A Few Minutes with Iron & Wine

Interview by Liam Singer

Liam Singer: I got to listen to Woman King yesterday, and I like it a lot. Do you feel good about it, six months after you recorded it?

Sam Beam: Yeah. I mean, I haven't really listened to it.

LS: Really? You don't listen to your own stuff?

SB: Well... (laughs) no, not really. Sometimes, when I have to. But I'm into other music, you know?

LS: How long did you spend in the studio?

SB: Three or four days.

LS: Did you record enough material for a full-length?

SB: No, I went in knowing I was gonna do an EP.

LS: I read that you picked these songs out from a larger set... is that right?

SB: No, there must be something confusing in the press junket, because a couple people have asked me that. I guess Chris was just writing about, um... how I just kind of write all the time. So when it comes time to putting out records, I just sort of look at what I've got. So these were just sort of songs I had laying around, because I'm sort of always working. So yeah, in one sense it is from a bigger work, but it wasn't a specific project.

LS: How big is the tour going to be?

SB: The one in April is going to be about two weeks, then I'm gonna go out in June for another two weeks.

LS: I read that your kids get angry if you go out for longer than two weeks.

SB: Yeah, they don't like it too much... well, it's not so much much my kids, it's my wife (laughs).

LS: Are you looking forward to touring?

SB: Yeah, yeah, it'll be nice to get out and about again.

LS: Coming from a background recording and arranging your own songs, how much control are you willing to give up in the studio? Are you involved in the engineering aspect of the process, or are you happy to let someone else take care of it?

SB: I'm totally happy to let someone else take care of it. I mean, they ask me for my input a lot, but it's a great working relationship that we developed since that last record. It's a lot of fun, actually. I don't feel like I give up much control at all, it's just really fun to collaborate.

LS: There's a variety of instrumentation on this album It sounds like you felt more comfortable with the studio process this time around.

SB: Yeah, well I think on the last one, I was making the record the same way, I just wanted a different sound. So I really just did this for variety's sake. It definitely sort of developed from playing with other people more and just trying to use the band for what they can offer. And just for variety's sake, trying to mix it up, and play some different instruments.

LS: Would you say you left things more musically open-ended going into the studio this time, to see what happened once you were there?

SB: For sure. I record all the stuff at home, like demos... the same way I did the first record. So I kinda knew what the songs were about tune-wise, but we definitely played around quite a bit.

LS: I'm interested in knowing a little about your songwriting process. Do you usually start with something lyrical or musical?

SB: The music always comes first. I tend to write for the tune and the melody.

LS: Do the lyrics sort of unconsciously come out of the melody?

SB: Yeah, sometimes.... it depends on the song really. Some songs come pretty fast, and some of 'em take a real long time, actually.

LS: Do you have a discipline to your day, where you sit down with the intent to write some songs, or does it happen more casually?

SB: No, I make it disciplined. I try to write every day, usually in the morning... but some days are better than others.

LS: What songs do you feel the most proud of creating?

SB: Ah man, I don't know.

LS: I guess if you don't listen to you own stuff...

SB: Exactly.

LS: People seem attached to the concept of the singer/songwriter as someone who is attempting to bare their soul, which isn't necessarily what you're trying to do. Do you find that people have a hard time accepting that you have a very intimate sound, and are often singing from the first person perspective, but might be talking about something that isn't necessarily your own life experience?

SB: It definitely comes up a lot in terms of people doing interviews. People sort of expect quieter music to be like a diary entry, which I'm not interested in making.

LS: This question may be impossible to answer, but I'm going to give it a try. The music press has created a so-called "folk revival," linking people like you and devendra banhart and will oldham and others. And everyone named as a part of this revival denies its existence. But it is true that a lot of music fans like me, who five years ago were listening to over-the-top stuff like OK computer and the Soft Bulletin, are now listening to more acoustic, less orchestrated stuff like yours. My question is, why are so many people drawn to these sounds right now? What's going on in society and politics and the universe that has made this stuff so important in the last few years? Do you have any idea?

SB: This questions comes up quite a bit, and I usually don't know what to say. I especially don't know what's going on in the universe!

LS: I was hoping you did.

SB: When I figure it out, I'll let you know. I think [this kind of music] is always around, but the public's perception of it kind of waxes and wanes . But there's a lot of music out there, and personally, I kind of like all that stuff... it sort of makes life a nice big experience. The more synthetic music and the more organic music, it's all sort of part of the big pie. But I definitely know what you mean. It's sort of gotten this media spotlight lately.

LS: I feel like this stuff just seems somehow relevant...

SB: Well, I don't know. Maybe you were going through an angry stage before.

LS: Being so geographically removed from the country's big music centers, do you personally feel as though you're part of any sort of musical community, or that you have a group of musical peers?

SB: I definitely don't feel part of some musical movement, but I've met a lot of new friends from touring and working with people and stuff. A lot of bands on the label that we end up touring with have become real good friends, and you know, other people that you meet along the way. But as far as some creative... I don't call people up asking how to finish a song, but no one really does that to me either. So yes and no.

LS: Is there any sort of local community you were connected to before you got big?

SB: Not really man. I was always just doing it as a hobby, and working a 9-5 thing.

LS: You're not doing the teaching thing anymore, right?

SB: No, I'm able to just to music.

LS: Does that put any more pressure on your songwriting, or do you still feel like it's a hobby?

SB: I still approach it as... I try to approach it as a hobby. I mean, I kind of gave up on worrying about what other people think a while back, you know what I mean? So I was always kind of doing it for the fun of it, and I've kind of managed to be able to hold onto that. Hopefully I'll be able to keep it up.

LS: My girlfriend would like to know if you own a dog. She feels like you sing about dogs a lot.

SB: I used to. I don't have one at the moment. But she's right, I do talk a bit about dogs.

LS: What albums are you listening to right now?

SB: Well, I got an IPod for Christmas, so I've been kind of like this iTunes crack addict. I've been going back and getting a bunch of old records I've lost along the way like some Cocteau Twins and some African music and stuff like that.

LS: Yeah, they just remastered all those Cocteau Twins albums

SB: They're amazing, I mean they make some beautiful music. I can't understand a word she says, but she has a pretty voice.

LS: Is there any aspect of your music that gets overlooked in interviews that you'd like to talk about? Or do people pretty much analyze it to death?

SB: Yeah, they talk about it a lot more than I'd like to talk about it (laughs). So not really.