blog post Paul Aucoin talks about producing John K. Samson's album Provincial

Paul Aucoin is a man of many hats. He is a multi-instrumentalist and driving force behind the Hylozoists, a group that was nominated for a Juno Award in 2010 for Instrumental Album of the Year. He has also produced albums for bands such as The Sadies, Cuff the Duke, The Heavy Blinkers, The Deadly Snakes and John K. Samson. As well, he recently made a leap into the film business as the Music Director for the National Parks Project.

He's been called the most diverse and enthusiastic multitasker in the Canadian music business, so we decdied to catch up to him and find out how he does it.

How was working on John K. Samson’s album different from working on other albums (Andre Ethier, Lauar Barrett, Cuff the Duke, The Golden Dogs, The Heavey Blinkers, etc. etc. )?

Every record is so different I wouldn't know where to start. This one we rehearsed and recorded in Kensington Market in Toronto and a few of the songs were recorded previously and we either added to them or started anew. John tracked his vocals, additional guitars and Winnipeg based guests C. Fellows, Leanne Zacharias and Damon Mitchell with Cam Leoppky at his studio Prairie Recording Co. which is where the album was then mixed. The various cities and studios wasn't out of the ordinary but did include a few more hard drives making their way via Canada Post. Other than those type of details John and I have a great relationship which I hope I have with all the aforementioned artists which is only constant record to record I find.

What do you feel your job as a producer is?

It is always so different project to project. I always try to make sure that the specific artist gets the best production they need more than what I may have done last time with someone else. All the great artists I have gotten to work with all need and want something different when it comes to production. It is also informed by if I am engineering and/or mixing as well as if I am a musical contributor. As you can see there are so many scenarios. In the case of Provincial I really wanted Jeff McMurrich to record it at his 6 Nassau studio as I think he's the best engineer in Canada by far and everything I have done with him has been a great process. Having Cam Loeppky mix the record was such an easy choice for everyone involved with the long standing working relationship of his and John's along with the band. Living through the record with the artist is a big part of it as I know from being an artist myself having that relationship and partnership is a huge relief on the decision making all the way down the line, not going it alone essentially. John and I had recently been out on the National Parks Project and that partnership with himself, Christine Fellows and Sandro Perri with me recording didn't involve a "producer" per se but ends up feeling very similar feeling whether the moniker is there or not. So I guess at the end of the day it's everything and anything that needs to be done to make the record as great as it can be for everyone involved!

What do you get out of being a musician?

When playing, as opposed to the other duties, the joy is very simply getting to play. Very much like hockey, which I indulge in heavily, the joy of playing has a simplicity to it that all the other skills don't have such as engineering, producing or composing. I have been playing music so long I can't even fathom what it would be like not to be a musician and not get to do this with my life.

In an early article at Exclaim it states “the success he has achieved is based on doing what nobody else is willing — or able — to do, whether the situation calls for adding an unorthodox instrument like Theremin, arranging a string part, contributing some engineering skills, or even doing a band's taxes” do you still believe in this philosophy?

Yes I would still agree with that although it's funny reading it back so many years later. The wording I would change but doing a wide array of musical things has made me less reliant on one sector of the business. I really like doing all the different roles which is the biggest reason I try more jobs out than most would care for. I don't play theremin much these days but I do a lot more work on the financial side of things now so even amongst the different things I do they change over the years as well. Another examples I used to help people with Grant work quite a bit but try not to do that anymore or keep all that as pro bono guidance thing now. Which I guess segues to the next question......

What other ‘unorthodox’ things have you been doing since?

A perfect example of why I like doing different jobs is the National Parks Project. The National Parks Project was a 13 Part Television series, 13 short films, double vinyl and interactive odyssey that took a few years to complete on my side of things. An opportunity like this would have never landed on my doorstep if it wasn't for the different hats I have worn in the past and as the Musical Director I had to do everything from multitrack recording on glaciers to doing Location Sound (something that was newer to me) and a million things in-between.

What else can we expect from you in 2012 or the future?

Now that the National Parks Project has wrapped (as well as an hour long doc we shot this summer with authors as opposed to musicians and filmmakers) I am trying to get back to more Hylozoists work again. An EP should make it's way out in the next few months which was music written for our trip to Torngat National Park with the authors. I have a few other ideas and things ready to go if that's next as well. I also work with my brother Rich quite a bit more than when we was biking across Canada years ago. From his books, to bass to some of his recordings I do what I can and it's nice to see all his hard work paying off and that it's fun to see his career going great.