Have you heard the one about the gentleman who recorded his debut in an abandoned grain silo in Ontario? You should have by now. That man is Tony Dekker, his recording name is Great Lake Swimmers and the album (Great Lake Swimmers) is one of the finest you will hear all year.

Released originally in Canada in March of 2003 (weewerk), then in Europe a year later (Fargo) - we now have access to this genuine treasure via the fitting American label Misra. Home to such songwriting luminaries as Will Johnson, Jonathan Meiburg (Shearwater, Okkervil River) and Matthew Houck (Phosphorescent), Dekker - trading as Great Lake Swimmers - should feel quite at home in Austin, Texas.

Fresh on the homecoming of his self-titled debut in America, Misra is set to release Great Lake Swimmers second album, Bodies and Minds, in August.

+ sctas: Folks on the B-train (ie: America) have just now gotten to hear the debut album - when was it primarily recorded?

Tony: We started recording the bed tracks in the silo for the debut Great Lake Swimmers album in August 2001. The tracks were finished between August and October, 2001. We spent most of 2002 mixing it, and adding more of the instrumentation (piano, organ, etc.), and passing these mixes around to friends. It was officially released in March 2003 in Canada.

+ On that note - how was the texture captured? (equipment and recorders.. .)

We used 2 main condenser microphones, 2 Shure 58's, one overhead condenser which was suspended about halfway up the silo, and 2 plate microphones which were attached to the sides of the walls.
The idea was to get as many different vantage points of sound as possible, and then mix them all together after the fact. We had 6 to 7 microphones recording each take. They all ran into a rented Roland 8-track, the Roland VS1880, I think. I think the use of all these microphones accounts for the atmospheric sound of the record. I should also mention that we had to bring in our own power supply too, because we were literally out in the middle of nowhere. We put a gas generator in one of the collapsed barns and ran about 200 feet of power cable out to the silo.

+ Much of the press (all glowing, mind you) chooses to tag you as "heartbroken" or "lonely" based on the music you make - would you say this is a fair reflection of your "life"?

I think that people who make music and art are generally drawn towards extremes. I'm not necessarily always sad or heart broken, but the songs represent extreme feelings that I had. To me the songs are more like a way of seeing things than an autobiography. I think I was more concerned with capturing that mood I was feeling than a particular instance.

+ Other than the move from a silo to a church - what differences can we expect on the next record, Bodies and Minds?

The new record will have more instrumentation, but it's not a drastic change from the mood of the debut. It's still concerned with subtle accompaniment which hopefully doesn't detract from the songs. The instrumentation and arrangements are there to best serve and reinforce the songs, which start out being really stripped down at first. Bodies and Minds has a bit more instrumentation and contribution from the backing members in comparison to the debut.

+ What attracts you to these locations (first a silo, then a church in rural Ontario) for recording? Are there any other "unconventional" recording sites that you would consider for the next record?

Location recording to me is a creative way to present the songs. I set out to capture the natural sounds of the structure and document them in a way too. You just can't get that kind of reverb from an effects box. The places we recorded in also felt like they were charged with a certain amount of energy in a way, too. For example, the silo we recorded in was completely abandoned after the house and farm it was on burned down, decades ago. It was like they just picked up and left. It was all overgrown and being reclaimed by the wilderness. I've got a few other ideas about places I'd like to record in but I'm really focussed on doing some touring and getting the word out about the first two records right now.

+ When mentioning the music you grew up with, you've stated that "country and punk rock are not really that different." How have both genres of music influenced you?

In the farming community that I grew up in the local radio station which everyone tuned in to played mostly a lot of old country records, so that was my first real experience with music. That's the kind of music I can feel in my bones. But as I got older I discovered the world of punk music and the energy and spirit of it really appealed to me in my musically formative years. The DIY ethic and the audacity of it as a whole stuck with me, to a certain extent. The ideal that music is for everyone and can be made by anyone, whether it be with three or four chords or with solos at Mach 4, they're equally as valid. I never really associated myself with the asthetics of that genre, but for a short time the music was really influential and created a healthy ethic in me. My view of early country music in relation to that is that early country and folk music is really the original outsider music, meaning that it was music that was made about being on the fringes of society and also about the clashes with it. And punk rock is a little like that too, in a way.

+ Any known of plans to tour the US in support of the new album?

We're hoping to do a full tour of the US and Canada in Fall 2005, with some solo dates probably leading up to that this summer.

+ You were recognized in 2004 by receiving the Favorite Roots/Folk Album nod from the Canadian Independent Music [Association] - how cutthroat is the competition up there?

In my experience, independent Canadian bands are generally more concerned with helping each other out than out-doing each other. It was nice to be recognized by the Canadian Indie Awards but I'm not really concerned with that stuff. The music itself is alot more important to me than accolades and in the end, music is its own reward.

+ Do you sense a new trend in artists choosing to record in grain silos?

I didn't really know of other people who were doing similar things when I started out recording the album, but I've since had people point me towards other music that has been recorded similarly and I think it's great.
I found out recently that Lee Hazelwood was recording in a silo in the late '50's and early '60's to get some of his sounds. I'm not really knowledgeable enough to speak with any authority on trends in music. But the recording process as another creative way to present music is interesting to me.

What makes you happy?

I'm happy making music and traveling around, sharing it with people. But making music is sort of a vocation for me. I'm happy when I have the opportunity to go out into the wilderness and look at trees, too. It's nice when those two things coincide.