I was first introduced to Paul through getting involved with NDG Arts Week. I knew about what he did and about his fruitful music career, but I wasn’t as hip to his Skinny Bros project. Long story short, I was doing a little homework on the Bros and realized they had just dropped “Skinny Bros Twenty Seventeen” a 5 song hard-hitter full of local talent, and a bit of a departure in length and feel from their 2016 drop “Party Gras.”
The privilege was all mine to be invited into the studio for a little photo shoot and interview with the duo Paul Cargnello and Christopher Cargnello, to hit up the indieNDG profile questions and discuss the new record Twenty Seventeen.
Listen to the album here:
Skinny Bros Twenty Seventeen on Bandcamp
(Photography by Thomas Bock – Thomas Bock Creative)
Check out more about the bros here:
Website: www.skinnybros.com
Instagram: @skinnybros
Email: info@skinnybros.com
The Facebook: www.facebook.com/skinnybros
Here’s what went down:
Would you like to introduce yourself?:
Christopher:
Okay, well I will introduce both of us just because I feel like doing it. Skinny Bros as a production duo, we write music and we also produce music a lot of times for other people, sometimes for ourselves. The two people, being my brother and myself, Paul, singer songwriter, has had a long career writing in a style of let’s say, starting off in rock and roll, mixing punk and reggae, heavier rock and then, becoming a more quieter, folky sound…then suddenly now working with me who has been for the most part jazz trained, studied theory, jazz, classical music and mostly played more like an R&B, soul vibe.
It’s sometimes a little bit hard to find common ground, but where the common ground really lies is just the fact that we’re two different forces that bring a completely different thing into whatever the hell it is we feel like doing at that time.
So, we have this sort of tagline that we use sometimes which we say…grit and grace…and if it hasn’t been already clear, this
is the grit (Paul) and this is the grace (Christopher) of Skinny Bros.
Paul:
With the amount of eclectic interest…you can sit us in whatever project that we’re working on and we can find something cool to do with it. We’re able to come from a rock and roll background but to kind of fit it into the reggae thing or fit it into the R&B thing or do a hip hop EP. Also, to make it with that sort of headspace of coming from a live touring band as well, it makes it a unique project. We’ve had a pretty good little string of successes and I think it’s because of the fact that what we are doing is really quality…we really, really give a shit…we want this to sound good. Then, you see the new EP was like…yeah.
The Current Project – Skinny Bros Twenty Seventeen:
Paul:
The Twenty Seventeen EP came together really slowly. I know it’s
only five tunes but it came together slowly because we’ve been just doing so much in the hip-hop realm. I produced a group called Small Talk
https://smalltalksmalltalksmalltalk.bandcamp.com/releases
and they started to do really well in Montreal. Chris works a
lot with Le Cypher he gets to see tons of freestyle. The prominent freestylers in the city will come through there so it’s really interesting. We’re doing a lot of beat making and so, what are we gonna do with all these beats?
Christopher:
Some of the songs were beats that were made during the process of the last album that we did, Party Gras. They just sort of sat there. As Paul said, I work with the Le Cypher. It’s a weekly hip-hop and soul jam session that happens [in Montreal]. I’ve been one of the house guitarists in the band since the beginning. A lot of MCs come through either as jammers who come and present themselves and their freestyling or people who are actually inside the house band. One of them, Milla Thyme, who’s on the EP and then also Sereni-T…both of those two are in the house band. Then, Shem G, he is this really young up-and-comer. He comes through the jam session all the time. In fact, he has an amazing track record. In all three years, he’s only missed one Le Cypher. I saw him coming through and seeing his evolution…his voice sounds amazing, his lyrics are really cool, and he has a good flow.
Paul:
Gabe Nandez is on a track (Ashtray) and Gabe is from New York but he was in Montreal for a brief period of time. I like these artists because they look outward they kind of draw from all over.
Christopher:
They’re influenced by things that aren’t necessarily just here. They have grown up listening to music that gives them a fresh sound that is not necessarily just the cookie cutter sound. There is certainly a style in Montreal, which we really like and appreciate, but, at the same time, the Skinny Bros project is one of forward-thinking…looking into creating music that is a little bit unexpected. We look for many sounds and people who don’t necessarily fit the mold all the time. That’s definitely how we chose the people for this project.
Creative Rituals:
Christopher:
For me, it’s early afternoon and then really late night and that is my time. I wouldn’t say there’s a ritual that necessarily happens but I will do what I can to put everything aside so that I can allow the inspiration to flow. As a performer, I say I probably have a little bit more of a ritual that’s just getting into a character. So what I do is I just kind of create this character that I can kind of step out of my skin and into the character’s skin and then that’s the person who walks up one stage Now, the goal I think, is to make it so that the character is the exact same person as who I am. But that’s the goal.
Paul:
I got no ritual. I’m constantly doing something, yeah and you know what? I don’t give a shit what the hell is going on. If I need to be creative I can do it. I do a lot of recording at night time. Honestly, I trained my brain to just be like you can give me any subject, any style and I’ll figure something.
Music you’re listening to right now:
Christopher:
I just came back from Ivory Coast. I had an amazing tour out there with Aiza (Ntibarikure, she’s an NDGer, frequent collaborator with me and Skinny Bros) and I was listening to so much African music while I was there. Most of the artists that I was listening to happen to be from either Nigeria or from Cameroon…it just happens that I think I connected with music from there. There’s one guy Magasco and he has a song called Bella that I’ve been listening to non-stop. Then, there’s this other singer, she’s from Nigeria, Yemi Alade, I’ve been listening to her non-stop as well. Other than that, I would say I’ve been listening a lot to this band Vulfpeck that I’m a super big fan of and they’re kind of doing what we do a little bit…I really look up to them.
Paul:
I’m listening to a lot of what my son listens to so he’s been putting on a lot of Justin Bieber and so I’m gonna say a lot of Pop. Roosevelt… I’ve been listening to a lot of Roosevelt. When I get time alone and I’m in the car I’ve been listening to the Donny Hathaway live record recently a lot… that’s been on repeat. I love those 12 minute songs. But, a lot of Justin Bieber though!!!
Favourite word:
Christopher:
It changes everyday…meticulous? I think it describes me pretty well and it’s spelled nice!
Paul:
I like swear words…motherfucker. I like to use it as much as possible. (Christopher interjects…grit and grace). I like to use words that offend as many people as possible…antitheist…words that, when you say it, people are like…
Least favourite word:
Paul:
Republican
Christopher:
One of those stutter words, like, “like.”
Favourite Colour:
Paul:
Black…it’s all the colours.
Christopher:
White (laughing).
Favourite name:
Paul:
Declan (sp?)
Christopher:
Aja…also the name of one of my favourite albums too.
Your idea of earthly happiness:
Christopher:
One where everyone is politically and scientifically literate.
Paul:
When I’m working, I’m the happiest.
When you think of NDG, what comes to mind?
Paul:
There’s a lot of work to do here. It’s a very cool place, it’s got a long history of creative people and creative things happening. Yet, it’s been a struggle to get the kind of support you need. You have fight and struggle…sometimes, to change things for the better, culturally speaking. This is my stomping ground, but it’s a challenge for sure. But I like it.
Christopher:
D.A.D.’s Bagels, the quintessential 24 bagel shop that also sold Indian food…that’s now closed down. The other thing I think of is Girouard Park. Its for everybody to do anything. I’ve been inside that park at 6 or 7pm and seen a couple having sex in the middle of the park. It’s got everything. (Paul interjects…it’s a microcosm of the universe.)
Describe your world 10 years from now:
Paul:
I’m right here, in this studio, working, but making more money (laughing).
Christopher:
I often imagine the future including other cities I can live in, either, for extended periods of time, or just hop from one to another. Los Angeles is probably on top of that list, Sao Paulo or Rio, two cities that I have a strong connection to. Yeah, so maybe Montreal, Los Angeles and Sao Paulo.
(click on images to enlarge)