Neu Foreign Fields: ‘Recording Our Album Consisted Of Huddling Together To Stay Warm’

Most bandcamp and soundcloud finds consist of young budding bands who make music in their spare time, who might not be prepared for the long ride if hype and gig offers pour in. They make one, maybe two stunning tracks and they somehow disappear or re-introduce themselves under another name. Not Foreign Fields. Foreign Fields (formerly Flights) is Eric Hillman and Brian Holl. Together they spent the best part of 2011 in an abandoned area of Wisconsin (sound familiar, Bon Iver fans?), shucked up, shivering, recording their debut album. The eventual first work is more complete sounding album than many established acts are capable of coming out with. It recalls the ghostliness, the isolation of Justin Vernon’s first work. But there’s also a hint of genuine skilled musicianship, alongside the occasional, echoing xx-esque guitar line or the stripped back folk workmanship of certain songs that recall Vernon’s Volcano Choir project rather than his solo ilk. Either way, it’s a secret little gem of an album, one that ought to spread its wings and get picked up by a lucky label. Here’s to hoping. First On caught up with the pair to ask them about the strenuous recording process, the obvious Bon Iver influence and their evident pride towards this debut record.

You say it’s taken you over a year to make the album. What did that process involve, if not just taking time off from day jobs and meeting up in the evenings?
Well, this album went through a few different phases. We initially went to our hometown in Wisconsin, when we were living in Chicago, to get away from the city and record 4 or 5 songs to release as a folk EP. This was more or less only for the two of us. There’s something inside of me when I’m in cities, that although they’re very exciting to be a part of, I want to get away from it all. I want to push out the noise. The recording we did in the empty office building over a couple weeks time in Wisconsin, in the dead of Winter, was perfect. The heat in the building wasn’t even turned on, so we were huddling together with coats and running around/exploring a lot to stay warm. Then, we did some things in Chicago, but it really started to get away from us. The album was no longer our sole project and the bustle of the city started to swallow it. We made the decision to move to Nashville in the matter of a week, and all of a sudden we were here, with nothing else to do but record the album. There have been so many ups and downs with the album - there was no reason for us to do it, and when it’s just two human beings on it, doubt can begin to really spiral. But, at the end of it all, it just ‘felt good’ to keep going. We were playing music for the sake of playing music and then that would turn into a song that would end up on the album. We had 18 songs by the end of it and decided to narrow it down to our favorites. There was also just the inherent amount of time that it takes to write, record and produce everything yourself. That process definitely added to the length of time this record took to complete.

It feels like an album that’s very honest about its influences. There are hints of Bon Iver, Radiohead, scattered in there. Would you agree?
Absolutely. All we can offer the world is an interpretation of what we love, and what we love is all inspired. If you’re not inspired when you’re writing music, nothing good will come. That inspiration can come from a variety of sources, but a main inspiration is the music around you that hugs you and makes you feel something. When I get that feeling, that there is a very deep connection between us and music, I want to write. Bon Iver and Radiohead both give us that feeling (along with many other artists). I think there’s a common strain between what we’re trying to do and what they’re trying to do.

There seem to be parallels between you and Bon Iver in the way you recorded the album (in the midst of winter, in an abandoned area, in Wisconsin)?
You know, it does make sense, but there’s nothing dishonest in it. We were both born and raised in Wisconsin, and love it just as much as Bon Iver. The natural surroundings of Wisconsin could be a reason for the similarities in music as well - the cold, glassy feeling of ice against your cheek. The way your bones stiffen, and the way a good bonfire feels. Eric and I are products of rural Wisconsin, and there’s definitely an attachment we have with it. The fact that we were able to get into an abandoned office building was the perfect place to capture what we wanted to create. Our music feels desolate, and we had to be there to create it.

The album’s artwork suggests that the two of you like to go outdoors. Do you tend to go travelling/exploring lots and does it inspire the music you make?
The outdoors, to me, is more responsible for songs than anything else in life. It’s very dramatic to me. A simple, serene forest setting can give me a feeling that nothing else can. It’s more of a philosophical appreciation of the outdoors - maybe a better word for it is the world. I’ve been reading some journals of mountaineers, and the way they write about their experience - the magnitude of what’s around them - that’s what I feel when traveling/exploring. The album art is a picture of Eric and I in the Cumberland River in Tennessee.

What experience do either of you have musically, before the making of the album? Some piano interludes suggest that you might be trained musicians!
Eric and I both have had training in a classical setting - him much more than I (as suggested in the song Anywhere But Where I Am). We both have a strong appreciation and connection to classical music, and we fell into a bit of a Parisian phase while writing and recording. Eric also studied Film Scoring at Berklee. That influence gives our music a lot of cinematic qualities. At the end of it all, we never try for anything. We take it as it comes - if something sounds beautiful when we’re creating, we keep pursuing it.

You had a few musicians help out with the cello arrangements and the strings on the record. Would you ever consider expanding your recording band, inviting drummers and horn sections etc. into the studio?
Yeah, I think so. We might be split on this, but I think there’s room for other contributors. Every note on this album was written entirely by Eric and I, but I think that when the time comes to start recording another album, and we’re able to find musicians who feel inspired by the music, I would like to see what others would have to offer on instruments that we’re not proficient with (percussion, horns, etc).

The title, ‘Anywhere But Where I Am’ - what is that supposed to convey? Are you sick of living in your home state or is it based on a specific time and place?
We came to a place in Chicago, that although we had so many great friends there and experiences to go along with it, we felt like we needed to get out. I know now that part of that was purely just a mental place. That thought comes back routinely - if only we were there, had this situation, could do this instead of what I’m doing now. I think it’s something everyone can relate to, but something rarely thought of. I’ve learned that the point of life is becoming present enough to filter out anything that might influence the moment that’s happening now. For some people it’s easier than others.

Stream a preview of Foreign Fields’ debut album, ‘Anywhere But Where I Am’, below.

Pillars by Foreign Fields