With a soul-stirring single out now and their first EP on the horizon, Dweller have introduced themselves as a Canadian supergroup worthy of everyone’s attention. In their very first interview, they spoke with Atwood Magazine about their formation, finding their sound, and the vulnerability and isolation behind “Leave This Home,” their achingly intimate, breathtakingly beautiful debut.
for fans of boygenius, Big Thief, Angel Olsen
Stream: “Leave This Home” – Dweller
We felt like ‘Leave This Home’ truly encapsulated the mission statement of this band; to capture personable musical snapshots with our pals: No filter, no filler, just love.
Since debuting just 27 days ago, Canada’s Dweller haven’t said much about their first song – or about themselves.
For the most part, they’re letting the music speak for itself – and to its credit, “Leave This Home” speaks volumes not just about who this band is, but who they’re going to be: A group driven by emotive songwriting and vulnerability, friendship and human connection, artistic freedom, trust, and mutual respect.
I wait up on my own for
A call from a friend
I haven’t been feeling too
Strong lately I’ll admit
It dawns on me the time may
Have come it may have passed
Where I just feel connected
And leave it at that
Comprised of Toronto-based Georgia Harmer (vocals/synth) and Julian Psihogios (drums) and Winnipeg-based Kris Ulrich (guitar) and Dylan MacDonald (AKA Field Guide, bass), Dweller is something of a Canadian bicoastal “indie supergroup” of sorts. Of course, there’s nothing broken about their social scene; all four members have their own preexisting, active and thriving musical projects outside of the group – in fact, Atwood Magazine published full-length feature articles on Kris Ulrich’s sophomore LP Big in the USA and Field Guide’s self-titled album in the past year.
Friends first and bandmates second, the four artists formed Dweller “as an excuse to spend more time together,” and ended up writing and recording their first few songs live on a Tascam 388 at Ulrich’s Oolytone Studios in Winnipeg.
“A lot of the songs we made were fragments of ideas that took us a while to realize that it was okay to let songs be rough sketches or a short bright burst of an idea,” vocalist Georgia Harmer tells Atwood Magazine. “I think we all spend a lot of time sculpting songs into these exact images of what we are chasing, and in this project we were able to let the songs unfold into what they are, which is truly a collaboration of everyone’s voice. We limited ourselves to the 8 tracks of the 388 and committed to zero overdubs, which focused us on finding the exact right instrument and voice for each song.”
She continues, “The conversations around the formation of “The Dweller Sound,” as it pertains to the recording process, all stemmed from the trust we have in each other and allowing everyone to lean into their intuitions. With that security, we each had the opportunity to attempt those – in other contexts – alien ideas, we were able to let ourselves free of any musical shackles and simply create. The lack of internal inhibitions brought an organicity to the process that allowed the music to do the talking instead of the idea of the music.”
As their debut single, “Leave This Home” is a breathtakingly beautiful introduction to Dweller.
A hush immediately falls over the ears as gentle, brooding guitars create a warm bed of indie folk sound. Georgia Harmer’s stirring voice glows like a beacon of soft light alongside this tender reverie, beckoning wayward travelers (and unsuspecting listeners) forth and offering sanctuary from the cold, dark night even as she herself spills her soul: “I wait up on my own for a call from a friend. I haven’t been feeling too strong lately, I’ll admit,” she sings. “It dawns on me the time may have come it, it may have passed, where I just feel connected and leave it at that…“
“Leave This Home” is achingly intimate, vulnerable, deeply cathartic, and confessional: A song born of loneliness and isolation, of the acceptance of bittersweet realities and truths, and ultimately, of moving on from your present surroundings and finding (or making) a new “home” for yourself. Harmer and co. hone that message in a chorus that’s as catchy as it is emotionally raw: “I guess I’ll leave this home for another one,” Harmer sings, at once resigned and resolved to essentially start again. She repeats the shiver-inducing line: “I guess I’ll leave this home for another one.“
Highlighting just how much this song means to them, Dweller themselves describe “Leave This Home” as “the whisper of a desperate cry falling slowly from the lips“:
“As the band sways in and out of the listener’s foreground, holding focus for seconds, peering around corners for a glance, Harmer sings of isolation – of a regrettable acceptance of the truth. The bass a drone, the guitar an autonomous shadow, the synth like waves of a tide under a moonlit sky. As the undercurrent softly lulls, a lone flame beckons from a canvas of black.
It’s not easy to plant new roots; to find new spaces of belonging, new familiar faces and chosen families to call our own. “Leave This Home” is step one of a long, arduous, and taxing spiritual and emotional journey that we don’t often talk about, let alone hear expressed in song. Dweller hold nothing back in their performance, painting a fully intoxicating and immersive scene that seduces the ears and moves the heart:
I’ve seen this type of lonely
In people I’ve observed
I didn’t think it would happen
Without knowing that it would
Everyone off without me
That’s the person I’ve become
I tell myself these things
When I feel like I’ve done something wrong
That’s why the vulnerability is so uncensored; I didn’t really imagine anyone ever hearing it.
“This song came from a very internal and private feeling, a place of feeling sorry for myself for feeling isolated, and I never actually intended for it to be released,” Harmer admits. “It wasn’t until my bandmates heard it and related that I realized it was a more universal feeling than I thought. I hope that if people hear it and relate, they feel less alone in whatever loneliness they thought they were alone in.”
Lyrically, Dweller strive to be an open book: Harmer’s words chill to the bone as together, she and her bandmates dwell in the depths of a lone soul’s smoldering, spine-chilling upheaval.
“It’s just a stream of consciousness,” she says of these lyrics. “What I was feeling in the moment that needed to be expressed. I use songs as a way to process emotions with immediacy. I usually decode them later – I don’t think too hard. That’s why the vulnerability is so uncensored; I didn’t really imagine anyone ever hearing it.”
With Dweller’s self-titled debut EP due out December 1st via Winnipeg-based indie label Birthday Cake Records, there’s never been a better time to get to know this fledgling band.
Don’t just take our word for it; Exclaim!, the Canadian authority on music for three decades and counting, has also declared Dweller a supergroup worth watching. They’re all familiar faces – each a seasoned artist in their own right – but in Dweller they have created something altogether fresh, unfiltered, authentic, and exciting.
Dive into our interview with Dweller below as we all get to know our new favorite Canadian supergroup – a definitive Atwood Magazine artist-to-watch for 2024! – and be sure to listen to the Dweller EP upon its December 1st release!
I guess I’ll leave this home for another one…
I guess I’ll leave this home for another one…
I guess I’ll leave this home for another one…
I guess I’ll leave this home for another one…
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:: stream/purchase Leave This Home here ::
:: connect with Dweller here ::
Stream: ‘Dweller’ EP – Dweller
MEET DWELLER
What inspired the band name? What’s the story there, if there is one?
Dweller: We wanted something that felt close and familial. The name “Dwellers” was initially suggested by our friend Cassidy Mann as we were sitting around drinking wine after recording these songs, but we ended up shortening it to “Dweller.”
How do you feel the music you’re making together as Dweller distinguishes you from your individual artist projects (which I believe many, if not all of you have)?
Dweller: It feels like a chance to step into a different role and mindset. A lot of the songs we made were fragments of ideas that took us a while to realize that it was okay to let songs be rough sketches or a short bright burst of an idea. I think we all spend a lot of time sculpting songs into these exact images of what we are chasing, and in this project we were able to let the songs unfold into what they are, which is truly a collaboration of everyone’s voice. We limited ourselves to the 8 tracks of the 388 and committed to zero overdubs, which focused us on finding the exact right instrument and voice for each song.
Tell me about your sound; did you have intentional conversations about the kind of music you wanted to make, or did it come together more naturally? If so, what were those conversations like?
Dweller: It definitely came more naturally. The conversations around the formation of “The Dweller Sound,” as it pertains to the recording process, all stemmed from the trust we have in each other and allowing everyone to lean into their intuitions. With that security, we each had the opportunity to attempt those – in other contexts – alien ideas, we were able to let ourselves free of any musical shackles and simply create. The lack of internal inhibitions brought an organicity to the process that allowed the music to do the talking instead of the idea of the music.
Along that line, why did you choose “Leave This Home” as your debut single?
Dweller: We felt like “Leave This Home” truly encapsulated the mission statement of this band; to capture personable musical snapshots with our pals. No filter, no filler, just love.
Can you share a little about the story behind this song? What significance does this track hold, for you?
Dweller: This song was written in isolation during the pandemic and it’s quite literally about being alone and unsure of where your home is. I think it’s nice that this song only fully materialized in the context of close friendship and togetherness, which was what was missing when it started being written.
What was your vision going into this song - and did that change over the course of fleshing it out and recording it?
Dweller: It did change drastically. The initial writing of the song took place on an acoustic guitar so instinctually we recorded a couple takes with Georgia playing acoustic and the rest of us playing a more Americana-style arrangement. The song is bloody brilliant, as every song that Georgia writes tends to be, but something about the vibe was slightly off. It wasn’t until Dylan began chugging that pulsating bass part that the vibe was kicked into high gear and the arrangement you hear on the record was born.
I’d love to learn more about your songwriting process! How is songwriting in this band approached?
Dweller: A couple songs were brought in fairly realized already and some we just started by playing together, hopping on different instruments until we caught onto something we liked. A song like “Leave This Home” was already written, so we ended up taking it in a bunch of directions before landing on the version we released. As soon as we did a take with the current vibe, we all instantly knew that was what that song needed. I think a big part of this band is the freedom to explore. How quiet can we play this song? How loud can we play it? Is a tom on top of the snare the right thing for this song? Anything is on the table because we all trust each other’s intuition.
“I wait up on my own for a call from a friend. I haven’t been feeling too strong lately, I’ll admit,” you sing at the top of this song. It's such an intimate way to begin; why did you start the song off like that?
Dweller: It’s just a stream of consciousness, what I was feeling in the moment that needed to be expressed. I use songs as a way to process emotions with immediacy. I usually decode them later – I don’t think too hard. That’s why the vulnerability is so uncensored. I didn’t really imagine anyone ever hearing it.
You go on to sing, “I guess I’ll leave this home for another one.” There’s something devastating about the chorus… can you share more about what these words, that sentiment of leaving home, means to you?
Dweller: It’s about realizing that you no longer feel at home where you are, so there’s mourning and loss, but also the idea that there is another home out there, which is a hopeful afterthought. Uncertainty and change can be so melancholic, and yet the unknown is stirring. This song takes place at the end and also the beginning.
Uncertainty and change can be so melancholic, and yet the unknown is stirring. This song takes place at the end and also the beginning.
How do you feel “Leave This Home” introduces you and captures Dweller’s artistry?
Dweller: “Leave This Home” really opened up our willingness to trust each other musically, and with pretty vulnerable ideas and feelings. We all respect each other’s ideas so much, and there was so much room in this song for all of them to live. I think it’s a really good example of our mutual inspiration leading us to an arrangement and performance that feels individually true to all of us, but is also made up of a series of responses to each other’s ideas.
What, for you, are the takeaways from “Leave This Home”? Rather what do you hope listeners take away from this song?
Dweller: This song came from a very internal and private feeling, a place of feeling sorry for myself for feeling isolated, and I never actually intended for it to be released. It wasn’t until my bandmates heard it and related that I realized it was a more universal feeling than I thought. I hope that if people hear it and relate, they feel less alone in whatever loneliness they thought they were alone in.
What does the future hold for Dweller?
Dweller: We’re already talking about recording more tunes. With only four in the bank, playing a show is just slightly out of reach, but once we get enough songs for another EP/album together… Wow. The possibilities are endless. Dweller on the road? Dweller headlining Coachella? We wouldn’t say no.
Final question, who are some of your artistic inspirations and who are you listening to these days?
Dweller: Currently I have been listening to “The Trials of Van Occupanther” by Midlake. Georgia said it was a formative album for her and I have been loving it. Also our pals in Dizzy put out a record this year that is pure magic.
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:: stream/purchase Leave This Home here ::
:: connect with Dweller here ::
Stream: “Leave This Home” – Dweller
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