Leaf Heap, the latest album from Pittsburgh, PA’s Vireo couldn’t have arrived at a more perfect time. Dropping earlier this month, Leaf Heap is the perfect soundtrack to fall, complete with stunning imagery, mellow tones and cinematic, creative songwriting from Vireo’s mastermind, Chris Beaulieu and friends.
In 2016, Beaulieu released Vireonidae, his first full-length album before he had really ever sang in front of a crowd. His debut release found him experimenting with sounds and discovering who he was as an artist. Flash forward three years, and Leaf Heap is the perfect confident and dynamic follow-up. Following the album’s release on November 1st, we caught up with Beaulieu to talk about the inspiration behind the album, his growth over the past three years and plans for the rest of 2019. Read the full interview and stream Leaf Heap now below.
Can you tell us a little bit about Vireo for anyone who might not be familiar?
vireo is a writing and recording project based in Pittsburgh, PA that weaves acoustic instrumentation, alternative percussion, and soundscapes together with lyrics based in themes of nature, environment, and emotion.
You kicked off this month with the release of your new album, Leaf Heap. Now that it has been out for a little bit and you’ve had some time to reflect on it, what are some of your favorite things about the album?
I really like arranging percussion when I record so a lot of those moments stick out with me on the album. There’s a section in the song Throwin Skippers that was especially fun to make, I used the sounds of duct tape unpeeling from the roll, kitchen knives, pots and pans, wine glasses and a typewriter.
Also, my good friend Jacob played saw on the last 2 tracks and I think that tied those songs together and gave them the sleepy feeling I was looking for.
Lastly, I really enjoyed building all the artwork for the album. It took me longer to make than it did to write and record the album; I constructed and painted every single building and used plaster-cloth to make the landscapes and a whole bunch of stuff I was not really prepared for! My partner, who is a photographer, helped me light everything, capture it on camera, and they did a great job editing them.
What would you like for fans to take away from Leap Heap?
If my music can be comforting and bring enjoyment to anybody else other than myself I think that’s great. This particular album asks people to think about their homes, their relationships with the people who make up those spaces and how places are affected by forces like climate change, gentrification and time. How does your being in a certain area influence or change it?
Leaf Heap follows your album, Vireonidae, which was released back in 2016. How do you feel you’ve grown as an artist between then and now?
When I recorded Vireonidae I had never really sang in front of people and had only showed my songs to a handful of people; Every time I play show I have a moment when I think about how only a few years ago I would have been terrified trying to sing and play my songs in front of anybody.
Vireonidae to me, was more about exploring textures in music and experimenting with what sounds I could layer on top of each other; I was really interested in having each individual instrument lose it’s identity among all the other instruments. For leaf heap I wanted to focus more on having familiar sounds and a strong melody to root the listener to the song.
Was there anything you wanted to accomplish with Leaf Heap that you haven’t had the chance to do or explore in the past?
leaf heap was all about just trusting my first instincts when writing and recording and trying not to overthink anything.
What was the most rewarding part about working on the album?
Honestly, just being able to finally complete a group of songs and release them into the ether has been great!
What was the most challenging?
The lyrics for this one took a while to come about. Sometimes they spill out of the barrel and other times I have to spend a long time scraping the bottom until I piece together something I’m happy with.
With the album out now, do you have any other big plans for the end of 2019? Any shows or tour dates in the works?
The end of 2019 will be sort of quiet for vireo. We have a show in Pittsburgh at Club Cafe on Dec 8th opening for a fantastic group called Common Holly; another great Pittsburgh group called Scratchy Blanket will be playing too. Other than that, we’ll be tying up some loose ends on a new record and planning some tours for 2020, so keep your eyes peeled!
Thank you for taking the time to chat with us! Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Thank you so much for having me, I really appreciate it! Also just wanna say thanks to Anthony, Cole, Matt, Jacob, Aleem and J Vega!
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