Shannon Hemmett of LEATHERS Discusses Art, Influence, and Evolution
Photo credit: Shannon Johnston (@me_onlylouder) - LEATHERS @ Dickens.
Shannon Hemmett is in her element. Whether she’s behind a keyboard with Vancouver’s post-punk outfit ACTORS or commanding the spotlight as the vocalist for LEATHERS, Hemmett balances her two musical identities with effortless precision. A multidisciplinary artist with a background in photography and a deep love for literature, she approaches her work with a cinematic eye and a literary ear.
We caught up with Hemmett after her headlining Thursday night set at Calgary’s Terminus Festival to discuss her creative evolution, the aesthetic of LEATHERS, and what she’s reading on tour.
REVERIE: You balance roles in both ACTORS and LEATHERS — keyboardist in former, front woman of the latter. What is it like balancing those two roles?
Shannon: I joined [ACTORS] later in my life, so it was great to have that on-stage experience with the band before fully launching LEATHERS. With ACTORS, we've had the good fortune of traveling all over the world and performing in lots of different places. It was really my crash course in being on stage and learning to perform. I used to be quite shy and I had a lot of trouble projecting my voice. I’ve always really loved to sing, but I was quite scared of hearing my own voice. So, it helped me come into my own.
REVERIE: I love the aesthetic of LEATHERS. Could you talk more about the visual influence for the band?
Shannon: My background is in photography, so I was really inspired by bands like Depeche Mode, who had Anton Corbijn with them on tour and who did a lot of their music videos as well. I was inspired by having that full package. One of my favourite photographers is Helmut Newton who photographed a lot of women in powerful kinds of environments, wearing latex and in the ’70s and ’80s when it wasn't so common to see women wearing things like that. He mixed fetish and fashion in a cool way that was really inspiring to me, and which I kind of borrow from for some of my work as well.
REVERIE: You’ve mentioned being influenced by the works of authors like J.G. Ballard and Bret Easton Ellis, I’d love to know more about how literature influences your songwriting.
Shannon: I love to read. I try to read as much as possible. In a world where our attention spans can be so weak, I still really like to sit down with a book. On the road it's nice too, I usually take a Kindle with me because we always end up packing books with the intention to read them, but then they just end up being carried around from place to place.
REVERIE: What are you reading right now?
Shannon: I'm reading the short stories of Vladimir Nabokov, which is very cool. It's been something I've been meaning to read for a really long time, so finally I'm diving into that.
REVERIE: How has your sound developed with LEATHERS from the early EPs to touring your latest album, Ultraviolet?
Shannon: The first single we put out was “Missing Scene,” which is actually more of a shoegaze track. Then, we began exploring the more darkwave side of things with the Depeche Mode influence. Melodies have always been really important to me, so I always wanted to have a strong melody in the song even if it had a darker aesthetic. ACTORS has been touring a bunch so we haven’t really had a chance to work on new music for LEATHERS until now. But with the newer songs, I'm going to be going back to guitar more. I'm going to be incorporating more shoegaze and alternative ’90s vibes in the newer material so I'm excited about that. My background is with bands like Hole, so I think some of that inspiration will be part of the new record for sure.
REVERIE: You’ve played Terminus before with ACTORS. I'd love to hear about some of your favourite Terminus memories.
Shannon: It's so cool. We see lots of people from Vancouver, but a lot of people come to Terminus from all over the world. We were in the elevator today and someone was speaking Dutch, and then we just saw our friend from Germany who's playing tomorrow. It's such a world-wide community that brings everyone together. It really does feel like family. Being on stage tonight and looking out in the crowd and seeing all the familiar faces and people dancing, it warms my heart. The world is a really dark place right now, so for people to come together and to celebrate, that means a lot to me.
Terminus continues at Dickens in Calgary, AB until Sunday, July 27. Limited day passes are available at the door.
*This interview has been edited for length and clarity.