WHAT IS PULSE?
Pulse Music Journal is Saskatchewan’s hub for music indulgers. We ‘eat/sleep/breathe’ the music and entertainment industry – plug into our outlet while we highlight new music, recap live performances, interview the biggest names, connect with local legends, and the newest initiatives surrounding our local music scene. We are honoured to be a leading cultural staple in the Saskatchewan music and entertainment scene.
WE SUPPORT SASKATCHEWAN’S ENTERTAINMENT & MUSIC SCENE
Whether it’s reaching out to a newly released project, musician or creating a spotlight for local talent to be heard on any of our stages, as well as opportunities to be heard opening for larger acts on a full-venue stage. We look forward to assist and launch newest concepts that strongly support the local music in this province. The local music scene is super important to us – we are a small province, but we have big dreams. Let’s grow and support each other – putting Saskatchewan on the map for premium music and entertainment experience.
SOUNDSCAPES AND LANDSCAPES WITH JUNE THRASHER
Kaelen Klypak has been a driving force and a source of inspiration for many Saskatchewan Musicians. Kaelen has been silently scheming over the last year while gradually introducing his new synthwave project, June Thrasher. On October 30th 2020, the tracks “Windmill City” and “Viper Creek” were released as an EP that was accompanied by a visual by Jourdain Basaraba, Kayle Neis, and the Vator Sessions Crew (Brett Arnelien, Michael Vidal and Darian Dutchak). The EP acted a subtle tease of what was yet to come – brilliantly executed soundscapes that act as self-fuelling sources of energy. Not only is Kaelen Klypak a well renowned musician and industry leader, he also takes his creative energy behind the lens to capture his surroundings. Kaelen Klypak will be releasing his debut full-length album in conjunction with a limited edition photography book. June Thrasher flipped the switch, and we cannot wait for what is on the horizon for Kaelen Klypak.
Kaelen Klypak of June Thrasher joins us to chat about how he decided to release music as a solo act, where the name ‘June Thrasher’ came from, how his early beginnings in the aggressive bands influence his current sound, we chat about Synthwave and his producing methods. Kaelen shares how he decided to do a cohesive release of music and photography work.
The first full-project ‘Viper Creek’ from June Thrasher releases March 5th 2021. We chat about how the album was recorded, how he would like to share these tracks live one day, his future goals for his project, and so much more.
AFTER YEARS OF PERFORMING IN BANDS
SUCH AS FUTURE FORESTS AND THE VILLAIN AVIAN SYMPHONY. YOU ARE TAKING A STEP BACK INTO PRODUCING AND RELEASING MUSIC, BUT THIS TIME AS A SOLO ACT. HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH YOUR NAME? AND WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE THAT JUNE THRASHER WAS A SOLO ACT?
JUNE THRASHER: I wish I had a cool story to share about how I came up with the name, but honestly, I keep a running list of potential band names, song titles, and music ideas in my phone and settled on June Thrasher. I found the contrast in words fitting for this project because it sums up how I write music. On one side, I enjoy writing beautiful soundscapes and the other side, I’m creating sounds that make you want to dance or headbang.
I decided to keep June Thrasher as a solo act to have the flexibility to play shows and tour around my own schedule. Also, I wanted to challenge myself and see if I could create something that sounds like a four piece band live without using backing tracks.
“THE ALBUM WAS RECORDED LIVE OFF THE FLOOR. THE ONLY INSTRUMENT ADDED IN AFTERWARDS WAS MY DRUM MACHINE.”
– JUNE THRASHER
YOU HAVE DEEP ROOTS IN HARDCORE, ROCK AND PUNK
DO YOU TAKE ANY INFLUENCE FROM YOUR MUSIC UPBRINGING? WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO BREAK BACK INTO THE SCENE AS A MULTI-INSTRUMENT SYNTHWAVE ARTIST?
JUNE THRASHER: Absolutely, those formable years of performing in aggressive bands helped shaped the way I write music currently. It doesn’t matter what genre I’m writing in; I’ll always try and capture that raw energy with everything I do.
Drums have always been my main instrument and June Thrasher was meant to be a creative outlet for writing songs focusing on pitching to tv and film. After writing a few tracks I realized this is something I want to do live and combined both the live performance and publishing aspect together.
FOR FIRST TIME LISTENERS OF JUNE THRASHER.
WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT SYNTHWAVE? RECORDING WITH SYNTHS? AND YOUR PRODUCING METHODS?
JUNE THRASHER: Synthwave has been around for a while and notably associated with quite a few pop culture soundtracks in the 1980s especially in the horror and science fiction film genres. Recently there has been a huge resurgence of synthwave music in movies within the past 15 years. Some of my favourite soundtracks that helped fuel this new musical path are: Daft Punk: Interstellar 5555, It Follows, 88:88 by Make up and Vanity Set, Blade Runner, and Stranger Things.
At the beginning, recording and writing with synths was an immense challenge for me because I’ve never taken a piano lesson. I had no idea what synthesis was and had no idea where to start until I purchased my first synthesizer. I started watching piano tutorials and synth-based performance videos on Youtube. After a year, I was consistently learning new skills to help navigate this path. I’ve always enjoyed the hands-on approach of playing an instrument, however, it took some time to learn to loop and sync multiple synths together to create full tracks without the help of a computer. This project is a lot of fun and at times feels like you’re creating a small symphony. Through trial and error, June Thrasher was born.
Producing and recording methods: I want to send a huge shoutout to my good pal Barrett Ross who is a phenomenal engineer. This past summer we recorded and mixed 7 songs in 4 days. Leading up to recording I spent 2 months working on preproduction to maximize my time in the studio. My June Thrasher album was recorded live off the floor. The only instrument that was added in afterwards was my drum machine. I had so much gear in the studio we ran out of inputs to properly record each individual drum track. I’m quite happy with the result and Barrett did an immaculate job bringing this project to life.
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Sparkling Hard Seltzer with Acerola Cherry – 5% alcohol, 100 calories, 0 grams of sugar
YOU ARE HEAVILY ENGULFED IN THE MUSIC AND CREATIVE SCENE OF SASKATOON. PEOPLE MAY NOT KNOW YOUR FULL CREATIVE WHEELHOUSE.
YOU HAVE BEEN HELPING MUSICIANS AND CREATIVES TRAIL BLAZE THEIR CAREERS. YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY AND MUSIC ABILITIES HAVE BEEN PUT ON A WELL-DESERVED PEDESTAL OVER THE LAST COUPLE MONTHS. HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE ABLE TO SHOWCASE YOUR TALENTS? AND WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO RELEASE MUSIC AND PHOTOGRAPHY IN TANDEM?
JUNE THRASHER: Wow, thank you for the wonderful kind words! It feels extraordinary to continue to put art out into the world and have it recognized in any way. I’m thankful to have access to platforms and tools to create art each day.
Incorporating my photography in tandem with music happened by accident. After recording demos/jams, I would play them while driving to a location to take photos (often of prairie landscapes and old grain elevators). These demos of dreamy synthscapes enhanced the visual interpretation of what I was trying to capture with my camera. By no means am I a trained photographer, in fact I don’t even own a proper DSLR camera, but somehow my photography and music complimented each other well. I made a special photo book to go along with my album release that showcases my photography. All photos in my book are inspired by the songs I’ve written.
“ALL PHOTOS IN MY BOOK ARE INSPIRED BY THE SONGS I’VE WRITTEN”
– JUNE THRASHER
Music Video by Jourdain Basaraba and Kayle Neis
The rest of the Vator Sessions Crew: Brett Arnelien, Michael Vidal and Darian Dutchak
SINCE WE CAN ONLY DAY DREAM ABOUT LIVE EVENTS RIGHT NOW
WHAT CAN PEOPLE EXPECT FROM A JUNE THRASHER SHOW?
JUNE THRASHER: My live show will be 100% dawless focusing on heavy dance beats and hardware synthesizers.
I made a goal for myself that I want to be able to perform these songs live without a computer or DJ Rig. It’s taken a year or two to figure out how to make this work for a live performance, but i’m ready.
Once I have a few shows under my belt I have big plans for incorporating more into my live show but I don’t want to let the cat out of the bag quite yet.
YOUR DEBUT ALBUM ‘VIPER CREEK’ RELEASES FRIDAY MARCH 5TH 2021.
NOW THAT YOU GOT THE BALL ROLLING, YOU CAN SIT BACK AND LET THE MUSIC SPEAK FOR ITSELF. WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HAVE IN STORE FOR JUNE THRASHER?
JUNE THRASHER: We are living in unprecedented times and realistically I’m not 100% sure what the future holds. What I do know is that this June Thrasher project has relit a creative fire and I’m back in the groove to share more art. I’m currently working on my follow up album and excited to see these ideas flourish into full 80s soundscapes. In the distant future, I have a goal of scoring a full-length movie. As for my photography, I plan on launching a series of prints for sale in the coming months.
All photos inside article supplied by artist.
*hover over photo for issued credit.