As was foretold, here is the exclusive interview in full with outstandingly pleasant and extremely talented guitarist of This Patch of Sky, Kit Day! I highly recommend listening to the linked song, “Her Beating Wings”, while enjoying the following. Hidden within is even an announcement of a new work coming from them in the near future(!!) Huge thanks to Kit for granting me this chance even though we missed each other at Dunk!USA. I simply can’t wait to hear more from the group in the future!
"These Small Spaces" just dropped just over a month ago and the response seems to be pretty outstanding so far. I’ve heard more than a couple people saying “album of the year”, which is especially meaningful given both Godspeed and Do Make Say Think just released new albums too. How do you feel about all this?
It’s a bit surreal, honestly. We love the record, but, it always strikes us odd to hear things like that being said about it. To be compared to our influences and (dare I say it) heroes is nothing short of humbling. We are determined to make a sound that we, as a group, want to hear. The idea that it can mean something to others is a literal dream come true. We are all excited, hungry and thankful for all of the love and support. As for “album of the year”, I suppose that depends on who’s listening and what they take from it. Our goal is just to make the most beautiful music we can.
What do you think makes "These Small Spaces" different from your self-titled (and prior works)? It certainly doesn’t feel like “more of the same”.
We really set out to do something different, purposefully trying to create something bigger and more beautiful then anything in the past, and we believe we achieved our goal. You’ll notice a trend of past albums how quickly we released material (about a year between each release), and this album took a span of 3 years to release after S/T. We really took our time with each song on These Small Spaces instead of just rushing into the studio to quickly record. After we had all the songs written for this album we spent another 6 months of creating full pre-production recordings of each song. This really helped us dive into each song to make it the best we could before recording the real thing.
The amount of time you spent honing these tracks really shows in the final product, so thank you for taking the time to really perfect the sound. Since it was about 3 years from S/T to These Small Spaces, should fans sit tight waiting for the next full-length? Or do you think the next work might be a little quicker out the gates?
We’re already spitting out ideas and writing some new stuff. I don’t think it will be another 3 years before we release a follow up to These Small Spaces, but don’t hold me to that!
What is the significance of the coordinates given in the song “Coordinates”?
The title “Coordinates” pin points a favorite hiking spot many people in our home state of Oregon visit regularly. When on top of the mountains, you this sense of being able to conquer anything while basking in breathtaking views of where we live. Oregon will always hold our hearts as home.
What was the process for getting This Will Destroy You to remix “Pale Lights” for the release? It is a really solid endcap to the album.
A few of us had become friends with the guys in TWDY years ago while playing in a previous band named Chiaroscuro, touring with them during the release of Tunnel Blanket. We have always been a huge fan of what TWDY does and have always wanted to work with them on a project. After we wrote and recorded Pale lights we felt like it was a perfect song for them to do a remix for! We contacted them and immediately they were stoked about it. The end result gave the song a whole new feeling without losing the backbone of the original version.
What with the success of the TWDY remix of Pale Lights, can we look forward to more collaborations like that in the future? I think a lot of fans get hyped to see some of their favorite artists interacting with each other.
This was such a fun process for us we definitely would love to do this more with other artists we follow (stay tuned for one more remix to be released in early 2018). I know we’d definitely love to do remixes for other artists as well!
I know it’s tough, but if you had to pick a “favorite child” track from the new album, which would it be? Or maybe which one encapsulates the current iteration of This Patch of Sky best?
The overall favorite track from the band is 'Her Beating Wings'. This song specifically went through a huge metamorphosis over the span of 6+ months and is by far the most complicated to play. The original idea for the song I (Kit) wrote shortly before my daughter was born which is the original inspiration for this song. The heartbeats you hear throughout are a representation of her and new life being created.
Thank you so much for sharing the story of "Her Beating Wings", it's absolutely beautiful. Everyone I've discussed the album with cites that one as being a standout among standouts. Can you expand a bit on what makes it complicated to play live?
This is so cool to hear that people are saying that about this song! There’s so many little layers and parts that make up this song, especially in the final build up, we’d want to make sure it was done right when we play it live. Ultimately our goal is to play this song live with brass and one other string player.
Can you tell me about the music scene out in Eugene? What is it like for an act of your style?
The Eugene music scene as a whole has rapidly been growing the last 5 years. When we first started TPOS there was maybe 1-2 other instrumental bands in our area. Over the last few years there has been more and more popping up which has been amazing to see, and instrumental music is becoming more and more “accepted” in Eugene and Portland. Eugene has a great mix of genres, and since we’re a college town there’s always new bands popping up.
Along those lines, I’m always curious what it’s like for bands who know they have a style of music that lends itself to procuring a small but devoted following. What is it like knowing this particular form of art may never result in the group “striking it big”?
This is definitely a loaded question! I’ve been playing in bands since the age of 13 (almost 20 years now), and when I started TPOS it was the first time in my life that I no longer was trying to pursue music as a full time gig. The band simply was for fun and really never meant to go anywhere. Somewhere along the way people kinda started liking us so we kept playing. So odd enough, when I stopped trying to pursue music full time, I somehow created a band that has been the most successful one I’ve ever played in. We certainly aren’t anywhere near “striking it big”, and odds are we will never get there, but this band is a personal victory in my own life. I’ll forever be grateful for every opportunity given to us and the thousands of people who listen to our music.
Finally, it may be a challenge, but we have to know.... What is the best pet and why? Dog, Cat, Reptile, or Other?
Gunna have to go with a dog for this one! Cats are dumb and reptiles do nothing. Dog’s are loyal, fun to play with, and are easy to train.
