View Magazine Interview

November 2008
Hamilton

Rae Spoon Croons

By Adam Grant

Sexuality in music today is about as important as a great hook or
clever lyricism. 20–something pop queens show off their
chest–twins, while R&B dudes like Usher — if he could — would
likely stand on stage for an hour and a half and show off his abs
as opposed to having to perform. While such acts of sexuality in
this art form have become accepted on a mainstream level, one
group of people that is still battling for mass acceptance are
those of alternative lifestyles.
In Canada lives, writes, and performs indie artist Rae Spoon,
who is an up front transgender individual. For those unaware, a
transgender person is defined as someone who was born as one
sex, but takes on the characteristics of the other. Over the years
Spoon has been fielding questions about this part of his life, and
one of the answers certainly worth knowing is how this identity
affects what the public hears on CD or stage. “I think being
transgender is something that has really changed the way I look
at the world,” notes Spoon.  “I don’t see lines between things the
same way. I would say it’s made me a post–structuralist in that I
don’t really believe that social constructs are permanent the way I
used to. Maybe it makes it easier for me to take things apart?
“I wouldn’t say I offer specific guidance to people, but I think
it’s important for there to be visible people who are transgender,
so that others can see it as something that is okay,” he adds. “I
often get people at my shows who are Trans and it always makes
me happy if they come.”
As for the music itself, Spoon has released four independent
albums since 2003, with the latest being the more electronic/lap
top based 2008 offering, Superioryouareinferior. Almost two
years in the making, Superioryouareinferior features tracks that
still have the country music–esque soul Spoon put forth
previously, only with more danceable qualities. What led to the

shift? “I was living in Germany last winter because my partner
went to art school there.  It was in a town called Weimar near
Leipzig. During that time I made a living by playing shows there
and in the surrounding countries,” recalls Spoon.  “I would say the
way it influenced me was in the change of context.
“Previously I had been a country singer and I was living in a
place very divorced from that type of music.  Also, I met a lot of
people making different types of electronic and experimental
music.  I gave myself more permission to experiment in that
context which produced a different kind of music than what I was
making before.”
The recording process in particular was break–neck, to say
the least. Primarily recorded in Calgary with other sections
completed in either Vancouver or Germany, the bulk of the album
really came together in a four day stretch that averaged 12 to 15
hours a day. Of course, when you’re moving this quickly, you
have to have a plan as to what you want to talk about.
One main recurring theme with Spoon’s recordings is his
willingness to — like The Tragically Hip or The Rheostatics before
him — unapologetically sing about Canada in specific terms.
Even though some consider this a risky to those looking beyond
their own borders for success, Spoon feels that where he’s at now
in a writing sense is connecting with the right people regardless
of which country the tracks are coming out of. “I can see where it
would be a risk if one was in a band that was trying to achieve
commercial success in America,” says Spoon. “Bands pursuing
that type of a career need to essentially pass as being American in
a lot of ways. I am not really too concerned with appealing to that
market, so I focus more on writing songs that are true to the
places I’m in.
“I think the messages I was trying to communicate through the songs were clear enough that I can hear them echoed back in
the feed back I have heard so far. There have also been a lot of
good things said about the album from the press,” he
continues. “It’s relieving to me because I felt I was taking a risk
switching genres. My hope for this album is that it reaches
audiences that my country music didn’t. I believe it’s a lot more
accessible.”