Summoning The Northaven
Mustard had the pleasure of speaking with indie folk/folk punk artist The Northhaven who earlier this month released their newest split EP "Refurbished" with Subtle Places
Through music Mustard has had an opportunity to learn about the human experience (and condition.) They have observed that the human experience is different for each. Humans are social creatures who are simply just trying to survive. The world that they inhabit (and some purposefully destroy) is not designed for their benefit. Every day there are obstacles (both big and small) that a human has try to overcome. With social media humans have an idea of what another life’s might be like but those images and reels are manufactured.
For The Northaven, of Rockland Massachuetts, their music is rooted in realism. They do not write in code that you need to decipher. If you have the pleasure of listening to The Northaven’s discography you may find comfort in hearing experiences you can relate to. Inspired by their contemporaies such A Day Without Love and Captain Vampire along with Conor Oberset and Jeff Rosenstock The Northaven brand of indie folk provides listeners with lyrical honesty.
Earlier this month The Northaven released their proudest work yet: Refurbished in collaboration with Subtle Places. This is The Northaven’s second EP and continues the importance of community within the indie music scene. The split EP was released by one of Mustard’s favorite independent labels: Beautiful Rat Records who also released The Northaven’s stellar 2023 album Post Pandemic Blues.
That is not all though about The Northaven. In our conversation below you will get an opportunity to learn more about their style of honest folk punk. Together we discuss the key elements to their music, refurbishment, and so much more!
1. Mustard is grateful and appreciative to have you join them at Music Shelf. How are you doing today?
Today? Frantic but maintaining and overall hella optimistic!
2. Mustard has observed there are various Northhaven locations. Did a specific Northhaven inspire your artist name?
It actually comes from a small word scramble of the street where me and my folks lived during my teens and early twenties. My relationship with them hasn't been the best- and we're working on it- but that sort of tongue in cheek feeling is where the name is rooted.
3. They have also observed that you do music stuff that makes you happy. What was your relationship with music growing up? When did it first click with you that you wanted to be a musician?
I always loved music. My parents were both into heavy and alt music in the 90s and consistently exposed me to new music- Rancid, The Streets, Green Day, The Offspring, Jack Johnson- and it colored my life, gave me comfort and inspired my imagination in beautiful ways, especially as I explored the landscape of music on my own. It clicked with me when I was in elementary school, but it took form in a lot of idea guy stuff never followed through on for like twelve years, with numerous false starts. The true first instance of it clicking was buying a bass from a local artist I looked up to at 23.
4. In addition to your work as The Northaven you also can be found in Solvent C and Circlebrooke. How do you balance each of these? What have you learned from each project?
To be honest, the only one easy to balance is Circlebrooke. I'm a live member in that band and really only asks a couple rehearsals per show.
Solvent C is part of why there's such a huge gap between the initial releases from The Northaven. That band required me to put more into that than the solo work if I wanted it to see the results I had been hoping for.
The lesson I've learned in how to maintain balance in what I do is to work with exciting projects that have clear designated roles and what the time commitment is. Also gotta make sure folks are on the same page creatively.
5. Where in the world is Ian Garland?
I'm in your walls.
6. Mustard wonders: what key elements are needed to craft a The Northaven song? Could you share more about your creative process?
My creative process is super inconsistent and sometimes super spur of the moment. A lot of the best ones start with a good lyrical hook and then I slowly unravel what that hook is supposed to mean as I'm writing in a train of thought kind of way.
I think key elements of a song from The Northaven is lyrical honesty and realism. I want to make songs that people can feel themselves in and find comfort in knowing someone's been in that exact spot without having to decipher a code.
One last element is a challenge. I always want to try something new that sets the next song apart from the last, whether it be in how I compose the song, how the rhyme scheme moves or sometimes the lyrical content and presentation.
7. Who (or what) influences The Northhaven?
I'm influenced by a lot of contemporaries in my immediate folk scene like Justin Arena, Troll 2, A Day Without Love, Captain Vampire, and The Michael Character.
Outside of that, musically the Mountain Goats, Bright Eyes and Aaron West & The Roaring Twenties are deeply influential.
I pull influence from dozens of lyricists- Dan Campbell, John Darnielle, Conor Oberst, Jessica Jeansome, Aaron Scott-Griffin and Justin Belden, Jeff Rosenstock, Theo Hilton, August formerly of Riverby, Justin Arena and James Ikeda
8. One playlist your music can be found on is "its fucking folk punk time" which features a raccoon as the cover art. Would you say this playlist accurately represents your music? What time exactly is fucking folk punk?
As far as the "fucking" part goes, lol nah. The Northaven is for the person coasting on life that hasn't had a satisfying fuck in about a couple years.
The playlist however is somewhat representative of the culture I find myself in globally, which is skewed heavily by the algorithm. It doesn't literally represent my music, but Crywank is called folk punk yet he makes indie folk, so I think I get a pass too? Maybe?
9. In December of 2019 you released your album Letter to a Friend which explores themes of relationships. What was it like to put this project together?
STRESSFUL. I started playing guitar and writing songs in summer of 2019 and fought with my lack of ability that entire fall. Sometimes I'd be banging my head against the wall after a couple hours of attempted self recording, and others I'd be fighting with a strum pattern that was too hard for me but needed to be done anyways. Nevertheless, we persist and make art.
10. You addressed the album to various humans who have made a positive impact on you. Did they write you a letter back? What is the best way to create a friendship with another human?
Kinda? There was a secret Justin Arena covers comp for their birthday shortly after LTAF came out and Justin covered one of my songs in a retaliatory cover comp on bandcamp. We were bad at keeping secrets.
Best ways to create friendships with a human is to be around, be receptive and empathetic to who they are and their needs. And to be a little funny or quirky in your own right.
11. In 2020 you appeared on the "Because Everyone Deserves a Home" compilation. Could you share what it was like to be a part of this project? Why are some humans trying to make homelessness a crime?
I organized that compilation mid pandemic as a way to generate help for those in need. Before music proper, I put together shows for folks and gave a ton of my heart and soul to it. I started planning on comp releases right before the pandemic and during the pandemic, that comp came out to serve my need to do for the communities around us. It was a lot of moving parts and my first go at mastering and really engineering things, and for what it's worth I'm happy with it.
Some people out there are greedy, selfish and see the world as a numbers game to be played- to have the biggest outcome and use that to their advantage. There is a deeply unfortunate side effect that those that participate in the system can be numb to the places they were once in.
10. A few years later you released one of Mustard's favorite albums of 2023: Post Pandemic Blues. How did the pandemic affect you both creatively and personally? Was this project written during the pandemic?
Well first off, that means a lot Mustard. Thank you. I'm always a little insecure about it being lo-fi and rough around the edges in how I played and to be reminded people liked it means a lot.
The pandemic fueled a lot of that writing, but less in a literal sense and more of the environment. It was more or less set dressing for a record about isolation and coping with loss and your own grief and what better way to tell that narrative but through a filter like that.
I'd say about half the songs came from the first year and a half of the pandemic. The last songs written for it manifested in December 2022, Locked Groove 2 and This'll Do.
11. On Bandcamp you declare: this is not a breakup album. How would you classify Post Pandemic Blues?
Post Pandemic Blues is a record about the grieving process. I dealt with a bunch of personal loss in the time between Letter to a Friend and December 2022 and a lot of those songs come from different stages of pain, from the spots where you step forward to the inevitable backslides as something kicks you down again.
12. Mustard wonders: what is Northaven's happy place?
I have four- ska shows with my buds, intimate folk shows with loved ones, an empty house on a day off, or a day spent with someone I hadn't seen in a while.
13. This album also featured the series of "summoning songs." Can fans expect more from this series of songs in the future?
Oh yeah, Summoning Songs will keep coming.
14. You released this album via Beautiful Rat Records. Could you share more about your relationship with Beautiful Rat Records?
Jake did work with folks I saw as friends on Songs For Dads, the Eevie Echoes early EPs and really liked my cover of We Shall All Be Healed (Rose Quarter Drifting) on his mountain goats cover comp, so when I had a pitch for a full length record I just shot it to Jake and he was down.
Jake is just generally down to do whatever and trusts the hell out of my curation process and is someone to keep me accountable on my deadlines (or as close as I can be). I attempted to make Post-Pandemic Blues for a year and a half and it took talking to Jake to really cement the feeling of "This has to be done."
15. Later on in the year (2023) you did a split with Second Hands called YOUR HANDS MY HAVEN. To put this split EP together you both had to overcome schedules amongst other obstacles. How did it feel to finally be able to release this project?
Freeing. Mable is a dear friend and we juggled a ton between band obligations we each had at the time, working at strange hours to get the release done. A lot of it was by the skin of our teeth, but I'm endlessly proud of how it came out, especially with the room effect present on the whole record. Being a springboard for an emerging artist fulfills me more than anything and Mable at the time was only doing so much as Second Hands. To see her growing to where she is now and how new songs have manifested is something unreal to behold.
16. Mustard would like to wish you congratulations on your newest release: Refurbished. Refurbished is a split EP that also features Subtle Places. Could you share what it was like to put this split together? Was the process any different compared to your previous split EP with Second Hands?
The split was probably the hardest thing I've ever worked on as a creative for The Northaven. This EP was approached with the intent of bringing new life to some of the older songs I was super confident in and knew Subtle Places was up to the task for it. For this time around, instead of working around wack ass schedules, we went up to Maine on an offer from Lofi Lake Recordings (run by Cody from Snake Lips) and crushed 99% of it within like 40 hours. It felt magical to follow the impulse at a breakneck speed. I had done this previously engineering records for Justin Arena in 2021 and 2022 and to feel it from the other side was magic. And to create with such driven individuals with so much raw ability and showcase their work is something special. Every person I agree to a split with is someone I believe in.
17. As a condiment Mustard wonders what does it mean to have something refurbished? Is this common throughout human society? How did refurbishment inspire this split EP?
I always got equipment refurbished as a kid and as someone from a lower income background, it is super common.
Refurbishment is something that came up in that photoshoot really as a way to name this release- originally build as Subtle Haven in its conceptual stages- but the concept was present from the start.
18. Recently on your Instagram story you apologized for your Conor Oberst worship to Plastic Presidents. What was your first introduction to Conor Oberst? How did it feel to cover one a Bright Eyes song on this EP?
Conor Oberst was introduced to me by the Life is Strange soundtrack in 2017ish. The song Lua stuck with me and shaped my flavors of folk and indie music I'd take in, but I hadn't heavily sought him out until last year when I started getting into albums like Lifted and Wide Awake Its Morning.
To bring my own spark of life to this Bright Eyes song felt monumental. The song itself holds a special place in my heart with its yellow bird motif that carries over from the original album and ties into a lot of my songwriting about loss.
19. You have described this as your favorite piece of art you've made. How does this project differ from others? Could you share more about what Refurbished means to you?
This is a project from me that feels presentable to a wider audience, and carries weight in the arrangements, something that these songs absolutely deserved, both from my side and Subtle Places' side.
Refurbished acts as my stake in the ground, that The Northaven isn't just a side project or some hobbyist thing. It's something I believe in doing and following through on my goals as a songwriter, creator, communicator and caretaker of the community.
20. A human invites their friend to see Northaven perform. What four words best describe your live shows?
comfortable sadness and compassion
21. What is on the horizon for Northaven?
I have a handful splits in the works and some tours and weekenders being put together - all in varying stages of progress. I have two ambitious projects in the works- one being a follow up to Post-Pandemic Blues and the other being a longer term project you'll understand soon enough.
22. Where can readers listen to your music?
You can find The Northaven on all streaming platforms and at thenorthaven.bandcamp.com
Talking in the aisle
Is this your first introduction to Northaven?
Who has made a positive impact on you?
Have you ever gotten anything refurbished?
Music Shelf with Mustard is a publication that interviews independent musicians from all across the globe. It is read in 32 states and 19 countries. Check out previous interviews here.
Music Shelf with Mustard originally began in early 2021. Inspired by independent musicians on social media application TikTok Mustard knew they had to do something to help share their music. Shortly after Music Shelf with Mustard was born. Its goal is to highlight independent artists from all across the globe. Mustard appreciates you taking the time out to read this interview.