Envy Of None are a new group featuring guitar legend Alex Lifeson (Rush), Andy Curran (Coney Hatch), Alfio Annibalini and singer Maiah Wynne. Their self-titled debut album bounces through rock influences to forge a new exciting sound. Their bassist and co-songwriter, Andy Curran, talks to Jason Barnard about his friendship with Alex Lifeson that led to the group’s formation and what to expect from their debut long player.
Envy Of None (Photo credit: Richard Sibbald)
I really enjoyed listening to the album. You must be really pleased how it came out.
You know what? It’s interesting you say that because a few people have asked me what my or our expectations are, and we’re just actually pleased to have finished it, and found a home for it to release. The early reception has been pretty positive and it’s been a really enjoyable, low stress ride. When we started out, we had no record company, no management, no lawyers, no producers. It was just the four of us sharing music and a very stress free environment. So I can’t say that’s true for all of the records that I’ve made.
Would it be right to say that you were the pivotal figure who knew the other members so formed the links that created Envy Of None?
I think so, Jason. I’m kind of the guy that connected all of the pieces of the puzzle together. I’ve known Alfio Annibalini for close to two decades. We’ve worked on a few records. My band Caramel and then Leisureworld, so we did some work together in the studio. He’s a fabulous mixer and engineer, but I didn’t realize he’s also a multi-instrumentalist. I found out recently that he plays guitar and keyboards. So we started collaborating with the idea of maybe meeting a young artist that we could collaborate with and enter Maiah Wynne in a very strange sort of set of circumstances. How I met Maiah, but when we did a few little demos ideas with Maiah and I subsequently played them for Alex, that was the beginning of Envy Of None. So I guess I am the common stitch that goes all the way through it.
It’s really an interesting sound because I’m not necessarily the greatest fan of the contemporary hard rock scene. But there is a bit more of a classic rock feel as well as a modern sound. It seems to work for both audiences.
Yeah, I think that’s a fair statement, Jason. I certainly feel that Maiah’s vocals are the icing on the cake, and it certainly leans this towards a more current sounding or alternative sounding record. And whether you wanted to recognize some of the classic rock trimmings of it, whether it be my 8th note bass patterns or when Alex flexes muscle and you hear a good crunchy guitar tone in there, or we’ve got some keyboards and some bass keyboards that lean towards like a Depeche Mode or some kind of early 90s or late 80s New Wave in there. That’s where you kind of got these two worlds colliding. And I do feel that regardless of the instrumentation that we put around Maiah’s vocals, her layering and her wispy whimsical evocative type of vocals really bring this thing alive. And she’s our secret weapon for sure.
Absolutely. Look Inside, for example. It’s very cinematic and grand.
Thank you for saying that. When we got to about three or four songs, Alex Lifeson called me. He said, Andy, what are we going to do with this stuff? Because we had no real plan. It was literally like four people just exchanging ideas. And he said, Call me wrong. But this thing feels like some of the music that we’ve already composed would be good for film and television. Do you have any friends that are music supervisors or anything? I think you mentioned to me that you did. So I said, yeah, I do, and I’m going to send it out to them. So we sent about six songs out and immediately got some very positive responses back, Jason, including a young woman in Vancouver who said, Perfect timing. I want to license liar for a Netflix series that I’m doing. It would lend itself really well to the scenes that we have in this. So we signed a one off sync deal with her for Liar, but it was basically a nice little shot in the arm and an endorsement of what we were doing. Somebody outside the camp said, yeah, you guys are doing something cool there.
But I do feel that the entire record is very film friendly. I was watching the Grammys the other night and watching Billie Eilish do the James Bond song. And I was like, man, when I went to see that movie, I thought Envy Of None stuff could be all through this movie. So I hope it opens up a different world for us, because Alex and I are both very interested in writing for film and television. And now we’ve got a full record that I think is very, like you said, cinematic.
How did you record? Was it a pandemic record in that you couldn’t meet in person?
Yes. For the most part, it was. There was an early meeting with all four of us. Maybe about three years ago, just before the pandemic hit, and we recorded some basic drum tracks and beds in Toronto. And then Maiah is the only non Canadian in the band. And so we brought her in and she sang a few vocal tracks. I think she did Liar, and maybe it was Look Inside, or Never Said I Love You. I can’t remember which one. But then we didn’t see each other for the entire time through the pandemic, which, honestly, for this type of a project was totally fine. We actually excelled in that environment. Nothing left my home studio until I was happy. Send it to Alex and Alf. And everybody kind of produced themselves. So everybody parked their egos aside and said, I got a base idea. Do you like it if you don’t tell me? And I’ll redo it. So that might have been one of the silver linings of the pandemic that we were all able to record remotely. And then when the record was all done, we had a little bit of a celebration and had clinked some champagne and listened to the album all the way through, did a photo session and things like that. But for the most part, we were not in the same room for the entire ride, which was kind of unorthodox.
It’s probably too early to say, but do you see this as predominantly a studio project, or do you think it could lead to more work in person?
Primarily, when we started, it really was a studio project. And because I know it’s a super overused phrase, but because of how organically this thing came together, nobody actually sat down and said, okay, when we’re finished, we’re going to go on tour. It’s just like, let’s finish the record. And there’s this weird sort of like, sit back and just enjoy the ride and see what happens. So if the opportunity to play live comes up, we would consider it. And not in a large way, because Alex has definitely done his fair share of touring and not really interested. I’m next in line, I’ve got so many places that we played, I’ve forgotten about them. But I think if there was like a special festival or a handful of dates, we would entertain it. And we also are talking about working, continuing to work on Envy Of None Two, because we really enjoyed that. So I think we’ll continue to collaborate together and see where it goes.
Western Sunset is a great way to finish the album as you’ve got different sounds on the record. To finish in almost a peaceful way is quite moving.
Thank you for noting that. And that was our intention. Alex was responsible for sequencing the entire record, which I was like, awesome, he’s going to take that job. But we thought after digesting the full meal and having all that information hit you. And although most of the tracks are kind of vibey, there’s a lot to take in there. It’s a big headphone, heavy listen, lots of dense tracks, and then you get to the end. And Alex was joking saying, it’s almost like having a little aperitif after a meal. It’s like you sit back and then you just listen and peacefully end the listening session that way. A beautiful tribute to his and my friend Neil [Peart] who had passed away. When he presented it to the band to finish, we didn’t really know where the inspiration came from. And now, many months later, we find out that he was inspired by one of his last visits with Neil and hanging out with him in Santa Monica before his passing. It’s a special song for us for sure.
How far back does your tie with Alex go?
Yeah, it’s quite a ride. It started in about 1982 when my original band that I formed, Coney Hatch, we ended up being label mates with him on Anthem records. So we had the same label, the same manager. I’m a big Rush fan, like in Canada, in Toronto, you can’t help but not be. They’re like one of the biggest things that ever happened to the city. So I grew up going to see them in concert and everything and then didn’t have a lot of interaction in the early 80s with them, but struck up a friendship with Geddy and Alex and we played golf together in tennis, just more social. But then when I left Coney Hatch and formed my solo band, I opened up a string of shows in Canada for a rush on the Roll The Bones tour. So we started to get even closer then. And then from about 2004 till maybe three or four years ago, I spent the entire time working at Anthem records as their A&R guy and part of their management company. So that’s when we really started to work very closely together.
But more on the Rush side, there was no discussion of collaborating or working together in the studio. I was the company guy. I was the A&R guy and part of the management team. So it wasn’t until, really the last four years that we started talking about working together creatively and as two musicians. But it’s a long friendship and probably got even closer over this period of time with Alex And really getting to know what makes them click in the studio. It’s been fascinating and I’m honored to be part of it. The guys in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. So I pinched myself every now and then going, how did I get here?
How did you know Maiah?
So, Maiah, when I was at the label, I got contacted by a gentleman who asked me if I would be a judge for an online talent contest. And it was a national one for the US and Canada. And Maiah ended up being one of the finalists. And they said, Andy, as part of her prize, she is going to get a mentoring call with an industry expert. And I was like, well, hey, I don’t consider myself an expert. And B, that’s a pretty crappy prize, but no problem! So fast forward, I get on the line with Maiah on a Zoom call, and she’s asking me for my advice on a couple of things. She was 21 at the time, and I’m giving her advice on how to meet musicians and things like that. And then right in the middle of the conversation, she said, I looked you up online. Could I collaborate with you? And I was not expecting that. I was going into the call thinking I was going to be giving this young woman advice. And next thing I know, I’m like, oh, sure, I’ll send you some ideas.
So that’s where it all started. And I sent her about a half dozen ideas. Some of them had lyrical bits on them or little ghost melodies and things. And she really gravitated towards Shadow, which is Track 2 on the record. And we ended up finishing that, and that was the beginning of the ride for us.
So how does Envy Of None compare with your earlier work in bands such as Coney Hatch?
I would definitely say a lot less stress, as I mentioned, like, a lot of freedom artistically to explore online on your own. No producer, no watchful eye of the record label. We got to keep an eye on budgets, and you only have 8 hours to record today. So it was just like, I don’t know, it was just so easy and effortless and no real pressure. The pressure that we put on each other was just the pressure to finish it. And once we got connected with Kscope and Snapper, and then we actually set a release date, and at that point, it was like, okay, I remember this. There’s a release date, there’s timelines. We got to deliver this thing. We got to finish it right. But for the most part, Jason, it was very enjoyable, rewarding, stress free stylistically, just stretching and literally sending ideas to each other going, okay, I just sent you five ideas. Which one or two do you like? And it wasn’t like, okay, send me a hard rock. One, send me an ambient one, send me a vibe. One, it was just like, what ideas does everybody like? Okay, four people say yes on idea number two. We’re going to work on that one now. So that process of just no stress and just four people collaborating was really fun.
It’s the opposite of how you were recording, say, in the early 80s where studio time was expensive. The home set up would have been limited. Whereas now with the advancement of technology, you’ve got that freedom at home.
You’re absolutely right. It was like almost the polar opposite of what we had done in the past and how we worked in traditional recording sessions. And I know Alex told me that he felt it quite liberating too, to be able to just toil at home with nobody really getting in your way or weighing in on something. You just use your instincts on it. And I can tell you even right up to the very end, there are times when we were mixing the record, but we were mixing it virtually like I would call Alfio and he would pull up a track and we would go into this program called Audio Mover and the console was literally in front of me. I’m listening in real time. Hey, stop there for a second. You forgot. Can you take there’s an acoustic guitar part coming in. So the technology has with zero latency, it would be like you and I talking, writing together or mixing together. So technology has really enabled people the luxury of working at home and maybe not blowing a huge budget at a studio. But we did record the drums. We wanted to capture the room and the ambient sound of real drums on it. So we have a mixture of real drums and programmed drums on the record. So there were a couple of traditional studio sessions where we did vocals and drums, but for the most part, this room was where some of the magic was happening.
So now we’re getting out of the pandemic or its acute phase. Are you able to make broader plans in terms of your general activities now?
Certainly in Canada things are loosening up here. A lot of the restrictions, the mandate to wear masks and stuff are all loosened up. So it feels like life is getting back to normal here. The live scene is starting to come back on in Canada. I’ve been to a couple of shows recently and now I think there’s been quite a lot in the backlog of people wanting to get out there. But in terms of Envy Of None, we’re in no rush to really get out there I think we want to just release the record and see how it’s received. But life does feel like it’s getting back to normal here in Canada because we were pretty conservative in all of our travel restrictions and lockdowns. Every time we thought we were just getting to that place where we were going to get out and be able to go to a restaurant and have a pint with a few friends, then you just get locked down again. But the beauty of it was having the studio and working and being able to be creative while we’re being locked down.
Now you’ve had the benefit of recording in this way for Envy Of None, do you think that this is a way that you will continue to work?
I kind of feel for this project, yes. Because if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. I know that if Maiah was on the call with us, she definitely missed a little bit of that human interaction. So maybe we would try to find a middle balance instead of only having her down two times, maybe we’d fly her in four times or something. And just that like there were a few times, Jason, where over emails and even on Zoom calls, it got lost in translation. Even when we were talking about an arrangement and I would say, hey, the chorus comes in at two minutes and 10 seconds, and she goes, oh, that feels weird. That feels like it’s the bridge to me or something. That interaction where we could just hash it out in person, we were missing that. So I think for the most part, we would continue on doing what we’re doing, but maybe see if there’s a middle ground and see if we could get my head to Toronto for some more face time with her.
Do you think that’s mainly because she’s the vocalist and I guess it’s a different thing.
Yeah, it does for sure. And as a vocalist and lyricist myself, I tried to work with her a lot, and it was very important for me whenever I was feeding her with little ideas, like I would have a working title like Liar with a chorus line or maybe Never Said I Love You. I had a lyrical line and a melody line, but I was very adamant with her that she was going to be singing it, and she had to feel passionate about singing it. And I didn’t just want to give her my lyrics and go, you’re a robot, sing it. It was important that she had her voice. So I do think that there is that very personal part of the vocals where it gets pretty difficult if you’re not having feedback with a producer or an engineer, but good honor for a young woman. I thought she did an amazing job.
Are there any sort of lyrical themes that you think tie the album together or is it a case of each song stands alone?
I think probably the latter, to be honest with you because the way we built this record was kind of like Lego blocks. Just everybody started and we started putting parts on and building this Lego thing. So we never really thought about connecting one song to another like a concept record in terms of sequencing it and the vibe of it. There were times when we got to about eight or nine songs where I said to the group I think Enemy needs a little brother because it’s the only one that’s sticking out like this and I would see this idea so Dog’s Life came in very late. I said we need something up tempo. It feels like the album is a bit slow at times, right. So I started putting a little bit of my producer hat on that said we could use an uptempo number, we could use a pop something that’s not as serious, right. And then songs like Look Inside and Liar have nasty bass tones. So maybe my ego came out a little bit going hey, everybody, check out these bass parts, let’s write some stuff around it. But for the most part the songs are individual rides and each of them, I think, feel pretty cohesive. Even though Alex’s songs with Spy House and Kabul Blues and Western Sunset were late additions to the record, they still feel like they’re part of it because I think Maiah’s vocals are the thread that ties through the entire record.
I hope it isn’t the final record that you do together because it’s clear that it’s a very successful artistic project. I’ve really enjoyed it and I’m sure others will too. Thank you for your time today.
Jason, thank you for the kind words and I hope it’s true. I hope others enjoy it as much as you do. We had a lot of fun making it and hopefully Lee I see it down the road and yeah, like here’s two envy and none part two.
Further information
Their debut album ‘Envy Of None’, is released on 8 April 2022 via Kscope. Pre-order the album on Deluxe Edition, LP and CD: eon.lnk.to/envyofnone
