It’s been a whirlwind three years for Adrian Chalifour. After the release of Towers and Trees’ debut EP, Broken Record, the frontman for the Victoria rock outfit has kept himself busy.
Between a slew of tour dates, including a standout show at Rifflandia, the group has released their sophomore effort, The West Coast.
“I think it’s very ambitious, very rich, very dynamic,” Chalifour says about The West Coast. “Those are the three words I think of when I talk about the album. A criticism of this album that I would be happy to hear is that it’s overly ambitious, that it tries to do too much, because that was the intent.”
Broken Record was largely a solo effort, a passion project recorded in a friend’s living room. The West Coast is more focused, featuring the production efforts of Alex Aligizakis and the contribution of Towers and Trees’ ever-evolving lineup. The growth of the band was a key inspiration for the recording of The West Coast.
“We went back into the studio because Broken Record didn’t sound like Towers and Trees anymore,” says Chalifour. “Between the first album and the second album we had turned into a nine-piece band. I took these songs to the group and we turned them from these songs I played in my bedroom to these rich folk productions we knew we were capable of because of the sounds we were achieving on stage.”
The group tries to focus their efforts while playing live shows into creating an honest connection with their audience. Towers and Trees hope to transpose that energy into their latest album. It makes sense that Chalifour aims for this, considering where his musical journey began.
“The place I learned to play music was the church,” he says. “The thing about playing music in that kind of environment is that it’s not a performance: it’s a means of bringing a room full of people together for a common purpose. By total coincidence, almost all of the musicians who have been a part of Towers and Trees have learned to play music in a church.”
That environment also helps fuel the creative process for Chalifour. He uses songwriting as a method of self-exploration; the creation of the album was a cathartic process for the frontman.
“Music was and still is a spiritual journey,” he says. “It really started as a way to connect with something deep inside of you. When you’re 13 or 14 you’re just a bucket of angst. But that’s what it was about for me: it’s about getting raw and real and connecting with something.”
The first Towers and Trees album was influenced by a desire to uproot and escape. This time around, Chalifour has confronted his feeling of stagnancy head on, and also addressed how the west coast has helped shape him into the man he is today.
“It’s called The West Coast because you can be standing on the shore here on a sunny day and it’s this pristine, calm, gorgeous, gentle thing. And you can be on the same shoreline in November and it’s rough and it’s rugged and it’s raw. I think that really speaks to the dynamics of the record.”
When it all comes down to it, the album is about Chalifour’s life, and it’s about where Chalifour lives.
“All the stories and all the scenes of my life that have unfolded, they’ve all happened here,” he says. “This was the setting, this was the backdrop. It was very important to pay homage to that, and while I still wish to uproot and see other parts of the world, the reality is this is my home.”