November 8, 2025 • 35 mins
A Canadian indie original walks into a Berlin studio and comes out with a record that swaps pews for pulse without losing its soul. We sit down with Joel Gibb of The Hidden Cameras to explore Bronto—how it was written across years and cities, why new instruments still spark his best songs, and what it takes to reinvent a beloved project without erasing its DNA. From the first gallery shows and that infamous “tones and drones of gay folk church music” tag to a slow-build electropop finale that took nearly two decades to land, Joel opens the notebook and lets us in.
We talk about the nine-year gap between albums and the quiet labour hidden inside it: tours that consumed seasons, pandemic delays, and long days auditioning sounds in Logic while folding in analogue synths for grit. Joel explains why he recorded vocals alone in Berlin, worked with Nicholas in Munich, and called on Owen Pallett in Toronto for strings—an international thread that gives Bronto its depth. Genre becomes a lens rather than a fence; he’s chased “goth,” “country,” and now “dance,” while staying true to the melodic bite and lyrical candour that defined The Hidden Cameras.
On the road, Joel is keeping it taut and human: train rides, a guitar, a kick drum, and tracks for the bangers. He shares why solo shows feel lighter and more focused, how he chooses setlists that bridge old hymns and new hedonism, and why some ideas need time to find the right frame. If you’re curious about creative process, gear as muse, or how a scene shift can change your sound without breaking your heart, this conversation delivers a rare, grounded look behind the curtain.
If you enjoyed this, follow the show, share it with a friend who loves indie lifers and sonic reinvention, and leave a rating or review so more listeners can discover our conversations.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
The Hidden Cameras (00:22):
When you say don't want me confused by all
right everyone, welcome back.
colleyc (00:30):
We're here, uh, another episode of i fitbeyourwill
Podcast, chugging through seasonsix.
Season six has been great sofar.
So many amazing artists outthere.
It's hard to talk with all ofthem, but I have another great
guest today coming in fromGermany.
Actually, I have Joel Gibb fromthe Hidden Cameras.
(00:51):
Um, I guess a Canadian expat,uh, grew up here in uh in the
great uh white north that we uhlove to call it, um, and has
been doing music for a reallylong time.
And he's just put out thisreally cool um record in
September called Bronto, uh,which has, I mean, it's really
(01:11):
dancy, it's really kind of funand gets you moving, but still
has that hidden camerasensibility to it, which I just
love.
So, Joel, thanks so much forjoining me today.
Um, I've really been enjoyingthe new record, but like I said
before we hopped on here, I'm along time fan of uh the hidden
cameras.
You guys have been around for along time.
(01:32):
You've been writing so muchmusic too.
Like, if you just look at yourcatalog, it's it's massive,
which I love.
Um Joel, I had like the firstkind of question I tend to ask
when we start theseconversations is is where did it
all kind of start to percolatefor you around music?
Um, I know that you had somerecords that came out fairly,
(01:54):
like a fairly long time ago.
Well, long, relatively longtime ago.
Um, around, you know, in 2016,2014.
Like, how did music start tobecome something that you would
be doing for a long part of yourlife?
The Hidden Cameras (02:14):
Uh, well, you know, I always liked music,
so I just gravitated towardsthat.
I mean, I did go to universityU of T in the late 90s, um, but
was more interested in learningguitar chords and uh writing
songs, actually.
So by the time I'd finisheduniversity, I'd amassed like all
these songs.
(02:35):
And so when I started the band,it was right after, it was
basically in September, the yearafter I graduated.
It was like, what am I gonnado?
And that's how it all started,basically.
Started recording on four trackand then starting a band and
getting musicians together andthen recording the studio
(02:56):
record, the first studio record,The Smell of Our Own.
That's already from 2003.
colleyc (03:02):
Right.
That was actually the first.
Okay, so that was the firstrecord that so your first record
that I started, I mean,obsessing on.
Um, exactly.
It was such a great record.
I mean, continue to this day, Ican listen to the whole thing
over and over and over again.
Um, what were your like how didyou get this amassed amount of
(03:22):
song?
Like, could you kind of openthe doors a little bit to the
like your process of like how doyou go?
How did you start becoming soprolific in the songs that you
were writing?
What was was there a catalystor was there like how did all
that come to be that you had allthese songs and you're ready to
actually collaborate with otherpeople and put a record out?
The Hidden Cameras (03:44):
I don't know.
I think the the best thingabout university, I would say,
is that you do take in a lot ofum ideas.
Um, and if you're studyingEnglish or whatever, um yeah,
it's it's inspiring, I guess.
I guess experiences.
I don't know.
That's a really tough questionto answer.
(04:05):
Like, what drove me to startwriting songs?
colleyc (04:08):
Right.
The Hidden Cameras (04:08):
I think I'd always been a music fan,
basically, and I wanted to do itto do it myself.
colleyc (04:13):
So that's and what were some of those early
inspirations?
Like who like who did you lookat when you were when when you
were writing songs that werelike you know, I I love what
they do, I think I can do this.
The Hidden Cameras (04:27):
Oh, I mean so many.
I mean too many to count,actually.
I mean, I was uh um SonicYouth, The Cure, The Smith, like
growing up, stuff like that.
Um I really liked indie music.
So in my in when I was in highschool, I got really into like
(04:47):
all sorts of obscure stuff.
Uh, and then I discovered morelike the 60s and 70s properly,
more in university, actually.
You know, the classics, yeah,yeah.
Um, but yeah, too many tocount.
colleyc (05:02):
Wow, well, that's awesome.
And like, what's your processfor writing songs?
What do you how do you how doesa song begin for you?
And and how do you know whenyou're onto something or not?
The Hidden Cameras (05:13):
Um honestly, it comes from back in the day,
it would come from buying a newinstrument.
You know, if you bought a newsynthesizer, you immediately
write a new song, right?
Like, for example, in the nafrom uh 2009, like that was from
buying a synthesizer.
That was the first thing Iplayed, was that rip.
(05:33):
Uh and like hey yeah, it's likethis weird instrumental track
on a woo.
That was the first song I wrotewhen I bought a 1964
left-handed Gretsch from Paul'sboutique.
Just strumming the the the partof the I don't know what you
even call the section of theguitar uh at the end of the
guitar.
Like the neck, oh no, the otherpart.
(05:55):
Okay, you have to see theguitar to tell, but it's just
this space where the strings arebefore the bridge.
colleyc (06:04):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
I that's a good question.
The Hidden Cameras (06:08):
You know, like yeah.
colleyc (06:10):
So I mean, are you saying then that instrumentation
was always at the forefront ofthe songs, or would you ever
start from a lyric or or aphrase or a oh that is well,
that is well, like walking downthe street, you know, singing to
yourself.
The Hidden Cameras (06:26):
Um, sometimes a lyric pops up first,
you know, like bad marriage,probably.
colleyc (06:31):
Right, right.
The Hidden Cameras (06:32):
Probably just came the the chorus, just
like the the whole debate aboutmarriage in Canada.
That's basically when I wrotethe song, like as a funny, I
don't know, take on the wholething on on humanity itself.
Like right, um, what else?
Yeah, sometimes like a just avocal melody or chord structure,
(06:53):
like if you learn a new chord,you can just write a whole new
song, basically.
colleyc (06:57):
Right, right.
Oh, yeah, it's amazing thediscovery process.
The Hidden Cameras (07:00):
Like I did not study music in university or
anything, you know.
colleyc (07:04):
Right, right.
And like what would prompt youto want to get another
instrument?
Just was that the way that youkind of were like, okay, I if I
get a new instrument, then newthings will start to happen,
like, or were you just alwaysinterested in in you know,
gathering instruments?
Like you just like instruments?
The Hidden Cameras (07:22):
I'm not a I don't want to be that actually,
like, but at the time I wantedto beg a giant orchestra of like
unlimited people, yeah.
And I think I had that spirit,that energy, that
post-university itch to like dosomething, you know, right,
right big and involving people,and you know, when you're you're
(07:42):
just more social as well whenyou're younger.
colleyc (07:44):
Right, right.
The Hidden Cameras (07:46):
And so yeah.
colleyc (07:48):
Interesting.
And I mean, I mentioned this toyou before we hopped on, but you
had this phrase that you coinednow, and I would kind of want
you to place it in history.
Like, when did this so it wascalled gay church folk music?
That was a a term that you hadcoined about the music that you
were making.
Was that right at thebeginning, Joel, of the of of
your putting putting songs downon record, or was this an
(08:11):
evolution of of your style as itkind of grew?
The Hidden Cameras (08:17):
Uh, I think the first show was in art
galleries, in my friend's artgallery.
But then once that show wentdown, it went down really well.
I immediately booked a show atgraffiti's in Kensington Market.
Okay.
So this was only maybe a monthlater or something.
It was in the winter.
And then I wrote on the flyer,the first flyer, uh, the tones
(08:37):
and drones of gay folk churchmusic.
So it's it's actually a longerphrase.
Actually, it's the tones anddrones of gay folk church music.
Um, maybe I should have calledthe first album that actually.
colleyc (08:53):
No, it's cool.
The Hidden Cameras (08:54):
I love the term, and you know, I think the
idea was immediately to uh playa show in a church.
Okay, so that became the goal.
And I think by spring we orearly summer we played church,
the church of the redeemer onBloorn Avenue.
colleyc (09:13):
And what was that experience like playing in a
church?
The Hidden Cameras (09:16):
That you said this was your second show
ever that you I mean it wasbecause then I was kind of
writing songs for the church,maybe like Golden Streams.
That's uh where we debutedGolden Streams, and that
literally is the song built tobe performed in a church with
the pipe organ and the choir andthe this and that.
Yeah, um so it sounded reallygood, actually.
colleyc (09:36):
Yeah, yeah.
And then like you put out somerecords, you had some great
labels too that that that pickedyou up and were like, you know,
I mean, there was a lot ofgreat momentum going, and then
it seemed like there was a bitof a pause, Joel, between the
record that just came out andthe previous one.
And correct me if I'm wrong onthat, but did you have like a an
(09:58):
extended period of time wherewhere music was just you weren't
recording as much?
The Hidden Cameras (10:02):
Uh yeah, it's been a nine nine-year gap,
actually.
Okay, yeah, I kind of purposelytook time off.
Okay, so there's already twoyears in there to account just
for actually just touring thethat record was another two
years, right?
Then taking a break, and thenyeah, I have been recording in
Munich um for years, but just inlittle pieces, you know.
(10:25):
Like I didn't go there to makethe whole record in one go.
I would go, I don't know howmany trips.
And then COVID hit, and thatslowed down the record a bit,
but we still managed to do acouple sessions um in 2020.
And then yeah, the rest hasbeen the buildup to putting the
record out.
Well, wow, you know, and andwhat doing it all myself is it's
(10:49):
takes a lot of uh a lot ofwork.
colleyc (10:51):
Oh, absolutely, absolutely.
And and what brought you toGermany?
Like what how what was thedisplacement from from Canada
over to Germany?
Was that like for job relatedor getting into a different
scene?
The Hidden Cameras (11:04):
Or like I think just being excited about
Europe and wanting to get out ofCanada somehow.
Well, finding Toronto a bitsmall and yeah, um I don't know.
colleyc (11:18):
It's also hard to describe, but was there
something about Berlin that wasum I don't know, appealing or
sexy that that that you feltlike you would fit into that
community, or that was acommunity that that kind of
welcomed or like how did how dohow was that place the the
place?
The Hidden Cameras (11:38):
It was cheap.
There was friends there, weplayed there.
It was in Germany, but notquite so German, if you know
what I mean.
Yeah, it was it was like a verylike it seemed like the the
best city to live in in Europe.
I mean, you know, I thoughtabout London and Paris, and I've
thought about all these cities,and I love visiting cities and
(12:01):
stuff, but um yeah, there's justit's just a good uh it's a good
Central European like place tolive.
colleyc (12:12):
And was most of this new record uh Bronto um recorded
in Germany?
Um was that where you did mostof the production?
The Hidden Cameras (12:21):
Most of it was recorded in Munich.
Some of the vocals wererecorded by myself in Berlin.
Uh yeah, I guess.
And then Owen Pallet did thestrings, he recorded those in
Toronto, so there is a bit of aCan Con connection or Can Con
content, of course.
colleyc (12:41):
Interesting, interesting.
And what about your label?
Like, I mean, your earlierrecords, you you were on Rough
Trade, you were on Arts andCraft, and now you're you have
your own called Evil Evil.
The Hidden Cameras (12:52):
Is that well, that was always the old
imprint that I used.
That that was some years ago.
Um, so yeah, it's kind of likeself-released through a German
company, Motor.
colleyc (13:02):
Okay, interesting.
The Hidden Cameras (13:04):
Um, and so yeah, and um, so all the vinyl
that I'm printing is is done inGermany.
colleyc (13:11):
Cool, cool.
The Hidden Cameras (13:13):
And put out a lot of vinyl this with this
year.
colleyc (13:16):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And looking at this record,like I mean, I've been a fan
since you began.
Yeah, and this is a real shifta little bit in I mean, it's
still definitely the hiddencameras, like you can't deny
that.
But you have much more of thiselectronic-y, dancey vibe going
(13:36):
on.
The Hidden Cameras (13:37):
Yeah.
colleyc (13:38):
What was your decision making in in in creating more of
a you know, dance floory kindof um you know, record, kind of
departing from you know thatchurchy, indie like beginning
phases?
Like how how did how did thatdecision process happen, Jewel?
The Hidden Cameras (13:57):
Um, I think it follows in the tradition of
my last few records, which areyou know, um kind of reinventing
my sound or myself and orimagining myself through um, you
know, a genre or my my very badinterpretation of a genre, you
know, because I feel like age ismy goth record, but it's not
(14:18):
really a goth record, right?
You know what I mean?
And how I made a land is mycountry record, but it's not
really country, right?
Well now this is my dancerecord, and it's is it is it
really that dance?
colleyc (14:30):
Right.
I mean, I guess it's likethere's much more electronica
stuff in it, eh, than than thantypical.
Like you you've kind of moved alittle bit away from string.
I mean, even though there arestrings and stuff, it just seems
more beat-based a little bit.
The Hidden Cameras (14:45):
Oh, definitely.
There's some guitar, but it'smore of my sampled, I sampled
itself.
I sampled good my guitar, uhjust a couple things on certain
songs, right?
colleyc (14:56):
Right.
The Hidden Cameras (14:56):
Yeah.
colleyc (14:57):
And like where where where is all this like where did
your decision start to shiftthat you wanted to change genres
a little bit?
What what was it?
Was it your environment?
Was it just kind of where youwere doing stuff, where you're
going out, or encounter like howdid all of that kind of start
to solidify itself?
The Hidden Cameras (15:18):
Yeah, I mean, I'm I like a lot of
different types of music, sothat's just the direction I
naturally went in.
I wanted to kind of start newin a way, um, after the last
record, which was a collectionof songs I've been recording
since the beginning, actually.
My country record.
Um, or I would call it rootsycountry folk, I guess.
(15:39):
Right.
Um, so I just wanted to startfresh, basically.
You know?
colleyc (15:44):
Yeah, yeah.
And do you feel that youachieved that freshness in when
you listen back to this now?
Like it's it's been out in theworld for a while.
Like yeah, did did it did itdid it achieve what you would
want it to do?
The Hidden Cameras (16:00):
Uh yeah, I'm happy with it.
I think I haven't listened toit.
I mean, once it's out, I don'tlisten to it.
Because I've listened to it amillion times, right?
colleyc (16:10):
Yeah, yeah.
The Hidden Cameras (16:11):
Even the mixing and the master, even the
mastering, you have to listen tostuff over and over, you know?
colleyc (16:16):
Right, right.
Like, give us a Joel, give us aa ballpark range of like how
much does one song, like howmuch do you invest in like one
track on like from beginning toend?
Can you kind of like give usthat timeline of like just the
amount of time it takes?
Because I think sometimespeople, when they are not
musicians, they're like, Yeah,cool song.
(16:37):
They just don't understand thethe blood, sweat, and tears and
time that you put into it.
The Hidden Cameras (16:43):
Yeah, no, it is.
I mean, my process is veryslow.
I mean, the last song on therecord, don't tell me that you
love me, I wrote that probably19 years ago.
Wow, I can't believe how longago.
It was it's really around thetime I moved to Berlin,
actually.
Interesting when I got thisYamaha keyboard.
(17:04):
And it was just it's based onthis discordant chord that's
from that Yamaha keyboard that Ibought in a thrift shop, I
think, somewhere in Canada.
Brought it over.
Um, and then the production ofthat, I mean, we did we I've me
and Nicholas in Munich, we wedid different versions and we
(17:26):
went through percussion, likemany different uh versions of
the song to finally end withwhat we have, which it which I'm
happy that it it it does kickinto a beat after like five
minutes, but it's a very longbuildup basically to a techno
beat.
That's the last song on therecord.
But I don't know if I imaginedthe arrangement when I wrote
(17:48):
that song, but I built thosevocals up um by myself in Berlin
um quite a long time ago.
I just kind of like didn't getaround to work to putting the
song out, you know.
But I knew it was really good,and I and then it finally had a
place on this record.
colleyc (18:03):
Interesting, interesting.
And like, what was your totaltime on that that one song?
The Hidden Cameras (18:08):
Like, oh my gosh, so long because Owen did a
mix as well, and then we wentthrough several mixes, and uh,
there's a lot of layers andstuff.
Like, I wanted it to be kind ofany uh slightly like any and
any her style is to to track andtrack and track and track.
So I tried, I'm not sure I didas many as her, but I tried that
(18:28):
effect, you know.
colleyc (18:29):
Like well, well, this is that I mean that's sounds
like a lot of work with thelayers, but yeah, so Joel, when
when a lot of tracks that soundyeah, yeah.
When you go into the studiowhen you're ready to put this
down, like what do you what doyou bring in?
Like, what do you try to bringin?
What do you look kind of leave?
Like, is it is it fully formedwhen you bring the song into the
(18:52):
actual recording of, or isthere always room for like okay,
we need something in there, orI want to take that out and put
this here?
And like, is does it evolvecontinuously the song, even when
you bring it into the studio,or are you pretty well set once
you get there with the sound andwith this record?
The Hidden Cameras (19:11):
I did not have a set agenda for some of
the songs.
Uh, back in the day, likerecording the smell of our own
in London.
I had all the songs written,all the parts in my head and
ready to go, uh, and rehearsedthe the music as well with the
band.
Um, with Bronto, no, each songwas, you know, sometimes it was
(19:31):
a like I want you is definitelya studio creation of all the
soundscapes and stuff.
Like the song song itself waskind of written.
I don't even think I finishedthe lyrics till the very end.
So um, yeah, and the yeah, so alot of the songs were more like
studio creations.
Okay, it was tracking on ProTools, but but composing and
(19:56):
getting the melodies down inlogic and using all going
through logic sounds and all thesynths and all of the
instruments that they have, theysound really, really good, and
they have every instrument inthe world basically.
So it's exhaust, it's part partof the process of this record
was going through sounds, youknow.
How do you know logic unlessyou go through all of the sounds
(20:18):
or at least try to go throughsome of them?
I don't even know.
We probably didn't even gothrough 10 of the sounds, but at
least we went through so therewas days where we just went
through sounds and I would makenotes about what what sound
could fit on good on what recordor on what song, right?
Right, just taking notes, andthen yeah, so that that was a
(20:40):
large part of Bronto, actually.
Well, and then there was a lotof analog sense there too, so it
was a mixture of both.
colleyc (20:47):
And were the songs that appear on Bronto, were they um
like an inventory of songs?
Like, because you had mentionedbefore the album that came out
before that was like a 10-yearkind of you know, yes,
compilation of various songs.
Was Bronto very much um recentsongs, or again, were they also
songs that you had had just inyour catalog, you know, that you
(21:10):
wanted to put the table?
The Hidden Cameras (21:12):
Yeah, most of them were old, were were
written, uh, could have beenwritten 10 years ago.
I mean, you'd have to tell mewhich song I could kind of tell
you how each song came about.
I mean, but I was telling you,don't tell me that you love me.
I remember I wrote that uh whenI bought that Yamaha keyboard,
and that was yeah, 2000, I don'tknow, six, seven?
colleyc (21:35):
Amazing.
The Hidden Cameras (21:36):
Seven, maybe.
I could probably find out.
Think about it.
If I think about it longenough.
colleyc (21:42):
Yeah, yeah.
And so is that kind of like theway that you've always operated
where it's not like a sessionwhere I'll sit down or like a
complete, like, here's therecord, you know, like I've been
writing songs for the last youknow few months.
Here it is.
Yeah, has it always been like,oh yeah, I remember that song
from nine years ago.
I think that that would fitwell here with that sound of
(22:03):
that beat, and like you do somecollaging like that.
The Hidden Cameras (22:06):
I'm already thinking about future records.
I mean, I have an inventory ofideas that I sometimes forget
about, but sometimes the thisthe idea pops up.
So there's many songs that haveyet to be recorded that are
oldies in in my notebook, youknow?
colleyc (22:24):
Totally, totally.
The Hidden Cameras (22:26):
Um, and so that's what I want to think
about next is what to do next,but try to come to Canada and
play first.
colleyc (22:34):
Yeah, absolutely.
So how have you felt theresponse of the latest record,
Bronto?
How's that been?
Like, how have you, you know, Imean, you spend all this time,
you get this artifact, I know,you release it into the world,
it's there.
Like, how have you found likethe feedback and uh and people's
reaction to what you put out?
The Hidden Cameras (22:55):
Well, my whole October has been I've been
doing nothing.
Well, not nothing, but I havenot been playing, so it's been a
nice basically.
I'm going to Prague and andVienna next week.
Okay, and that's when the showsstart, and I have a whole tour
in in November basically.
Okay.
Um, but uh no, October's justbeen like preparing for the
(23:18):
tour.
colleyc (23:18):
Okay.
And how many dates are on yourtour?
The Hidden Cameras (23:22):
Um, quite a quite a few.
I did we're just addingSalzburg for next year, but uh
yeah.
Uh do you know After Klang?
They're a Danish band.
They were on um 4AD and nowthey're on Cityslang, I think.
colleyc (23:38):
Yeah, they sound yes, I've checked them out.
The Hidden Cameras (23:42):
I'm playing with them in in Warsaw, so
that's my first time playingPoland.
Oh, and then um there's aBerlin show at the uh canteen
amberghein, it's called, and uma festival in Graz, and then
there's uh Madrid and Barcelonaand Lisbon in December.
colleyc (24:03):
Wow, amazing!
The Hidden Cameras (24:04):
Oh, and Gothenburg, Sweden, and then
Hamburg.
colleyc (24:08):
And like, what's your anticipation?
Like, you have all these dateslined up, you know you're gonna
be like saturated in it.
Somebody said that you work 24hours to play one hour, you
know, like you're in the job for24 hours because what else are
you gonna do in you knowwherever you're at?
Yeah, how do you get preparedfor a tour like this?
The Hidden Cameras (24:32):
Uh, you know, it's not actually a
grueling tour because it's it'sjust you know, a couple shows on
this one on this leg and thenin and out to Warsaw from
Berlin.
So it's only like two shows orthree shows each time I go out.
Okay, which is how I wanted itbecause you know the back in the
day, the band, I mean, we did asleeper coach with a 10-piece
(24:54):
band, and we were playing everynight, I believe, for two weeks
in Europe.
Uh but when you have a sleepercoach, you can do it, and that's
grueling.
That's really grueling.
When it's a six-week tour, I'vedone I've done a six-week North
American tour and a six-weekEuropean tour back to back.
That's more like how do you doit?
colleyc (25:17):
Right.
The Hidden Cameras (25:18):
This is easy.
This is I'm taking a train bymyself.
colleyc (25:22):
Okay.
What's the setup?
Like, how how what's the hiddencameras setup for this these
shows coming up to representthis record?
The Hidden Cameras (25:33):
Uh it's just me and a guitar and a kick
drum.
So I'm playing some of the oldsongs with with a kick drum
sometimes.
Uh, and then the tracks.
So my dance tracks, I willplay.
I play a little guitar on thedance tracks, but I mostly just
sing and dance a bit to to someof the bangers on the new
record.
And sometimes I'll have aguest.
colleyc (25:56):
Okay.
The Hidden Cameras (25:57):
Uh it depends who's playing with me,
but sometimes it's nice.
I always try to get somebody tosing on Boys of Melody with me
at the end.
colleyc (26:04):
Right, right.
Um, yeah.
That's pretty cool though.
Like, is that is it harder whenyou're up there all by yourself
than you know, having you know,a handful of other musicians
around you to like is it do youis it a different mindset that
you have to go into the showwith?
The Hidden Cameras (26:23):
I'm more comfortable with with performing
and especially by myself, so umI kind of look forward to it in
a way.
colleyc (26:33):
Um because it's only you, right?
There's no other people toworry about or what they're
doing, or it's just like yeah,it's you and your music.
The Hidden Cameras (26:41):
Yeah.
colleyc (26:42):
Interesting.
Interesting.
The Hidden Cameras (26:44):
Don't get me wrong, I like playing with
people, but it's quite a lotmore stress somehow.
colleyc (26:49):
Right.
And I imagine too, like you'renot in a huge camper and like
all these other yeah, it's likeyou go on your train, you're on
your train, you're chilling,like it's like much more um
conducive to a show, I wouldsay, than uh a six-week 24-7
around you.
Definitely.
(27:11):
Well, Joel, this has beenreally fun.
I really appreciate it.
I'm super happy that we got achance to just connect before
you uh you actually startplaying these tunes out in the
world.
Canada would always uh love tosee you come back and perform
for us.
Uh your home is your home.
Um, but yeah, looking intocoming next year.
(27:32):
That'd be amazing.
That'd be amazing.
And Joel, just one other likethe music keeps going on.
You're you're you're you'realways in this creative
songwriting process.
The Hidden Cameras (27:46):
Um, not really.
But I am working on it severala couple I I I have a couple
ideas for different records.
colleyc (27:55):
Okay, cool.
The Hidden Cameras (27:56):
Uh, but I'm not like trying to write songs
every day, not at all.
colleyc (27:59):
Will the wait between records be as long as the last
one?
The Hidden Cameras (28:03):
I don't think so, but who knows?
Who knows if there's gonna beanother pandemic?
colleyc (28:07):
Right, that's true.
You never know with this crazyworld of ours, eh?
Yeah, well, I wish you all thebest in your tour.
Um, I'm so uh hopefully you canthrow a few pictures up so us
uh people far away can kind ofsee what it looks like and feels
like.
The Hidden Cameras (28:23):
Um I will definitely try to, yeah.
colleyc (28:26):
I've really been enjoying this record.
It's uh it's a really cool,fun.
I'm gonna I have to drive intoMontreal, so I'm gonna throw it
on super loud the whole way in.
So oh nice.
The Hidden Cameras (28:36):
So where are you?
You don't live in Montreal?
colleyc (28:38):
No, well, I'm kind of down the country today, so I
have like an hour and a halfdrive.
I have to go to the nice, yeah.
Hope you enjoy it.
It's really good, I think.
Yeah, yeah.
Well, and all the best on thetour and the record, and uh, if
you ever want to come and uhtalk about a new record or a new
experience, uh, I'm always herefor you, man.
The Hidden Cameras (28:59):
All right, well, thank you so much.
colleyc (29:01):
Take care.
The Hidden Cameras (29:02):
All right, take care of yourself.
Bye.
(30:33):
It's law that will be spared inthe chance they all will sing.
Don't tell me that you love me.
The ugly that still wants me.
(30:57):
Is that anybody here tounderstand what's new to me?
anybody you want to stand nextto what sad?
(31:30):
Can we blame?
If we can blame ourselves.
We all those other guys.
(32:04):
You said that you despise.
Don't tell me that you want me.
You want everything and loveme.
Just like all those other guys.
Do it, you must apply.
You will not be a big man.
(32:45):
You want to try to makeanybody?
You want to stand next to Iheard you got the gun.
(33:12):
You want to try to makeanybody.
You want to stand and still beable to do that.
When you say don't want me confused by all
right everyone, welcome back.
colleyc (00:30):
We're here, uh, another episode of i fitbeyourwill
Podcast, chugging through seasonsix.
Season six has been great sofar.
So many amazing artists outthere.
It's hard to talk with all ofthem, but I have another great
guest today coming in fromGermany.
Actually, I have Joel Gibb fromthe Hidden Cameras.
(00:51):
Um, I guess a Canadian expat,uh, grew up here in uh in the
great uh white north that we uhlove to call it, um, and has
been doing music for a reallylong time.
And he's just put out thisreally cool um record in
September called Bronto, uh,which has, I mean, it's really
(01:11):
dancy, it's really kind of funand gets you moving, but still
has that hidden camerasensibility to it, which I just
love.
So, Joel, thanks so much forjoining me today.
Um, I've really been enjoyingthe new record, but like I said
before we hopped on here, I'm along time fan of uh the hidden
cameras.
You guys have been around for along time.
(01:32):
You've been writing so muchmusic too.
Like, if you just look at yourcatalog, it's it's massive,
which I love.
Um Joel, I had like the firstkind of question I tend to ask
when we start theseconversations is is where did it
all kind of start to percolatefor you around music?
Um, I know that you had somerecords that came out fairly,
(01:54):
like a fairly long time ago.
Well, long, relatively longtime ago.
Um, around, you know, in 2016,2014.
Like, how did music start tobecome something that you would
be doing for a long part of yourlife?
The Hidden Cameras (02:14):
Uh, well, you know, I always liked music,
so I just gravitated towardsthat.
I mean, I did go to universityU of T in the late 90s, um, but
was more interested in learningguitar chords and uh writing
songs, actually.
So by the time I'd finisheduniversity, I'd amassed like all
these songs.
(02:35):
And so when I started the band,it was right after, it was
basically in September, the yearafter I graduated.
It was like, what am I gonnado?
And that's how it all started,basically.
Started recording on four trackand then starting a band and
getting musicians together andthen recording the studio
(02:56):
record, the first studio record,The Smell of Our Own.
That's already from 2003.
colleyc (03:02):
Right.
That was actually the first.
Okay, so that was the firstrecord that so your first record
that I started, I mean,obsessing on.
Um, exactly.
It was such a great record.
I mean, continue to this day, Ican listen to the whole thing
over and over and over again.
Um, what were your like how didyou get this amassed amount of
(03:22):
song?
Like, could you kind of openthe doors a little bit to the
like your process of like how doyou go?
How did you start becoming soprolific in the songs that you
were writing?
What was was there a catalystor was there like how did all
that come to be that you had allthese songs and you're ready to
actually collaborate with otherpeople and put a record out?
The Hidden Cameras (03:44):
I don't know.
I think the the best thingabout university, I would say,
is that you do take in a lot ofum ideas.
Um, and if you're studyingEnglish or whatever, um yeah,
it's it's inspiring, I guess.
I guess experiences.
I don't know.
That's a really tough questionto answer.
(04:05):
Like, what drove me to startwriting songs?
colleyc (04:08):
Right.
The Hidden Cameras (04:08):
I think I'd always been a music fan,
basically, and I wanted to do itto do it myself.
colleyc (04:13):
So that's and what were some of those early
inspirations?
Like who like who did you lookat when you were when when you
were writing songs that werelike you know, I I love what
they do, I think I can do this.
The Hidden Cameras (04:27):
Oh, I mean so many.
I mean too many to count,actually.
I mean, I was uh um SonicYouth, The Cure, The Smith, like
growing up, stuff like that.
Um I really liked indie music.
So in my in when I was in highschool, I got really into like
(04:47):
all sorts of obscure stuff.
Uh, and then I discovered morelike the 60s and 70s properly,
more in university, actually.
You know, the classics, yeah,yeah.
Um, but yeah, too many tocount.
colleyc (05:02):
Wow, well, that's awesome.
And like, what's your processfor writing songs?
What do you how do you how doesa song begin for you?
And and how do you know whenyou're onto something or not?
The Hidden Cameras (05:13):
Um honestly, it comes from back in the day,
it would come from buying a newinstrument.
You know, if you bought a newsynthesizer, you immediately
write a new song, right?
Like, for example, in the nafrom uh 2009, like that was from
buying a synthesizer.
That was the first thing Iplayed, was that rip.
(05:33):
Uh and like hey yeah, it's likethis weird instrumental track
on a woo.
That was the first song I wrotewhen I bought a 1964
left-handed Gretsch from Paul'sboutique.
Just strumming the the the partof the I don't know what you
even call the section of theguitar uh at the end of the
guitar.
Like the neck, oh no, the otherpart.
(05:55):
Okay, you have to see theguitar to tell, but it's just
this space where the strings arebefore the bridge.
colleyc (06:04):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
I that's a good question.
The Hidden Cameras (06:08):
You know, like yeah.
colleyc (06:10):
So I mean, are you saying then that instrumentation
was always at the forefront ofthe songs, or would you ever
start from a lyric or or aphrase or a oh that is well,
that is well, like walking downthe street, you know, singing to
yourself.
The Hidden Cameras (06:26):
Um, sometimes a lyric pops up first,
you know, like bad marriage,probably.
colleyc (06:31):
Right, right.
The Hidden Cameras (06:32):
Probably just came the the chorus, just
like the the whole debate aboutmarriage in Canada.
That's basically when I wrotethe song, like as a funny, I
don't know, take on the wholething on on humanity itself.
Like right, um, what else?
Yeah, sometimes like a just avocal melody or chord structure,
(06:53):
like if you learn a new chord,you can just write a whole new
song, basically.
colleyc (06:57):
Right, right.
Oh, yeah, it's amazing thediscovery process.
The Hidden Cameras (07:00):
Like I did not study music in university or
anything, you know.
colleyc (07:04):
Right, right.
And like what would prompt youto want to get another
instrument?
Just was that the way that youkind of were like, okay, I if I
get a new instrument, then newthings will start to happen,
like, or were you just alwaysinterested in in you know,
gathering instruments?
Like you just like instruments?
The Hidden Cameras (07:22):
I'm not a I don't want to be that actually,
like, but at the time I wantedto beg a giant orchestra of like
unlimited people, yeah.
And I think I had that spirit,that energy, that
post-university itch to like dosomething, you know, right,
right big and involving people,and you know, when you're you're
(07:42):
just more social as well whenyou're younger.
colleyc (07:44):
Right, right.
The Hidden Cameras (07:46):
And so yeah.
colleyc (07:48):
Interesting.
And I mean, I mentioned this toyou before we hopped on, but you
had this phrase that you coinednow, and I would kind of want
you to place it in history.
Like, when did this so it wascalled gay church folk music?
That was a a term that you hadcoined about the music that you
were making.
Was that right at thebeginning, Joel, of the of of
your putting putting songs downon record, or was this an
(08:11):
evolution of of your style as itkind of grew?
The Hidden Cameras (08:17):
Uh, I think the first show was in art
galleries, in my friend's artgallery.
But then once that show wentdown, it went down really well.
I immediately booked a show atgraffiti's in Kensington Market.
Okay.
So this was only maybe a monthlater or something.
It was in the winter.
And then I wrote on the flyer,the first flyer, uh, the tones
(08:37):
and drones of gay folk churchmusic.
So it's it's actually a longerphrase.
Actually, it's the tones anddrones of gay folk church music.
Um, maybe I should have calledthe first album that actually.
colleyc (08:53):
No, it's cool.
The Hidden Cameras (08:54):
I love the term, and you know, I think the
idea was immediately to uh playa show in a church.
Okay, so that became the goal.
And I think by spring we orearly summer we played church,
the church of the redeemer onBloorn Avenue.
colleyc (09:13):
And what was that experience like playing in a
church?
The Hidden Cameras (09:16):
That you said this was your second show
ever that you I mean it wasbecause then I was kind of
writing songs for the church,maybe like Golden Streams.
That's uh where we debutedGolden Streams, and that
literally is the song built tobe performed in a church with
the pipe organ and the choir andthe this and that.
Yeah, um so it sounded reallygood, actually.
colleyc (09:36):
Yeah, yeah.
And then like you put out somerecords, you had some great
labels too that that that pickedyou up and were like, you know,
I mean, there was a lot ofgreat momentum going, and then
it seemed like there was a bitof a pause, Joel, between the
record that just came out andthe previous one.
And correct me if I'm wrong onthat, but did you have like a an
(09:58):
extended period of time wherewhere music was just you weren't
recording as much?
The Hidden Cameras (10:02):
Uh yeah, it's been a nine nine-year gap,
actually.
Okay, yeah, I kind of purposelytook time off.
Okay, so there's already twoyears in there to account just
for actually just touring thethat record was another two
years, right?
Then taking a break, and thenyeah, I have been recording in
Munich um for years, but just inlittle pieces, you know.
(10:25):
Like I didn't go there to makethe whole record in one go.
I would go, I don't know howmany trips.
And then COVID hit, and thatslowed down the record a bit,
but we still managed to do acouple sessions um in 2020.
And then yeah, the rest hasbeen the buildup to putting the
record out.
Well, wow, you know, and andwhat doing it all myself is it's
(10:49):
takes a lot of uh a lot ofwork.
colleyc (10:51):
Oh, absolutely, absolutely.
And and what brought you toGermany?
Like what how what was thedisplacement from from Canada
over to Germany?
Was that like for job relatedor getting into a different
scene?
The Hidden Cameras (11:04):
Or like I think just being excited about
Europe and wanting to get out ofCanada somehow.
Well, finding Toronto a bitsmall and yeah, um I don't know.
colleyc (11:18):
It's also hard to describe, but was there
something about Berlin that wasum I don't know, appealing or
sexy that that that you feltlike you would fit into that
community, or that was acommunity that that kind of
welcomed or like how did how dohow was that place the the
place?
The Hidden Cameras (11:38):
It was cheap.
There was friends there, weplayed there.
It was in Germany, but notquite so German, if you know
what I mean.
Yeah, it was it was like a verylike it seemed like the the
best city to live in in Europe.
I mean, you know, I thoughtabout London and Paris, and I've
thought about all these cities,and I love visiting cities and
(12:01):
stuff, but um yeah, there's justit's just a good uh it's a good
Central European like place tolive.
colleyc (12:12):
And was most of this new record uh Bronto um recorded
in Germany?
Um was that where you did mostof the production?
The Hidden Cameras (12:21):
Most of it was recorded in Munich.
Some of the vocals wererecorded by myself in Berlin.
Uh yeah, I guess.
And then Owen Pallet did thestrings, he recorded those in
Toronto, so there is a bit of aCan Con connection or Can Con
content, of course.
colleyc (12:41):
Interesting, interesting.
And what about your label?
Like, I mean, your earlierrecords, you you were on Rough
Trade, you were on Arts andCraft, and now you're you have
your own called Evil Evil.
The Hidden Cameras (12:52):
Is that well, that was always the old
imprint that I used.
That that was some years ago.
Um, so yeah, it's kind of likeself-released through a German
company, Motor.
colleyc (13:02):
Okay, interesting.
The Hidden Cameras (13:04):
Um, and so yeah, and um, so all the vinyl
that I'm printing is is done inGermany.
colleyc (13:11):
Cool, cool.
The Hidden Cameras (13:13):
And put out a lot of vinyl this with this
year.
colleyc (13:16):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And looking at this record,like I mean, I've been a fan
since you began.
Yeah, and this is a real shifta little bit in I mean, it's
still definitely the hiddencameras, like you can't deny
that.
But you have much more of thiselectronic-y, dancey vibe going
(13:36):
on.
The Hidden Cameras (13:37):
Yeah.
colleyc (13:38):
What was your decision making in in in creating more of
a you know, dance floory kindof um you know, record, kind of
departing from you know thatchurchy, indie like beginning
phases?
Like how how did how did thatdecision process happen, Jewel?
The Hidden Cameras (13:57):
Um, I think it follows in the tradition of
my last few records, which areyou know, um kind of reinventing
my sound or myself and orimagining myself through um, you
know, a genre or my my very badinterpretation of a genre, you
know, because I feel like age ismy goth record, but it's not
(14:18):
really a goth record, right?
You know what I mean?
And how I made a land is mycountry record, but it's not
really country, right?
Well now this is my dancerecord, and it's is it is it
really that dance?
colleyc (14:30):
Right.
I mean, I guess it's likethere's much more electronica
stuff in it, eh, than than thantypical.
Like you you've kind of moved alittle bit away from string.
I mean, even though there arestrings and stuff, it just seems
more beat-based a little bit.
The Hidden Cameras (14:45):
Oh, definitely.
There's some guitar, but it'smore of my sampled, I sampled
itself.
I sampled good my guitar, uhjust a couple things on certain
songs, right?
colleyc (14:56):
Right.
The Hidden Cameras (14:56):
Yeah.
colleyc (14:57):
And like where where where is all this like where did
your decision start to shiftthat you wanted to change genres
a little bit?
What what was it?
Was it your environment?
Was it just kind of where youwere doing stuff, where you're
going out, or encounter like howdid all of that kind of start
to solidify itself?
The Hidden Cameras (15:18):
Yeah, I mean, I'm I like a lot of
different types of music, sothat's just the direction I
naturally went in.
I wanted to kind of start newin a way, um, after the last
record, which was a collectionof songs I've been recording
since the beginning, actually.
My country record.
Um, or I would call it rootsycountry folk, I guess.
(15:39):
Right.
Um, so I just wanted to startfresh, basically.
You know?
colleyc (15:44):
Yeah, yeah.
And do you feel that youachieved that freshness in when
you listen back to this now?
Like it's it's been out in theworld for a while.
Like yeah, did did it did itdid it achieve what you would
want it to do?
The Hidden Cameras (16:00):
Uh yeah, I'm happy with it.
I think I haven't listened toit.
I mean, once it's out, I don'tlisten to it.
Because I've listened to it amillion times, right?
colleyc (16:10):
Yeah, yeah.
The Hidden Cameras (16:11):
Even the mixing and the master, even the
mastering, you have to listen tostuff over and over, you know?
colleyc (16:16):
Right, right.
Like, give us a Joel, give us aa ballpark range of like how
much does one song, like howmuch do you invest in like one
track on like from beginning toend?
Can you kind of like give usthat timeline of like just the
amount of time it takes?
Because I think sometimespeople, when they are not
musicians, they're like, Yeah,cool song.
(16:37):
They just don't understand thethe blood, sweat, and tears and
time that you put into it.
The Hidden Cameras (16:43):
Yeah, no, it is.
I mean, my process is veryslow.
I mean, the last song on therecord, don't tell me that you
love me, I wrote that probably19 years ago.
Wow, I can't believe how longago.
It was it's really around thetime I moved to Berlin,
actually.
Interesting when I got thisYamaha keyboard.
(17:04):
And it was just it's based onthis discordant chord that's
from that Yamaha keyboard that Ibought in a thrift shop, I
think, somewhere in Canada.
Brought it over.
Um, and then the production ofthat, I mean, we did we I've me
and Nicholas in Munich, we wedid different versions and we
(17:26):
went through percussion, likemany different uh versions of
the song to finally end withwhat we have, which it which I'm
happy that it it it does kickinto a beat after like five
minutes, but it's a very longbuildup basically to a techno
beat.
That's the last song on therecord.
But I don't know if I imaginedthe arrangement when I wrote
(17:48):
that song, but I built thosevocals up um by myself in Berlin
um quite a long time ago.
I just kind of like didn't getaround to work to putting the
song out, you know.
But I knew it was really good,and I and then it finally had a
place on this record.
colleyc (18:03):
Interesting, interesting.
And like, what was your totaltime on that that one song?
The Hidden Cameras (18:08):
Like, oh my gosh, so long because Owen did a
mix as well, and then we wentthrough several mixes, and uh,
there's a lot of layers andstuff.
Like, I wanted it to be kind ofany uh slightly like any and
any her style is to to track andtrack and track and track.
So I tried, I'm not sure I didas many as her, but I tried that
(18:28):
effect, you know.
colleyc (18:29):
Like well, well, this is that I mean that's sounds
like a lot of work with thelayers, but yeah, so Joel, when
when a lot of tracks that soundyeah, yeah.
When you go into the studiowhen you're ready to put this
down, like what do you what doyou bring in?
Like, what do you try to bringin?
What do you look kind of leave?
Like, is it is it fully formedwhen you bring the song into the
(18:52):
actual recording of, or isthere always room for like okay,
we need something in there, orI want to take that out and put
this here?
And like, is does it evolvecontinuously the song, even when
you bring it into the studio,or are you pretty well set once
you get there with the sound andwith this record?
The Hidden Cameras (19:11):
I did not have a set agenda for some of
the songs.
Uh, back in the day, likerecording the smell of our own
in London.
I had all the songs written,all the parts in my head and
ready to go, uh, and rehearsedthe the music as well with the
band.
Um, with Bronto, no, each songwas, you know, sometimes it was
(19:31):
a like I want you is definitelya studio creation of all the
soundscapes and stuff.
Like the song song itself waskind of written.
I don't even think I finishedthe lyrics till the very end.
So um, yeah, and the yeah, so alot of the songs were more like
studio creations.
Okay, it was tracking on ProTools, but but composing and
(19:56):
getting the melodies down inlogic and using all going
through logic sounds and all thesynths and all of the
instruments that they have, theysound really, really good, and
they have every instrument inthe world basically.
So it's exhaust, it's part partof the process of this record
was going through sounds, youknow.
How do you know logic unlessyou go through all of the sounds
(20:18):
or at least try to go throughsome of them?
I don't even know.
We probably didn't even gothrough 10 of the sounds, but at
least we went through so therewas days where we just went
through sounds and I would makenotes about what what sound
could fit on good on what recordor on what song, right?
Right, just taking notes, andthen yeah, so that that was a
(20:40):
large part of Bronto, actually.
Well, and then there was a lotof analog sense there too, so it
was a mixture of both.
colleyc (20:47):
And were the songs that appear on Bronto, were they um
like an inventory of songs?
Like, because you had mentionedbefore the album that came out
before that was like a 10-yearkind of you know, yes,
compilation of various songs.
Was Bronto very much um recentsongs, or again, were they also
songs that you had had just inyour catalog, you know, that you
(21:10):
wanted to put the table?
The Hidden Cameras (21:12):
Yeah, most of them were old, were were
written, uh, could have beenwritten 10 years ago.
I mean, you'd have to tell mewhich song I could kind of tell
you how each song came about.
I mean, but I was telling you,don't tell me that you love me.
I remember I wrote that uh whenI bought that Yamaha keyboard,
and that was yeah, 2000, I don'tknow, six, seven?
colleyc (21:35):
Amazing.
The Hidden Cameras (21:36):
Seven, maybe.
I could probably find out.
Think about it.
If I think about it longenough.
colleyc (21:42):
Yeah, yeah.
And so is that kind of like theway that you've always operated
where it's not like a sessionwhere I'll sit down or like a
complete, like, here's therecord, you know, like I've been
writing songs for the last youknow few months.
Here it is.
Yeah, has it always been like,oh yeah, I remember that song
from nine years ago.
I think that that would fitwell here with that sound of
(22:03):
that beat, and like you do somecollaging like that.
The Hidden Cameras (22:06):
I'm already thinking about future records.
I mean, I have an inventory ofideas that I sometimes forget
about, but sometimes the thisthe idea pops up.
So there's many songs that haveyet to be recorded that are
oldies in in my notebook, youknow?
colleyc (22:24):
Totally, totally.
The Hidden Cameras (22:26):
Um, and so that's what I want to think
about next is what to do next,but try to come to Canada and
play first.
colleyc (22:34):
Yeah, absolutely.
So how have you felt theresponse of the latest record,
Bronto?
How's that been?
Like, how have you, you know, Imean, you spend all this time,
you get this artifact, I know,you release it into the world,
it's there.
Like, how have you found likethe feedback and uh and people's
reaction to what you put out?
The Hidden Cameras (22:55):
Well, my whole October has been I've been
doing nothing.
Well, not nothing, but I havenot been playing, so it's been a
nice basically.
I'm going to Prague and andVienna next week.
Okay, and that's when the showsstart, and I have a whole tour
in in November basically.
Okay.
Um, but uh no, October's justbeen like preparing for the
(23:18):
tour.
colleyc (23:18):
Okay.
And how many dates are on yourtour?
The Hidden Cameras (23:22):
Um, quite a quite a few.
I did we're just addingSalzburg for next year, but uh
yeah.
Uh do you know After Klang?
They're a Danish band.
They were on um 4AD and nowthey're on Cityslang, I think.
colleyc (23:38):
Yeah, they sound yes, I've checked them out.
The Hidden Cameras (23:42):
I'm playing with them in in Warsaw, so
that's my first time playingPoland.
Oh, and then um there's aBerlin show at the uh canteen
amberghein, it's called, and uma festival in Graz, and then
there's uh Madrid and Barcelonaand Lisbon in December.
colleyc (24:03):
Wow, amazing!
The Hidden Cameras (24:04):
Oh, and Gothenburg, Sweden, and then
Hamburg.
colleyc (24:08):
And like, what's your anticipation?
Like, you have all these dateslined up, you know you're gonna
be like saturated in it.
Somebody said that you work 24hours to play one hour, you
know, like you're in the job for24 hours because what else are
you gonna do in you knowwherever you're at?
Yeah, how do you get preparedfor a tour like this?
The Hidden Cameras (24:32):
Uh, you know, it's not actually a
grueling tour because it's it'sjust you know, a couple shows on
this one on this leg and thenin and out to Warsaw from
Berlin.
So it's only like two shows orthree shows each time I go out.
Okay, which is how I wanted itbecause you know the back in the
day, the band, I mean, we did asleeper coach with a 10-piece
(24:54):
band, and we were playing everynight, I believe, for two weeks
in Europe.
Uh but when you have a sleepercoach, you can do it, and that's
grueling.
That's really grueling.
When it's a six-week tour, I'vedone I've done a six-week North
American tour and a six-weekEuropean tour back to back.
That's more like how do you doit?
colleyc (25:17):
Right.
The Hidden Cameras (25:18):
This is easy.
This is I'm taking a train bymyself.
colleyc (25:22):
Okay.
What's the setup?
Like, how how what's the hiddencameras setup for this these
shows coming up to representthis record?
The Hidden Cameras (25:33):
Uh it's just me and a guitar and a kick
drum.
So I'm playing some of the oldsongs with with a kick drum
sometimes.
Uh, and then the tracks.
So my dance tracks, I willplay.
I play a little guitar on thedance tracks, but I mostly just
sing and dance a bit to to someof the bangers on the new
record.
And sometimes I'll have aguest.
colleyc (25:56):
Okay.
The Hidden Cameras (25:57):
Uh it depends who's playing with me,
but sometimes it's nice.
I always try to get somebody tosing on Boys of Melody with me
at the end.
colleyc (26:04):
Right, right.
Um, yeah.
That's pretty cool though.
Like, is that is it harder whenyou're up there all by yourself
than you know, having you know,a handful of other musicians
around you to like is it do youis it a different mindset that
you have to go into the showwith?
The Hidden Cameras (26:23):
I'm more comfortable with with performing
and especially by myself, so umI kind of look forward to it in
a way.
colleyc (26:33):
Um because it's only you, right?
There's no other people toworry about or what they're
doing, or it's just like yeah,it's you and your music.
The Hidden Cameras (26:41):
Yeah.
colleyc (26:42):
Interesting.
Interesting.
The Hidden Cameras (26:44):
Don't get me wrong, I like playing with
people, but it's quite a lotmore stress somehow.
colleyc (26:49):
Right.
And I imagine too, like you'renot in a huge camper and like
all these other yeah, it's likeyou go on your train, you're on
your train, you're chilling,like it's like much more um
conducive to a show, I wouldsay, than uh a six-week 24-7
around you.
Definitely.
(27:11):
Well, Joel, this has beenreally fun.
I really appreciate it.
I'm super happy that we got achance to just connect before
you uh you actually startplaying these tunes out in the
world.
Canada would always uh love tosee you come back and perform
for us.
Uh your home is your home.
Um, but yeah, looking intocoming next year.
(27:32):
That'd be amazing.
That'd be amazing.
And Joel, just one other likethe music keeps going on.
You're you're you're you'realways in this creative
songwriting process.
The Hidden Cameras (27:46):
Um, not really.
But I am working on it severala couple I I I have a couple
ideas for different records.
colleyc (27:55):
Okay, cool.
The Hidden Cameras (27:56):
Uh, but I'm not like trying to write songs
every day, not at all.
colleyc (27:59):
Will the wait between records be as long as the last
one?
The Hidden Cameras (28:03):
I don't think so, but who knows?
Who knows if there's gonna beanother pandemic?
colleyc (28:07):
Right, that's true.
You never know with this crazyworld of ours, eh?
Yeah, well, I wish you all thebest in your tour.
Um, I'm so uh hopefully you canthrow a few pictures up so us
uh people far away can kind ofsee what it looks like and feels
like.
The Hidden Cameras (28:23):
Um I will definitely try to, yeah.
colleyc (28:26):
I've really been enjoying this record.
It's uh it's a really cool,fun.
I'm gonna I have to drive intoMontreal, so I'm gonna throw it
on super loud the whole way in.
So oh nice.
The Hidden Cameras (28:36):
So where are you?
You don't live in Montreal?
colleyc (28:38):
No, well, I'm kind of down the country today, so I
have like an hour and a halfdrive.
I have to go to the nice, yeah.
Hope you enjoy it.
It's really good, I think.
Yeah, yeah.
Well, and all the best on thetour and the record, and uh, if
you ever want to come and uhtalk about a new record or a new
experience, uh, I'm always herefor you, man.
The Hidden Cameras (28:59):
All right, well, thank you so much.
colleyc (29:01):
Take care.
The Hidden Cameras (29:02):
All right, take care of yourself.
Bye.
(30:33):
It's law that will be spared inthe chance they all will sing.
Don't tell me that you love me.
The ugly that still wants me.
(30:57):
Is that anybody here tounderstand what's new to me?
anybody you want to stand nextto what sad?
(31:30):
Can we blame?
If we can blame ourselves.
We all those other guys.
(32:04):
You said that you despise.
Don't tell me that you want me.
You want everything and loveme.
Just like all those other guys.
Do it, you must apply.
You will not be a big man.
(32:45):
You want to try to makeanybody?
You want to stand next to Iheard you got the gun.
(33:12):
You want to try to makeanybody.
You want to stand and still beable to do that.
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