Faith W: Let’s talk about your albums.
Steafan Hanvey: “Steafan Hanvey and the Honeymoon Junkies” is the album that has been released this fall in America. It was released here (in Ireland) back in 2006, and we’re getting the opportunity to release it in the U.S. I’ve been touring in the U.S. a few times in the last few years. Fuse on Demand has committed to airing two of my videos, one of which is from the Honeymoon Junkies. For all intents and purposes it’s a new album and video in America.
FW: There were quite a few years between the Honeymoon Junkies, which was released in 2006 and its debut in America.
SH: Yeah, 2006 was the release in Ireland and then I spent a few years touring, making friends and networking. And also, I started writing and recording material for Nuclear Family, which was three years in the making which I finished just about a year ago. I financed most of this myself. I wanted to take my time with it; I could have finished it in a couple of months. As I kind of went along the road of recording it, various opportunities presented themselves, like working with Tore Johansson (the producer of The Cardigans and Franz Ferdinand). We mixed the songs, basically, online. He would send an mp3 of a mix to me and the producer, who was in Paris and we’d have a listen and offer feedback, and we did that for six months before actually going over and meeting with Tore, and then we spent 5 days in Sweden, making some final tweaks & decisions.
I didn’t start recording the album in 2008, thinking I was going to get Tore Johansson to mix this album. I had the nucleus of the band pretty much picked. But as I went on, different opportunities arose. So with those opportunities came a different geographical location, like going to Paris or Brittany or Helsinki (that’s where the album started, because I used to live in Helsinki). I paid for all that myself, and that’s why it took three years to make. I was paying for it as I went along.
FW: The influence that you’ve had and the time you’ve taken to make this album is incredible. Do you think of yourself as a perfectionist? Or do you think it was just a matter of letting things happen in time they were meant to happen?
SH: A bit of both. I’m definitely a perfectionist. Nuclear Family’s got 10 tracks, and we got 10 recorded, nine mixed, and we were in Sweden, coming to the 10th track and everyone was in agreement that it wasn’t the best representation of that particular track. So I went into the studio again with a different set of musicians just for that song and re-recorded it in a different studio, in a different country with different musicians. So that kind of put things back four or five months as well. But it was meant to be, and we weren’t dragging our feet.
FW: It was interesting that with the 10th track you brought in different musicians. I understand that with different musicians you’re going to come up with a different feel and interpretation, but how did the location change affect the song?
SH: It’s amazing. When I’m recording somewhere, or playing live in a different county, it’s really a great way to travel, because you’re not just there to look around; you’re there for a purpose. You get to get on with what your calling is, in a way. You also get to have various environments affect you, and therefore your music. It’s no secret that songwriters, many of us, are quite sensitive to everything, really. Environment is no exception. It’s great to get out there and move around.
FW: Was there a place that brought out a profound state of growth within yourself and your music?
SH: You mean looking back on my life, or in the recording of the album?
FW: In the recording of the album, or just in your life as a songwriter?
SH: I got back into songwriting again after a bit of a hiatus in Helsinki. I was up there, doing a Masters in International Politics. But in Finland I kind of got back writing again, because I was involved in bands in my teens. A lot of the songs on The Honeymoon Junkies were written in Helsinki. I went to Spain from Helsinki for three weeks and got a lot of the album done in an apartment down there.
But more recently: Brittany and France. I spent a week down there recording Nuclear Family, and it was a very special place. There’s photographs on my Facebook if you want to check it out. It’s a big old house, very Bohemian and on the coast. It’s kind of a fishing village.
We were recording in a big old room, looking out the windows, into the sea. It’s just amazing. Everything about the recording of Nuclear Family was a jewel, just a treat. I loved every minute of it.
FW: What were the differences in the experiences of putting together the Honeymoon Junkies, and Nuclear Family?
SH: With the first record, I was in a hurry. The difference between the first record and the second record is day and night. I think the listener will be able to discern between the two.
The first album is like you’re learning the ropes. There’ was a lot of stress involved, trying to get that record made. I learned a lot of stuff, but it was very stressful. Hence, large chunks of it weren’t that enjoyable. But when I compare it to Nuclear Family, with the new album I constantly looked for fresh air. I took musicians from Ireland to Helsinki as I wanted to see what would happen with everyone out of their comfort zone. I think this resulted in an edgier result, kept them on their toes. The co-producer, Léo, is French and he moved back to Paris after years in Helsinki, so the recording continued there and I wasn’t exactly complaining.
FW: A while back I asked you, “If your life was a song, what would it be?” You picked two of them: “In My Life,” by The Beatles and “Old Friends,” by Simon and Garfunkel. I take it that the people in your life are a source of inspiration.
SH: Exactly. Friends and the journey. You’d like to think that when you’re kind of looking back at everything, you still might have a few of those friends with you, who’ve made it with you, you know. Friends are very important to me, and I have a lot of people who I work with who have helped me, who are helping me, lending themselves to what I do, and I’m very blessed and I’m very aware of the support that people give me. And, I don’t take it for granted. I try to make sure that everyone who helps me knows that.
Desperation by Steafan Hanvey
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