ifitbeyourwill Podcast
“ifitbeyourwill" Podcasts is on a mission to talk to amazing indie artists from around the world! Join us for cozy, conversational episodes where you'll hear from talented and charismatic singer-songwriters, bands from all walks of life talk about their musical process & journey. Let's celebrate being music lovers!
Season 6 starts Fall 2025… Looking for indie musicians
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ifitbeyourwill Podcast
ifitbeyourwill S06E09 • Living Hour
The first spark was private: long walks, headphones on, and albums that asked for total attention. From there, Living Hour grew into a band that treats dynamics like storytelling—opening with noise that dissolves into hush, letting melodies carry both weight and warmth, and trusting listeners to lean in. We sit down with Sam and Gil to trace the arc from university jams in Winnipeg’s DIY rooms to a studio session that captured the bold confidence of Internal Drone Infinity, their new record dropping October 17.
We unpack how ambient influences—Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Explosions in the Sky, and the Social Network score—shaped a patient, spacious approach to songwriting. Sam explains how ideas begin as fragments and vowel sounds, how a riff earns its place by refusing to fade, and how lyrics stepped forward across albums until the new songs felt fully owned. Gil maps the shift from guitar‑forward interplay to arrangements built around Sam’s melodies, and what happens when a new drummer changes the band’s gait in the best way. Touring comes to life here too: the van routines, modular setlists that fit quiet rooms and rock clubs, and the small onstage transitions that make the show breathe.
You’ll hear why release season feels like nesting and training, how social media becomes part amplifier, part chore, and why November’s run is designed like a marathon. We also look ahead: February dates on the West Coast, hopes for Europe and Australia, and a folder of demos that might become an EP. Sam’s ambient side project, Pure Pulp, threads back to the beginning—proof that the private room where songs start remains the core of the band’s voice. If you love indie rock steeped in ambient textures, slow‑core dynamics, and heartfelt vocals, this conversation will lock you in. Subscribe, share with a friend who needs new music, and leave a review to help more listeners find the show.
Here we are, people. Season six ifitbeyourwill podcast coming at ya. Today I I I love reaching out across our country. We we're all Canadians and I have Living Hour here with me today from Winnipeg. So we're doing a a cross country check-in. They're actually uh an hour behind me. So I'm seeing their future. It looks good, guys. Don't worry. So I have Living Color coming in from uh Winnipeg. And uh I have two of the members here with me. I have Gil and I have Sam. Sam uh uh takes on a lot of the uh fronting of singing and playing, and Gil is very into his uh guitars, some electrics and sometimes vocal. We have 25 minutes to learn all about Living Hour and also this great new record called Internal Drone Infinity coming out in October, and then they'll be hitting the road in November. So we'll remind you all before we check out. And when you read my post on the podcast, you'll see all of this information so you can go check a show out. Sammy Gill, thanks so much for joining me today. It's a real pleasure having you guys. Uh longtime follower, longtime lover of what you guys do. Uh so I was really excited to uh not only talk to fellow Canadians, but also talk to a band that I've just uh loved for many years.
Sam:Yeah, we're happy to talk with you today.
colleyc:Thank you. So, Sam, I'm gonna start on your end. And uh I'm gonna ask you both the same question because uh and then we'll see how it merges together. But uh what were some of your beginning explorations into music as something as uh that could evolve into uh a career or something that you would just always be doing?
Sam:Yeah, I mean, I guess I grew up making music and learning music when I was a kid, and I did like the piano lesson route and then a lot of like band and in high school played the trombone and uh I did some choir too. And yeah, so I was always kind of in that world, but then also, you know, loved downloading music and like discovering music with you know CDs and going to record stores and stuff, and also through movie soundtracks I would find a lot of music that I liked, but it was very like private for me, and I would just like really, really listen to music alone all the time walking around, so that was like also helped me develop a love for the thing. And then uh I met Gil in university and I was determined to be a scientist or something, and and I stopped playing music for a year and I felt really sad and unmoored. And then Gil was like, Well, why don't you just be in a band? And I was like, that sounds so silly. We just kept you just kept telling me to be in a band, and then we just slowly started the hours, which then turned into living hour, and then I was convinced and I was very happy, and then I just kept doing it, and now we're here.
colleyc:Nice, nice. And when you were kind of you were mentioning kind of uh the the privacy you like having with the music that you're exploring and giving it a good listen and stuff. What were some of those records way back that uh still stick with you today? I mean, pitchfork calls them a no-skip records, like were there some of those records that you uh like were fundamental in in pushing you to uh say, okay, uh screw science, I wanna rock it.
Sam:Yeah, I mean, a lot of it was like ambient music. So I loved Godspeed, you black emperor, and listened to a lot of explosions in the sky. And then also like something that I've revisited recently on a road trip was this one the record the soundtrack to the social network by Tarant Reznor and Atticus Ross. Like I love that soundtrack, and there's this one piano line that just like changed my life, it feels like. But yeah, they have the Neutron soundtrack coming up. That's true. But yeah, that that record definitely listened to a lot. And then when I got older, I would listen to Florist outside of Bird Sang, like mate, like hundreds of times. Like that was a really good record for me. Um, but yeah, just lots of like ambient stuff.
colleyc:Yeah, yeah. Very reflective to uh music, you know, like it it demands your attention in a way to the focus that you need to kind of pick out the pieces and what is actually going on, how this is all built and constructed together. It's interesting that too, because I'm hearing that in your well, the latest record, I'm hearing that in and uh your past records as well. Like it's a speckled throughout, which is uh yeah, very cool. Very cool. Yeah, uh Gil, you you met in university. What was it that you saw in Sam that had that had you saying you gotta start a band? Start a band. Like what what what was that events or circumstances that took place that led you guys to that?
Gil:Well, I I mostly just thought Sam was cool. And we I mean Adam from Living Hour at that point had just started putting on concerts locally, and we still do that today. We still put on a lot of shows in the local scene here in Winnipeg. And Sam came to one of the shows that I was playing with an older band at this place called VP Nights, which was like the upstairs of this restaurant called Vietnamese Paradise, that they let us put on shows there. And the guy was super happy to have all these sort of new young people at his at his spot. So Sam came to a show, and I knew so I kind of knew she was interested in the scene a bit. And one of her friends, who's a who's a close collaborator of ours, Tulula, sang a couple songs with our other friend, Adam, who at one of our shows. And so she was Sam was sort of adjacent to the to the scene that we were sort of building already, and we sort of just got to talking, and she told me that she listened to some jazz music with her dad. And I just I remember that. So yeah, but and then she told me that she played piano and sang and played guitar, and I was like, Oh, well, we should jam sometime. And eventually we we did at our my friend Zach's old apartment, and I showed her a couple songs that I had written, and I was like, Oh, yeah, and maybe there could be like a keyboard part, and she's like, Oh, well, I could play that, and then she played it like way better than me. So that was sort of like a quick and the same thing happened with like singing the songs. I would like sing a song that I had written, and then I would get Sam to do like some backups or doubling or whatever, and then very quickly I was like, What if you just sing? And that was sort of how it started.
colleyc:So I'm kidding why you said at the start of this that yeah, I don't really do a lot of vocals, like yeah, like Sam that takes care of that.
Gil:Sam does a lot, and then Adam Adam sings a lot of harmonies now, and he sings lead vocals on one of the sides. He's got a like a real voice of an angel as well, right? Amazing.
colleyc:And Sam, what were like when you first started jamming with Sam? Like, what potential did you start to see with a potential collaboration or a potential, hey, let's see if we could put a few songs together, or you know, an EP, or hey, why don't we go play at a open mic or whatever it might have been? What what what did you see in the potential of Sam at that time?
Gil:I was just excited. So, because I had never had a band with a really good singer before. And so I think I just invited Sam and Tulula to sort of jam at my parents' house a couple times, and then it just happened very sort of organically. And I think it took maybe a little convincing, but I was like, we should play a show, and this was right around the time we got Adam to join the band as well. And his first show with us was like a Valentine's Day thing at this place called 555 Osborne, which was like a basement venue in Winnipeg. And yeah, it just sort of it was just very organic. I don't know, it was exciting, and we never really looked back, honestly. Right, right.
colleyc:What do you where what do you recall from those early coming togethers of jamming together?
Sam:And yeah, it was a lot of it was like a slow burn for me because I was I had never expected to be in a band, and and then it was like suddenly we're playing shows and writing songs, and it's all kind of happening, which was like because I feel like you were very determined, and then like Solly or Adam too, and you just kind of had this like vision and understanding of what a scene is and how to like do it, and then I I only went to like yeah, had my ambient music going on, and then I would go to some hardcore shows, and like I was going to shows and going and was in the scene, but I just never really realized like, oh, I can do this too and be a part of it in a band. And so it just kind of took a while for all those pieces to click for me, and then like a long time, and then I feel like eventually I was like, Oh, like I'm just in a band now, and like we're touring, and it's all it's like happening. I think like around like our like second record at the end of our second record coming out, I was like, I'm in a band.
colleyc:It took two releases to kind of get to a point where yeah, yeah. And so I I'm interested in this too. That so you say a slow burn to kind of get to like what were the moments along that journey that really started to to spark saying that this is something I'm really enjoying. I want to continue this. Like when did it start to lock in that you're in a band?
Sam:I think when we went on tour, that helped it feel more like a real thing when we were on tour, and then getting feedback from people who didn't live here who were like, Oh yeah, this is like we like your music. And I was like, Okay. So that for sure was a a marker of convincing. And then I don't know, and then yeah, like just kind of like spending more time in the studio and recording helped a lot too. But yeah, after the second record, it was kind of like when we wrote some days today, which is like our third record. I was like, okay, I might start like cracking open my journals and like like writing my own lyrics and like really putting more of like a piece of myself at the front of the band. And that was like really vulnerable and kind of scary. But then it felt really good when you're performing those later, like on tour, and then getting the feedback again, and then they're like, Oh yeah, okay, so it is clicking, it is resonating. Like yeah, and then this, and then like our our latest record is like I feel like the most like I'm letting you have it. Um you know, like I'm I am here as a musician, like yeah, so that's just it's just been really like fun to watch.
colleyc:Cool. Yeah, like the start of the record too, it's like noise in your face and then just drops out to this beautiful, like slow corey, dreamy, you know, song. Like, I love how that that you you're grabbing people's attention and saying, listen.
Sam:Yeah, good.
colleyc:It's uh cool with that. Yeah, right, right. And how was it that the band came to understanding uh what sound they wanted to do? Like was that the two records prior that kind of were the the the sculpting ground for as to where you guys wanted to go as a direction girl? I'll throw that over at you. Like, what how did you guys start to decide or come to the sound that you now have and that you know this new record is based upon?
Gil:I think it's it's really related to what Sam was talking about with like her development as a songwriter, and also like you know, a lot of our earlier stuff, like Adam and I are doing a lot of like guitar interplay and like guitar monizing and things like that. And Sam was more so playing keyboards at that point, and then Sam she always played guitar, like, but not so much in the band. But then you Sam just wrote a bunch of songs on guitar and baritone guitar and bass, actually. And that sort of was the start of sort of like a new era of our sound, I would say, because it forced in a good way Adam and I to sort of reevaluate the kind of guitar stuff we were writing, and instead of and then Sam was also coming in with all these vocal melodies, so her melodies informed what we were playing and writing. So that's a definitely a part of it. And then I think also just being on tour so much, because we've toured a lot as a band over the last several years, and I think we all kind of have been influenced by other artists along the way, whether that be listening to artists just in the van, like on the radio or CDs or whatever, or also seeing bands live and being and then talking about it after, being like, oh, that part was really cool, like we could do something like that, or just you know, maybe it's more subtle than that. But we've all been kind of inspired by you know, being on tour and seeing tons of live music, and so that's part of it.
colleyc:And Sam, your process for starting to rate the songs, I mean, do you rate most of the did you write most of the songs that are on the new record for yeah, the new record?
Sam:I think yeah, like yeah, because I yeah, moved into the space you see behind me. It's like our gram space, but also my living room, and then I like you know, like all the guitars and drums are here, so then I wake up every day and they're just there. So then I would just start writing, and then Gil would come downstairs and play drums because he'd hear me like play guitar. So that's a lot a lot of how the song started, but then everyone like added a lot, and like we would like discuss form and different things, and like yeah, but definitely like I think with like the words and stuff for sure. I was I was kind of starting it off.
colleyc:How does that seed become a song that you want to bring to the band? Like when do you know when when a song has legs to it and when it's just maybe an idea that is not flight? Like and know when it's time to bring something.
Sam:Yeah, like that's a great question. Cause I sometimes I have like too many ideas and then they're all kind of scattered into little fragments. But if I keep coming back to one, then I think okay, maybe I like this one because I keep coming back to it. And then sometimes we'll go to the scattered fragments and try and like bring in other parts to like make it more of a song song. Um but sometimes I'll come and I'll be like, hey, this is like this is something, this is a chunk. And then you guys will be like, well, what about this? If we add this thing, and then and then it kind of like develops more. But yeah, I usually bring it when we've played it a bunch of times practicing, and then I'm like, Yeah, I want to hear what this sounds like with bass now and drums, and then we're like, bring it to the band, and they're usually like pretty excited.
colleyc:And but yeah, is it like just lyrics with melody, or do you have a line, like a guitar line that you might be like, okay, this connects so well to it, but we could add that to the intro, or are you pretty much here's what I have, help me, or is it kind of like no, here's here's the line I I want? You know, I I was talking that this is where this comes from. Like we were talking, I was talking to an artist about sometimes the guitar lines are actual vocal lines, right? They're necessary a part of the song. You're not gonna take, you know, like sweet child of mind line out, you know. Yeah, that's that's a part of the song. Right. How much liberty and freedom do you give your members to interpreting what you're bringing in?
Sam:Yeah, I mean, usually I'll present the song with um like no lyrics, and it's just sounds that or like one thing that I'll repeat over and over again, or just vowel sounds that I'm like, oh, maybe I'll find a word that'll fit that later. But usually it's like that with a lot of just guitar chords and strumming the chords and kind of giving form to the song that way. And then yeah, like the and then we're really good about just kind of being like, okay, how can we form this where we can use everyone's skills? Because like you and Solly are are definitely way better like like riffing guitar players than I am, and you have like really creative minds with like coming up with guitar parts, whereas like I'm ultimately a bass player, but when I do play guitar, it's like very straight, or I'm like on the acoustic, kind of doing some like like ambient like Americana stuff, so it's like I live in that world, but then you guys are like, what about this riff or like effects or there's like a lot of beefing it up just like well I I'm definitely like Sam's biggest hype person when she's got a a song idea.
Gil:Like I I'm usually quick to tell her that I think it's good and and that I want to work on it. And so I think we just knew that we had a lot, a lot of new ideas that we were excited about. And sort of going off what Sam was saying, like when she brings an idea to the band, it's sort of a bit of like a balancing act of like everyone sort of wants to contribute their own creative ideas, but you also want to like give space and respect to like her initial idea without changing it too much. And so like getting to the point where everyone is like excited about it as a whole piece is like always an interesting part of it. And yeah, I mean, with this new album, it was kind of just like we have all these songs that we're excited about. We added like a new member, Isaac, who plays drums, and we had never recorded with him, so but we really love love playing with him, so we were keen to record with him. And we had done some demoing of earlier ideas and a couple collaborations and things like that. So we were sort of in the we were in the recording kind of head space already, and we knew we didn't want to do any big tours until we had a new album, because sometimes you can tour too much, and so we wanted to be more kind of on the ball and strategic with planning out our tours and stuff. So yeah, it was kind of just it, it was time, and we were able to bring in our friend Melina to produce the album. She came in from LA to Winnipeg, and that was a really good experience.
colleyc:Yeah, that sounded like she was able to flush out some of that spirit of you guys quite well, which is pretty cool. So the the cycle is upon you, right? You're two weeks, a little less than two weeks away from dropping the your latest internal drone infinity October 17th, is that correct, guys? Yeah, yeah, two weeks. Yeah, next time. What do you how do you like what's what's life like now pre-launch and then also prepping for hitting the road in November? What are you guys going through right now?
Sam:Um I'm feeling like I have to clean my whole house. Like we were saying before. Like I feel like I need to become healthy and prepared. A little nesting before Yeah, a little nesting, yeah. Yeah and then kind of like yeah, maybe starting some good habits this month that I have before tour month, and to kind of keep that going. Because we have our show like almost every night, and I just want to like make it what's that what's that cycle like?
colleyc:Like, Gil, can you like put some words like what is it like playing every night? Like you have no chance to recover, right?
Gil:So you're is your mindset looking at the month as a whole rather than yeah, it's it's I mean, we have a lot of experience doing it, but it is you know exhausting for sure. Luckily, all five of us can drive the van. And so if people need a little quiet time in the back to relax or put in headphones or read or nap or whatever, there's a bit of an opportunity to do that every couple days at least. But typically, like on tour, like if the shows are good, it gives you that momentum to get to the next one. And you know, I think we're playing with a lot of great local bands in each city, and we have some, you know, friends and fans in most of the cities we're playing. So I think it's just, you know, it you have to pace yourself, you know. We don't want to do any huge party nights or anything like that because there's really no time to sleep in. So we kind of just need to be on it and treat it more like a job kind of. It's still really fun, obviously. It's like a marathon. It's a marathon.
Sam:Yeah.
Gil:Yeah. And there's also a lot of yeah, the the driving and the logistics, and there's also like social media, which is something that we're sort of have to do as part of it, which can be fun, but also sometimes feels like a chore, you know. So yeah.
Sam:And just like the like emotional energy of like singing every night. But I'm really excited about these songs, and I think it like Gil was saying, like it'll like fuel us energetically to like have that exchange with the audience and just like hang out with the songs on stage and then be like, oh, we have them in physical form, like actually have the record. Because I'm a sort of used because I feel like this past year we would play a couple of the songs, and I'd be like, it's not out yet, but like soon. So I'm excited to have it like everyone. I think we like we like to have a set that we play with like optional like one or two songs that can move or come in and out, just so that we can because there's a lot of switching in our set, like instruments, like drums, guitar, like we're always like moving around. So we try to design it so that we are not switching as much or like less if possible. Yeah, and then I just I like when we get like tour tight and it's like really fun with the transitions because we'll like put in some transitions and stuff that like aren't on the record but are like adjacent to the sound, and yeah.
Gil:Yeah, and like because all of us are sort of busy with our own lives and that kind of thing leading up to the tours, like we actually don't have a ton of rehearsal time. So it's it's sort of wise for us to like get that set that we're all comfy with and feel good about, and then get that tight and then you know, adjust here and there, like Sam said, depending on the length of the set or the vibe of the show. Like sometimes we'll be playing like more of a quieter venue, more intimate, or we're playing more of like a rock show, and those are things we consider. Amazing, amazing.
colleyc:Well, I want to thank you guys for coming and sharing a bit of time, kind of exploring the new record, looking a little bit back in the past. I guess my my final question is where so you head out your your record comes out October, you head out on tour November. What would the rest of 2025 into 26 look like for Living Hours?
Gil:Um we're gonna be on the West Coast in February. We haven't announced that, but we have a another tour in February, and hopefully more touring after that.
Sam:I hope we go to uh Europe. That would be really fun. And one of our record labels is based in Australia, and and so I would love to go ahead down there if that's possible and just kind of like go around, I guess.
Gil:Yeah, load of touring on the on the yeah, lots of touring. Because that's like when we make the most fans, that's when we sell our merch, that's when we get better as a band. And you know, hopefully people like the new stuff and opportunities arise. But yeah, it's exciting.
colleyc:Yeah, it's kind of like the beginning. Once that record drops, the a new journey kind of begins, right? With this new artifact that you guys have created. And I imagine that the song is on songwriting is ongoing, Sam. Like that is something that do you do that on tour as well? Like you'll find some time to like sit around with a guitar or your bass and just uh usually it's just at home.
Sam:A lot of times it's like in the winter, like fall winter, like when it's kind of colder out that you have to stay inside. But we have like, I was looking through my computer and we have like so many ideas already that like I was even thinking we could start like an EP at least like for like next year, at you know. And then I also do like my solo project Pure Pulp, it's like ambient music, and I'm gonna try and release some stuff uh next year and all that.
colleyc:So well, I want you to come back and talk to me about your ambient stuff when it hits. I I have never talked to a musician about ambient music, and I've always wanted to. So please when it drops, I'll reach out to you.
Sam:Yeah, that's great.
colleyc:Yeah, amazing. Well, guys, this has been really fun. People go and check a show out, support this uh Canadian uh amazing band Living Hour. They got this new album coming out, Internal Drone Infinity. Pick it up.
Sam:Standing at the back of the board You see me, you see me at the silence wait to hunt you feels just like you see what you see. I'm probably in my two rooms day, half time spare Searching up your name Capital. Sitting back in the car, just like that.
