your bass and just uh usuallyit's just at home.
Sam (28:58):
A lot of times it's like in the winter, like fall winter,
like when it's kind of colderout that you have to stay
inside.
But we have like, I was lookingthrough my computer and we have
like so many ideas already thatlike I was even thinking we
could start like an EP at leastlike for like next year, at you
(29:18):
know.
And then I also do like my soloproject Pure Pulp, it's like
ambient music, and I'm gonna tryand release some stuff uh next
year and all that.
colleyc (29:29):
So well, I want you to come back and talk to me about
your ambient stuff when it hits.
I I have never talked to amusician about ambient music,
and I've always wanted to.
So please when it drops, I'llreach out to you.
Sam (29:45):
Yeah, that's great.
colleyc (29:46):
Yeah, amazing.
Well, guys, this has beenreally fun.
People go and check a show out,support this uh Canadian uh
amazing band Living Hour.
They got this new album comingout, Internal Drone Infinity.
Pick it up.
Sam (30:44):
Standing at the back of the board You see me, you see me at
the silence wait to hunt youfeels just like you see what you
(31:06):
see.
I'm probably in my two roomsday, half time spare Searching
(31:45):
up your name Capital.
Sitting back in the car, justlike that.
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