motel void

MOTEL VOID: You’re from Canada, but you currently reside in Italy, is that right? How would you compare italian and canadian music scene?

JAMES JONATHAN CLANCY: Yeah that’s right been living in Italy for quite some time. I would say the scenes are quite different, Canada of course has an established underground and alternative system, that is often recognised and also often government funded, plus years of DIY background etc. Italy’s scene is probably more sparse, and definitely does not necessarily get a ton of recognition, but the current underground is super diverse and challenging, with a lot of incredible music coming out. The experimental scene is alive and kicking and putting out a lot of incredible music.

MOTEL VOID: ‘Had It All/Precipice,’ is your very first single, where did you play before this project?

JAMES JONATHAN CLANCY: I played for a long time in band called His Clancyness (Fat Cat, Maple Death) and in a noise-punk band called Brutal Birthday. Before that was in a band called A Classic Education. With all three acts we toured quite extensively in EU and North America.

MOTEL VOID: Could you tell us more about the recording and writing process of your new single?

JAMES JONATHAN CLANCY: With ‘Had It All‘ we tracked the song completely live with engineer Stefano Pilia, I really wanted the track to have a super intimate vibe, a shadowy late night vibe, with a lot of air on top given by the flutes and woodwind. Sort of like an old Tim Hardin recording. ‘Precipice‘ is a completely different beast and shows more of an electronic side of the upcoming record.

MOTEL VOID: Your biggest influences right now?

JAMES JONATHAN CLANCY: Tough question. I don’t know about influences, but while recording there were certain artists that definitely were talked about while referencing recording aesthetics. The drumming in Bert Jansch’s ‘Poison’ (done by Terry Cox), certain synth tones from Craig Leon / Marc Barreca / Savant and that early sort of proto-electronic ambient scene. Scott Walker for sure, Jerry Jeff Walker, sort of weird records that mix organic and very open folk-rock with more synthetic electronic stuff.

MOTEL VOID: Your plans for 2024?

Can’t wait for the upcoming record to just get out in February.