In our conversation with Foreign Fields, Brian Holl and Eric Hillman share insights into their latest album, What It Cost, and describe how abandoning their previous, meticulous approach in favour of a collaborative, band-oriented process has infused the album with a fresh, live energy. They discuss the influence of recording with engineer Brian Joseph, the personal nature of their new songs, and the spontaneous environment in Red Wing, Minnesota, which inspired the video for “A Little Longer.”
ATN: What It Cost marks a significant departure from your previous work. Can you describe the shift in your creative process from the more conceptual approach of past albums to the more collaborative, band-oriented process of this record?
ERIC: This one was definitely quite different from our previous releases. This was our band record. An attempt to loosen up a little and have some fun. Brian and I wrote songs separately and then got together with our good friends Nick Morawiecki (guitar) and Nate Babbs (drums) to flesh out the songs and give them a life as a band, rather than constructing them on the computer (which was more typical of our past albums). This created a much more collaborative atmosphere and certainly guided the final feel of the record. It’s a bit messy, a bit more live. We felt like our previous album, The Beauty of Survival, closed out an era for Foreign Fields, and this was our first step into something new. I can see us doing more albums in this way, not necessarily more band records, but trying to place ourselves in completely new situations when making music to try and produce more unique results.
ATN: The album explores themes of love and personal growth. How did your personal experiences and relationships influence the songwriting and overall feel of the album?
ERIC: For this record we were feeling inspired to make a record about “love” and more specifically the love in our lives and all the forms that it takes. The title What It Cost loosely refers to an excerpt from Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet\ that speaks on the idea of a life with or without love. Paraphrasing: you will laugh, but not all of your laughter, and you will cry, but not all of your tears. That idea that love is dynamic, it’s beautiful, but also it has a cost. Sometimes life can be a little less comfortable, but elation is worth the friction.
ATN: The recording process at Hive with Brian Joseph seems to have had a profound impact on the sound of this album. What unique qualities did Brian bring to the table, and how did his influence shape the final product?
BRIAN: It’s always fun getting into a room with someone you don’t typically make music with. Eric and I have been doing this for over half our lives, together, and working with Brian Joseph just really pulled things out of us and took us in directions we simply wouldn’t have gone if we chose to go at it alone. Brian has a really unique sense of what the song needs in a particular moment. It can be shifting the reverb slightly, or dialling in a unique EQ sound for an acoustic. Very subtle things that serve the song in really compelling ways.
ATN: The single “A Little Longer” is described as a love letter to yourself. How did writing and recording this track as part of the album help you reconnect with your personal and artistic identity?
BRIAN:Sometimes songs come together very very quickly. I’m not trying to diminish the weight of this song, but the lyrics for this one really came together in a day or two and was more of a diary entry than a grand statement on where I was mentally/emotionally. I think it just came on a day where I felt like “I’m getting there, but I know I need a little longer to work on myself. I need to keep pushing”.
ATN: In what ways did the physical setting of Red Wing, Minnesota, contribute to the creation of the video for “A Little Longer”? How did this environment impact the visual representation of your music?
BRIAN: This is actually part of a video series we did with four of our songs. I think at the time this article comes out, all four will have been released and it’ll be a nice little snapshot of that time. We wanted to capture the band on video and also perform the songs live. So in a way, it’s not an “official” video, rather just a live performance of “A Little Longer”.
ATN: What It Cost reflects a more spontaneous and less precious approach to making music. How do you think this new philosophy will influence your future projects and performances?
BRIAN: I don’t think it will actually. We have a pretty good track record of treating each album as its own project, and I think this one will always be remembered as the “oh yeah – that’s the time we put a band together and went into the studio” album. Eric and I are already prepping songs for our net album and we can tell it’s a whole new project. It will always be Foreign Fields. Always sound like “us” because of our songwriting tendencies. But the things we can easily change (production, arrangement, instrumentation, etc) I think we try to change often.
ATN: How does the new album compare to the trilogy of records you see as having concluded with The Beauty Of Survival? Do you feel a sense of closure or new beginnings with What It Cost?
BRIAN: In relation to the last question, I think it’s neither. What It Cost is What It Cost, if you will. I think it’ll be a standalone album for us. One that we’re immensely proud of. And not trying to get away from. But that’s just how we tend to work.
ATN: Your work has often been described as emotionally rich and layered. How do you ensure that this depth remains intact while embracing a more open and collaborative process?
BRIAN: Tricky! Whenever you’re collaborating with others, there will be times of disagreement and friction. Trying to figure out what “right” even means when you’re making art. I think we all have personal ways of dealing with group settings. I try to hear everyone and figure out who cares the most. But it is hard! There isn’t always perfect agreement. Sometimes you have to pick your battles. Luckily, I think the four of us, and when Brian Joseph was in the room, all had very similar sensibilities about making the right decision for the song.
ATN: Looking ahead, what are some of the key lessons or revelations from making What It Cost that you hope to carry forward in your music career?
BRIAN: For me personally, probably just doing it more. Putting in more work. Putting more time into songwriting/crafting. All of that continues to build on itself and will show up somehow on the next project we decide to do.
SAME 3 QUESTIONS WE ALWAYS ASK
ATN: Artist / band that you feel is the most underrated and why?
BRIAN: Taylor Deupree. I love this man and his music so…so much. It’s very close to a spiritual “moment” every time I turn it on. He has been my most played artist on Spotify 4 or 5 years running now and I can’t see that changing.
ATN: Artist / band that you would like to collaborate with and why?
BRIAN: Well, having already collaborated with Taylor on a song from The Beauty of Survival (he also has mastered a few of our projects), I’m going to go with someone a bit crazy. How about Thom Yorke? It would be such a trip to learn his songwriting techniques. How he starts a song. His favorite production tricks right now. I love hearing/learning that stuff.
ATN: Artist / band that you would like to tour with and why?
BRIAN: Phoenix so that I could feel euphoric every night watching them. It’d be a terrible fit for us, but personally I would not get tired of watching them live.
Read our review of What It Cost.
Photo by Mitch Buss
