Q&A: Montreal’s Pressure Pin
Photo Credit: Aabid Youssef
Following up his debut EP with a frenetic edge, Kenny Smith’s burgeoning art punk solo project Pressure Pin is back with Polyurethane. Produced by Standard Emmanuel (Félix Bélisle) of Chose Sauvages and fellow bandmate of La Sécurité, Smith has crafted a sound pulling from ‘77 punk with his latest music video for the title track, “Polyurethane”. Smith shares, “It was recorded in a rehearsal space in Montréal with Félix manning the computer in the sound booth. Marc-Antoine Barbier also works with him, and played saxophone on the EP. I had the artwork done by a great band from London (ON) called Mononegatives who also make similar music. It’s sort of inspired by ‘70s/’80s reinterpretations of Bauhaus art, board games, schematics, etc.”
A must listen for fans of Snõõper, Jay Reatard or Devo, Pressure Pin harnesses the synthetic malfunction of modern urban decay into spasmic echoes from our collective present. We connected with Smith to hear more about the inspirations behind the track and how this project has been rising to the surface of the punk underground.
REVERIE: Hi Pressure Pin! Where did the name come from and how did the project come to be?
Pressure Pin: The name was just thrown together to fit a certain criteria of syllables/alliteration that I like to see in other band names. It doesn’t really mean anything that I know of. Anticlimactic, I know. The project itself began because I was sick of working with samplers and backing tracks. I felt like making something a bit more propulsive that would work well with a real live band.
REVERIE: Being a member of La Sécurité - what did you want to explore or do differently with Pressure Pin?
PP: La Sécurité’s music is somewhat straightforward a lot of the time, maybe it’s more fun to play/listen to but I can’t help but go completely overboard with my own compositions. I don’t know how to structure songs that people will actually listen to so I just make them as jarring and freaky as possible. It’s like a game to me.
REVERIE: We love the track (and music video!) - what was the inspiration behind it?
PP: The track was probably inspired by another high BPM song that I heard with fast eighth notes on the drums. It’s been too long since I wrote it for me to remember haha. But I wanted to have something with a quicker tempo to kick the EP off. Lyrically, just another stream of consciousness rap on “society”, machines, chemicals… the good stuff. The video concept wasn’t thought up by me, so maybe I’m not the best person to ask what it’s about. However, the various iterations of me reflect the self-recorded nature of the music well. Vaguely threatening characters, some uncanny valley stuff going on… sort of fits the bill.
REVERIE: Do you experience feelings of 'pressure' as a musician? How do you navigate pressure in this bustling industry?
PP: Yeah, I guess so, there’s pressure in a lot of ways. Kind of like any other job. If you want to actually be compensated in any way for your work, there’s a push to consistently churn out content, to fit a certain image of what people expect/want, to wear tight pants and shake your ass on stage… some of this stuff I like doing, some not so much. I just try to put out fun music and it’s worked so far. I’m not a businessman (or am I?) and I don’t know what I’m doing (or do I?)
Photo Credit: Aabid Youssef
REVERIE: Who or what are your artistic influences?
PP: Musically, I listen to almost everything I can. Most of my favourite stuff is guitar based and follows a general family tree of punk and r’n’r. But I like lots of things, it’s highly dependent on what phase I’m going through at the moment. I always like art that’s a little bit on the fringe, but still palatable. Also influenced in other ways by technology, my own experiences, sociology, etc.
REVERIE: How did you achieve your sound on Polyurethane? Any tech/gear that you can't live without?
PP: I spent a lot of time working on the tones of the instruments. I’m kind of proud of the drums, we used a kit that’s rather antithetical to punk. Complete with rototoms, a china cymbal, cowbells. I really like to crank the tuning of the snare up all the way. Also used some custom cymbals by a friend, PGB Cymbals. Then, I borrowed a good friend’s bass rig that has a very distinct sound. That consists of a big Traynor amp, a Gibson Grabber, and a couple pedals, including a cool digitech synth bass pedal (that’s one of our favourites in the band). The guitar gear was mostly borrowed and not very similar to what I personally use live, but it still sounds good on the record. Just a couple fenders and some basic pedals, including an octafuzz and a digital delay. Probably played through an AC30 but I forget. I believe the synths were just various Junos, because that’s what I’m most familiar with. Overall, we tried to make everything sound as clear, sharp, and “colourful” as possible while reducing the abrasiveness that’s more present on the first EP.
REVERIE: What's next - anything you'd like to add?
PP: Not much to add, I suppose. Just keep booking us and buying our merch and we promise to bring the hits… peace out.