Staying Pure

Purity Ring released their first song Ungirthed on 14 January 2011 via a Tumblr post accompanied by the words “we are birthed”, and were promptly labelled as a band to watch. Their fanbase grew as Ungirthed rapidly spread across blogs, music websites and social media, and their follow-up Lofticries established their chopped-up, sweet yet sinister ethereal electronic sound (or “future pop”, as they are often described).

Having performed at festivals such as the POP Montreal International Music Festival, NXNW 2012, Pitchfork Music Festival and Fuji Rock, the Canadian duo proved that they were able to translate their music into a live experience. They crafted their aesthetic on-stage with flags stitched by vocalist Megan James and an instrument keyboardist/percussionist/programmer Corin Roddick put together himself. “It's a series of lanterns. When I hit the lanterns with drumsticks, they're touch sensitive and connect to a synthesiser, so I can play synth parts by hitting the individual lights and then they light up,” explains Roddick. The Instrument, as Roddick calls it, took a while to get up and running because it was somewhat built through trial and error. “I'm not really very tech-savvy with that kind of stuff, so I was sort of winging it and running into a lot of problems, and then it just started working.” While Purity Ring are currently in between tours, Roddick is using his time to build a home studio.

Purity Ring's rise is similarly as serendipitous as The Instrument's creation, as their debut album Shrines is the product of Roddick's first songwriting attempts (he was previously a drummer in Born Gold, known previously as Gobble Gobble), although James had some experience already. Even so, they never expected to achieve the level of success they have in such a short amount of time. “I'm constantly surprised by the stage we're at. It's always like, if I step back and look at it, it doesn't feel real,” says James.

Perhaps not quite used to all the attention that has been cast on them, Roddick and James still find interviews slightly unnerving. Their first video interview aired only recently in June. “We're a lot better at it [now] but, I mean no offence, but we still don't really like them,” James says, not unkindly but frankly, with a little laugh. “They're necessary and we've gotten a lot more comfortable [with them], but it's a weird thing to learn how to talk about yourself in an interesting way and to make sure that you're always aware of what you're saying being able to be presented in a way that... I dunno, you never know what it's going to turn into, and that's kind of terrifying!” It's apparent that they're not purposefully evasive or distrustful of media by any means; they're just trying to adjust to being thrown into the public eye.

All the praise and curiosity directed at them is deserved, however; their sound is all at once innovative, experimental and lyrically enigmatic, but also incredibly catchy and accessible, with familiar hip hop beats and pop melodies sung by a saccharine voice. The sleek production values and pop sensibility present on Shrines are no accident, as Roddick is largely influenced by commercial pop. “I like a lot of genres and different types of music, but it seems like when I'm listening to mainstream pop music, be it R'n'B or hip hop or EDM, there's a level of enjoyment I get that is for some reason not matched by really any other genre. I think that might be just because that type of music is really engineered to be that way, like it's written by people who have the listener in mind. Every part of it is crafted for an audience to enjoy and to get into. It's created to be very broad; I think that's what gets me about it, just how precise and well thought-out every part of it can be.”

Interestingly, in a reversed process, Roddick only began actively listening to hip hop after he noticed the drum beats he was programming had a distinct hip hop vibe to them. “I guess for the past year it's been what I've listened to mostly. I mostly like mainstream hip hop. Whatever is on the Billboard chart is like what I'm listening to this week; current stuff that is big and exciting.”

Complementing Roddick's finely-constructed compositions are James' lyrics, which allude frequently to the dismantling and destruction of body parts, life and death, otherworldly creatures, water in many forms and the darker aspects of nature. Despite reading like cryptic poems or nightmarish fairy tales, the words come straight out of James' journal. “They're definitely personal; they pretty much relate often directly to me but it's also something like some kind of wonderland that I feel like I am creating for myself.” Although there is repeated imagery throughout the album, Purity Ring wouldn't call it a concept album per se. “I think it's more like the way I write is conceptual, and I guess I take inspiration from the recurring things you find in it,” says James.

Whether intentionally or otherwise, Purity Ring's style is cohesive in everything they do; from their music to their stage set-up and their music videos. In both the videos for Fineshrine and Belispeak, there are people emerging from large bodies of water edged with fog, and a conflicting sense of unease and wonder. The Belispeak video – consisting of eerie, shadowy faces and glimpses of unidentifiable objects or beings drifting through the murky, cloudy water, all illuminated by flashes of coloured light – is a collaboration between Purity Ring and the directing team Brewer. “Initially we wrote our own video treatment and submitted it to some directors,” says Roddick. “They took the treatment we wrote, changed most of it and kept some of it. We really liked the things they changed, but they were still able to incorporate a lot of the things they liked about our ideas.”

Purity Ring will embark on a 19-date European tour next month, having rested for a few weeks back home in Montreal (Roddick) and Halifax (James) after the completion of a North American tour in September. Next year, they plan to visit Australia for the first time, if you don't count the three months that James and her family lived here when she was about six months old. “So I guess you could say that... no, we've never been,” laughs James. “I think it will be a really interesting experience. I have a lot of family there so I'm excited for that; aunts, cousins and stuff.” “Megan has cousins all around the world!” interjects Roddick. “Sort of. They get around!” she rebuts.

Preoccupied with touring for now, Purity Ring have not written any new material together so far. Roddick does reveal that their sound will change “to a certain extent” on their next release. “Our next record won't sound the same as the record we just put out, but it will still sound like us. That's sort of all I can say about it.” While Roddick is busy with his home studio, James is taking her time off to work on something new and not related to music. A fashion school grad, James makes clothes for herself and her friends and family. “As we're speaking, I'm making underwear for my boyfriend,” she says. “This week I'm onto panties. Maybe I'll make a few extra and try to sell them at the merch table, but I can't really say right now! It would be really funny.”

“I think you should, probably,” agrees Roddick.

Purity Ring will be playing the following shows:

Wednesday 6 March - Oxford Art Factory, Sydney NSW
Friday 8 March - Corner Hotel, Melbourne VIC
Saturday 9 to Monday 11 March - Golden Plains Music Festival, Meredith Supernatural Theatre VIC
Sunday 10 March - The Zoo, Brisbane QLD