December 3, 2025 • 29 mins
A happy mistake at a concert.
A guitar rediscovered in the back of a closet.
Two students on totally different paths who somehow found the same sound.
That’s the origin story of sundayclub, a rural Manitoba duo whose music feels like it was pulled from an ’80s Polaroid—warm, hazy, and quietly intentional. Their new EP, Bannatyne, captures that balance perfectly: pop instincts wrapped in dream-pop atmosphere, four tracks that melt into one continuous mood.
When you talk to Courtney Carmichael and Nikki St. Pierre, you get the sense that their process is equal parts chaos and craft. Courtney writes with a diarist’s honesty, often chasing the feeling a moment left behind. Nikki builds the sonic world around those words, leaning on production chops and an obsession with tone. A simple tuning shift to open C cracked something open—suddenly, new harmonies and melodies started falling out of the guitar.
They work fast to capture the spark, then slow down for the final stretch, refusing to rush a lyric or sand off a rough edge just to be “done.” That patience shows. Bannatyne isn’t a playlist of singles—it’s a short film in sound, one that breathes and unfolds with intention.
Their path to Paper Bag Records came with its own lucky breaks—a well-timed mastering grant, a few key community ties, and a lot of persistence. Listeners have already gravitated toward Nuclear Fallout, a track that wasn’t meant to be the standout but hit something unexpected. Courtney and Nikki say that kind of connection means more than any genre label could.
Looking ahead, they’re teasing a reimagined “Last Christmas”, a run of Canadian shows, and new singles that stretch their sound without losing its heart.
If you’re into indie pop, dream pop, odd guitar tunings, and the craft behind a cohesive EP, this one’s for you. Stream the episode, spin Bannatyne front to back, and see which moment sticks. And if you love what you hear, share it with a friend—because that’s how good music travels.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
colleyc (00:29):
Alright, everyone, welcome to another episode
ifitbeyourwill Podcast.
We're out searching formusicians to share their story
of happiness, joy, creatingmusic.
As you all know, I'm fromCanada, and I always love it
when I have Canadian artistscoming in, and I have a budding
(00:53):
duo here from Manitoba.
Courtney Carmichael and NikkiSt.
Pierre from Manitoba, ruralManitoba.
We were just talking abouttheir town.
They're from a town calledBoseju.
I'm saying it in French, butthey're saying there's a
Ukrainian influence there, andwe'll talk a little bit about
that.
They have a new EP that cameout October 31st called
(01:14):
Banatine.
Am I correct in saying that,guys?
Banatine.
Oh.
And this is just a littleteaser to something that I think
we'll hear more of as we haveour conversation.
So, guys, thanks so much fortaking some time to uh come and
talk about what you guys havebeen doing music-wise.
I was really impressed with uhthis EP.
(01:37):
I feel that it you guys arehitting on, you know, dream
poppy, you know, just this hazykind of I like the aesthetic
that you guys use of kind oflike an 80s Kodak Polaroid feel
to it.
And it really does.
It feels authentic and genuineand I want to know all about it.
(01:59):
Before that though, guys, howdid how oh and I didn't even
mention your name yet?
Sunday Club.
All one word, guys.
They have it in lowercase,which I love.
Canadiana music, so a Canadiangroup.
How do how did you guys gettogether?
Like how did how did the moonsand the sun's rotation bring you
(02:22):
to where you are now with thisrelease of this new EP?
Nikki (02:26):
Well, I was originally just helping her and her sister
record some demos for like theirfolk thing that they were doing
a few years ago.
And and while her sistereventually kind of lost interest
in in music, we just neverstopped making it.
Courtney (02:42):
Yeah, and then the pandemic hit and the rest is
history kind of.
colleyc (02:45):
Right, right.
And where did you guysoriginally meet?
Like you guys seem quite young,if you don't mind me saying,
you guys are probably what Gen Zis?
Courtney (02:54):
Shit Gen Z.
Gen Z, I guess, yeah.
colleyc (02:57):
How did how did your reunion begin?
Like, how did so you were youwere kind of doing music first,
uh Courtney, and then with yoursister, and then you guys
decide, okay, let's let's dothis, let's join together here
and like focus on this band.
Nikki (03:14):
Well, well, we met in university, and then that's kind
of how I just kind of helpedher do those demos.
Courtney (03:21):
Yeah.
We were kind of on separatepaths entirely, and even like
the way we made music at thetime just on our own was
completely different.
But I think like maybe maybethe missing piece was each
other, just because what Iseemed to lack he had and what
he seemed to lack I couldprovide.
So kind of a symbioticrelationship like that.
colleyc (03:42):
Totally.
And if we roll back the clock alittle bit further, like where
did you guys get this idea forthe style of this band?
I mean, it's it's quite uniquefor a rural Manitoba duo.
Where did where did the genrekind of percolate from?
Were you guys interested insimilar music, or you kind of
(04:03):
had these inventory of songs?
Can you kind of paint us thispicture of how all this style
and coming together to createthis kind of music, this dreamy
music came about?
Nikki (04:15):
Well, uh, we were both into very different kinds of
music before getting into indietogether.
So so our journey of exploringindie music really happened
together, which is really great.
It helped our influences kindof grow and and prosper on the
same path.
First time I actually wasexposed to indie, I accidentally
went to a Tokyo Police Clubshow.
(04:36):
I bought a I bought a ticket,which and I thought I was going
to Tokyo Hotel.
Ah.
So I took a German emo band.
Courtney (04:44):
Very different.
Yeah.
Nikki (04:45):
And I ended up at a Tokyo Police Club show, and I went,
what is this music?
colleyc (04:50):
Yeah.
What was it about it that youthat that struck you that was
like, wow.
Like, I mean, you must havebeen surprised because you were
expecting something else.
What was it that kind of likegrabbed you?
Like, wow, this is cool.
Nikki (05:04):
I think it was like the lightness of it all.
Things weren't so heavy andintense.
They're intense in a differentway.
You know, a lot of a lot ofenjoyable, like, you know, riffs
and and and everyone's justsmiling and having a good time.
Courtney (05:17):
I think what really drew me to indie music was just
the fact that I hadn't reallyheard a lot of it growing up.
Like I I listened to verymainstream music, you know, pop,
country.
It's kind of what you hear,especially in a rural setting.
So to like becoming into earlyadulthood and then kind of start
exploring a genre that you'dnever really that you'd never
(05:38):
really had prior experiencelistening to was really, I
think, like a key element to tothe forming of Sunday Club.
colleyc (05:46):
Yeah.
Right, right.
And Courtney, did you were youwriting?
I mean, you were playing withyour sister, so obviously you
were you're writing music.
How did that process happen foryou?
How did you come into, hey, Iwanna try to write songs, you
know, I want to write songs, Iwanna be a musician.
Like, how did you come intothat as you were going through?
Courtney (06:06):
I've always I've always loved writing from like
as early as I can remember.
I have like a journal that goesback to like when I was eight
years old, and that's likereally around the time where I
first started, you know,documenting things that would be
happening in my life, or youknow, just starting to write
songs here and there.
And I it took me a long time, Ithink, to find my own voice and
(06:32):
my own songwriting voice.
And I think that that came withplaying around with a lot more
like alternative, dreamytextures.
And I think that's where mysongwriting sort of blossomed
and grew.
Because, like I said before,like a lot of what I listened to
is very mainstream and verypop.
So when that's all you'rehearing, that's sort of what you
(06:53):
echo.
And so at that particular pointin time, I feel like I adopted
a lot of the writing styles, alot of the pop sensibilities
that you can kind of hear in theEP for sure, especially on
Vanatine.
The pop sensibilities aredefinitely there, and we both
have that influence.
But I think getting moreexperimental with the with the
(07:15):
music itself, with the sounds, Ithink is what in turn helped my
songwriting improve.
Yeah.
colleyc (07:23):
And Nick, what about what about your like what were
your influences as you weregrowing up?
And then what was that switchfor you to to be so interested
in music and wanting to be thein that creative process of
creating it?
Nikki (07:38):
Well, I didn't grow up grow up in a very musical
household.
It was just kind of what wasever was on the radio, but but I
went out and kind of found myown things, and a lot of them
were like greatest hits albums,right?
So one of my favorite albums ofall time is like Motown, like
40 year greatest hits.
I spun that CD so much as akid.
(08:00):
So I think a lot of like my popsensibility comes from only
listening to the hits as a kid,right?
And then yeah, how we ended upwith kind of indie music and and
all of that is just I like likeI heard metric, I heard I heard
breathing underwater and likegive me sympathy, and I went,
Whoa, this is crazy! Like, whatare these tones?
(08:24):
What is like how are all thesethings working together?
Especially like, you know, inmy teen years, being really into
like emo and metal music.
It's just it's so opposite.
So I just I wanted to find away to to to make that, and and
I did, and you know, even likegoing back a little further, my
journey started.
I found a guitar in my closet.
(08:44):
And I went, This is this issuper cool.
I'm gonna learn how to playthis.
I think I was eight years old,and then I I just I did, I
picked it up and I just kind oftaught myself how to play it.
Self-taught.
Yeah, and then Sonda Clubreally kind of started to grow
when when I changed my tuning.
So I went from standard tosomething else that had zero
resources anywhere on how toplay like that.
(09:05):
So I had to come up with allthe theory and everything on my
own, and it just kind of allowedus to create our own sound.
Courtney (09:11):
Yeah.
And then he taught me thetuning, so now that's what I
play in as well.
So that really shifted thingsfor me too, because I think we
were both feeling super stuck.
Yeah.
In standard tuning, we justweren't getting, we weren't
getting what we wanted to hearfrom it.
Nikki (09:23):
Yeah.
Great.
And it's kind of it's kind offunny because like here in in
Winnipeg and everything, likethis is where Joey Landrith is
from, big blues guy, plays inOpenC, which is what we play in.
And I was interning at thestudio that they do all their
stuff.
And at the time, when Ihappened to change over, I got
so much flack for that, dude.
You're just gonna call theJoey, I'm like, I promise I'm
(09:45):
not.
colleyc (09:47):
So I mean, I mean, music is quite universal, so I
love this idea of kind ofswitching it up a bit, right?
Because I mean, you know, threechords, you can write a ton of
songs, right?
And growing up, as you weresaying, with this Motown, which
is uh, you know, pretty easilystructured, and I would even
add, you know, emo and hardcore.
(10:08):
I mean, they use the same uhstructures, right?
It's just the delivery and whatyou're going to do.
Uh when did you start realizingthat you can manipulate sound
uh beyond the instruments, butin the recording process itself?
Nikki (10:26):
Well, I started doing studio stuff when I was 13, I
think.
I think Squirrelix had justcome out, and I was like, what
is like electronic music?
Kind of the same awakening thathappened five, six years later
with Indy kind of happened withelectronic music.
And then I got, you know, I Idid that for years and really,
really learned how to getexactly what I wanted from
(10:48):
whatever I happen to be using.
And then and then for me, songshave always been about the
overall vibe of it.
Like a very, very obscurething.
I think in the last two weeks,I don't think I've listened to
anything in English, right?
So it's not like it's not forme, it's not about the lyrics,
but it's about the melody andhow they it interact with the
music.
Courtney (11:07):
Well, and for me, it's completely opposite.
For me, like all I hear is thelyrics and the melody.
And for me, like the melody isking.
So I'm always trying to havecreate a melody that best
supports the lyrics that arebeing delivered, which is like
again, very obscure, very hard,very hard to wrap your head
(11:28):
around.
And it like it's not somethingthat you can really like force
or coach yourself through.
You kind of you you sometimessit on a song and you don't have
a verse melody for six monthsor a year.
Like we've literally had songsthat we've played live, but just
didn't play the verses becausewe just simply didn't have them
ready.
Like they just weren't, we hadtried all kinds of different
(11:48):
computations and permutations,nothing stuck.
It was just patience and timethat you know.
colleyc (11:54):
Yeah, yeah.
D does your process the two youwhen you are putting something
down on tape, is that is it along process, or do you guys get
get going pretty quickly at it?
Like once you have your ideas,is the process pretty quick, or
do you always it's quick, it'sit's quick, but it's also long.
Nikki (12:12):
You get to that 95% really quick, but that last five
percent takes off.
Courtney (12:15):
Yeah, right.
Nikki (12:16):
Like we've done some co-writes, like we did some
co-right in London and in LA,and like people seem to be
surprised at how fast we werebut that last five percent.
Courtney (12:28):
Yeah, so like five years.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
colleyc (12:33):
Yeah, yeah.
Well, I was talking with JoelGibb from the Hidden Cameras uh
last week, and he was saying toothat like he doesn't listen to
the record once it's out becausehe's just so saturated with it.
He just you know, it's likeit's like done on to the next
kind of project.
Like I appreciate that, yeah.
I mean it's and and peopledon't often get that, right?
(12:53):
Like how long, how many timesyou actually listen to the
minutiae of every little detailof the song.
Every note.
And it can get a bit likeexhausting.
Courtney (13:03):
And then when it's especially you can't separate
yourself from what you've made.
Like, I believe that a part ofyou goes into every single thing
that you make.
And so, like, there is noescape, there's no seeing that
from another perspective, andyou're always gonna hear certain
things that other people mightnot pick up on, but you'll
always hear it.
And so it does sometimes youhave to take a break from
certain songs, or then you'llthen you'll have a moment where
(13:25):
you'll remember, like, yeah, Iremember, I remember putting
that specific thing into thatsong.
Like, that was a greatdecision, you know.
You'll you'll have good momentstoo, but sure, sure, sure.
colleyc (13:34):
And Courtney, as as a lyricist, what what inspires you
with the songs that you youknow, the lyrics that you put
together, wh where do they comefrom?
What what what experiences doyou draw from that that you feel
that you write the best songsaround lyrically wise?
Courtney (13:52):
I first I look up to a lot of different writers and I
try to be a good student andsort of take little bits and
pieces here and there from someof the people that I that I look
up to most.
I think for me the process justbecame refined in the sense
(14:14):
that I just started to say whatI felt and not what I was
thinking about.
Like the EP is it's veryvulnerable, it's very personal.
And I think I use sort of acombination of what I'm seeing
in my surroundings, sort of thatkind of physical or visceral
(14:36):
image imagery mixed with how I'mfeeling at the time.
Sobanatine is a little bit moreupbeat.
There is like a thread ofsadness in there, kind of like a
parting ways, a feeling ofparting ways.
But I think my process reallyjust comes from like an in being
inspired by by my surroundingsand then and then trying to
(14:58):
pinpoint the feeling that I thatI'm having at that particular
moment.
So sometimes I actually writeretroactively.
Like sometimes I I'm notwriting necessarily always about
what I'm feeling in the moment.
I could be writing about amoment that had already happened
two years ago, but I can stillremember how I felt at that
time.
So I don't really write like upto date sort of to to speak.
(15:21):
Yeah.
colleyc (15:22):
Okay, okay.
And how does how do you howdoes your collaboration work in
the sense who brings what intothe mix, into the game, into the
song?
Like how do they come to bethese songs?
And if we were to look at theEP that you guys just put out,
like how did those songs come tolife and how did you choose
those ones in particular otherthan other ones that you have in
(15:44):
your archive?
Nikki (15:45):
These collection of songs kind of just felt like they
belong together.
Like they i it it's hard todescribe other than that.
Especially when you doeventually hear what comes next,
it'll make a lot of sense.
Um because everything wastogether as a part of a big
collection, and we went, Oh, Ithink maybe this should be an
EP.
You know, we sat down with ourlabel and our management, and
(16:06):
and we we talked about splittingit up.
And so that's we're yeah.
Courtney (16:10):
I think we bring every song starts out differently
every time.
Yeah, but we each seem to bringsomething, the same thing,
every single time.
So like I'll bring, you know,the lyrics will hit me usually
right away, and if they don't,then that means that they're not
right yet, and I and I needtime to to make sure that
(16:32):
they're right.
The melody comes almost alwaysimmediately, I wanna say.
Sometimes I I sing over whathe's played on the guitar, but
sometimes that's kind of hardbecause it's like you're there's
almost not enough informationthere to go off of.
Nikki (16:51):
Yeah.
Courtney (16:51):
So I feel like we arrange a lot of our songs based
on already existing melodiesthat I've written.
Nikki (16:57):
Definitely, and like even then, like I'll she'll come up
maybe with a chord progression,and then I'll entirely change it
when we get into like Protoolsor Luna, like our daughter,
right?
I won't tell her, I'll just doit.
Right?
Because like you know, sheworks so hard at at trying to
write about this feeling, andnow I have to capture the the
gut part of the abstract thatclass to serve the same thing.
colleyc (17:19):
And Nick, do you know when she's on to something?
Like, can you tell, like, allright, this is gonna be
something that I can find myselfin as well?
Nikki (17:28):
Yes, and 99% of the time when she comes up with
something, it's there and wehave it.
Like we're we're very intenseabout uh like making music.
Yeah.
Like, and we don't we we findourselves especially since you
know, like doing things to thelevel that we're doing it at, we
don't have as much time to sitdown and do the actual music as
we uh would like to.
(17:49):
So when we do sit down, itfeels like there's a lot of
pressure and you know, we needto come up.
Courtney (17:55):
And it's funny, I think we've always had that
pressure, like even before likeeverything that's happened in
the last year, I think there wasalways that sort of that sort
of rush to do things as quicklyas you can because we, you know,
both were working jobs, we wereboth were going to university.
You know, it took me sevenyears to finish my degree, I
(18:18):
finally did.
And so it's like we were doingall of this music while, you
know, life was just happening.
So we never really took anyfree moment for granted, and we
just tried to try to get somematerial down on paper as soon
as we could, yeah.
colleyc (18:37):
Yeah, yeah.
Do you guys find that thatembarking in this musical
industry, like how do you guysnavigate it with all that?
You know, like finding the timeand you know, I mean, dance
have to go out on tour, theyhave to try to find ways to
raise money or it just becomes aproject rather than, you know,
a part of who you are.
How are you guys navigating thelandscape of the music industry
(19:00):
in 2025?
Nikki (19:02):
Well, we're pretty like aside from being isolated in
rural Manitoba, like we arepretty social people when we're
in it.
Um so we do we kind of we dofit naturally a little into the
music scene just because we lovetalking with people, we love
getting to know people.
You know, that's how we builtour entire team.
And every single person on ourteam is like very dear to us,
(19:23):
and we all have that connectionthat is not just there because
of Sunday Club.
Courtney (19:30):
I also think we're just willing to like navigate
anything because it's just whatwe want to do, and both what
we've wanted to do from as earlyas we can remember.
So I think you know, yousometimes have to take a step
back and just be grateful thatwe're even here, you know, with
every little step, even thoughit may feel like you know, a
non-step, it it's everythingadds up, and yeah, we can only
(19:56):
just be grateful for for whatwe've experienced thus far.
colleyc (20:00):
Totally.
And how did your relationshipbegin with the paperbag records?
How did how did that reunionhappen?
Nikki (20:08):
We sent our record into uh Manitoba Film and Music for a
grant to do uh to do ourmastering, which we got mastered
by Matt Leffert Schulman, whodid does like Beach Us.
Yeah, wonderful, wonderfulhuman.
And then the head of thatorganization on like the music
side as the guitarist of a bandcalled the Weaker Thans.
(20:30):
Yeah.
And he had he just he knew thehead of paper bags, so he's
like, Hey, I really think youshould check this out.
And then within 15 minutes, uhthe Brendan, the the head of our
label said, I need to get theseguys on a call right now.
And the rest is kind ofhistory.
Courtney (20:47):
Within the next few weeks, we were like already like
negotiating her.
Yeah.
Kind of a whirlwind experience.
It was like we're just comingup on a year, but yeah, it it's
been it's been insane.
Yeah.
colleyc (21:01):
Yeah.
So your record's been out, youknow, a you know, a week or two,
I guess.
How how how are you feelingit's getting received?
Is it is it is it achievingwhat you guys hope people would
get out of it?
I mean, I guess it's hardbecause you can't read people's
minds, but just the feedbackyou've had, the reviews that
have come out, which to me seemreally amazing.
(21:24):
How how is how is all of thatuh reception for what you guys
created has has it surpassedwhat you anticipated, or you
know, you just hunger for more?
Can you fill us in a little biton the I'd say in two?
Nikki (21:40):
Yeah.
I'd say reading you know thearticles that that get written
about this, about about thesongs that are out.
I was not expecting it.
I wasn't expecting people tolatch on to these specific songs
as much as they have.
Uh so to to read some of thewonderful things that that
people have taken the time towrite about us has just been an
amazing experience.
Courtney (22:00):
Yeah, it's been really cool, especially because I
think we kind of thought thatthese songs were a little bit of
outliers just compared to someof the other things that we've
written.
Nikki (22:09):
Right.
Courtney (22:10):
But for people to have received them, you know, so
warmly.
We were just talking about itthe other day.
We got like a couple more likepaperbags sent us a couple more
articles yesterday, and we werejust reading them through, and
we're just like, we were reallyhappy that we feel as though
other people like are gettingit.
Like is it so hard to convey,yeah.
(22:31):
Even though music is universal,it can be so hard to find your
niche.
And I'm just I'm I think we'reboth happy that we both seem to
have found that niche, and otherpeople have also found it,
which is especially thiscollection of the these songs in
particular.
Nikki (22:48):
I'm really happy that that came through.
Courtney (22:50):
Yeah.
Nikki (22:50):
You know, if if you write a s if we're writing a song
that sounds like, I don't know,always or metric, and and then
that reference comes through anarticle, you're like, okay,
well, yeah, that makes sense.
Yeah.
But to have nuclear fallout betalked about like that or banner
time, it's uh it means it meansa lot, and it means that what
we put into it at its corereally does resonate.
colleyc (23:11):
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's beautiful.
Yeah, I mean, some of the likeone of the comments that I read,
well, actually, Julie sent itto me.
Your your your PR person abouthow this is the EP to listen to
this year.
I mean, it's just and Nick, yousaid something before too.
I just wanted to come back to.
I mean, it's a four-song EP,but like you said, uh it it
feeds itself so well to the nextsong.
(23:34):
Like, I think your arrangementof how you put the four
together, uh like it's a it's afull listen, right?
It's not like a I don't thinkthey're singles.
I you know, I think it's itsits own thing, which I really,
really appreciate.
And that takes time and effortand tons of thought to figure
out just even sequencing and howis this gonna bleed into the
next and the next, and are webuilding or bringing down?
(23:56):
Like, I just love the way itmakes me feel that uh your
ladies DP.
So I want to thank you guys forfor putting that out.
Nikki (24:04):
I really appreciate that because you know I think if we
weren't any other label, theywould have been like, no, we're
pushing singles, wherein youknow, we were like, no.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
colleyc (24:12):
No, I think that it I think they need one another, and
I love that you had said toothat these four just felt right
together, and I totally feelthat.
I feel what you're saying, so Ilove that.
So, guys, kind of to bring usto a close here, uh again,
thanks for your time.
This has been really cool.
Uh, I think you guys are arecool cats there, and I love what
(24:32):
you guys are doing.
I think that your honesty andyou know, openness to building
relationships and being outthere and learning and hustling
it can is very commendable.
So congratulations on that.
Uh what can we anticipate whatfor the rest of this year 2025
into 2026 that you can sharewith us?
Nikki (24:54):
Well, we do have a cover actually coming out in November.
We did a cover of lastChristmas.
Uh and so we did it, weoriginally did it last year just
for fun, like really lowpressure.
We'll put it out for ourfriends, and then Label wanted
us to to to put it out thisyear, so we kind of redid it
from the top, from the top down.
(25:14):
That'll be coming out in acouple of weeks.
Two weeks, yeah.
Two weeks.
Yeah.
And then I think then we'regonna start doing singles for
something that's to come.
colleyc (25:26):
Cool.
And are you gonna hit the roadat all to play these tongues for
your people?
Courtney (25:30):
And yeah, next Saturday we are leaving on tour,
actually.
Just a small Canadian tour.
Yeah, nice.
Small route.
We got a couple showcases linedup in Montreal and in Ottawa,
and that'll be good.
colleyc (25:43):
Yeah, I think you're playing twice in Montreal, which
I am surely gonna be at one ofthose shows, that's for sure.
So I look forward to meetingyou guys in person, actually.
Nikki (25:51):
Yeah, it's like that.
colleyc (25:53):
Yeah, cool.
Well, I wish you all the best,guys.
As 2026 comes into light, I'dlove to have you back on if we
can keep this conversationgoing.
I I'm you're on my radar now,so be for that.
And I just wish you all thebest.
Keep doing what you're doing,because so far this little
taster has been amazing.
(26:13):
So congrats.
Alright, everyone, welcome to another episode
ifitbeyourwill Podcast.
We're out searching formusicians to share their story
of happiness, joy, creatingmusic.
As you all know, I'm fromCanada, and I always love it
when I have Canadian artistscoming in, and I have a budding
(00:53):
duo here from Manitoba.
Courtney Carmichael and NikkiSt.
Pierre from Manitoba, ruralManitoba.
We were just talking abouttheir town.
They're from a town calledBoseju.
I'm saying it in French, butthey're saying there's a
Ukrainian influence there, andwe'll talk a little bit about
that.
They have a new EP that cameout October 31st called
(01:14):
Banatine.
Am I correct in saying that,guys?
Banatine.
Oh.
And this is just a littleteaser to something that I think
we'll hear more of as we haveour conversation.
So, guys, thanks so much fortaking some time to uh come and
talk about what you guys havebeen doing music-wise.
I was really impressed with uhthis EP.
(01:37):
I feel that it you guys arehitting on, you know, dream
poppy, you know, just this hazykind of I like the aesthetic
that you guys use of kind oflike an 80s Kodak Polaroid feel
to it.
And it really does.
It feels authentic and genuineand I want to know all about it.
(01:59):
Before that though, guys, howdid how oh and I didn't even
mention your name yet?
Sunday Club.
All one word, guys.
They have it in lowercase,which I love.
Canadiana music, so a Canadiangroup.
How do how did you guys gettogether?
Like how did how did the moonsand the sun's rotation bring you
(02:22):
to where you are now with thisrelease of this new EP?
Nikki (02:26):
Well, I was originally just helping her and her sister
record some demos for like theirfolk thing that they were doing
a few years ago.
And and while her sistereventually kind of lost interest
in in music, we just neverstopped making it.
Courtney (02:42):
Yeah, and then the pandemic hit and the rest is
history kind of.
colleyc (02:45):
Right, right.
And where did you guysoriginally meet?
Like you guys seem quite young,if you don't mind me saying,
you guys are probably what Gen Zis?
Courtney (02:54):
Shit Gen Z.
Gen Z, I guess, yeah.
colleyc (02:57):
How did how did your reunion begin?
Like, how did so you were youwere kind of doing music first,
uh Courtney, and then with yoursister, and then you guys
decide, okay, let's let's dothis, let's join together here
and like focus on this band.
Nikki (03:14):
Well, well, we met in university, and then that's kind
of how I just kind of helpedher do those demos.
Courtney (03:21):
Yeah.
We were kind of on separatepaths entirely, and even like
the way we made music at thetime just on our own was
completely different.
But I think like maybe maybethe missing piece was each
other, just because what Iseemed to lack he had and what
he seemed to lack I couldprovide.
So kind of a symbioticrelationship like that.
colleyc (03:42):
Totally.
And if we roll back the clock alittle bit further, like where
did you guys get this idea forthe style of this band?
I mean, it's it's quite uniquefor a rural Manitoba duo.
Where did where did the genrekind of percolate from?
Were you guys interested insimilar music, or you kind of
(04:03):
had these inventory of songs?
Can you kind of paint us thispicture of how all this style
and coming together to createthis kind of music, this dreamy
music came about?
Nikki (04:15):
Well, uh, we were both into very different kinds of
music before getting into indietogether.
So so our journey of exploringindie music really happened
together, which is really great.
It helped our influences kindof grow and and prosper on the
same path.
First time I actually wasexposed to indie, I accidentally
went to a Tokyo Police Clubshow.
(04:36):
I bought a I bought a ticket,which and I thought I was going
to Tokyo Hotel.
Ah.
So I took a German emo band.
Courtney (04:44):
Very different.
Yeah.
Nikki (04:45):
And I ended up at a Tokyo Police Club show, and I went,
what is this music?
colleyc (04:50):
Yeah.
What was it about it that youthat that struck you that was
like, wow.
Like, I mean, you must havebeen surprised because you were
expecting something else.
What was it that kind of likegrabbed you?
Like, wow, this is cool.
Nikki (05:04):
I think it was like the lightness of it all.
Things weren't so heavy andintense.
They're intense in a differentway.
You know, a lot of a lot ofenjoyable, like, you know, riffs
and and and everyone's justsmiling and having a good time.
Courtney (05:17):
I think what really drew me to indie music was just
the fact that I hadn't reallyheard a lot of it growing up.
Like I I listened to verymainstream music, you know, pop,
country.
It's kind of what you hear,especially in a rural setting.
So to like becoming into earlyadulthood and then kind of start
exploring a genre that you'dnever really that you'd never
(05:38):
really had prior experiencelistening to was really, I
think, like a key element to tothe forming of Sunday Club.
colleyc (05:46):
Yeah.
Right, right.
And Courtney, did you were youwriting?
I mean, you were playing withyour sister, so obviously you
were you're writing music.
How did that process happen foryou?
How did you come into, hey, Iwanna try to write songs, you
know, I want to write songs, Iwanna be a musician.
Like, how did you come intothat as you were going through?
Courtney (06:06):
I've always I've always loved writing from like
as early as I can remember.
I have like a journal that goesback to like when I was eight
years old, and that's likereally around the time where I
first started, you know,documenting things that would be
happening in my life, or youknow, just starting to write
songs here and there.
And I it took me a long time, Ithink, to find my own voice and
(06:32):
my own songwriting voice.
And I think that that came withplaying around with a lot more
like alternative, dreamytextures.
And I think that's where mysongwriting sort of blossomed
and grew.
Because, like I said before,like a lot of what I listened to
is very mainstream and verypop.
So when that's all you'rehearing, that's sort of what you
(06:53):
echo.
And so at that particular pointin time, I feel like I adopted
a lot of the writing styles, alot of the pop sensibilities
that you can kind of hear in theEP for sure, especially on
Vanatine.
The pop sensibilities aredefinitely there, and we both
have that influence.
But I think getting moreexperimental with the with the
(07:15):
music itself, with the sounds, Ithink is what in turn helped my
songwriting improve.
Yeah.
colleyc (07:23):
And Nick, what about what about your like what were
your influences as you weregrowing up?
And then what was that switchfor you to to be so interested
in music and wanting to be thein that creative process of
creating it?
Nikki (07:38):
Well, I didn't grow up grow up in a very musical
household.
It was just kind of what wasever was on the radio, but but I
went out and kind of found myown things, and a lot of them
were like greatest hits albums,right?
So one of my favorite albums ofall time is like Motown, like
40 year greatest hits.
I spun that CD so much as akid.
(08:00):
So I think a lot of like my popsensibility comes from only
listening to the hits as a kid,right?
And then yeah, how we ended upwith kind of indie music and and
all of that is just I like likeI heard metric, I heard I heard
breathing underwater and likegive me sympathy, and I went,
Whoa, this is crazy! Like, whatare these tones?
(08:24):
What is like how are all thesethings working together?
Especially like, you know, inmy teen years, being really into
like emo and metal music.
It's just it's so opposite.
So I just I wanted to find away to to to make that, and and
I did, and you know, even likegoing back a little further, my
journey started.
I found a guitar in my closet.
(08:44):
And I went, This is this issuper cool.
I'm gonna learn how to playthis.
I think I was eight years old,and then I I just I did, I
picked it up and I just kind oftaught myself how to play it.
Self-taught.
Yeah, and then Sonda Clubreally kind of started to grow
when when I changed my tuning.
So I went from standard tosomething else that had zero
resources anywhere on how toplay like that.
(09:05):
So I had to come up with allthe theory and everything on my
own, and it just kind of allowedus to create our own sound.
Courtney (09:11):
Yeah.
And then he taught me thetuning, so now that's what I
play in as well.
So that really shifted thingsfor me too, because I think we
were both feeling super stuck.
Yeah.
In standard tuning, we justweren't getting, we weren't
getting what we wanted to hearfrom it.
Nikki (09:23):
Yeah.
Great.
And it's kind of it's kind offunny because like here in in
Winnipeg and everything, likethis is where Joey Landrith is
from, big blues guy, plays inOpenC, which is what we play in.
And I was interning at thestudio that they do all their
stuff.
And at the time, when Ihappened to change over, I got
so much flack for that, dude.
You're just gonna call theJoey, I'm like, I promise I'm
(09:45):
not.
colleyc (09:47):
So I mean, I mean, music is quite universal, so I
love this idea of kind ofswitching it up a bit, right?
Because I mean, you know, threechords, you can write a ton of
songs, right?
And growing up, as you weresaying, with this Motown, which
is uh, you know, pretty easilystructured, and I would even
add, you know, emo and hardcore.
(10:08):
I mean, they use the same uhstructures, right?
It's just the delivery and whatyou're going to do.
Uh when did you start realizingthat you can manipulate sound
uh beyond the instruments, butin the recording process itself?
Nikki (10:26):
Well, I started doing studio stuff when I was 13, I
think.
I think Squirrelix had justcome out, and I was like, what
is like electronic music?
Kind of the same awakening thathappened five, six years later
with Indy kind of happened withelectronic music.
And then I got, you know, I Idid that for years and really,
really learned how to getexactly what I wanted from
(10:48):
whatever I happen to be using.
And then and then for me, songshave always been about the
overall vibe of it.
Like a very, very obscurething.
I think in the last two weeks,I don't think I've listened to
anything in English, right?
So it's not like it's not forme, it's not about the lyrics,
but it's about the melody andhow they it interact with the
music.
Courtney (11:07):
Well, and for me, it's completely opposite.
For me, like all I hear is thelyrics and the melody.
And for me, like the melody isking.
So I'm always trying to havecreate a melody that best
supports the lyrics that arebeing delivered, which is like
again, very obscure, very hard,very hard to wrap your head
(11:28):
around.
And it like it's not somethingthat you can really like force
or coach yourself through.
You kind of you you sometimessit on a song and you don't have
a verse melody for six monthsor a year.
Like we've literally had songsthat we've played live, but just
didn't play the verses becausewe just simply didn't have them
ready.
Like they just weren't, we hadtried all kinds of different
(11:48):
computations and permutations,nothing stuck.
It was just patience and timethat you know.
colleyc (11:54):
Yeah, yeah.
D does your process the two youwhen you are putting something
down on tape, is that is it along process, or do you guys get
get going pretty quickly at it?
Like once you have your ideas,is the process pretty quick, or
do you always it's quick, it'sit's quick, but it's also long.
Nikki (12:12):
You get to that 95% really quick, but that last five
percent takes off.
Courtney (12:15):
Yeah, right.
Nikki (12:16):
Like we've done some co-writes, like we did some
co-right in London and in LA,and like people seem to be
surprised at how fast we werebut that last five percent.
Courtney (12:28):
Yeah, so like five years.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
colleyc (12:33):
Yeah, yeah.
Well, I was talking with JoelGibb from the Hidden Cameras uh
last week, and he was saying toothat like he doesn't listen to
the record once it's out becausehe's just so saturated with it.
He just you know, it's likeit's like done on to the next
kind of project.
Like I appreciate that, yeah.
I mean it's and and peopledon't often get that, right?
(12:53):
Like how long, how many timesyou actually listen to the
minutiae of every little detailof the song.
Every note.
And it can get a bit likeexhausting.
Courtney (13:03):
And then when it's especially you can't separate
yourself from what you've made.
Like, I believe that a part ofyou goes into every single thing
that you make.
And so, like, there is noescape, there's no seeing that
from another perspective, andyou're always gonna hear certain
things that other people mightnot pick up on, but you'll
always hear it.
And so it does sometimes youhave to take a break from
certain songs, or then you'llthen you'll have a moment where
(13:25):
you'll remember, like, yeah, Iremember, I remember putting
that specific thing into thatsong.
Like, that was a greatdecision, you know.
You'll you'll have good momentstoo, but sure, sure, sure.
colleyc (13:34):
And Courtney, as as a lyricist, what what inspires you
with the songs that you youknow, the lyrics that you put
together, wh where do they comefrom?
What what what experiences doyou draw from that that you feel
that you write the best songsaround lyrically wise?
Courtney (13:52):
I first I look up to a lot of different writers and I
try to be a good student andsort of take little bits and
pieces here and there from someof the people that I that I look
up to most.
I think for me the process justbecame refined in the sense
(14:14):
that I just started to say whatI felt and not what I was
thinking about.
Like the EP is it's veryvulnerable, it's very personal.
And I think I use sort of acombination of what I'm seeing
in my surroundings, sort of thatkind of physical or visceral
(14:36):
image imagery mixed with how I'mfeeling at the time.
Sobanatine is a little bit moreupbeat.
There is like a thread ofsadness in there, kind of like a
parting ways, a feeling ofparting ways.
But I think my process reallyjust comes from like an in being
inspired by by my surroundingsand then and then trying to
(14:58):
pinpoint the feeling that I thatI'm having at that particular
moment.
So sometimes I actually writeretroactively.
Like sometimes I I'm notwriting necessarily always about
what I'm feeling in the moment.
I could be writing about amoment that had already happened
two years ago, but I can stillremember how I felt at that
time.
So I don't really write like upto date sort of to to speak.
(15:21):
Yeah.
colleyc (15:22):
Okay, okay.
And how does how do you howdoes your collaboration work in
the sense who brings what intothe mix, into the game, into the
song?
Like how do they come to bethese songs?
And if we were to look at theEP that you guys just put out,
like how did those songs come tolife and how did you choose
those ones in particular otherthan other ones that you have in
(15:44):
your archive?
Nikki (15:45):
These collection of songs kind of just felt like they
belong together.
Like they i it it's hard todescribe other than that.
Especially when you doeventually hear what comes next,
it'll make a lot of sense.
Um because everything wastogether as a part of a big
collection, and we went, Oh, Ithink maybe this should be an
EP.
You know, we sat down with ourlabel and our management, and
(16:06):
and we we talked about splittingit up.
And so that's we're yeah.
Courtney (16:10):
I think we bring every song starts out differently
every time.
Yeah, but we each seem to bringsomething, the same thing,
every single time.
So like I'll bring, you know,the lyrics will hit me usually
right away, and if they don't,then that means that they're not
right yet, and I and I needtime to to make sure that
(16:32):
they're right.
The melody comes almost alwaysimmediately, I wanna say.
Sometimes I I sing over whathe's played on the guitar, but
sometimes that's kind of hardbecause it's like you're there's
almost not enough informationthere to go off of.
Nikki (16:51):
Yeah.
Courtney (16:51):
So I feel like we arrange a lot of our songs based
on already existing melodiesthat I've written.
Nikki (16:57):
Definitely, and like even then, like I'll she'll come up
maybe with a chord progression,and then I'll entirely change it
when we get into like Protoolsor Luna, like our daughter,
right?
I won't tell her, I'll just doit.
Right?
Because like you know, sheworks so hard at at trying to
write about this feeling, andnow I have to capture the the
gut part of the abstract thatclass to serve the same thing.
colleyc (17:19):
And Nick, do you know when she's on to something?
Like, can you tell, like, allright, this is gonna be
something that I can find myselfin as well?
Nikki (17:28):
Yes, and 99% of the time when she comes up with
something, it's there and wehave it.
Like we're we're very intenseabout uh like making music.
Yeah.
Like, and we don't we we findourselves especially since you
know, like doing things to thelevel that we're doing it at, we
don't have as much time to sitdown and do the actual music as
we uh would like to.
(17:49):
So when we do sit down, itfeels like there's a lot of
pressure and you know, we needto come up.
Courtney (17:55):
And it's funny, I think we've always had that
pressure, like even before likeeverything that's happened in
the last year, I think there wasalways that sort of that sort
of rush to do things as quicklyas you can because we, you know,
both were working jobs, we wereboth were going to university.
You know, it took me sevenyears to finish my degree, I
(18:18):
finally did.
And so it's like we were doingall of this music while, you
know, life was just happening.
So we never really took anyfree moment for granted, and we
just tried to try to get somematerial down on paper as soon
as we could, yeah.
colleyc (18:37):
Yeah, yeah.
Do you guys find that thatembarking in this musical
industry, like how do you guysnavigate it with all that?
You know, like finding the timeand you know, I mean, dance
have to go out on tour, theyhave to try to find ways to
raise money or it just becomes aproject rather than, you know,
a part of who you are.
How are you guys navigating thelandscape of the music industry
(19:00):
in 2025?
Nikki (19:02):
Well, we're pretty like aside from being isolated in
rural Manitoba, like we arepretty social people when we're
in it.
Um so we do we kind of we dofit naturally a little into the
music scene just because we lovetalking with people, we love
getting to know people.
You know, that's how we builtour entire team.
And every single person on ourteam is like very dear to us,
(19:23):
and we all have that connectionthat is not just there because
of Sunday Club.
Courtney (19:30):
I also think we're just willing to like navigate
anything because it's just whatwe want to do, and both what
we've wanted to do from as earlyas we can remember.
So I think you know, yousometimes have to take a step
back and just be grateful thatwe're even here, you know, with
every little step, even thoughit may feel like you know, a
non-step, it it's everythingadds up, and yeah, we can only
(19:56):
just be grateful for for whatwe've experienced thus far.
colleyc (20:00):
Totally.
And how did your relationshipbegin with the paperbag records?
How did how did that reunionhappen?
Nikki (20:08):
We sent our record into uh Manitoba Film and Music for a
grant to do uh to do ourmastering, which we got mastered
by Matt Leffert Schulman, whodid does like Beach Us.
Yeah, wonderful, wonderfulhuman.
And then the head of thatorganization on like the music
side as the guitarist of a bandcalled the Weaker Thans.
(20:30):
Yeah.
And he had he just he knew thehead of paper bags, so he's
like, Hey, I really think youshould check this out.
And then within 15 minutes, uhthe Brendan, the the head of our
label said, I need to get theseguys on a call right now.
And the rest is kind ofhistory.
Courtney (20:47):
Within the next few weeks, we were like already like
negotiating her.
Yeah.
Kind of a whirlwind experience.
It was like we're just comingup on a year, but yeah, it it's
been it's been insane.
Yeah.
colleyc (21:01):
Yeah.
So your record's been out, youknow, a you know, a week or two,
I guess.
How how how are you feelingit's getting received?
Is it is it is it achievingwhat you guys hope people would
get out of it?
I mean, I guess it's hardbecause you can't read people's
minds, but just the feedbackyou've had, the reviews that
have come out, which to me seemreally amazing.
(21:24):
How how is how is all of thatuh reception for what you guys
created has has it surpassedwhat you anticipated, or you
know, you just hunger for more?
Can you fill us in a little biton the I'd say in two?
Nikki (21:40):
Yeah.
I'd say reading you know thearticles that that get written
about this, about about thesongs that are out.
I was not expecting it.
I wasn't expecting people tolatch on to these specific songs
as much as they have.
Uh so to to read some of thewonderful things that that
people have taken the time towrite about us has just been an
amazing experience.
Courtney (22:00):
Yeah, it's been really cool, especially because I
think we kind of thought thatthese songs were a little bit of
outliers just compared to someof the other things that we've
written.
Nikki (22:09):
Right.
Courtney (22:10):
But for people to have received them, you know, so
warmly.
We were just talking about itthe other day.
We got like a couple more likepaperbags sent us a couple more
articles yesterday, and we werejust reading them through, and
we're just like, we were reallyhappy that we feel as though
other people like are gettingit.
Like is it so hard to convey,yeah.
(22:31):
Even though music is universal,it can be so hard to find your
niche.
And I'm just I'm I think we'reboth happy that we both seem to
have found that niche, and otherpeople have also found it,
which is especially thiscollection of the these songs in
particular.
Nikki (22:48):
I'm really happy that that came through.
Courtney (22:50):
Yeah.
Nikki (22:50):
You know, if if you write a s if we're writing a song
that sounds like, I don't know,always or metric, and and then
that reference comes through anarticle, you're like, okay,
well, yeah, that makes sense.
Yeah.
But to have nuclear fallout betalked about like that or banner
time, it's uh it means it meansa lot, and it means that what
we put into it at its corereally does resonate.
colleyc (23:11):
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's beautiful.
Yeah, I mean, some of the likeone of the comments that I read,
well, actually, Julie sent itto me.
Your your your PR person abouthow this is the EP to listen to
this year.
I mean, it's just and Nick, yousaid something before too.
I just wanted to come back to.
I mean, it's a four-song EP,but like you said, uh it it
feeds itself so well to the nextsong.
(23:34):
Like, I think your arrangementof how you put the four
together, uh like it's a it's afull listen, right?
It's not like a I don't thinkthey're singles.
I you know, I think it's itsits own thing, which I really,
really appreciate.
And that takes time and effortand tons of thought to figure
out just even sequencing and howis this gonna bleed into the
next and the next, and are webuilding or bringing down?
(23:56):
Like, I just love the way itmakes me feel that uh your
ladies DP.
So I want to thank you guys forfor putting that out.
Nikki (24:04):
I really appreciate that because you know I think if we
weren't any other label, theywould have been like, no, we're
pushing singles, wherein youknow, we were like, no.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
colleyc (24:12):
No, I think that it I think they need one another, and
I love that you had said toothat these four just felt right
together, and I totally feelthat.
I feel what you're saying, so Ilove that.
So, guys, kind of to bring usto a close here, uh again,
thanks for your time.
This has been really cool.
Uh, I think you guys are arecool cats there, and I love what
(24:32):
you guys are doing.
I think that your honesty andyou know, openness to building
relationships and being outthere and learning and hustling
it can is very commendable.
So congratulations on that.
Uh what can we anticipate whatfor the rest of this year 2025
into 2026 that you can sharewith us?
Nikki (24:54):
Well, we do have a cover actually coming out in November.
We did a cover of lastChristmas.
Uh and so we did it, weoriginally did it last year just
for fun, like really lowpressure.
We'll put it out for ourfriends, and then Label wanted
us to to to put it out thisyear, so we kind of redid it
from the top, from the top down.
(25:14):
That'll be coming out in acouple of weeks.
Two weeks, yeah.
Two weeks.
Yeah.
And then I think then we'regonna start doing singles for
something that's to come.
colleyc (25:26):
Cool.
And are you gonna hit the roadat all to play these tongues for
your people?
Courtney (25:30):
And yeah, next Saturday we are leaving on tour,
actually.
Just a small Canadian tour.
Yeah, nice.
Small route.
We got a couple showcases linedup in Montreal and in Ottawa,
and that'll be good.
colleyc (25:43):
Yeah, I think you're playing twice in Montreal, which
I am surely gonna be at one ofthose shows, that's for sure.
So I look forward to meetingyou guys in person, actually.
Nikki (25:51):
Yeah, it's like that.
colleyc (25:53):
Yeah, cool.
Well, I wish you all the best,guys.
As 2026 comes into light, I'dlove to have you back on if we
can keep this conversationgoing.
I I'm you're on my radar now,so be for that.
And I just wish you all thebest.
Keep doing what you're doing,because so far this little
taster has been amazing.
(26:13):
So congrats.
Popular Podcasts
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.