Science is Fiction’s debut EP “Don’t Everybody Thank Me At Once” has been making appearances on the Canadian college charts and debuted on streaming platforms in September. Their sound has been described as “Elvis Costello on steroids” and “a bit Parquet Courts…a bit parent rock“.

In this interview spotlight, I chat with Science Is Fiction about their latest project, challenges, technology and more.

Full Q&A along with links and music below.  

Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)

We’re based in Calgary, AB, Canada, and we make melody-based music with big emphasis on memorable riffs. Something enjoyable for us to play and sing, and yet can also be enjoyed by the listeners. It is hard to stick to any one style of music, but the current format involves guitars, bass and drums only. A big part of the sound is our voices. Pavan provides the low end and Kirk the high end. We’re not conventional singers, in fact we’re not singers. The lyrics tend to be written and phrased in a way where we are deliberately making sure the song is unique and just a little off. 

What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?

Can’t say exactly what led me/us down this path. I have always been a little peculiar. I have always wanted to create, but I think for me, music has always been the most fun art form. It hits all the senses. And it’s social. We like to drink beer. I don’t know what motivates me, the music is always playing in my head. And I am always looking forward to hearing new music from others. I am a little competitive too, so I definitely want to make my mark in the music world. And until it happens, I have to keep trying to find that magical piece of music.

How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?

The new release is the first official release and the goal was to simply put the music out there. See what the reaction is/was. We want to play live, but we also want to send this out to as many people as possible.

Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this oversaturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?

1.You can’t call anyone.  Managers, labels, artists – no solicitors – everyone is hiding and can only be contacted by e-mail, which you never know if they read.  So being eager won’t necessarily help.

2. We have a couple coders/geniuses in our group. So tech has helped a ton, especially with building a bit of on online presence.

What was the last song you listened to?

Just listened to The Herons on CKUA this morning. A guest dj was playing it, a guy from fellow Canadian band Deep Dark Woods. I liked the song, but can’t remember the name.

Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?

Vinyl, but I haven’t owned a record player in years. I like going to friends houses who have nice stereos and record players and letting them do the work though. I just sit back.

How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?

I guess Bandcamp since they tend to have a lot of accessible indie bands. And they have really good reviews of bands.

Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?

I guess Facebook or Instagram. But we post everywhere, and you can find our music on Spotify and Bandcamp. And Apple Music and a couple others.  I was surprised to find that Napster is still around, but we’re on there!

Anything else before we sign off?

Just want to thank Indie Music Discovery and everyone who supports or listens to indie music for being awesome!