6 Questions With Robert Landau
From Northern Canadian mining towns to the Deep South, americana / outlaw country artist Robert Landau has shared his songs and stories with fans and foes in crowded saloons, busy festivals and empty coffee shops across North America for more than 20 years.
Born in Montreal, Canada, Robert’s early musical influences were Bruce Springsteen and Leonard Cohen. He was drawn in by the complex characters, romantic imagery and existential spirituality found in their lyrics. A poet at heart, Robert received his first guitar as a birthday gift for his 18th birthday. After a fellow left-handed guitarist showed Robert his first few chords, he was off and running turning his poetry into songs and performing them live.
While on a cross country road trip in his early twenties, a visit to the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, Tennessee changed his musical life. He spent the day in the Johnny Cash Room…mind blown…sucking up the history and music of the Man in Black. This experience, combined with the Steve Earle and Hank Williams cassettes he shop lifted at a truck stop in Texas, opened Robert’s eyes to the edgier side of folk, country and americana music.
In the early 2000’s Robert hit the studio for the first time, recording his first two albums, “Highland Avenue” and “New Strings” while living in Atlanta, GA. Since moving to Portland in 2011, Robert has performed regularly and found new songwriting inspirations at every turn. In 2019, Robert released his third album, “Dark Charms”, many of the songs quickly becoming crowd favorites at his shows.
Robert’s newest release, 2020’s “A Thousand Little Lies” invokes images and emotions that run the full spectrum of the human experience, making this his most compelling release to date. Recorded during a global pandemic by Brud Giles at Freemont Recording and mixed by Kevin Nettleingham at Nettleingham Audio, in Portland Oregon.
Inspiration for the album came from a myriad of experiences, which shine through in the characters portrayed in the songs. “Walls” and “Oh, Mary” are hopeful love songs, while “I Miss Falling in Love with You”, and “With a Smile” are more like love songs for the brokenhearted. “Shelter in Place” captured the spirit of the global pandemic’s stay at home order, just as “The Flu…A Folk Song” captures the absurdity of falling ill, and then writing a song about it. “A Thousand Little Lies” and “Distant Memory” combine an outlaw spirit with uncensored reflection. “Montreal Tonight” milestones the death of his mother and the feeling that your hometown has moved on without you. And the funny, “Landmark Saloon” chronicles the efforts to get a gig at his favorite local honkytonk.
Robert is itching to get back on stage when the world opens up to unleash his new songs on live audiences.
We had the opportunity to ask Robert 6 Questions, to get to know him and ‘A Thousand Little Lies’ a little more
1. What was the inspiration behind your new album A Thousand Little Lies? The inspiration behind my new album was pretty straightforward…my life! I’ve taken to documenting interesting and off things that happen, and trying to be reflective and objective in the relationships I have.
2. What is your favourite song from the album? Impossible to pick…I was proud of the imagery in A Thousand Little lies…though Distant Memory is a totally uncensored brain dump…and Oh, Mary is the most raw…
3. Who is your biggest musical influence? Bruce Springsteen — his early songs are honest, tough, vulnerable and hopeful…they served as a blueprint on how to grow up..
4. What is the best life advice you’ve ever received? Don’t worry about what others will think, but treat everyone like they matter.
5. What is your favourite song to perform? “I miss falling in Love With You”…its not uncommon that it brings tears to the eyes of at least one audience member…I love it when I connect at that level with the audience…
6. If you could collaborate with any artist dead or alive who would it be? Bruce Springsteen!
Listen to ‘A Thousand Little Lies’ here: Spotify
