Haunter Flows through the West

Article: Robyn Tocker – A&C Editor Follow @carillon_arts 

The Indie-rock band muses on their first album and tour

With the JUNOs last year, the prairies have proven to hold an abundance of talented musicians. One of these groups is Haunter, a five-piece indie-rock band from Winnipeg. Matt Williams, one of the original members of the group, recently performed with his band on August 20 in Regina. While here, he was courteous enough to talk about his work on their first album “Rivers and Rust.”

“Originally, our band had a lot of different people in it and a different line up. We were all musicians already and three of us got together to actually try something out,” Williams said.

Williams explained how, after their drummer left, the band found a replacement and kept going from there.

The album contains music that holds on to a part of the past. Williams and his fellow members successfully created a CD that makes the listener feel like they are the main character telling their story.

“The album is definitely a bit of a concept album,” he said. “It follows a few characters through their late teens to early twenties.”

With their first CD under their belt, the possibilities are endless for these 5. /source: haunter-music.bandcamp.com/

On the band’s site the line “soundtracks for late nights, last calls, and back lanes” is hidden on there and when asked, Williams admitted those events have inspired some of their music.

“[Our songs have] a lot to do with relationships and the kind of relationships that are important in that part of your life. . . .It’s at the time of the night when no one else is around and you only have the two of you to figure out if you’re going to have a good time or if it’s going to turn into something else.”

When asked about how nostalgic the music can make people feel, Williams said the characters involved in the song are either going with the flow or moving fast to a place they’re aren’t sure of. That, or they are going to end up in that place no matter what they do.

“I remember when I was younger, there was always the goal to get out and you could tell whether you were successful if you left the city. The characters on the album split their time between being stuck there and figuring out what to do while they are there.”

Haunter visited Regina and has since been making their way through Saskatoon, Edmonton, and Calgary. The band would like to do more, but as Williams explained, with their jobs it is difficult to set aside more time. Next year, the goal is to take their show east and see what lies there for them.

“In the meantime we’re mostly excited to put some money together and record a new EP. The songs are there because it took so long to put together our first CD,” he said.

For any aspiring musician, Williams gave sound advice.

“Get to know every single person possible that comes to your shows that can help you out. Everyone has a skill they can offer. It’s important to make really great connections with them whether they are just there to hear your tunes or they can help you record.”

“River and Rust” can be found on Haunter’s site http://haunter-music.bandcamp.com/.
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