Maybe you’ve heard of the musical duo called Arborea and maybe you haven’t. They’ve certainly been around enough, having toured all over the U.S., the U.K. and Europe.
But in their way, the husband-and-wife duo of Shanti and Buck Curran are pure Lewiston. They’ve played the local clubs like Guthrie’s and Cafe Bon Bon, entertaining locals with a sound that isn’t easy to describe. Indie-rock? Indie-folk?
But there’s more. Shanti Curran can often be found prowling around the Twin Cities, hanging out at sites most people don’t visit at all. Here, she carries a camera in place of a microphone, snapping photos of things that reflect the kind of music Arborea has become admired for.
Their latest album, “Red Planet,” was named one of Rolling Stone’s “Best Under-the-Radar albums of 2011” and the band was recently written up in the New York Times. With all that going on, we caught up with Shanti fresh off a U.S. tour and pressed her for behind-the-scenes info on her music and her fascination with the old bridges and mills of Lewiston.
What’s the history of your band? Buck and I started playing music together in the summer of 2005. We used to host backyard evening get-togethers with friends and family and we would all just play music, any music, tons of music. We spent hours doing that, and out of the time we put into it something really unique began to emerge. We also hosted open mics on Friday nights at the Cafe Bon Bon, which used to be on the corner of Main and Middle streets. Those nights were really amazing, there was so much energy and optimism among the people, along with a sense of community. We also recorded our first record, “Wayfaring Summer” that summer at our home here in Lewiston and also at my family camp in Sumner. We self released it during the fall and it immediately started getting critical attention worldwide. We played a festival in Spain the following fall and have been touring, playing shows and making records ever since.
What kind of music do you play? I’ve always had a very hard time describing it. I guess the genre would be indie-rock, or indie-folk, but it’s much more than that. We often have people tell us that we should play soundtracks for movies. The songs are very mysterious, cinematic and calming, but also earthy and very real. There’s an element of old blues and folk to it and also some far Eastern hints — see why it’s hard to explain?
We heard you just got back from a tour. Got any “on the road” horror stories? Amazingly enough, the road is a very kind and gentle place. We travel with our two kids and this year alone we’ve spent almost four months traveling across the country. I think 99 percent the people on this planet are truly kind and caring people. I DO have an Italian tour horror story from last year. Buck and I were touring over there without the kids and my greatest fear was that we would somehow get separated. We traveled by train, and anyone who’s experienced the Italian train system can attested to how incredibly messed up the schedules, signs and stations are. Well, I got off the train and the door closed and locked before Buck could get off. I stood there on the platform watching him struggle with the door as the train pulled away. I had no money, no cellphone and didn’t speak Italian. I just stood there in shock. Luckily a very nice couple got off with him at the next stop and drove him back to where I was, and then they even gave us a ride to the station where our train transferred so we could catch the next train. See what I mean about people? They wouldn’t even let us pay them for petrol!
Do you guys trash hotel rooms? We are duty bound as musicians to completely annihilate every hotel room we stay in! Just kidding. We actually go out of our way to make as little extra work as possible. A bit of caring goes a long way and I like to think of us as ambassadors for musicians as well as for Maine — people always want to know where we are from and all about our town. We always try to leave a good impression and be on our best behavior. I’ll leave the destruction and bad attitudes for the rock stars.
You also take a lot of photographs too, am I right? Ah, yes I do. When I first relocated back to Maine and discovered the town of my birth I was in a creative frenzy. I have a series of photos of Lewiston and Auburn that really tend to match the mood of the music we create. Most of the images are surreal and mysterious, and suggest a story to them, but never explain a thing. I may be wrong, but I think I am the only known person to have in-depth photos of the Cowan Mill that burned down a few years ago. I was commissioned to photograph the mill, so I spent many hours taking photos; some of them are just stunning. I was shocked and heartbroken when it was destroyed. I was packing up the van to go play a show in Portland when I saw the smoke. We lived not too far from it, but it took us a full hour to get across the bridge and to the highway and we almost missed the show. I’ll never forget the feeling of loss watching all of the history and the architectural secrets of the mill going up in oil-soaked flames.
What’s coming up next for Arborea? Yard work, spring cleaning. But first another tour. Also, we are hoping to raise funds to record a studio album. Our last four records have all been made by us at home, and though we got the best possible sound (our last record made Rolling Stone’s Best Under The Radar Record of 2011), we want to work in a professional environment so that we can fully realize our creative dreams. I also want a few months of downtime so that we can reconnect with our friends in the community, rekindle the campfire and host more backyard jams — that would be really wonderful.
P.S. We have a Facebook page and a blogspot where you can check out some videos that we’ve made, some of them featuring Lewiston, and also hear the music and see some photographs. Here are the links: www.arboreamusic.com and www.facebook.com/arborea
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