Photo by Anthon Smith
Trespassers William was originally formed in Orange County, California in 1997. Centered around the creative partnership of vocalist Anna-Lynne Williams and guitarist/songwriter Matt Brown, the band developed a distinctive sound that blended dream-pop, slowcore, shoegaze, and atmospheric indie rock. Their music gained a devoted following through releases such as the acclaimed album Different Stars, whose songs helped establish the group’s reputation for haunting, emotionally resonant songwriting.
A pivotal chapter arrived with Having, released on February 28, 2006, shortly after the band’s move to Seattle. Recorded during 2004–05 and produced/mixed by David Fridmann, the album expanded the group’s palette beyond the intimate slowcore of earlier work, embracing denser textures, shimmering guitars, ambient passages, and widescreen production. And now we have the 20th anniversary reissue of Having, out now in its first ever vinyl pressing on Translation Loss Records.
I first interviewed Anna-Lynne Williams (ALW) in 2013. You can check out that interview here. Thanks to Carl Schultz from Action Public Relations for setting this up as a refresher and an homage to Having’s reissue.
EK: Were you surprised when Translation Loss approached you about this release after all this time?
ALW: Yeah, it was out of the blue. We had recently gotten permission from our label Nettwerk to do our own repressing of Different Stars, which was out on vinyl briefly for record store day years ago. So, I was trying to work out the logistics of that, and not particularly looking forward to shipping a bunch of double vinyl overseas myself without distribution. When Drew from Translation Loss reached out to me, the idea was much more exciting since he was particularly enthusiastic about Having, which had never been on vinyl before, and meant putting it in the hands of someone who could handle it more professionally. I talked to him on the phone and we hit it off, and I was thrilled that this album spoke to him so particularly. I let the guys (Matt, Ross, Jamie) know and everyone was thrilled. When Having first came out 20 years ago, I feel like the label and our fans were lukewarm compared to the reception to Different Stars, so it was meaningful to all of us to find someone that it had spoken to right off the bat. And this doesn’t mean that we won’t release DS again on vinyl as well…just further down the line.
EK: I haven’t heard this record in at least a decade or more. It brings me back to a simpler time, when it wasn’t all about streaming or all the terrible things happening out there. I find it transports me, giving me an escape from the world. Can you dig in a bit and explain its hold on you?
ALW: Terrible things – yes!
Well, this was our last proper full length that we crafted as a band. So that is really significant to me. We collaboratively arranged these songs in a rehearsal space several days a week and then performed in LA a lot before we actually rented a house and recorded it ourselves. At the time, we felt like we were kind of just getting started as a band, moving to Seattle and signing to a new label and trying to stretch our wings sonically. The consensus (from the label) when we had finished mixing the album ourselves was that we needed a lot of outside polish so that’s when we suggested working with Dave Fridmann which somehow ended up working out. So, the album became much more grand sounding at that point and we were all a bit intimidated and excited about the change in the music. But that gives the album a bit more longevity for me, because it’s still just the songs that I wrote in my bedroom and rehearsed with my band, but then it also has all of these embellishments that keep it interesting to listen to, that came from an outside source. It was an incredibly significant age in my life, changing cities, changing relationships, realizing that music could maybe be a real career. Unfortunately, some of those changes ended up meaning losing a bandmate who decided not to move to Seattle with us, and then break-ups in the band, meaning that we never all released an album together again.
EK: How does this recording differ from TW’s other work?
ALW: Different Stars was recorded in a proper studio with the help of a couple of friends. It had very organic mixing and production, and we originally released it ourselves. Having was very different in that we rented someone’s home studio, and each of us recorded ourselves, taking turns. For me at least, this made my takes a lot more intimate because I was alone pushing the buttons, no one on the other side of the glass. I started messing with backing vocals a bit more. And then when we went to New York to have the album mixed by Dave, it became an entirely different beast, from itself or from any of its predecessors. So that’s an interesting dichotomy, the takes being more intimate, but then the ultimate product being more complex and glossier.
EK: What will be the outcome of its release? If there was renewed interest in the band, would you consider a reunion?
ALW: For personal and logistical reasons, I wouldn’t see all of us reuniting, but Matt and I definitely are considering playing some shows to support this reissue. I’ve been pretty busy working on my solo music and had started writing a new album, but I’m now considering that becoming a new TW album instead, depending on what Matt and I can make work and if we can find a rhythm together again. I would definitely revisit that.
EK: Why did TW seem to focus on only two people?
ALW: We started off as a duo with a changing cast of friends who would play shows with us. Josh Gordon played drums and bass on “Anchor”. We did have a proper four-person lineup by the time we made Different Stars. Trinidad Sanchez played bass and Jamie Williams on drums, and not just in the sense that they played parts on the record, but that we all met at Trinidad’s house several days a week and played a ton of shows and really put in the work together. Trinidad stepped back soon after that album and that’s when Ross Simonini joined as our bassist for several years, working on Having with us and the EPs that followed. I think we are sometimes called a duo because Matt and I are the only ones who have been there from the very beginning, and always will be. And sometimes, like when we went on tour with Damien Rice, we were specifically invited to perform as a duo only. But for the most part, we have always had some sort of band.
EK: Last time we chatted, we discussed the pain you endure. Is that still a big issue for you?
ALW: Yeah, unfortunately, that is part of my life. I was just starting to deal with chronic tendinitis in my left hand when we last spoke. That’s been going on for more than a decade now. I tried on and off to do therapy and play guitar, but in the long run I’ve had to give it up altogether to not be suffering all the time. I only play keys now and with my right hand only, and rely on looping more, or other accompanists. I generally don’t play solo shows for that reason, not without backup. I had another injury years later that was more traumatic, Parsonage Turner Syndrome (kind of like brachial neuropathy), which has changed my whole body a bit, the way it feels, so it’s one of my challenges in making music, touring, and so on.
EK: Looking forward, what are you and Matt up to these days in your various projects?
ALW: Well, over the last decade or two I’ve focused on my solo project Lotte Kestner, and made a couple of albums in my duo Ormonde. Matt has released a few ambient records as Disinterested. Both of us have done some touring playing in some of our friends’ bands. But I do really hope that in the near future, what we have in the cards is some kind of a reunion. It feels like the right time. Maybe a show or two, hopefully an album.
Many thanks, again!
Catch up with Anna-Lynne on Facebook and Bandcamp. Check out the Trespassers William Bandcamp page.
