Canadian band Whitney K release their new album Bubble on 12th September via the consistently excellent Fire Records. It’s a delightfully woozy, gently psychedelic record, taking in elements of country, folk, indie and more as singer and songwriter Konner Whitney guides us through 13 tracks that switch between magical realism, open hearted storytelling and intimately confessional personal realisations.
We caught up with Konner to delve into the musical landscape that has shaped his sound from childhood to the current day.
1) What is your earliest music-related memory? What do you remember being played at home when you were a child?
Both of my parents played music when I was a kid, so my first experiences were of them doing their thing. Mostly they were singing covers around the house. I found this out later of course. But for a while there I’d hear songs on the radio and thought my mom or dad wrote ’em. I’d be that little kid telling his friends that my mom wrote ‘Mustang Sally’ or something. Man, I know I’m gonna date myself with every one of these musical references I make. Anyway. My first memory of being aware of the wider world of music was watching The Magic School Bus and my dad telling me that the guy singing the theme song was Little Richard. That was the begin of my musical education, I guess.
2) What was the first record that you ever bought? Where did you get it and do you have any recollection of the experience?
I spent most of elementary school still under the influence of my parents’ tastes as well as the radio. My dad had one of those old cassette suite cases and I spent a lot of time with what was in there. A lot of classic rock and 80s metal. Otherwise I’d jam to what was on the radio. I was pretty hyped on the whole dance cross over thing; Cher, Bran Van 3000, and Sugar Rays pop songs were dope. But if I’m not mistaken the first album I ever bought with my own money was Sum 41’s album All Killer No Filler. That would have been like 6th Grade? I think I Iiked ’em because they had a bit more of an edgy aesthetic then say Blink 182? I dunno, it was a pretty weird time in culture.
3) When did you really start to develop a passion for listening to music? How did that come about and what were you into at the time?
To be clear I was pretty much all in to listening to music from day one. My first favourite band was Queen. I played the greatest hits TO DEATH from about seven to ten years old. It had so much variety. Ballads, hard rock, synth new wave. Ya Queen dude. They’re still the greatest. Dead Prez hit. The song ‘Hip Hop’ was mind-blowing to hear for the first time. I mean it still is. Andre Nickatina was big for me, Tenor Saw, Steel Pulse, The Misfits, Cat Power, The Velvet Underground, The Stooges, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, all the early 80s hardcore stuff. The Pixies, The Doors, Brian Jonestown Massacre, just a shit show of a playlist. I was a pure listener back then. I had no intention of making music.
4) What was the first gig that you went to? Where was it and what was it like?
The first gig was probably a show my dad played. There were lots of little folk festivals around where I lived at the time so I could check out the shows and hang out with the other kids. But the first really memorable “concert” experience was going to see Swollen Members. They were a weird Canadian rap group… sorry I’m referring to all this random CANCON but hey it’s where I grew up. Anyway, my dad took me to see Swollen Members when I was 12?? I’m trying to look for evidence of this gig on the internet, but the dates aren’t lining up. Maybe I was 13. We drove five hours to an even smaller town than where we lived. They played on a makeshift stage in a dirt field. It was like the Grateful Dead came to town. People from miles around mobbed this little town. I remember almost nothing about the music just the pandemonium of the scene. That and smoking weed for the first time with some random teenagers. I was frozen, so high in this sea of people getting small town fired up!
5) What are your memories of starting out making music? What was the first song that you learned to play?
I got a late start. Though I was always into music I didn’t start trying to play it till I was around 17. If circumstances were even slightly different I would have gotten into rapping. But thankful for everyone we’re not living in that timeline. Back then there wasn’t a cool way forward for someone like me, so isolated from the culture to be doing that. If I were younger, I probably would have been on some Lil Peep or Yung Lean type trip. Back then we had Beck and he was my dude! He threaded the needle and brought it all together for me. The Mellow Gold was my shit. I had never felt so seen by any piece of art before. Everything about it spoke to me. Odd ball psychedelia, punk, hip hop, totally irreverent, satirical, soulful and dark AF. My guy. After listening to that I was like damn ok I can make music too. That being said the first song I learned how to play was probably some shitty Donavan song.
6) What was your first band/musical project? What music was influencing you at that time? What are your memories of playing your first gig and are there any recordings out there?
After I graduated from high school I moved to Vancouver where I caught the tail end of the whole noise punk scene. There were these events called Fake Jindieazz that were cool. Anybody could go up and do their thing. From proper bands playing a set and selling CDRs to some naked guy swinging a microphone in-front of the monitors blowing everyone’s ears out. A little after that I got turned on to the more indie lo-fi stuff. Ariel Pink, Blank Dogs and co. had a big influence on what the music was sounding like at the time. Everyone in Vancouver was throwing reverb on everything and playing dinky li’l riffs. Some of the bands got famous, most disappeared. There was the DIY house show scene as well. A bit more crunchy and more connected with what I remember fondly about the Pacific Northwest. Back yards, spontaneous collaborations, vegan curry. This was the setting where I played my first handful of shows. There’s actually video documentation of the second and third shows I ever played. It’s there for all to see on YouTube but I won’t tell ya what the band was called, nor will I be sharing the video. Instead, here’s a great clip of the fucking Mutators!
7) What are your memories of starting to write and perform as Whitney K? What was your first release and what do you think now when you listen back to it?
Before Whitney K I played in a handful of bands but most of my songwriting was under the name Koko. With that name there’s about four or five tapes with varying line ups released by different labels. After moving to Montreal, I met Josh Boguski. He joined the band toward the end and recorded, along with Michael Halls, the last Koko tape. Over the following summer I recorded a bunch of song on my own and with other people as well as Josh. There wasn’t much intention behind it, but I knew I wanted to change the band name. In the end Josh helped mix it and put it all together and he released a Mixtape on his tape label at the time called Egg Paper. I love that project. There’s some songs I’m still proud of on there.
8) Which band/artist do you think has had the biggest influence on your music over the years? What is it about them that inspires you?
Like the most common comparison I hear is Lou Reed. I’ve listened the Velvet Underground and all related projects to death so it makes sense how that influence stuck with me. They were the first alt band I really got into. Those early influences have a way of latching on to you and not letting go. But as far as artists I really am inspired by in the long-term I’d say Willie Nelson. I like how meta a lot of his songs are. Plus, he’ll just rip a sick solo whenever he wants. Also, his arch. He essentially had a midlife crisis and as a result made country and western cool for the counterculture. His message has always come across to me as be true to yourself, keep going and try and enjoy the trip. Life goals. Willie is the man.
9) Who are some of your favourite current artists? What do you like about them?
Josh has turned me on to so much cool music most of which I cannot remember at this moment. There were a few years there where I didn’t listen to anything new. I think it would have been around 2017 when I called it. Fuck this there’s enough music in the world I don’t need to keep up to date with every new thing that gets dropped ya know what I mean? I eventually came out of that phase but still always stayed behind by a few years. I get into stuff way after it has already come and gone. Peaked and fled. I was into that ML Buch album from a few years ago. It didn’t give it all away on the first listen. I had to go back a few times but by the time it clicked I was way into it. Stuff that hits immediately well… it’s diminishing returns. It’s never gonna be as good as the first time. I remember when my ear finally adjusted to jazz. When I could finally start to understand the language, I was hooked. For close to a year all I listened to was a couple Thelonious Monk records and a Love Supreme. I could just keep going back to ’em and get something new every time. The ML Buch record Suntub was like that. But let’s take this opportunity to plug another songwriter the folks on the bus might not be aware of. Eliza Niemi is a true legend in my eyes. You got to keep going back to it. Even though she makes short songs with catchy melodies, her shit is so dense. Dense but without the resistance. Like the ocean the deeper you go, pressure and gravity and all the creatures down there reveal themselves.
10) You have a new album out soon, how has your approach to making music changed since you started out, and how has your sound developed over that time? Is there a particular song on the record that epitomises what you’re aiming to achieve or that is particularly special to you for any reason?
I don’t know if there’s been a clear development in sound rather than a chasing of the muse. If anything, I think I’ve reverted back to how I used to approach music. Still following the inspiration but keeping it around the three-minute mark or less, and make it pop. The goal with this record was to follow each song where it led and think about how they related to each other after. The big difference with this one was the group effort. It was a band that made this record rather than a partnership or me alone. To be clear I haven’t made an album on my own in a long time. I think ‘Something Strange’ is a good example of the approach. I was in the room with Josh, Micheal and Avalon and we all just threw paint at the wall. No one took it too seriously and we let whatever was born out of that session be what it wanted to be. 10/10 would do again.
Whitney K’s new album Bubble is out on 12th September via Fire Records on vinyl and from all the usual streaming services (buy/stream here), with tour dates in the UK, Europe and North America following close behind – tickets here
Whitney K: Facebook / Instagram / Bandcamp
Interview by Paul Maps
Photograph by Tess Roby
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