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Local six-piece Beija Flor are finally about to release their new album, The American — a beautiful album that features some amazing instrumental moments that sounds polished but never over-produced. The highly anticipated followup to their 2003 debut, The Quiet One and The Lonely One, comes after a long process of adding members and instruments and honing their songs in live shows. Despite the changes, though, the road to the new recording was relatively pain-free.
Indeed, the band says nothing of infighting, money problems, stolen equipment or any of the troubles that seem to befall most local acts at one time or another. Instead of focusing on the negative, they are more eager to discuss upcoming projects with other musicians and bands they admire. Their interests seem centred on making an honest go of it in the local community.
Beija Flor consists of brothers Steven and Paul Van Kampen, Matthew Bayliff, Brett Gunther, Henry Hsieh and the latest addition, violinist Hoyee Wong. The lineup shuffle (Hsieh plays in The Hours and also joins Matthew in Nushi) may be pushing the band towards Eastern Canadian-style musical collectivism, but the members of Beija Flor see the new structure as a positive. As Bayliff explains, “We’re all fans of the sprawling bands. It’s not exactly an aim, it’s just what sounds good.”
The band’s former label Vulpine Records may have fizzled out, but releasing their latest album independently doesn’t seem to be a problem for the band. The American will be released in stores and on iTunes, but the band seems more concerned with recording a good album and playing good shows in a good community.
“It’s a more supportive scene now,” says Paul.
“With a lot of bands that have stayed in Calgary and that are still working here, there’s a better system of community within those bands,” Bayliff adds. “You see a lot of them hanging out. There’s more side-projects and crossover.”
“It seems like everyone’s getting really good at being good to each other,” Steven sums up.
The band seems equally enthusiastic about collaborating with other local musicians. After incorporating piano, cello and violins in their new recording, they are thinking of adding horns. They’re also collaborating with Jane Vain and the Dark Matter (who will be opening for the band at their CD release) at next year’s High Performance Rodeo. “It’s very much in the building stages right now,” Steven explains. “It’s going to be more dark and circus-y.”
For the album itself, Beija Flor worked with local musicians Diego Medina of Lovesigner and Arran Fisher of The Summerlad. It was recorded at Fisher’s Acoustikitty studio in Calgary and at Medina’s cabin at Buffalo Lake, which Paul describes as “kind of in the middle of the prairies but a nice place.” Fisher also lent his talents on the squeezebox to the recordings, as well as contributing a vocal track.
After two years of honing the songs, introducing the music to new members, adding new instruments and finishing the songs as they recorded, Beija Flor has finally solidified their direction. According to Steven, though, it was just a matter of timing. “We’ve many times tried to put it out,” he explains. “It just finally came together this summer. We had the money, everyone was ready, everything sounded good, everyone had their time booked off.”
How will the band’s sprawling sound come across when performed? “We were very careful when we recorded it to not do anything we can’t pull off live,” says Paul. Surely, that effort will ensure a spectacular show at the CD release.
