I was able to immerse myself in the album called “Something Strange” by the Hawaiian Pistoleros, and it is surely an odd one. This is a country/Hawaiian music band originating from Angers, France and they seem to have found their own special kind of music.
Something that I found most fascinating about “Something Strange” is how the band is able to shift you between these two completely different terrains. It’s like one second you are in Hawaii spending time at the beach and the next thing you know you are lost in some creepy town that might have been designed by David Lynch.
I wonder, it is quite a fascinating achievement. The album is ten tracks long but it feels like each song is making slight contributions towards each band’s identity. You have tracks such as ‘Crazy Shaky Dizzy World’ on the one hand, and then you have serious tracks like ‘Out of Tune. ’It was also quite surprising that they recorded this album on a remote island by involving Coconut Island and MaAula Records.
It’s clear that they’ve incorporated island vibes but with those crazy Slavic and Americana hints. Mostly, the pedal steelwork adds this great layer to their sound, for instance. This, of course, shows that the Hawaiian Pistoleros are not limited to a single genre of music.
Their direction may be subversive and innovative but they can never fully escape that melody that has been associated with sunshine. I would especially recommend this song to anyone who likes music that has an unconventional approach and unconventional structure that takes the listener on a journey. This is the kind of an album that gets better with more listens because each song will unveil something new each time.
I was able to speak to the band about the album and was interested to know how these songs were written and what the inspiration was behind them. They have some brilliant ideas on their sleeves, so it will be fascinating to know what they have in the pipeline.
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Can you tell us about the creative process behind “Something Strange”? How did this album come together?
SS is the first attempt of the band to record its own songs. We were used to play and arrange songs together, but even if we separately write music and songs in various projects, we had never composed songs together before, so this process took about 2 or 3 years between the first proposals and the first recordings
The title of the album, “Something Strange,” is intriguing. What inspired the name, and how does it reflect the themes of the album?
At first, SS was simply the title of one single song, more or less inspired by a scene in a movie, especially that line: « some say they saw a green light in the woods ». The song evokes mysterious disappearances in a small and peaceful town. But after we finished the record, we thought it could perfectly fit the entire album: in this case the « strangeness » refers both to the stories told in the songs and to the musical and production choices we made. The main idea is « there is something to hear (to see?) behind the obvious » : an underworld, or a double meaning…
Hawaiian Pistoleros has a unique sound. How did you incorporate your signature style into this album while also exploring new musical directions?
It’s hard to define how we did it, but in fact, it was the trickiest ambition of this record : How to sound « different » while we are using some well known musical genres such as country or hawaiian music types, among our influences…
Are there any particular songs on the album that hold special meaning to you? Can you share the stories behind them?
The making of the album was quite long and complex, and many decisive choices were made in the studio during post-production. Two songs particularly reflect the mutation of the group and its ability to create music together: Something Strange and Pukalani. In these 2 songs, it is a real collective work, where the musical ideas were developed together in the rehearsal room and during the recording, with a lot of research and dialogue.
How has your sound evolved in “Something Strange” compared to your previous work? Were there any new influences or experiences that shaped this album?
The previous recordings (1 LP and 2 Ep) were undoubtedly more “classic” in their aesthetic with the search for a vintage sound which recalls our influences (on MAMS there were even some mono recordings taken with a single microphone in the room!). For SS, we worked in a different way by favoring studio work, and seeking a more “produced” sound with more contemporary references such as Timber Timbre or Andy Shauf for example, far from Honky tonk country or 1930s Hawaiian music!
“Something Strange” touches on various themes and emotions. What message or feeling do you hope listeners take away from this album?
SS’s songs are sometimes marked by a certain melancholy, or a form of nostalgia, but humour is never far away, like the idea already evoked of strangeness: perhaps beneath the surface, something else is hidden, much more surprising… This is what some of the characters who run through the songs suggest, like Suzie, or the three-legged dog
Looking ahead, what are your plans for promoting “Something Strange”? Can we expect to see you on tour, and if so, what can fans anticipate from your live performances?
The tour started last year and continues this fall (the shows are regularly updated on our social media). The live performance is quite dynamic and allows our singer Vincent to humorously develop the common thread that runs through the album: the disappearance of Suzie, and the band’s wanderings to go looking for her… We also learn a little more about the mysterious 3-legged dog…
With this album, what do you feel is the next step for Hawaiian Pistoleros in terms of musical exploration or growth?
SS was a first compositional experience for the group, and we can’t wait to start another album with new compositions!
The music industry is constantly evolving. How do you see “Something Strange” fitting into the current musical landscape, and what do you think sets it apart?
There is such a diversity of proposals today, that it’s difficult to answer (it’s hard to tell)! We think that the band has pursued a rather unique approach since its beginnings and that we are modestly trying to trace our own path with as much sincerity as possible… Above all, we hope that this approach can be heard in our records and that it will seduce the public!
