Weaves have just dropped their second album ‘Wide Open’, only a year after their Polaris-nominated first – and that’s not all, they’ve also released a lipstick…
Hi Jasmyn. What’s all this about releasing a lipstick?
Lipstick! Yes, I’m so excited to have a Weaves lipstick. It’s called Wide Open, and the two colours are named after songs on the album. Blue is called La La, and the orange coloured one is called Scream.
Who’s idea was it?
I guess I’ve always loved make-up and I’m always trying different colours for stage so when I came up with the idea and our team said it was a possibility I was super stoked.
How do you even go about getting your own lipstick?
I will say that this was a dream. Made with the help of Good Digital Culture and our label in Canada, Buzz Records. Essentially I got to pick out two colours I love and help create a design. It was all very exciting. My sister’s handwriting is also the font on the actual lipstick.
Do you wear it?
Ya, I love it. I wanted to pick two colours that kind of suited our music and also would look good on many skin tones. I wanted a matte orange because that colour works well with many skin colours and it’s also called Scream! So apply it and then apply that mandate to your life (do your thing). And the blue (La La) is kind of like living in the clouds and being a dreamer. It’s pretty bright, but I feel like when you put it on you’re kind of like a superhero.
What are you going to do next, blue eyeshadow?
Well if people like the lipsticks I would love to start my own line. I have always been passionate about make-up and skin care, so that’s a dream. I also feel like when I enter a make-up store, I don’t feel like there’s a brand that represents the weirdos in the market. It’s either like rock n’ roll glam or demure. But I think I’m somewhere in between like many people that listen to our music. Like umm, where are the unibrows, mullets and normal body sized humans in the ads?
[sc name=”pull” text=”When you put the lipstick on you’re kind of like a superhero.”]
The accompanying album, ‘Wide Open’ – it’s come awfully quickly after your debut, hasn’t it. Did you take any time off in between?
We took a bit of time off, but I guess not really ha. We came back from tour and just started writing, but it was also nice to have this year off as far as being back home and just doing normal things again. But yeah we pretty much got home in November and were recording the album by April, for it to come out next month.
What are the advantages of barreling straight into another album?
I mean it worked for us, but I guess it depends on your personality. Morgan and I are always working, and I think we kind of like it that way. I guess there was less thought and more feeling and just jumping into a new album was exciting.
It must be weird to be still talking about your debut, what with it being up for the Polaris (congrats, btw), and ‘Wide Open’ at the same time – how do you juggle the two different headspaces?
I wouldn’t say they are two different headspaces in that I can relate to the sentiment on both albums. I guess as you build a body of work over the years, you just relate to songs in different ways and maybe learn something new about them as time goes by; so I never feel that disconnected to songs on the old album versus the new. It’s like when you read an old diary and kind of chuckle but recognise that it’s still a part of you.
Was there anything you were able to achieve on this second album, that you couldn’t with your first? Did you feel more accomplished or confident going into it?
I guess I felt like we were more open on the album. Hence ‘Wide Open’. I think that with the current climate of the world, everyone feels a bit raw so I guess that kind of affected the songwriting. I think there are a lot of extremes on this album. It gets very intense but it also has a lot of pop music, and that’s exciting.
I think, yes, that had to do with being more confident as well. After touring the last year, I felt like I became a better singer and the songwriting elevated, o once Morgan and I started working it felt very fluid and exciting. We were open mentally to making new songs and not scared to change our sound – that was freeing.
Do you have a favourite track on ‘Wide Open’?
I’d say ‘Scream’ with Tanya Tagaq, and the song ‘Wide Open’. Those felt like the most real and honest songs I’ve ever made at least lyrically, and the guys in the band just jumped on, were very supportive, and made them sound so huge.
What’s next for you guys, are you straight into album number three?
Who knows! We have another album’s worth of songs that didn’t make the album that we’d maybe like to release. But I’m not sure. I’m always writing when I’m home as it is still a great form of release, so I’m not sure what will happen in the future. But there will definitely be more music.
Taken from the November issue of Dork, out now. Weaves’ album ‘Wide Open’ is out now.