“I felt it was time to represent my city”

Almost two decades of musical career between his career as a soloist, rising to the top of The War on Drugs and his parallel journey with The Violators, the American Kurt Vile come back with “Philadelphia’s been good to me” (Verve/Universal, 26), an ode not only to the city of a lifetime, but also to the stories lived there and the friends who are like brothers.

Recorded in the studio that Vile has built at home and produced almost entirely by himself, “Philadelphia’s been good to me” shows us a musician who inhabits nostalgia through frayed guitars, introspection and a very particular style based on indie folk and rock that he has been forging for years. His new album, the tenth of his career, leads directly on a musical highway on which time has stopped. We spoke with him about the passage of time, his musical creation and the relationship with William Eggleston’s photos for the album cover.

This album focuses on Philadelphia, wanting to return home, and connects directly with the previous album. What was the creative process like?
While making the previous album, something inside me was very connected to my rhythms, to the people I worked with and to everything I put into my music and the album. I felt like it was the right time to represent my city, even though there are really only three songs that speak directly to Philly. I had been living outside of Philadelphia and coming home made me feel that connection to the city again, as if I had always been there before returning. I lived in Philly most of my life. Then I lived in Boston for two years, when I was in my twenties. But, beyond that, I think it is a feeling of belonging, of returning to my roots. I have traveled the world, but I remain connected with them.

“I think I’ve always been looking to get back to my roots in DIY home recording”

Plus, you recorded your album in your home studio, so talking about Philadelphia also means talking about the studio. Did the location influence the way you wrote the album?
Yes of course. I believe that the environment constantly influences me, my way of creating and what I transmit.

As this is your last album after many years in the music scene, are you also returning to the beginnings of your music, to a more underground sound for this project?
I think I’ve always been looking to get back to my roots in DIY home recording, so I would say that since the pandemic, when I set up my studio with my friend and current bandmate, this album is the high point of my career. It captures a mix of what I started with and where I’m headed on all levels. Making this album has been almost like working in your own city. Everyone involved in this album is like my brothers and sisters. And I wanted everyone who participated to know for sure that this is how I consider them.

Do you miss not only the way records were produced before, but also the way people listened to music back then?
I remember many different stages. In the nineties I bought a CD player and, you know, at some point I was always listening to my parents’ records. Then came indie rock and punk. I don’t know, the world goes very fast. I don’t even know what it means sometimes. It’s confusing.

The album cover is also very special, with a photograph of William Eggleston that his own son sent you. Why did you decide to use this photo in the album?
One reason is because part of this album was recorded in Memphis, Tennessee. That’s where Winston, William’s son, comes from, and just seeing Winston, knowing that he has been to many of my concerts and that we were friends, I liked the idea. Then I found out that photo is really weird and no one had ever seen it, so it seemed like the right thing to do. You know, when I set up my home studio, we talked to my band a lot during the pandemic and he sent it to me. So it just made complete sense.

With all this years of work in music, what are the lessons you have learned from music?
I know I love playing live. I love living in the moment. Now I feel a connection with my fans and my audience, but before I was more shy. Knowing how to control my instruments on the live stage is what I feel like I’ve learned over the last two years. The ideal is to connect with the public, and I hope to continue doing so. Plus, I’m always planning for the future. You book a tour and then you deliver an album, the tour is booked before you deliver the album and you’re always hoping for the best, so I learned that you’re actually thinking about the future, even if you don’t mean to. We have to remember that we live in the present and enjoy the process of making music.

Lastly, how do you plan to bring this album to life now that you’ve been talking about touring? Do you have anything prepared especially in Philadelphia?
Yeah, in Philly we’re going to play at the Dell Music Center, which is a really cool outdoor venue, and it’s going to be with a really good Philly band called They Are Gutting a Body of Water, and there’s also an amazing band called Twisted Teens playing, so it’s really exciting, a homecoming to Philly. That’s the last show of the first tour, so it can be really special.