Smallhounds is the music project of Austin Heller, a songwriter and producer living in Chicago. Drawing inspiration from many indie rock wellsprings, Smallhounds music is underscored by a fondness for big guitars and big feelings.
I sat down with Austin to talk about their early musical experiences, their love for Wes Anderson films and the making of their debut album “Triangles which you can get here.
CMM-What was the first music that really made an impact on you growing up and what artist and bands did you enjoy the most?
Austin-Every once in a while there will be an artist whose music sinks deep into my bones, and for a few months I’m unable to listen to anything else. I’ve always been that way, but when I was 17, I went back-to-back from ‘80s Metallica to Joy Division to the Beach Boys almost on a heel turn.
I think with those three artists, their songs had all sorts of complex elements but added up to a whole that was very emotionally direct. Joy Division’s ‘Transmission’ is one I think about sometimes; same with Brian Wilson’s ‘Surf’s Up’. Even though I don’t listen to those particular artists as much today, the ways they channeled their emotions meant a lot to me as a young listener.
CMM-When did you first start playing instruments and what led you to making music as Smallhounds?
Austin-I played various woodwinds in school band, but my first “rock” instrument was the drums. When I was younger I kind of assumed I’d stick to rhythm instruments. I had trouble coming to terms with the idea of being a guitarist or writing my own songs, even though I really wanted to do both, because I made it a big thing in my head: like I could only do that if I was going to commit to being a Serious Starving Artist, or something.
It took me a bit of time to break that and realize, actually, there aren’t any rules, and I can enjoy playing and writing just because it’s fun. Smallhounds came out of that process: just a concentrated version of me writing and playing my own music. Why “Smallhounds” and not just use my own name, I have no idea — sometimes, your gut just tells you.
CMM-Your debut album “Triangles” was written, performed, recorded and produced entirely by you. What was your process and approach to handling so many aspects of making the record?
Austin-When I first started writing songs, I used to follow the process of fully writing and recording an instrumental track, then writing the lyrics and melody after that track was mostly complete. Lots of people successfully make music that way, but something about the songs *I* would write like that always bothered me. During recording it would sound great, but the end result felt a little cookie cutter, too much like the heart was tacked on at the end.
Triangles came out of another, messier way of songwriting: recording lots of crude demos, listening to them over and over, working up to slightly better demos, then landing on one I could use as a blueprint for recording. Whenever I got stuck, I’d clear my head by listening to musicians who inspire me; Mitski, the Boygenius trio, and Jens Lekman especially come to mind. The process was extremely non-linear, and even the tracks you hear on the record were subject to many, many changes. But if you had to summarize my writing process, it was: embrace the mess, and be patient.
To speak to the actual recording, that was something I was always interested in trying: to track a record mostly by myself, at home. It was thrilling to get sounds I’d been imagining in my head all by myself, although the lack of other contributors means I worked very slowly. There were weeks where I’d only record, like, two parts just because of how long it takes to switch hats between engineer, performer, songwriter, and producer. To be honest, I don’t know if I would make another record completely that way again — but I’m glad I made at least one like it, you know?
CMM-Any particular gear you used that really stood out throughout the sessions?
Austin-I had two go-to guitars on the record: a Fender Jaguar with a DiMarzio Tone Zone and some custom wiring for heavier sounds, as well as a ‘50s reissue Strat for cleaner stuff. Nearly all of the distortion sounds are from an EHX Double Muff chained with a Soul Food; an Alchemy Audio op-amp Big Muff clone; or a Tech21 Leeds. I’d record through the pedals to my interface, then use an amp sim to help that signal sit in the mix.
I work in Logic, and a lot of what you hear on the record is interpolated sounds from their library. I try not to get too plugin-crazy, but I did a lot of sound manipulation with Airwindows plugins, which are really distinctive — and low-latency, so you can track through them.
All of my vocals were through an SM58. Some of that was out of necessity — I record at home, so it’s just more practical to use a dynamic mic. But I was inspired by Smashing Pumpkins’ Mellon Collie record, where Billy Corgan sang entirely into an SM58, often with the playback over a loudspeaker instead of headphones. You obviously get some leakage that way, but being able to hear the track ‘in the room’ really helped me become a better singer and track better performances.
CMM-If you could compose a score for any film director who would it be and what would the film be about?
Austin-I’m pretty fond of Wes Anderson — the tone of his films is so individual, but it’s malleable enough that he can use old rock songs or those gorgeous Alexandre Desplat scores and it all still feels like Wes Anderson. That would a fun challenge. Greta Gerwig comes to mind, too: she approaches coming of age and growing up in a really sympathetic, intimate way that I would love to write for.
My favorite film genre is probably action/adventure films that are secretly stories about friendship. So, confidential to Wes and Greta: if you ever make one of those, I’d love to be considered.
CMM-What do you have coming up next? Writing or recording anything new?
It’s funny, I started recording this record in earnest five years ago, and the oldest song stems from an eleven year old demo. Now that Triangles is finally out, part of me wants to try something new: maybe focus on playing with other people, or performing the songs live.
Ultimately though, I don’t think I’ll be able to stay away from recording for very long. I love writing, arranging and bringing a song to life in a way that anyone can listen to. And the way that these songs have been received is so gratifying.
