I call to confirm an interview with Bakelite tonight at the Brickyard and I’m surprised to hear an English accent on the other end of the line. Why didn’t it register that one of them was English when reading in their bio that the original two members of the band – Jim Ribsey and Cameron Blain - met in England? I’m not sure what to expect…I’d read that they’re ‘electroclash’ somewhere, and feeling unsatisfied with the lack of knowledge for this term I do a little searching on the web for the definition. Oh dear, theatricals? Fisherspooner? Somehow I’d not envisioned Bakelite in tights and it’s a relief, when on arrival to The Brickyard, appears the somewhat dapper/messy man boys in a mixture of leather jackets, jeans, pea coats, shaggy hair and stripes (the kind of guys that look like they’d be pretty useful with a calculator). No ironic mullets or tights in sight but, apparently, a TV. Just a few minutes into our conversation all agree that electroclash is a tad bit “gimmicky” and something they’re not. Cam: “Unless you call that little TV thing we use gimmicky. They might do”. Jim: “Yeah, but it would be boring just watching two people behind keyboards, so that’s why we have those!” So you’re not really electroclash then are you? Cam: “Thank you Amy, Good start!”

On first listen to their debut one can’t help draw comparisons to Kraftwerk. In fact one may be inclined to think the band’s whole ethos of producing rinky dink, industrial synth beats has been based on Computer World. I probe for a possible influence to which Cam plays along “Yeah I have a quota of five Kraftwerk tracks a week, and if I only do four one week then I’ll listen to six the next”. “Computer World is the best” adds Jim. So then would it be more accurate to call you geeks with synthesizers? “Yeah!” laughs Cam, “I don’t mind, I’m a geek”. “Yeah, yeah, we’re geeks” agrees Jim light heartedly. “I’d say you’re more techie you guys” Brad Mc Kinnon thoughtfully suggests – one of the few comments the drummer (Bakelite’s most recent addition) makes during the interview.

As part of Vancouver’s indie neu music scene they’re fast growing local favorites and have already branched out on tour down in California in support of their self titled album released by Sound Document late last year. While Canada has been expanding it’s notoriety for musical cool with bands like Broken Social Scene, The Stills, The Hidden Cameras, The Dears, etc. the outside world still feels assaulted by it’s mega stars like Celine Dion and Nickelback. One has to wonder if our little exports feel a little pressured to ‘represent’ in a more artistically credible way. Jim: “Oh yeah, we got shit…we were made to apologize on stage for all the shitty music that was coming out of Canada at one point. They were like ‘Apologize now! Shania Twain, Nickelback’… we were like ‘we’re sorry’, but they were just joking. It was a lot of fun”. Cam: “Yeah at one show people were like ‘yeah Canada!’ they were going crazy, jumping around…and it wasn’t because of the election it was because of us!” In addition to a grand reception, the ‘techies’ stayed in friend’s mansions, watched films in their time off and argued over their plush rental van’s electronic gizmos “It gave us no problems” assures Jim.

It’s clear from the start the only thing these guys are for better of lacking in is an arrogant attitude which is the kind of facade that can only take a band so far. However, in a manner of speaking I ask if they’re contented with a band like themselves forever staying at the smaller level of success bands with lofty artistic integrity often do and what they think of others like themselves. Cam: “Yeah, that’s tough question. That’s a hard one” The wheels obviously ticking over a delicate matter. “Like do we have to compromise to make it? Is that that question?” No. “Oh, OK, because I don’t think I want to answer that one!”

Jim: “Yeah, well I don’t know. It’s a really bizarre thing to know that your dream is to be able to make music as a living but that to ‘make it’ you would have to compromise some things. Like, I don’t think you’d be in any position to negotiate with a major label what you really thought was fair and what would give you that capability to do what you were doing before, and besides I think you’d loose your audience. I think that our audience would see that it would be like selling out and a compromise of artistic integrity, so it’s one of those things. I don’t see us doing it. We had a dilemma, briefly with Warner Canada as well, and we debated it a while and just decided that we don’t really carry their way”. Cam interjects “And we debate EVERYTHING. Brad realized that when he joined the band. We just started debating something and he was there looking like ‘oh my god, what the hell have I got myself into’. Isn’t that right Brad?” Brad smiles and nods as if Cam has just made the biggest understatement of the year.

I never would have had a band consisting of two Synthesizers and a drum kit making Kraftwerk-esqe, Robert Smith yelps as my thing, yet ‘Allure’ (the first track off their album) is one of my new favorite songs. I can imagine Bakelite’s music being made by a machine line coming from the mind of Tim Burton (like in Edward Scissor Hands). Naturally it makes all the difference knowing the producers of such music mean what they do and that it has come from a place that holds dear to their hearts. For the love of music, the love of geeks, damn, Bakelite is cool!

Some Bakelite related facts:
When Cam and Jim first met they initially “didn’t like each other”.
Brad was previously in the Victoria based band Fuck Me USA.
They enjoy Neil Young and The Stranglers.
None of them are actually ‘geeky’, but, of course you knew that already…

Elsewhere

By Amy Hanson
Photos : bakelite.ca
Published : April 2005.