Exclusive look at Byland Music discussing their new album and relocating part-time to Seattle.
We sat down with Jake & Alie Byland from the band Byland to discuss their new album, touring and their time in New Mexico. We spent some time in their unique ABQ home to learn a little bit about their upcoming plans. Let’s start it off.
Byland is a cinematic Indie Rock band based out of Seattle & ABQ. They have been writing music and releasing records for 6 years now. They are recording their new Record in March 2022 coming off the heels of their last album “Gray” from 2020. Jacob Byland co-writes many of the lyrics and melodies while Alie performs and leads this dynamic band. Byland represents a beautiful collaboration from the couple.
What is Byland?
The room sat still for a moment as both waited to see who would speak first. Jake broke the silence after a smile to Alie and said “Byland is Alie. We have had it be a solo gig, a nine piece, a trio but the core of what it is is Alie. She is the base and the voice. We explored the live performance in a lot of different configurations.”
His love and support for Alie can be seen in every quiet and reassuring glance he gives towards her in the quiet moments. Another brief pause elapsed and then Alie stepped in,
”A goal of mine with our music is to help people feel. Largely it’s an outlet for me to process my joy, my grief and frustration - kind of whatever I’m going through. But I feel like I write the best when I’m going through something. Music is a way for me to help communicate what I’m feeling. It helps me move past, as well as document and validate those emotions in the moment. I hope it does that for others.“
When Listening to their latest album, you can hear her delicate description of this in their track, “Shadow”. Her honest piercing vulnerability echos so beautifully but little would you know, these words come from a very special moment in Jake’s life, a moment where their collaboration bloomed. He describes it by saying…
“I have a much easier time writing songs about someone else but not myself. I can compartmentalize someone else’s story but I can’t do that for myself. My therapist challenged me to write a song about my own experience saying, “just for your own sake, write one about yourself”. That song happened to be “Shadow” and has been the most well received on the record. It has almost half a million streams across all platforms right now. It was rewarding to be vulnerable and have it feel like it connected with a lot of people.”
How did Byland get started?
Alie has been a musician most of her life, leading worship in the Christian church her father pastored. She was given a lot of opportunities to play music In front of people. Alie & Jake got married in 2013 and embarked on Byland starting the Band officially in 2015. They recorded their first record in their closet while Jake was working in a large warehouse to support them both.
On the New Record…
Jake Continued…
“This coming record we tried to write a lot of songs but mostly our goal was to be freer in the approach of writing. Taking inspiration from the bands such as “The National”, some of the songs we wrote we don’t know fully what they are about. For us, it creates a fun little world you can get lost inside of - things you might not have taken the time to feel and explore.”
What has been your most fulfilling moment so far…
Alie began quietly and said “I would say our first album release show when we sold out a 300 person venue in Seattle and everyone was cheering “BYLAND, BYLAND”. They knew the words to the songs and that was one of the first times I felt our music connected with people. It wasn’t about us but it was a group experience.”
Jake sat back and smiled and then he began with “I think having our music on KEXP and getting it played with Kevin Cole, who is one of my favorite DJ’s. That was super rewarding.”
What has been the most challenging moment so far?
Alie chuckled, and began,
“Psh, Our album art was unnecessarily difficult. I think having the creative direction of two very different people was clashing. We had this one idea initially and then spent four months trying several things until we landed on the first idea we had. Any sort of visual stuff, for some people it’s exciting but for me it’s stressful. I wish the music could just stand on its own.”
Jake said “I think working on a creative project with your spouse, or partner can be tough because it’s objective rather than subjective.” He chuckled softly and continued. “With numbers, someone is right and someone is wrong - the math just works out or doesn’t. When you’re trying to do something creative together, it’s challenging but also super rewarding because what you come up with together is super unique and totally worth it.”
How do each of you cope with nerves?
Jake began “I feel like at some shows I’m more nervous than Alie is and I’m not the one on stage. I like to try and… Alie finished his sentence interjecting…“Control Everything”. Jake smiled softly and continued, “I like to do the “Boring stuff” So Alie can focus on the music and connecting with the songs and the audience. For the live side, I’ve tried to get more and more comfortable and eventually I would want to run sound full time. I do it at some shows but not every show and I really enjoy it.”
“What about you Alie”?
“I feel like for me it’s a mixture of being prepared and underprepared. I thrive in chaos. It’s probably from my childhood.”
She laughed to herself,
“I feel pretty comfortable in unknown experiences. I like adventure but sometimes I underestimate how good it feels to be prepared. I don’t know - I haven’t quite figured it out. I feel really comfortable when I’m playing music. Being on stage does not make me nervous. Talking between songs and keeping people entertained the entire time does feel like a lot though. Sometimes I’ve noticed when I’m feeling anxious on stage, I’ll invite the entire audience to take a few deep breathes with me. That grounds me and brings me back to my body and helps me feel connected. I try not to take myself too seriously too, because sometimes the people who mess up are the ones you remember the most.
Relocating to Seattle…
Jake began “We have always wanted to be a duel location band. Everything says “Seattle and ABQ” and we are really proud to be from both places, We want to be back and forth as much as possible. The ABQ music scene is super exciting and there is a lot happening with Film and Music. This is a City and area that had been skipped over in the past and that is something that is changing. We want to be apart of that as much as we can. New Mexico is not a place to be skipped over anymore. It is ripe for an explosion in the music scene.
You can hear Byland archive the beautiful moments in Albuquerque of their first album.
Alie smiles and states proudly. “I’m proud to be from ABQ. There have been some incredible artists that I’ve been able to share bills with and learn from. “Prism Bitch”, “Kristian Haynes”, “Edgar Wonder”, “Red Light Cameras”, “Sara Marie Rorie” , “Walker Cass”, “Dust City Opera” just to name a few. They are building the amazing sounds from ABQ and I’m excited to continue seeing it grow.”
Although Byland will be splitting their time between both cities of ABQ & Seattle over this next season, it doesn’t mean you won’t see them on Bills in ABQ.
Jake said, “I’ve heard people critique the NM scene saying it’s kind of competitive but lately my observation has been seeing synergy between people understanding that the scene rises and falls together. The NM scene needs more things like this - blogs, connections and community oriented communication. That is what creates a scene and a vibe. I’ve seen it start to happen in downtown ABQ and it’s really exciting. There have been some really amazing bands and people joining together.“
A ten year reminder to yourself…
The room paused as they sat. The light was peaking through the shades as their dog and cat scrambled around the room. Alie quietly began to speak up after one of her nerve shaking breaths,
“I guess to always look back and be proud of everything that I’ve accomplished..”
Another brief pause elapsed then she continued,
“I have no idea.”
We all burst into laughter as she continued…
“There are too many things. I can’t think of one because I am thinking of a million and they all feel important.”
Jake spoke up softly,
“To do it for the enjoyment.”
Alie interjected back,
“Yeah, Let’s go with that one haha”.
Jake continued on,“I think you can do something professional and make moves but it’s not like you either do it as a hobby or you’re selling out. You can turn something into a career that sustains you and also have a fun time doing it.“
What is on the horizon?
Byland is going into studio in March to start their second studio record. They will be working with a lot of people, some from “Gray”. Some exciting collaborations I couldn’t quite get out of them but it sounded exciting. Jake said, “We are taking a slight change in the direction in writing and are exploring some new things lyrically.”
The release of this upcoming album is to be determined but in the meantime they are gearing up for a West Coast tour which will be announced soon and should cover all the way from New Mexico to Seattle.
If you would like to learn more about this Band, please visit their website bylandmusic.com where they have merchandise and other items you can purchase to support them.
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