Devours relaxing at home.Journey music for the experiential human.
The evolution of an artist is not always a clear path. It often requires exploring falsehoods in an identity that has been constructed for the outside world. When I met Vancouver indie artist Devours ten years ago, his musical capabilities were already developed. But, the persona who has taken the West Coast indie scene by storm was in its infancy stages. We came to know each other in Montreal, when we were both attending as many indie shows as possible in a city whose music scene was in full swing after the successes of bands like Arcade Fire and Stars.
I knew him solely as Jeff Cancade, my friend and colleague. A man who did not drink, loved indie music, and was the perfect Youtube binge buddy for forays into 90s CAN CON. Although somewhat overly curious about my incursions into gay nightlife, Jeff was somewhat reserved. I never imagined the artist unearthed a decade later would be positioned to become a queer icon. Jeff was not gay after all.
In 2014, he released 21st & Main, the album formerly known as an album, an ethereal remix of pop classics that he transitioned for the club. Although, Devours had already written upwards of twenty songs with lyrics, he felt his voice was hindering production quality. Expanding the songs and making them his own allowed him to hone his production skills. The result is a soundscape that perfectly captures the remix culture of the time and breathes new life into old songs. Jeff proved himself a capable producer that could transform beats. With Kelly Kapowski, Bondage, and I Still Look Up to Her, Devours started making a name for himself on explorative dance floors, and he started to garner media attention.
From Mixtapes to LPs.
Then came Late Bloomer, where the singing that had blocked his creative flow burst forth to shape a voice. It is a heartbreak album but also one of discovery. Late Bloomer is filled with the raw lyrics of a person trying to find his place in a unfamiliar scene, a scene that simultaneously allows him to live authentically. The album’s title track traverses the insecurity of a not-so-young person finding personal freedom on a dance floor while hanging on to pieces of himself that don’t quite fit new surroundings. Alternatively, The Jaws of Angst, The Verve, and Freddy Krueger Honeymoon Suite tell the story of queer love as its introduction shatters romantic parables brought to you by Disney. It remains the album he is most proud of.
Last year, Artoffact records released Devours sophomore lyrical LP. Now his brand of electro pop fusion is Nintendo music you can sing along to, and it is overtly queer. Imagine Zelda’s quest turned on its head where we find out that he does not want to rescue the princess after all. Instead we accompany him on a journey of self-discovery as his lyrics slay psychological demons. As Devours puts it,
“the songs are a bit darker, weirder, and more defiantly queer. I didn’t want to write universal lyrics on Iconoclast – I wanted to write an album for (and about) my community.”
Without doubt, Devours is gaining traction, sneaking his way on to best of lists, and he is headed to South by Southwest to perform his biggest show yet as a part of his label showcase. We spoke to him about his personal music evolution, whether it is still possible for an indie artist to make a living, his not so guilty pleasures, and how some evolutions require you take on a new form (Devours has just started a new side project, The Golden Age of Wrestling).
Read the full interview below:
Oh hey, remember when you told me to start a music blog? I thought I would start with you. First, I know you as Jeff, do you refer to your stage names in the first person, or are you Devours?
You started a music blog and I am thrilled! The stars have aligned after all these years and I’m so happy to be chatting with you.
I started out referring to Devours in the first person, but over time I have been trying to make the shift to third person. Devours is deeply personal, and is an exact representation of my personality, but I really like the idea of creating a character – a bolder, cooler, crazier version of myself – and being able to separate Jeff Cancade from the music.
I saw Devours play one of his first shows. You were still working on your first album, and you invited an intimate group of friends to see you at your Montreal apartment. The show was great but Devours has now transformed into a true artist persona. What has that journey been like?
Thank you for coming to that show! The journey has been long and transformative. I was still in the closet in Montreal, so I feel like my music came out of its shell when I eventually came out of my shell. I moved to Vancouver in 2010, and it took me a handful of years to carve out the sound that I have for the project now, but I really needed to grow up, suffer, love, lose, and live life to be able to be a confident artist now in my 30’s. I was too still young and inexperienced in Montreal.
Devours Iconoclast is full of such bangers that many of your fans don’t know that you are a pianist and composer. I am a big fan of ethereal pianists like Nils Frahm, what composers do it for you?
Philip Glass is way up there on my list of inspirations. I’m obsessed with the horror movie Candyman, and Philip Glass composed one of the best scores of all time for it. I also think that Montreal artist Jean-Michel Blais is incredible; I highly recommend his album “Dans ma main,” which I’m pretty sure was shortlisted for Polaris a few years ago.
If you would choose one song that you felt defined Iconoclast for you, what would it be and why?
The title track, followed by Taxidermy: the Musical. The former is probably the most defiant song that I’ve written for Devours. The whole album is about working through a lot of the self-loathing and shame that I dealt with when I was growing up, and finding ways to turn my insecurities into self-empowered, defining features. Taxidermy is about embracing my sexuality, and Iconoclast is about declaring who I am and staying true to myself.
Jeff, in the history of my colleagues, you are by far the one who has delved deep into the cheesy music crate that is Youtube. What is Devours’ Guilty Pleasure song that you sing along to in the shower?
I don’t believe in guilty pleasures! Shower song: “Kiss from A Rose” by Seal.
Song to cry to.
“Freak on A Leash” by Korn.
Song to ugly cry to.
“Maps” by Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
Song to sleep with strangers to.
“Shadow of A Doubt” by Sonic Youth.
Song to have a dance floor make out party to.
“Gimme More” by Britney Spears.
Song to score the Soundtrack of your life.
“The Boys of Summer” by Don Henley.
Soundtrack to a sex dungeon.
“Steal My Sunshine” by Len.
You have mentioned in another interview that Iconoclast was about “letting go of heteronormativity and all the normal straight trajectory of how we expect our lives to turn out.” I felt the album really took me on that journey with you from facing up to religious expectations to sexual exploration, to deciding a relationship wasn’t the right fit. Is there more to explore in that process or do you feel that there is more to come out (pun intended) of that. What are you writing about these days?
Late Bloomer and Iconoclast were both huge albums for me. I hadn’t written lyrics in many years leading up to those albums, so they’re both pretty stuffed with a lot of personal themes and stories. It means a lot to hear that you connected with Iconoclast! There is still so much to explore – how well do I know myself? I don’t even know! Our lives are always changing, and so are our identities. In terms of new material, I’ve been writing about betrayal and loneliness. I need a hug.
Vivaldi My Reptile is the song I keep coming back to. Tell me more about who you wrote that song for. It appears that you are potentially seeing yourself in another, or a future version of yourself is looking back on your younger self, encouraging them not to wait in their coming out process. Tell me a little more about that.
Vivaldi My Reptile is an open letter that I wrote about someone really close to me who is battling some of the same demons that I struggled with when I was younger. We used to talk more openly to each other, but they have been struggling in silence over the past few years, not wanting to explore or open up about it. I know the pain and the isolation, and have tried to offer support, but – yeah it’s a hard song to talk about. Nothing has been resolved.
You have had a lot of local success in Vancouver, performing and having your sophomore album signed to Artoffact records. Behind the scenes the life of an indie musician can be anything but glamourous. Are your days spent in recording in glittery gimp masks?
Ha! One can wish. Life has been a rollercoaster these past few years; the more I was prioritizing Devours, the more insane and broke I was becoming. I’m still struggling to find balance in my life, but I’m trying to focus a tiny bit more on my love/dating life and overall mental health at the moment. I have a temporary full-time gig as a video editor for an animation studio in Vancouver, so that is helping me survive here.
Is there an opportunity for independent artists to make a go of it in 2020? Is that dream dead?
Wow, good question. I am more jaded and cynical about the music industry now than I have ever been, but I also don’t want to ramble about it and be too depressing. Are you a passionate artist? Awesome, go for it! My honest advice would be to commit and put your heart into what you do, but also try to stay aware of whether or not people are connecting with what you’re making. If people are into your music, they will help you.
How would you suggest people better support independent musicians?
Support artists in your own city. Don’t just wait for someone to become famous in the States before you decide that they’re worth caring about. Do you love Ariana Grande? Cool, there’s an Ariana Grande in your city. What about Big Thief? Yep, there’s a Big Thief in your city too. Talent is everywhere, but you need to seek it out at your local venues and festivals.
You recently started a new project The Golden Age of Wrestling. Why distinguish between the projects? What can we expect from this evolution?
Yes, I recently launched a new solo project called the Golden Age of Wrestling! My debut full-length is called Tombstone Piledriver, and it will come out this spring. In terms of overall sound, the Golden Age of Wrestling is moodier and more ambient than Devours. Think Twin Peaks, the X Files, Enya, Nintendo music, and the Shawshank Redemption soundtrack blended together.
One of my biggest challenges as a musician has been creating a signature sound for Devours. On my first two albums, I was pushing myself really hard to stay within the box that I had created, as opposed to throwing too many genres or sounds into it. However, after a while, I was tossing out some really creative ideas because they didn’t sound enough like Devours, and it was starting to create some dissonance in my mind. The Golden Age of Wrestling is a new beginning for me – a chance to explore different ideas and sounds outside of the Devours box.
You are going by South by Southwest for an artist label showcase. What can South by Southwest expect of your gig?
SXSW can expect the passion and fury of a thousand burning suns out of me. I’m genuinely surprised to be playing the festival, and I’m treating it like it’s the one and only time that I’ll play a festival this big, so I’m going to let my eyebrows swallow Austin whole and show everyone in Texas that being a gaylien is beautiful.