Rebecca Foon: Walking into Another World
Written by Nathan Evans
In her distinguished career, Rebecca Foon has always been comfortable as a part of something greater. First receiving attention with post-rock collective Silver Mt. Zion (officially named ‘Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra‘), the group became underground legends in the mid-2000s, and Foon was there for the better part of that classic period. She left the group in 2008, but during this time she integrated into two other bands of a similar nature, Set Fire to Flames and the self-founded Esmerine. The former created two full-lengths before disbanding after a few years, while the latter won a Juno Award for their efforts, the Canadian equivalent of a Grammy. Outside of music, her environmental activism is equally as commendable, co-founding the Pathway to Paris institution that has attracted artists as big as Michael Stipe and Thom Yorke to discuss solutions to climate change.
These experiences ultimately had to lead her to a more independent place. In 2013, she began to release solo material until the moniker ‘Saltwater’, but after two records of its use, she has pushed the name away in favour of her own. Her new album, Waxing Moon, interweaves sparse piano melodies, string drones and intimate vocals into what is her most singular work to date. KEYMAG spoke to her to dig further into her newfound self-rule.
Perhaps you are most well-known for your time with Silver Mt. Zion. How did you meet and get involved with the band?
I moved to montreal when I was 17, and then started shortly after playing in this all girls punk band called ‘Queen Size Shag’. We use to rehearse at Hotel2Tango, and that is how I met Efrim [Menuck]. A year later or so, he asked me to do a show, but I was out of town so wasn't able to take part, but the music composed ended up being on the first Mt. Zion album. He then asked me to join to create a touring group, which then led to us making the second album.
What was the day-to-day like with Mt. Zion? What was the creative process like?
We use to practice in this rehearsal space in Montreal 3 times a week, usually 1 or 2 people would come in with an idea and then we would just play for hours until we had something coherent. Sometimes beautiful magical moments would appear and something totally new would develop into a song from that time of just playing together for hours in the room.
Recording took place in the now-legendary Hotel2Tango, what was the atmosphere like in there?
It is a beautiful building right by the train tracks in Montreal. It has a powerful energy, greatly affected by the outpouring of creative energy over the years from so many incredible musicians. When you walk in you know you are there - like walking into another world for a moment.
Is there a piece of work you did with Mt. Zion that you look back on most fondly?
I have a soft spot for a song Efrim and I recorded together for the second Mt. Zion album (2001’s Born Into Trouble As the Sparks Fly Upward), it is just piano and cello, a very simple piece called ‘Thou You are Gone I Still Often Walk w/ You’.
Are there any particular experiences from the bands you’ve been a part of inform your solo work?
I was so young when I joined Mt. Zion, about 21 [years old], so that band truly shaped me as a musician. I really feel that time and history is in my cells, it is apart of me, and informs all my music.
Does each project you’re involved in represent a different side of you and your music? If so, how?
What I love about collaborations is that they bring out a part of you, that you might have never yet discovered. This definitely happened for me during my time in Silver Mt. Zion and I feel it still to this day when I play with Esmerine, as the music challenges me, and makes me need to discover new ways of creating. My solo work in a way is a chance to dive in and find a different and more intimate part of myself that I don't get the chance to express in large bands.
What does your day-to-day life look like nowadays?
My day-to-day is a mix of different elements. I spend a lot of time touring, composing soundtracks for film, and working on the non-profit organization I started with Jesse Paris Smith, called Pathway to Paris. In 2017, we launched an initiative called the 1000 Cities Initiative for Carbon Freedom, that is rooted in the idea that if 1000 cities transition off of fossil fuels by 2040 we can get a lot closer to meeting the targets in the Paris Agreement. I also co-founded a few yoga studios, Modo Yoga NYC, so that also is part of my daily life and practice.
What’s the highest honour you’ve received in your life so far?
I think one of my proudest moments was when Pathway to Paris organized a concert at Carnegie Hall, in NYC in 2017, and during the concert Bill McKibben got the audience to write letters to Mayor [Bill] de Blasio asking for the city to divest its pension funds and reinvest in renewables. A few weeks after the city received the letters, Mayor de Blasio announced the Divestment. And shortly after this happened, London was so inspired by NYC's bold move, they decided to follow with the same divestment actions and are now on track to be the most ambitious city in the world in terms of it climate actions.
Perhaps the project you had the most leadership in was Saltland, which was basically solo work under a pseudonym. But why now have you decided to do something in your own name?
This album in the most raw, personal and intimate album I have ever made, so it felt right to release it under my own name. I guess I was curious to try to be a little courageous and just go for it!
How would you describe the music on Waxing Moon?
The music is very raw, simple and intimate. This was my intention, as I really wanted to create an honest album that touched the depths of emotions I was trying to channel in some mysterious way. I find as a planet we are in such a strange time, where we are literally potentially facing our own extinction, so there is a sadness in the music that incorporates this feeling. [I’m] also touching on personal themes of loss and heartbreak in my own life, while also offering a sense of hope, awe and wonder for how beautiful life is.
Where did you write these songs?
I wrote most of these songs in my friends apartment in NYC while I was looking after their dog while they were traveling. I then went into the studio with my friend Jace [Lasek, who is also songwriter and vocalist for Montreal band the Besnard Lakes] who co-produced the album with me, and we did a lot of the arrangements together in the studio.
What music influenced you on this album?
I was very influenced by watching Thom Yorke perform a few of his songs stripped down solo on piano at a Pathway to Paris concert in 2015, as well as by some old Cat Power and PJ Harvey records.
The record is covered by an absolutely stellar piece of artwork. What was the idea behind it?
The cover is by my friend Brigitte Henry, and represents a spirit of sorts hovering over a mountain surrounded by golden light. The album is quite spiritual in many ways, the title is about the moon expanding over time, and for me is a metaphor for awakening, or enlightenment. We are facing such a stark reality in terms of our future on Planet Earth, and it really feels that humanity needs to find an awakened or enlightened state to make it as a species. So this idea, surrounds the album.
You’ve always brought along many close friends to collaborate on your records as Saltlake. Was it the same case here?
Yes I am so blessed to have beautiful musician friends, and music relationships that have formed organically over time. Richard Reed Parry (of Arcade Fire) and Patrick Watson came into the studio to hang out with me while I was recording, and then added their beautiful magic to the album, totally unplanned. And my friend Sophie Trudeau, who I played in Mt. Zion with for years also added gorgeous violin on the album. Jace Lasek and my friend Mishka Stein also added beautiful guitar and bass.
There’s a distinct theme of grand multi-dimensionality on here - from the new-age drones, to track titles such as ‘Another Realm’, ‘New World’ and ‘Dreams To Be Born’. Could you explain what spurred that theme to appear vividly on Waxing Moon?
Yes definitely, it comes back to the idea of awakening, and imagining a renewable equitable world, for future generations, that is no longer stuck in an era of fossil fuels - and imagining a society rooted in compassion and love for all beings. I found myself a few years ago in an elevator with the Karmapa, a Tibetan spiritual leader. I had no idea who he was, but I was so moved by his presence in that strange moment, I had to google him to find out who he was. His energy touched me so deeply, that it really made me believe in the power of love, compassion and awakening the heart, and how this is so needed today.
What do you want listeners to take away from this album?
I just hope listeners can be moved in some way by the music, as making this album very much helped me in a time of great sadness in my life. I hope it offers a moment to be transported in some way, as it did for me while making it.