People on the Verge

Finding Fantasy
In the Loop With Owen Pallett
Text by Mario Aguilar—Photograph by Ryan Pfluger

I’m crowded with half a dozen people in the control room When he returns, the air in the studio is pierced by a dis-
of Different Fur Studios in San Francisco’s Mission District. quieting anticipation. The fans are uncomfortable. The studio
We’re looking through two panes of glass at Toronto-based engineer is clamoring that he’s picking up interference from
musician and composer Owen Pallett, better known as Final someone’s iPhone. But as soon as Pallett launches into the
Fantasy. It’s like looking through the glass of an oven door. first single off Heartland, everyone relaxes, forgets their role,
The magenta glow from an overhead light bounces off the and lets the sounds paint on their minds.
studio’s wooden floors and illuminates
Pallett’s face as he plays violin and sings
into a microphone. A camera crew will
tape an in-studio performance in about
an hour, and he’s warming up with songs
from the latest Final Fantasy record
Heartland. Pallett has patient eyes,
and his focused expression perfectly
matches the ethereal flow of his music.
Though structurally and melodically
complex, Pallett’s music sounds effort-
less. He’s a classically trained composer
and a skilled musician. He makes it look
easy. But talking to Pallett about Final
Fantasy, I start to feel bogged down on
his behalf. The music relies on a loop-
ing system consisting of a large panel
of MIDI footswitches that run into a
computer where he uses open source
software, much of which he completely
reprogrammed, to stack layer upon
layer of violin and keyboard in real
time. “I’m always working, but it’s not
necessarily work anybody’s going to
ever hear,” he says. “I spent about six
months learning the software and put-
ting the system together.” The resulting
record, Heartland is the lush payoff for
this effort. Pallett’s subtle, soulful vocals
meander over arrangements that sound
like sorrowful folk played by severe
string quartets.
Somebody in the control room asks
me, “Are you one of the people from
the Twitter contest?” I’m not sure what
this means. The sound check ends
and Pallett rushes off to take a shower
before a small audience of fans is shuf-
fled into the studio and carefully seated
on the floor in front of Pallett’s gear.

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