Winter Is Coming

The name Vancouver Sleep Clinic evokes images of a warm, toasty cabin set amidst a cold, winter chill, and with the recent release of the band's EP, Winter, also bringing chilly thoughts to mind, it's time we found out just what's so fascinating about the cooler climates for frontman Tim Bettinson.

“I was writing all the material for the EP in winter,” Bettinson explains, “but I mostly just like the metaphor. I kind of used winter as a metaphor for a cold and dark period in my life, and that was kind of the space I was writing in. It was freezing and I was alone in my bedroom, it felt cold and dark a lot of the time, so yeah, I thought that would be a cool metaphor that would translate well in the EP.

“All the songs I've written so far, I always make sure they're personal – I think it's important to make a connection with the music in that way. So a lot of it is about a darker time that I went through, and each song expresses a different mentality or thought process that I went through. Tracks like Collapse and Flaws, towards the start of the EP, are pretty hopeless, almost desperate lyrically, which I think we can all kind of relate to in some way or another, but then it's all resolved towards the end with Vapour and Rebirth – there's more of an understanding and a hope towards the future.”

Having just wowed audiences across the US, particularly at their SXSW show, Bettinson says he and his band are really looking forward to their first headlining tour back home. “I think it's been about nine months since we started planning for this tour, and for about seven of them I've been really looking forward to these shows. It's been a long time coming, but I think the time is right, and I think we're finally ready to play. We're all super excited and I think the venues are small and intimate; they should be a couple of really special nights.”

Vancouver Sleep Clinic are set to play the European festival Electric Picnic later in the year, about which Bettinson is understandably thrilled.

“I'm still trying to toss up which is the most exciting thing happening for us – I think I'm just excited about everything! Electric Picnic will be our first festival so it's kind of ridiculous that we'll be playing with the likes of Outkast, but yeah, I can't wait to get over to Europe, I reckon it's going to be unreal. As for the artists at the festival, it's an incredible line-up this year. I'm a huge fan of Beck and Mogwai in particular, then there's FKA Twigs, I love her, and obviously Outkast and Lily Allen will be great to check out as well. The whole thing is just going to be amazing.”