INTERVIEW: LINK3: WHEREVER ART TAKES THEM

It's kind of funny, but mostly incredibly cool, how the introduction of the interview I published last week was about the beauty of being able to reach people in numerous different countries. Exactly eight days after interviewing Tahlia Hope (originally from Australia), I had the opportunity to interview James Barry (also Australian), the songwriter behind the project link3, along with Sunniva, the natural-born performer from England, who has been on lead vocals duty since 2024. They both now reside in Montreal. Sunniva, James, and I talked about their respective favourite songs from the latest Link3 album, feeling nervous before a show (or not), what they like the most about working with each other, and so much more. From Australia and England, all the way to Montreal, enjoy my conversation with the heart and soul of link3. Oh, and thank you, James for contacting me in the first place. 

Picture by James and Sunniva themselves

I read that your decision to come to Montreal was random. How random are we talking about? How much did you know about Montreal and its music scene before coming here?

James: Actually, I didn't know much about Montreal at all. It kind of slipped my mind that French was the primary language in Quebec. I was living in L.A. I signed a deal with a label. I was in the studio. I got a decent advance. I finished my recording time and I was like:" I could go back to Australia." I had Toronto and Montreal as options. Monteal seemed cheaper and a bit more artsy.

Did you have any preconceived ideas of the city before moving here?

James: I just knew it was close and I thought that was cool. I had coworkers telling me that Montreal was the go to-party city.

Has anything surprised you so far whether it's about the music scene or not?

James: Honestly, there has been a few things. The music scene is just absolutely incredible. If you want to see a DIY gig, there is one every night. There are people you can talk to. I didn't know a single soul in Montreal and everyone is so nice. Also, two months into leaving here, I stumbled upon Saint-Laurent boulevard. "That's where I should have been since day 1.

What about you, Sunniva? Are you from here?

Sunniva: I grew up in England. I moved to Ottawa when I was 15 and I moved here for university.

How long have you been for?

Sunniva: It will be soon 3 years.

Did you have any knowledge about Montreal?

Sunniva: Yes, my parents actually lived here when we were younger. If you are a poet, an artist or a musician, that's where you want to be.

James, I read you gave yourself 4 months to form your live band. It took you even less time than that. How did you two meet? Would you say it was an easy process or was it a question of luck a little bit?

James: It was kind of unconventional. I don't know what I was thinking. I told myself I was going to do this in 4 months and maybe, in 4 months, if it doesn't work, I'll go back to Australia. Link3 was very successful at that point but purely in an online sense. I wanted to have experience and form a band so we can play for people. I just went to shows every night, constantly. I would be at soundchecks. Looking back, I was probably so annoying. One of the people I met at soundcheck at Mai/son told me about a Facebook group where I could find people and that's where I found our guitarist and bassist. I met Michael who introduced me to Vinny, our drummer at a show at Turbo Haus. I found Sunni on Band Mix which is a website to find bandmates. I didn't do any auditions. I got so lucky.

Do you have any advice for people looking for bandmates?

James: I would say go every show. People are going to be nice to you if you support them. You are paying for the admission. You are in the crowd. That means the most to any musician. If you do that, they will always want to support however they can. Everyone just wants to play, be involved, be in a new band.

Can you share some of your favourite memories you've made in Montreal so far (whether they have to do with music or not)?

Sunniva: There is one show we played that sticks out in my mind. It was a really beautiful show. It was my second show ever. We got to open for Crywank, who was just somebody that I listened to before and really admired. So it felt like a kind of big moment for me. There were so many different aspects that should have made me probably way more nervous than I was, but I was just so excited that I was just like running on stage like, "Let's do this." That whole night was just incredible. Being able to see so many incredible performances, seeing their whole setup live and being able to learn from that. That's definitely one of my favorite memories.

James: Opening for Crywank is a big one. Any big show that has so much presence and so intense, of an experience, like there's so many nerves and stress, but also so much dopamine. Like the day after, a really massive show, it always just feels incredible. That was a show we had recently we all hung out together after which is weird. Normally, when the show is done, the bands go their own ways. When we played with Beach Vacation, Make Out City, and Parallel, we all just night out together afterwards. It was so much fun. That's probably one of the best night outs we've had. Also, the open mics when we first met the band. Like having open mics, drinking beers, and getting a little too drunk before our first open mic because we were too nervous. Those are some of the best nights.

James on stage, picture by @sarahtourangeaumusic

Portrait of Sunniva, by James and Sunniva themselves

Sunni, you mentioned that you were not as nervous as you probably should have been. For the other shows following that one, were you nervous at all or are you just not so nervous usually? Sunniva: I don't have too many nerves performing. I actually just love performing. I also get kind of the easiest job of the whole band which is singing. I'm not even playing an instrument. So as long as I remember everything. I was so nervous for my very first show, and after that hurdle, it just feels like nothing will ever be as scary as, as that show.

James: I get nervous. I get kind of antsy. Sunni is a natural performer. Where I feel like I kind of throw myself in the role of a performer. It's a bit harder for me, but it's great having Sunni be so calm with with me. She always kills it. Sunniva: That's how I wanna spend every weekend. In that same article, they described your music as, "Tailor-made for long summer afternoons." According to you, is there a specific setup, context or period of the year to listen to your music, or would you say it can be listened to at any time? James: That's a good question. I like to think about that a lot. The music has reached so many people. It's always like a deep thought for me or like a shallow thought. What is the craziest situation that someone listened Link3. Even today, someone made a "Reel" to one of my songs, while making pottery. Someone made a TikTok today as well, like reciting their poetry to my music. People have proved that they listen to Link3in any scenario or situation. Personally, I would day sitting home just going for a walk, during a cloudy or snowy day with headphones on.

Sunniva: I think that it's just about finding the right songs for the right weather and the right seasons.

James, I know your influences include Nick Drake, Elliott Smith and Alex G. Who are some of your influences Sunni?

Sunniva: There's different kinds of artists for different aspects. In terms of early writing, I think of how songwriting is also like poetry. I was really influenced by people like Stevie Bridges and people that pay a lot of attention to what kind of meaning and the kind of feelings you have behind, why you feel it's the right time to write a song or why you feel you might need to write a song. Since then, I've been thinking more about slightly heavier stuff. Definitely have some kind of crossovers amongst the decade we were influenced by and the low kind of production that you can create. And then from loving that part would be Alex G as well, when you can create these really incredible soundscapes with not that much equipment.

Is there anyone who specifically inspired you in terms of vocal performances on your newer record?

James: Something on this record that makes it unique are the duets we have on it, the synchronized male-female vocals. Mount Eerie does that a little bit. The Moldy Peaches do that. Vocally you can draw parallels there. Stuff like Elliott Smith and Nick Drake, where you've got that conversational type of volume for singing where it's not particularly projected, it's flat, quite close to the ear, whispered and pitchy. Sunni’s, got great performances on it. They're pretty ranged.

Sunniva: My kind of go-to singing is especially on this song with this bike kind of float. There are a few songs where I got to really belt a little bit and that is where it differs a bit. But that honestly maybe wouldn't be influenced by direct singing. Anything that I do louder with my chest voice and belting voice is all thanks to musical theater. I loved musical theater when I was a young teenager. So that'd probably be honestly a kind of strange influence, but it's whenever I'm using my whole voice to  hit stuff high.

You released a new record called "On The Outline". Out of all the songs, is there one you're more proud of over the others?

James: I think the one where it felt like everything clicked because usually as a songwriter, it's hard to be confident. What is going to be perceived as the best song or what's gonna perform the best. I've got my own biases. But the one that I was the most confident in was definitely “I Wish We Could Have Talked About It”. That was the lead single and it's performed so well. I can see all the metrics and it has had so much great feedback on it. So I think that one is my favorite. I also have my personal kind of bias ones. I really like “On The Outline 2024”. That's kind of funny, a bit more experimental and I'm being a bit more vulnerable. I personally enjoy listening to that one. It's different. “I Wish We Could Talk About It” is probably the one I would push to the world to represent that album.

Sunniva: My favorite would easily be “And”. It’s one of my favorite songs that James has ever written. As soon as he was writing it, I got to hear the process of it, and he'll say, "Oh, can you hum to this? Here's what I'm thinking of a melody. Can you go from that?" And instantly I think, "Oh, this is really good. I really like this."

Link3's music video for their song "I Wish We Could Have Talked About It

Despite the fact that most of the songs are quite short, were you ever worried about releasing a project that has many songs? It's no secret that most people like short-form content these days. Was it ever stressful to think about releasing a project that’s on the longer side, even though technically it's not even that long because the songs are short?

James: When I first started doing link3, I released two albums in the space of three to four months. That's kind of my normal output, I feel as a songwriter. And then this was the first time there was a big year. It went from my EP to this one. I had so many songs stockpiled. I started out as an amateur songwriter and am trying to develop. I was getting more confident in my ability to write music, which meant that there were more options now as well. I wasn't throwing away as many songs. I was writing more songs and thinking "Yeah, I actually feel this is good, and I wanna put it out there," rather than writing ten songs and throwing it away. I think that's why there ended up being more songs. I also naturally have a habit of writing quite short songs. I don't do that on purpose. I don't do it with the other things. And this is just how it turns out. It kind of comes, and then it flops, and that's it. That's a one-minute song. And all my most successful songs are a minute and five seconds long. I don't really think about it that much. It just happened.

Sunniva: From what we've seen from the response so far, even in album reviews, one thing that comes up is "I want more". In the end, it had so many songs and it's quite a short album. I think that’s something that definitely would have been thought about, but I'm glad the opposite kind of happened, keep going.

James: My next album will be over thirty minutes. I'm gonna push above for sure.

Did you have any songs that did not make it on the album?

James: I still had quite a few that didn't make it. And one of the best things about Sunni is, I'm not good at telling what is particularly good or not. Sometimes I can push the boundary a little too far, and Sunni will reel me back in and stop me from releasing something that humiliates myself. I do appreciate her helping me with that. And I kind of write some pretty out there things. We definitely have quite a lot of tracks. There are also some tracks that I really love, but I don't think I have the credibility to maximize their potential, so I'm saving them for the next project.

What's your favorite part about working with each other?

James: I think it's because we're partners and we live together, we have this incredible bond. We can be completely transparent with each other. We're both artists and musicians so it's like being able to have someone on your team that will be completely honest with you, has an intelligent opinion on music, is passionate about it and just wants you to succeed. The ultimate asset for an artist is having someone who can tell you when something's good or not good and then push something harder when you're back a little bit. That's my favorite part of working with Sunni.

Sunniva: For me, it's not a part of working with you, but more like a product of working with you over time. It's the best kind of influence on me. It's with music, even with my own side project, my solo project. I do wonder if that would have even been released when it was, when I would've started it, if I didn't have somebody that I trust their music opinions so much saying, "I've listened to these. Like, they're good. You just gotta get them out there." And I feel like I've grown much more, opening this whole different side of me I've been since I was a kid. I've been writing, and kind of building and building. And I don't know if that would have been even out there or at least not as soon, I don't think. That's easily the best kind of influence that now it's a big part of my life. I love recording, and I'll do it for fun. When I have a little idea, I'll try and build it up instead of just letting it happen. Send you a voice memo for remarks.

James: I'm all about releasing music and getting it out there. I think that's the biggest hurdle with musicians with the release club. I'm obviously the biggest advocate.

Sunniva: It's hard and I get it. We talk to a lot of musicians that have a really hard process. It's so personal to you, and then being able to kind of send it off and put it into the universe and think, "I have no control over how it does." People who know how they think of it or what they do with this. I feel like that kind of barrier has been so important for me now. That's the best part about it is that I don't know who's gonna listen. This could be a crazy amount of people or it could be any type of musician. It could be literally anyone. This could be someone's favorite song or a song in a really important moment of their lives. It can be anything, and that kind of possibility is something that's now open and it's been influenced. I think about that.

I know you appreciate fan interactions, from reading messages to people sharing stories. Are there any memorable fan interactions you've had?

James: There’s two that come to mind. There's one guy that always posts the coolest drawings of our album covers and things like that. He put up stickers of lyrics from our songs around New York City. He recently posted a screenshot of listening to "On the Outline" on his iPod Nano. He's just a really creative fan. He's an artist himself and is always creating stuff, which is the coolest thing ever.

Sunniva: He created a beautiful drawing of the cover.

James: There's an artist who's a fan from day one who also makes his own music called Nemesis Foc. That was really cool because he's from Georgia, and when we played a show in New York, he flew out and I got to meet him. That was a really incredible fan interaction. People making movies or student films and stuff like that. It's always really awesome. Or really cool TikToks, anything where someone or a fan is creating something or converging with link3. That’s the best fan interaction you could possibly have, I imagine.

Sunniva: I remember the first time that someone sent me their student film project including my song, and it just felt like the biggest “oh my gosh”. If somebody liked my song enough to say, "I want to include your song in my creation," I would just be so blown away by that. Whenever there's something that's taking and building on it and saying, "This increases what I'm doing." and when people see it, that's the most rewarding thing seeing that.

As music fans yourselves, have you ever had any memorable interactions with musicians you look up to?

James: I feel really fortunate with Link3, it's at a point where there are certain projects that I was a fan of that I can message now and talk to or hear back from. Pog Lake and Cryowank are two projects that I listened to before I even started link3 and I was able to reach out to them, and play shows with them. That's always a really bizarre moment. Someone like Cryowank, I've been listening to since I was fourteen, and then all of a sudden be helping him bring the drums into the venue and chatting with him. It’s such a weird, surreal feeling.

Sunniva: Pog Lake was a big moment for me because you build separately. It's a different vision from listening to them, and it's a weird feeling when you're a fan of something and then bridging that and meeting them, but not in a fan kind of context. You feel so excited for the gig. I didn't think I would get to do or be able to do that for so long until a point where I'd finally make it. So I feel grateful it was so early getting to start because of others, it's cool.

Another interview concluded. Fun fact: my interview with link3 was the thirtieth I completed since December 2023. Thank you, Sunniva and James, for being part of this meaningful milestone. My 16-year-old self would be proud and even amazed by how far I have come. You know how Sunniva, James, and I discussed the perfect setting or moment to listen to link3, how about right here, right now? Whether you are about to go on a little adventure in your neighbourhood or simply want to lie in bed under the blankets after reading this interview, link3's music will be the perfect soundtrack. I will see you very soon for another interview, okay?  

Your favourite interviewer who believes good music can originate from anywhere in the world,

Ariane  

LINKS TO FURTHER DISCOVER AND SUPPORT LINK3

Link3's Instagram

Link3 on BandCamp

Link3 on YouTube