Ramen Fog talks Vancouver music scene

You can call them a newish indie pop-soul group in Vancouver embracing elements of jazz. Perhaps a mix of Hiatus Koyote, Corinne Bailey Rae, Daniel Caesar, BADBADNOTGOOD, and Kamasi Washington.

Ramen Fog is a band with undeniable musical chops: Amy Tan with incredible utility and timbre in her voice; Rowan McDonald with meaningful direction in guitar chording and riffs; and Adam Gold with thoughtful, supportive drum patterns, pulling rhythms from different genres depending on the song. When you see them play live, there’s an excellent balance, which perhaps could be expected from a band with connections to UBC’s Jazz Club. They’ve got a satisfying and expert grip on harmony and composition.

Sitting down with Amy Tan and Rowan McDonald

Q: What’s captivating the band, sonically right now, as a group that pulls from so many genres?
Amy Tan, vocals: I think if you listen to a lot more of our recent things and the things we’ve been writing that haven’t really hit people’s ears yet, it’s a lot more jazz focused, I want to say, because we have two new members, Josh and Ben, and they both have very deep roots in the Jazz scene. And Josh himself is a big music nerd, so a lot of music theory, so he really likes to play with complicated harmonies as well as offering different time signatures, as well as Adam. That’s what he really does in the band. I think right now, a lot of our music is becoming a bit more experimental in that way – it’s not necessarily just palatable pop anymore, but there’s different time signatures, different harmonies you wouldn’t expect in a usual pop song.

Q: Can you comment on some of the most difficult parts of working in music in Vancouver? Maybe you can compare it to other locales, maybe you have other friends in other cities that work as musicians. What is it about Vancouver that might make it challenging?
Rowan McDonald, guitar: Vancouver, obviously, the biggest most glaring problem is expense. And people talk about housing all the time, but one thing that’s huge for bands is practice space. We’ve been really lucky for most of our lifetime as a band, because our drummer happened to live with other musicians, happened to have roommates that enjoyed having people play music in their house. So, we were fortunate that way, but now, housing falls through, and they’ve had to move, so now we’re kind of grasping for places that are reasonable to practice at.

Tan: It’s definitely been a struggle to feel like what works for everybody in the band, and what’s something that everyone wants out of the band, right? It’s not just me and Rowan; it’s also the other three people that are in the band. What we all agree on is writing music, and creating music we are proud of personally, and being able to create something that we love, rather than worrying about what other people will think.”

Ramen Fog will be live at the Fox Cabaret on Main Street for the Fox’s 4-by-4 night on Jan. 23. That’s four bands for $4. The Leader Spirit will be there too covering the show as part of a new special on The Leader Spirit Connect, with a look at the venue’s popular and affordable local band night, and more on what it’s like to be in the Vancouver music scene.