While I don’t see the songwriting prowess of Jeff Tweedy or Ryan Adams slowing down anytime soon, I do often wonder who the next generation of great songwriters will be. Of late, I’ve been enamored with Minneapolis based alt-country outfit Romantica, whose songwriter Ben Kyle certainly holds the cards of greatness. I caught the band at the High Noon Saloon last week on one of the worst personal days I’ve had in years. Their music offered solace to a trying day, and confirmed the uplifting power of music.

I got in touch with Ben Kyle for our continuing 5 Questions with Muzzle of Bees feature. Romantica will once again grace the stage of the High Noon Saloon in Madison on Friday, March 7th. I hope to see you there.

Could you lend some information on the recording process of America? Where and how was it recorded, and were there any lessons learned that you’ll apply towards future recording sessions?

We recorded our first Album in a really nice studio in Minneapolis called “Seedy Underbelly” with a great producer (Alex Oana) and had a ton of fun doing it. So the process was fairly easy and there was a lot of creative input from outside, and luckily so, because I don’t think we were entirely sure how we wanted it to sound. So the second time around we were determined to make a recording entirely on our own with the hope that in the process we would find out exactly what it was we wanted. So we built our own studio and bought our own equipment and I learned how to engineer as we went along (with much helpful advice from Alex and others). We recorded nearly everything through one mic and one pre-amp, (except the drums) but absolutely everything was done in our own little studio.

I wrote a lot of the songs while we were recording, so it was a fairly immediate process. There was no concept at the beginning, only a vague idea of the direction we wanted the sound to take. Although a few of the songs began with a live recording of the band, most of it was done on a track by track basis. The method for the album’s production was really informed by how I learnt to approach my visual work in art school. Firstly, there were no rules, and secondly, you try something and then ask yourself “does it work?” If it does you keep it, if not you throw it. I think there were definitely some lessons learned on the technical/ engineering side but I don’t think I would change anything about the method. It was such a fulfilling process and we learned so much, not only about sonics, but about ourselves I think. Having said that though, I would love to go into a great studio with the band again and have someone else dial in the pres and compressors and punch record. When you’re focusing on the engineering side of things, although it’s really creative in its own right, I miss the chance to focus entirely on the delivery / performance and really get inside the song without thinking about knobs and dials.

We just wrapped up our favorite concerts and albums of 2007, do you have any shows or albums that stood out as favorites for you this past year?

I saw Wilco play right on Lake Superior in Duluth in September and it was phenomenal. I drove up from Minneapolis in my t-shirt and had to go to Rag-Stock and buy a sweater, hat and gloves. There was a crazy mist and the wind was blowing a needle point rain on the crowd and the stage. At times it looked like the stage might start sailing across the lake It seemed like they played all night and the crowd was on fire. It was about 50 degrees with a Superior wind blowing and nobody was cold. It was really pretty Magical. They are such a stellar live band.

Who would you like to hear cover a night’s worth of your material? On the flip side, if you were to play an entire set of someone else’s songs, whose would you choose and/or enjoy playing the most?

I’d probably want to hear someone interpret our songs quite differently….maybe Belle and Sebastian? That would be great. If we had to do a set of someone else’s songs, I’d probably really enjoy doing a night of Gram Parsons. But something a little strange like a Michael Jackson set would be fun too.

The internet has dramatically altered the way artists can reach an audience. With things like blogs/myspace/etc, what are your thoughts on the power of the internet in terms of helping (or hurting) your music?

Well it really is incredible how reachable an audience is. The possibility is amazing. The real tension for me is that, with this tool at your fingertips and the limitless possibility for reaching new listeners, it’s easier to neglect, or devote less time to, the creative side of playing and writing new music. So although the internet is really revolutionizing the industry, leveling the playing field and giving indie artists distribution and access to new listeners like never before, as a developing indie artist (without a marketing squad), I think it’s actually possible that the glory of the internet has the potential to hurt your art if you’re not careful.

What does 2008 hold for you with regards to recording and touring?

We’re going to be touring a lot in the US this spring/summer and probably going to the UK in the Fall. We’ll be working on another recording as well which will hopefully be ready by the end of the year.

Myspace: Romantica
MP3: Romantica - “La Traviada”