The Wesleys hail from Canada, known as a Garage Pop band, or more specifically, Basement Pop. This distinction becomes evident as Pablo Garcia-Rejon Gaubeca elaborates on the creation process of their debut album, featuring nine remarkable DIY Power Pop tracks.

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You can find ‘A Lot to Lose’ showcased on the Best Power Pop of 2024 Spotify Playlist.

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Reflecting on the journey of creating this album, what were the pivotal moments where inspiration struck or obstacles were overcome?

I think the main pivotal moment was when we decided to record the album ourselves. At first, we were going to do it in a studio, which was quite exciting because I’ve personally never recorded in a “real” studio. But because we felt we might need more time for the songs to gestate or to redo things if they could be better, we decided my basement would be the best place to make it. Then I mixed it, and finally, it was mastered by a professional (Harris Newman at Grey Market in Montreal). I guess the main obstacle to overcome was in believing that people would love the record even if it wasn’t done “professionally” or if the sound quality wasn’t super good. It still ended up being quite good, but the things we used to make the album were very much not the top line of equipment by any stretch of the imagination. We are all quite proud it did end up sounding so good for a DIY album.

If you could collaborate with any three artists, living or deceased, on a future project, who would they be and why?

I’m not sure what the others would answer, but my top 3 would be:

1) Duke Ellington. Because of his obvious genius and also the groove. I very much love music you can groove and dance to. He was so far ahead of his time.

2) The Beatles. Because they are the reason I started playing music, and I think we would get along quite well with them because our band is quite similar in ethos and humor.

3) Daft Punk. Because they are just plain wonderful and awesome. Just to even see the process by which they create would be amazing.

Think back to a live performance that left a lasting impression on you. What made that particular gig memorable, and how did it influence your approach to live music?

I’ve seen a lot of great shows in my life, but the one that marked me most in recent times was seeing PJ Harvey play at Metropolis in Montreal. She had a rather large band and the drums were deconstructed into two parts with one person on each end of the stage. Then at some point in the show, she was singing acapella and I swear she hit a note that made the whole building vibrate. Like a resonant frequency or something. It was magical. As an influence to our own approach, perhaps what we could glean is that a live performance is a bit of theatre as well, and to maybe give people a little vacation from reality, so there would have to be some element of spontaneity or danger. I personally approach a show like an F1 race. I don’t know why. Just a feeling.

Balancing artistic experimentation with commercial appeal can be challenging. How do you stay true to your creative vision while also considering the preferences of your audience?

We feel that if you’re not making music you want to hear, then it’s a waste of everyone’s time. It is much more likely someone will like what you’ve made when you like what you have made. So there is no choice but to stick to your creative vision because the goal is not to please some phantom audience, but to create something you would like to hear that isn’t in the world already.

What aspects of performing live do you find most exhilarating, and how do they inform your approach to crafting your live shows?

The aspect of playing live I find most exhilarating is looking out at the crowd from the drums and seeing people dancing to the music. My drumming style is very groove-oriented and steady, and the music really makes people wanna move, so that is the biggest compliment a drummer could ever get is to see people shakin’ ass. Therefore our live shows are generally quite upbeat and high energy. I’m sure we’ll eventually write some classic 80’s power ballads, but for now it’s dancin’ time.