A CONVERSATION WITH... CLEOPATRICK
cleopatrick: FAKE MOON creators, Canadians, Laptop Rock connoisseurs.
Picture by Vedant Bodas
It’s a risky move to drop an album with a whole new sound after tour tickets drop.
Was it on purpose?
No.
Did cleopatrick pull it off?
The sold-out Electric Brixton show says yes.
Divisive isn’t the right word to describe the show. Some fans were there because they thrived in the rock environment that BUMMER created, a sound comparable to Royal Blood. Some fans were there for FAKE MOON, the second and arguably more self-indulgent album. It didn’t stick to what fans expected, which is how some of the crowd lost their energy when the set list switched to newer tracks, like ‘HAMMER’ and ‘BAD GUY’.
No one sounded disappointed, but it was one of those gigs where half the crowd left pleased with every song, and half of them had homework to do when they got on the tube home.
But people were there because they wanted to be in that room with cleopatrick and experience whatever music they loved live.
Luckily for the Square One team, cleopatrick divulged the story behind the switch and this new era in their sound.
“All the music we’ve ever made, right from the start of the band to now, is out there in the world. There’s no stuff we got to hide from people as we figured out our sound and then have people hear a fine-tuned us. Our catalogue is this journey of us finding ourselves as songwriters. It can be vulnerable at times, but when it comes to putting a set together, it’s a celebration of who cleopatrick is. We can see the impact our older stuff has on people and then have them experience the universe of the newer album, too.” Luke said.
Luke Gruntz and Ian Fraser have been cleopatrick since its conception, inseparable since they met at 4 years old. And thankfully, only have the kindest words to say about each other.
How very Canadian of them.
“Luke is truly one of the most thoughtful people I know. He’s enlightened me so many times in my life,” Ian said, sitting thigh-to-thigh with Luke on a couch backstage.
“That’s funny, because I was actually thinking thoughtful for you,” Luke laughed. “But also very supportive. I feel like Ian is always able to put our friendship first, which is a very nice feeling when we have to mix business and friendship. So many core memories have been made touring with Ian and our best friend, Jake. We get to be on this huge adventure for years together, and even when it’s hard at points, it feels like we’ve really lived.”
“Well, that was so sweet. Now we’re gonna have a good show because of that,” Ian commented.
Calm, appreciative, and thoughtful are who they are on and off stage. Sometimes they need help from other people to tell them what exactly they’re doing on stage, though.
“It’s like I blackout when I go on stage. All the pressure from the eyes watching and the idea of what I’m about to do lets me be this other guy. It doesn’t come out in any other aspect of my life, but when I’m on stage and about to perform… I don’t even know how to describe it,” Luke said.
Other people could. “Quinn, one of the guys playing with us right now, was endearingly making fun of the way I’m on stage. And I was watching him do it, and I was like, ‘I guess I do that’, like with putting one foot behind me and one closer to my equipment when I stand at the mic.”
Ian chimed in with, “I wouldn’t think of myself as a performer. I’d say that I play, we play, music. Maybe I’d say a shy performer, but I really do feed off the crowd’s energy. That’s been the big dynamic for the band. It never feels like it’s us on a stage above it all, even though we physically are. We feel very grounded in the relationship between the music and what’s happening in the room.”
Picture by Vedant Bodas
When it comes to the relationship to the music, Ian and Luke want people to really explore the universe that centres around the (fake) moon. What better way than two core tracks, intro ‘HEAT DEATH’ and apex ‘CHEW’.
“‘CHEW’ is so well-rounded. It really has a piece of everything going on in the record, but somehow feels like its own little universe. It’s a distinct colour, but the lyrics are still really about something ambiguous enough that people can project onto it,” Luke said.
‘HEAT DEATH’ was chosen as the first track for the album for a reason, as Ian explains, “It’s so full-bodied, too. It’s a perfect little moment and explains the universe of the whole album itself.”
The album’s soul and universe partially derive from the wide variety of samples that appeared on the album, even those left as hidden gems for themselves and sample-loving fans. A snare hit from this, a synth from that, and the drum sound that was never meant to see the light of a concert venue.
“For ‘LOVE YOU’, the drums were recorded at this jam space that had one nice microphone and two iPhones set up on either side of the room. When we did it, we originally planned on never using it. But months passed, and it fit. The magic of phones. Thanks to our tech overlords,” Luke joked.
Sarcastic praise, fitting into the whole idea of fake moon and the ever-present world of surveillance. While the lyrics and music detail the paranoia and power of the ‘fake moon’ and the defiant defence towards it, the project expectedly carries so much significance for the band.
“This record, in a lot of ways, is about control. Who controls you, what you’re controlling, and how you control yourself. While it’s open to interpretation, it really catalogues the growing up Ian and I experienced over the last few years. Putting together our first record, the world being so strange with the pandemic going on, and then non-stop touring to make up for lost time. And running out of time. It was like we were left with a fork in the road of wondering what’s next. Now it was time to make what I felt like making. That’s what this record means to me. Over time, I just love the album more,” Luke said.
Picture by Vedant Bodas
They both knew that not everyone would feel the same as the album. Even though so many corners of the internet have found themselves in cleopatrick songs, it was a question of what fans would like in the FAKE MOON era. “What’s so awesome about our band is that we get pushed out to so many different people, and they’re all great. But some just like us for one specific reason, while others like us and the things that we make. So I knew that if we’re going to commit to making something about us, it can’t just be fulfilling the role that people have assigned to us. We knew it was going to be uncomfortable,” Luke said.
At first, it was overwhelmingly negative. But the positive reviews and feedback came levelling in, but that divide only made the band dig their heels into the album more.
“It’s okay that they didn’t get this one. Maybe they’ll get the next one, maybe not,” Ian said.
One fan who loved the album enough (and somehow knew the band’s email) wanted to ensure that the band knew people loved the album. “I was starting to feel a bit weird with all the negativity and positivity on release day, but then I got this email from a random guy called Riley. We never spoke before, but he said everything I needed to hear in that moment. How people weren’t going to get it, but that just proves that we’re not like every other band. I was just reading that on my couch, like ‘thank you, I really needed to hear that.’ I haven’t answered him yet, but I will after tour finishes,” Luke said.
And because FAKE MOON is all about conspiracy theories and how easy it is to fall into believing conspiracy theories, the band had to share their thoughts about conspiracies.
Luke: “I don’t believe the whole flat Earth thing, but it’s so cool to hear those people talk about it. They got all their reasons. I wouldn’t call it a conspiracy theory, but I’m so in on aliens.”
Ian: “Bigfoot’s up there, pretty great. I guess that’s a myth, but I’ll still go with it.”