The Most Serene Republic

Interviewed By: Chris DePaul

Date: 2008-04-03

The Most Serene Republic is a band that has no issues fusing together complex and layered instrumental tracks with thoughtful and passionate lyrics. The band was formed in the suburbs of Toronto while the original members, Ryan Lenssen and vocalist Adrian Jewett, were pursuing their arts degrees in university. The band acted as a distraction from their regular schooling, but became much more than that when the septet was signed to the Canadian label, Arts & Crafts [home to Feist and Broken Social Scene].

The Most Serene Republic put out their debut album, Underwater Cinematographer, in 2005 and followed that up with an exclusive touring EP entitled Phages in 2006.

In October 2007 they released their second album with Arts & Crafts entitled Population. Ryan Lenssen, The Most Serene Republic’s producer and keyboard player, describes Population as the band’s “dystopian novel record.”

“It is The Empire Strikes Back; it’s the one that starts out with all the action and then leaves you hanging, makes you wait for The Return of the Jedi. It really is the anti-record, the one in between that celebrates the negatives of everything,” Ryan explains.

I guess it isn’t too much of a surprise when Ryan says that his favourite reading material involves “dystopia and anything dealing with a restart of the human race.”

Ryan identifies a few of his dystopian favourites as Atlas Shrugged, The Fountainhead, Not Wanted on the Voyage, Brave New World, Watchmen, 1984, Cloud Atlas, and The Outsider.

There is little doubt in Ryan’s mind that reading plays a part in his story telling techniques, further stating that “all of my being is altered by the books I've read and will read.”

Don’t let their fun and danceable music mislead you – the stories the republic write are dark and twisted, only wrapped in a package that would imply happiness.

Ryan comments: “If people were to truly understand what we were really saying and all of the musical choices and why they were there…this is way more calculated. This is murder in the first degree. This is malicious, unbridled anger and I think we’re sort of a little insane because of the way we present it. We are that scary clown. We are stabbing you in the front and smiling, brushing your cheek, saying ‘Isn’t it lovely? Isn’t it lovely?’”

The Most Serene Republic are in the midst of a Canadian/European tour to support the latest album. Armed with a paperback copy of James Joyce’s Ulysses, you just might see Ryan in his van before a show, with his nose deep inside his book, watching Joyce’s characters explore various elements of Dublin.

Population is available for preview on the band’s website.

These Artists Liked the Same Books As The Most Serene Republic:

Reverend and The Makers
Shearwater

Purchase Books
You can purchase the books recommended by The Most Serene Republic here.

Links:
http://www.arts-crafts.ca/themostserenerepublic/index2.php