One of favourite times of the year is when we get to bust out the word penultimate. It’s a fancy word we like to use, but it also means we are getting closer to the end of The Zone’s Band of the Month 2021 season. This year’s penultimate Band of the Month is Layten Kramer.
Victoria’s Layten Kramer’s music is a blend of psychedelia, country, folk, and indie rock. Listening to his 2021 album, Dear Apathy, is a gateway that transports you somewhere you weren’t expecting, but are excited to be there.
It’s a rarity for locals to spend any time around the Breakwater District of Victoria in the summertime. Floods of tourists spill off endless cruise ships to see the majestic where we are immersed in daily. We took full advantage of the situation wandering around the area and avoiding movie sets for our photo shoot and interview with the charming Layten Kramer.
Rocktographers would like to thank our good friend and collaborator Adam Lee from Victoria Music Scene for filming our shoot and interview with Layten Kramer. Watch the video here, or below, right after the interview!
Tyson Elder: Welcome to The Zone’s Band of the Month, Layten. How are you feeling about that?
Layten Kramer: Pretty good. Yeah, I’m very excited.
TE: Let’s talk about your single, When A Love’s Not Around. [Editor’s Note: Tyson has momentary amnesia, completely forgets the song title, and is very embarrassed]. Could you tell me about the song?
Layten: Yeah, When A Love’s Not Around, it’s just kind of an ode to all my friends who have been there for me when I have been lonely. It’s just a cute little song, appreciating the folks.
TE: We were talking earlier during the photo shoot that you wrote the record [Dear Apathy] quite a while ago, and have sort of been sitting on it throughout COVID before you released it a couple months ago. Can you speak to what it’s like to sit on some music that you created so long ago, and what it’s like to not showcase that creativity for so long? And, now that it’s out there in the world, have you moved past it?
Layten: We actually started recording the record itself three years ago, which seems crazy. It’s definitely been an interesting time with the pandemic. Trying to figure out things with the label and all of the logistics of how to release it because obviously there’s no shows. So, we ended up sitting on it for a year. Which is at times frustrating, but I think in the grand scheme we understood that it was better to the wait. By the time we got around to releasing it, it felt very rewarding. I’m obviously very proud of the records, but looking forward to working on new things.
TE: With sitting on the record, did you find that gave you like a chance to fine tune things like album art work or creating videos and stuff like that for for the album? Did it give you a chance to do that over period of time instead of like rushing to do each new single as you go during the album cycle?
Layten: Yeah, it was kind of nice by the time we actually released When A Love’s Not Around, which was the first single we did, everything was kind of packaged and ready to go. That was really nice. I’ve always kind of taken my time. I’ve never really rushed the release process just because I get very flustered and anxious quite easy. So, that aspect of it kind of felt normal. The space between everything was just strange.
TE: With When A Love’s Not Around, you’ve got quite the psychedelic artwork but the music video as well. Can you talk to leaning into the psychedelia side of of your music?
Layten: Through my early twenties, I just kind of fell in love with both kind of older psychedelia and more modern bands. Off the top of my head, Morgan Delt, Tame Impala, Sam Evian, like those newer bands and then moving back to like Pink Floyd and even some Neil young stuff. Those have always had like the biggest impact on my music. I think it just naturally seeped its way into my music.
TE: Listening to Dear Apathy I definitely heard those influences in some of it. Especially early Pink Floyd, and there was some almost Beatles-esque moments with harmonies and stuff like that. You had a lot of collaborators on the record not only like Colin Stewart who recorded the record with you but like you had Kathryn Calder, Dougal Bain, and Jen Severtson from Peach Pyramid. Why is it important for you to get all your friends involved in creating your records?
Layten: It just builds a strong sense of community. And that’s always been the most important thing when it comes to making music in my opinion. I’m kind of flattered looking back on the credits and seeing all the people who believed in the record from day one and who kind of saw it through with me. That’s always been the most important part in making the music.
TE: Yeah, it’s hard not having the community mindset and having people so enamoured with you with your music. I, myself, really loved your album Glory. After listening to it, I was like…anything to do with this record, this artist, I will support you in any way I can. I’m sure all of your friends and the collaborators on that record felt the same way coming out of that project too.
Layten: Thank you. That’s very kind. I actually remembered the review you wrote for Glory and I was definitely very flattered. Both, Kathryn [Calder], Kirsten [Ludwig], and myself were tearing up when we first read it. It was very sweet.
TE: Thank you. That’s so nice. Now I feel bad for getting renovicted and not writing a review for your new album [everyone awkwardly chuckles].
TE: What do you have on the go now? What have you been like working on creatively over COVID?
Layten: I’ve been helping write, record, and produce for another local, Kristen Ludwig. I’ve also been collaborating with a bunch of other people in anyway I can. Dylan Rysstad is another one and Katie Lane. Just trying to stay busy and see this pandemic through and wait to play shows essentially.
TE: We’re almost there! Well, thanks for taking the time to chat and doing a photo shoot with us. Looking forward to hearing you on The Zone all July.
Layten: I’m really looking forward to it. Thank you so much.
Catch Layten Kramer’s single, When A Love’s Not Around, all July on The Zone @ 91-3. You can find two more songs on his Band of the Month page for your listening pleasure.
Rocktographers is a proud supporting sponsor of The Zone’s Band of the Month program.