Victoria, BC-based band, The Projectors has recently unveiled their self-titled LP via Sakamano Records.
The Projectors began with a new batch of songs that prolific singer/songwriter Dylan Rysstad was writing in 2019.
According to Rysstad,
“With the first couple songs, When the Lights Came Up’ and ‘Golden Age’, I really embraced certain influences and didn’t try to obscure or hide the fact that it was starting to sound like someone else. The songs I’ve been writing for this project are what I want to be playing and listening to, and somewhat ironically, I feel like it’s the most ‘me’ if that makes sense.”
That “someone else” Dylan is referring to is The Strokes — an apt point of reference for both their live show and recorded output. The rest of the songs that make up the album, recorded at Layten Kramer’s home studio, came in bursts of inspiration after putting a band together to play this new material. Unsurprisingly, the pandemic and ensuing lockdowns/safety precautions delayed the album’s completion and release date.
The lead single “Golden Age” is a danceable and upbeat examination of modern romance and relationships: “And it’s okay that you don’t write me back. It’s only been forever. And it’s okay, it’s the golden age of indifference. So what’s the difference now?” It’s a perfect summer anthem that evokes a simpler time in the early aughts when The Strokes’ Last Nite was on every rock radio station and skinny jeans were cool.
Listen to the self-titled album below and learn more via our interview.
First off, care to introduce The Projectors to our listeners?
Hi! We’re a band from Victoria, BC, and have been around for a few years but didn’t start playing shows until last summer, because of the pandemic.
You unveiled your debut self-titled album on June 2. What can you tell us about the creative process behind the release?
Well, truth be told, we released the album sometime last year but I’m so terrible at self-promotion that nobody really knew we had released anything. We had a bit of lineup change back in February and I wanted to remaster the album and update the artwork, so we decided to re-release it.
You’ve only released one single from the album, “Golden Age.” What made you choose this track as a single?
The whole album’s available now, but yeah, “Golden Age” just seemed to be the obvious choice for introducing people to the band, and it always goes over well when we play it live.
I know you’ve just finished a tour, but do you have any upcoming shows to tell us about?
We’re playing an outdoor festival on July 29th just outside of Victoria with The Zolas and just agreed to play another show later that night in Nanaimo with a band from Vancouver called Hyaenas. It’ll be a busy day!
If someone has yet to see you perform live, how would you describe your performance in 5 words or less?
Strokes meets Walkmen?
What else do you have up your sleeve for 2023?
We’ll be releasing a new song in the next week or so-called “Waiting for Us” and are planning to record a new album in the fall. The songs are there but we’ve been a little too busy to start working on them. We don’t really plan too far ahead so not sure what the rest of the year will look like.
What was the first concert you ever attended?
My parents took my sister and I to a summer music festival up north when we were pretty young. I want to say it was Taj Mahal that was headlining. Let’s go with that!
If you were able to tour with one Canadian band and one non-Canadian band, who would you choose?
I’d love to do a tour with Daniel Romano’s Outfit – I’ve opened for them a couple of times when they’ve visited the island, but it’d be nice to do an actual tour with them. As for a non-Canadian band, there’s a band from the UK called The Bug Club who I’d love to tour with. Their album Green Dream in F# is one of the best records I’ve heard in recent years.
What’s a song that you love so much, you wish you wrote it?
Good question! There are so many. A couple that comes to mind are “Heart Killer” by Dr. Dog, “Love Survive” by Michael Nau, or just any song off The Strokes’ Is This It.
What movie can you watch over and over and never tire of?
I feel like it’s been a while since I’ve had the attention span to watch a full movie, but I had a couple of friends over on the weekend, and after a late-night rehearsal we wanted to watch The Big Lebowski. We couldn’t find it anywhere and ended up watching Goodfellas.
What’s your go-to food to throw on the bbq?
Probably a veggie burger of some sort, but barbecuing is a pretty rare occurrence for me.