Raleigh pushes pedals, buttons and envelopes

Raleigh reigns 

Trio wins with guitar, cello and drums

by Christine Leonard


Snowblink with Raleigh & SAVK
Palomino Smokehouse April 25, 2013

Local pop-folk trio Raleigh revolves around three distinct voices raised in perfect harmony — the sweet-yet-somnolent reverberations of cellist Clea Anaïs merging with the rock ’n’ ramble wanderlust of drummer Matt Doherty and guitarist Brock Geiger. A popular attraction since rolling off the assembly line nearly three years ago, the rootsy band has picked up some serious speed following the release of their 2011 debut New Times in Black and White.

“Our new album, Sun Grenades and Grenadine Skies, is definitely more of a band effort,” says Geiger. “This time around each person had the opportunity to throw in their own concepts and inspiration. It made it more of a collaborative process and you can hear it in the songs. We’ve been together for a couple of years now and we’ve figured a lot of things out. Guitar, cello and drums is kind of a unique approach from the get-go, so you’ve got to try to use that to the best of your advantage.”

Capitalizing on their natural momentum, the festival-tested Raleigh arrived in Montreal in September 2012 where they spent two-weeks laying down tracks at Hotel2Tango recording studios with noted production nerd Greg Smith and sound engineer Howard Bilerman (Arcade Fire, Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra, Basia Bulat). Thoughtful lyrical pathways opened up into incandescent rocky reveries as Sun Grenades and Grenadine Skies began to take shape.

“If our new album had one theme it would be colour,” says Geiger. “It comes up a lot with Clea. Writing together, I’ve learned to pay attention to the dynamics of how we go about putting colour and mood into a song. I like the idea that music can be visually provoking without relying on the typical methods of storytelling. Knowing how our instruments fit together as a combo and understanding how to leave space, or make things denser, is a big part of it.”

The trio’s tight-knit nature also helps when exploring new sounds. “There’s less room for argument in a small group, but there’s more individual responsibility too,” says Geiger. “There’s nobody to hide behind as you jump from instrument to instrument. Coming from playing in large rock-based ensembles it’s kind of refreshing to be able to experiment so freely, and to know that we can add nice horns and other accessories and effects after the fact.”

An adventurous undertaking, Raleigh’s latest offering merges a trio of artistic narratives into one inscrutably melodic tableau. No strangers to the do-it-yourself motif, these indie-release veterans are now actively seeking a record label to aid in the distribution of the finished product. Geiger remains confident that the band will receive the financial backing and promotional support they’ll need to publish Sun Grenades sometime this fall. But despite the hours spent in the studio, and the number of kilometres they’ve put on the odometer, Raleigh is in no great rush to see their primed and polished LP hit the racks.

“We’ve been touring all of the songs on the new recording for almost a year and have had a lot of time to see how things sit with us, and nothing has been hurried,” Geiger says. “We’ve all put out records on our own, but going with a label seems like the best way to reach more people.”