Ohbijou is Casey Mecija, her sister Jenny Mecija, James Bunton, Ryan Carley, Anissa Hart and Heather Kirby. They had me at their song, “Niagara,” and then their dreamy, atmospheric show at The Rock Shop sealed the deal. But in between, I sat down with the sextet before their last show in NYC, who all turned out to be incredibly positive and pleasant people, who are also good at making positive and pleasant music.
Kelly Knapp: What’s the history of Ohbijou – how you formed, and how you got started as a band?
Casey Mecija: The project started out with writing songs, proverbial artist bedroom writing thing, and it was just me writing songs. Then Jenny, my sister, was convenient and amazing. You know, she’s my sister so she was just down the hall in my house. So, she added vocals and then I moved to Toronto for university, and just met all these wonderful folks through different circuits of music in Toronto.
Jenny Mecija
KK: You’re based out of Toronto?
CM: We’re from Toronto, but we’re from different parts of Canada. We converged in Toronto, for different reasons.
KK: Are you greatly influenced by the scene in Toronto?
James Bunton: I feel like we have a lot of friends in the scene, and it’s hard not to be influenced by them.
KK: I feel like I’ve met a lot of artists recently from Montreal in particular. Are there major differences between those two cities?
JB: Montreal and Toronto are very separate, like two different entities. They’re a few hours apart, but there are some common lines. We were in Montreal recording this last album, so we have a connection over there and we know people there. Yeah, it’s a good sense of community in both cities.
KK: Is there a meaning behind the name Ohbijou?
CM: It’s just a term of endearment. It’s a made up word, and it just comes with a term of affection.
Jenny Mecija: “Bijou” is jewel or gem in French, and then we just put the “Oh” in front of it.
CM: Yeah, but the choosing of the name had nothing to do with bijou, like the meaning of the word. It was more the sound.
KK: A couple months ago you released your third album, Metal Meets. This album seems to be a bit of a departure form your previous albums – how has your sound evolved?
Anissa Hart: We used more effects pedals and stuff that we never really dappled with before, and even in the recording process, the guy we worked with – Jace Lasek from Besnard Lakes - he was awesome to work with, and he had lots of ideas for extra effects and stuff like that. That’s the biggest change. Also, when we went to write the album, we went to a cabin in Northern Ontario, and we were kind of holed up there for a week at a time, and we just really spent a lot of time together and really fleshed out all the songs, so it was a lot more focused than our previous efforts. Hopefully it comes through.
KK: It also seems that Jace maybe molded the album a little more, and had a big impact on how it turned out.
AH: Yeah, I mean, I think we had the songs pretty worked out going into it, but he definitely…he was on the same page with us, and he had some great ideas. I think it was a really collaborative, really good experience for all of us.
KK: How did that whole collaboration come about?
CM: We were kind of just trying to figure out how to record the record, and his name came up.
Heather Kirby: It was like a producer/band collaboration, but not a collaboration in the writing sense. We did tons of pre-production, and we sent him the tracks as we went, and we recorded all the tracks while we were in the cabin writing. Sent them to him, and he gave us feedback on some of them, and then we got together with him…just through word of mouth, and listening to the records he’s done, Besnard Lakes stuff. And then just showed up and sort of took what was there and made it sound really good.
KK: What was that process like working with him in the studio?
JM: It was great. He was really encouraging, and he’s just really nice to be around. He encouraged us to try new things, and it was just a really nice environment; him and his studio. So, we felt really comfortable, and the time flew by – it was like, 12-hour days, but it flew by and was really productive.
KK: What about your songwriting process, is that really collaborative? How do all the elements come together?
JB: For the most part, someone will bring something – chord progression, lyrics, somewhat of a structure, and as a whole we’ll write the feel and out individual parts, and just dress it up so we’re all happy with it. We don’t record something unless everyone’s happy with it.
KK: Do you base it more off of feeling, like not worry so much about the technical stuff and think more about creating an atmosphere?
JB: I think we just go to the song itself, and whatever feels good to play, and whatever makes sense with the lyrics, and whatever the chords make us play. It’s very intuitive at the time, and then we’ll rip it apart later, and we’ll think about it later.
KK: I’m a firm believer in that if it feels good, it is good.
KK: Casey, you’re the lead singer, and your voice is really distinctive. Is there anything that you keep in mind specifically when you’re songwriting, since your voice stands out so much and doesn’t really sound like anyone else?
CM: I think that, you’re exactly right, you should do what feels good, and I like to sing, so when I’m writing a melody or singing and it feels good, I’ll sing it. I think a voice is an instrument also, and it’s an instrument you have to practice, it’s an instrument you have to arrange, and keep in tune, and stuff like that, so I look at it like that.
Casey Mecija
KK: So you approach it as being a part of a whole, and not just that you’re singing over a melody.
CM: No, it’s a note in the arrangement, and despite it having words or being channeled through a body, it’s a part of the other instruments in the ensemble.
KK: This is your last date in New York, but it’s a part of a whole tour. You’ve already done a bunch of dates in Canada, and now you’re going back to do more dates?
TB: We’re going back tomorrow, and then we have a few days in Toronto, and then we’re going out west and playing along the way, and then we may be coming back through the states. It’s all just sort of being figured out, but yeah, this is kind of part of it and kind of not, but it’s been great.
KK: Has it been going well so far?
TB: Yeah, the city’s beautiful. It has so much to offer, and the shows are building shows, so yeah, it’s good.
KK: Do you guys have any really memorable experiences so far on tour?
TB: Today I bought a donut at Dough. They make fresh donuts that are like, this big [gesturing to indicate a donut about the size of a baby’s head], and they are so amazing. It’s so good. Right now that’s my favorite experience. It’s insane.
AH: Also, a bunch of us checked out the New Museum over the past couple days, which is really fun. There’s like a big slide.
KK: What’s the live experience like for you guys? What are you feeling when you’re on stage?
HK: I don’t know, it’s just like, get on stage and you just want to get in the zone of what you’re playing, and you just want to be in the song itself. Sometimes it takes a bit of work to get into that zone, because you’re thinking about the people that are there…which you should also, but you also want to feel out the song and connect with it. I play the best when I’m kind of in that mode, and not really thinking about anything else while we’re playing. That’s what I strive for.
Ryan Carley: I like that analogy of being in the song. It’s easy to pop out of it and realize…it’s like when you drive and get tunnel vision, and you drive like 10 miles or 100 miles, and you just forget that you’ve been driving at all. I think it’s kind of like that. You know a set’s been good when you felt it more than you thought about it.
KK: What has been the most important thing you guys have learned so far?
RC: Still learning.
JB: As far as music making, I think always do it for yourself. If you make music that’s true to yourself, then other people will latch on, and if not, then there’s nothing in the end there to latch on to. I think that that’s one thing I’ve learned; just make sure you’re happy with it yourself. I think this album’s really good for that. I think we’re all happy about it, so it’s easy to feel confident and translate that to everything else.
HK: I also learned that’s it’s important to close the back doors to the van right before you start driving with your gear. I’ve learned that more than once.
CM: When you’re younger you hear that saying that practice makes perfect, and I think that practice doesn’t make perfect, because that’s an unattainable thing, but I think that practice does help. And the more you work hard to achieve something…as cheesy as it sounds it totally manifests itself in so many ways when you’re in a band, and if you don’t practice, people know you don’t practice.
KK: Anything you want to say to potential fans discovering you for the first time?
JB: Thanks for taking the time to check it out! I think there’s a lot of music out there right now, and it’s easy to get to, so it’s really nice when people stop and listen to us. If people will shine their spotlight on us for even a second, it’s like, thanks! Because there’s a lot of other places out there too, so we appreciate it a lot.
KK: You guys seem to be a very thankful and grateful band.
AH: Well, I think the thing is, when you’re a little kid and you’re growing up and playing your instrument, you never really think that you’re gonna really do anything with it – at least I didn’t when I was growing up. I was like, “oh it’s just fun!” And then when you’re in a band and all these things start happening, like you get to travel and people are being so nice to you all the time, and you’re like, “That’s really great,” and you never thought that would happen but then you’re really grateful that it did happen.
KK: So what’s next for you guys?
CM: The van. For a very long time, touring. Like James said, we’re really proud of this record, so we just want to showcase it as best as possible to a lot of audiences.
Ohbijou have two more dates listed in Canada, with the last being mid-December with Julie Doiron. You can follow them on Facebook for thankful shout-outs and more updates.
