There’s something about the chugging intro breaking into the heightened, melodic chorus of Alex Calder’s latest single Strange Dreams, which offers musical credence to an artist who also recently published a tongue-in-cheek YouTube tutorial demonstrating how to draw ‘anime eyes’.

In fact, there are a number of perhaps spurious ventures Calder undertakes that seem to contrastingly coincide with the mystique underlying his brand of propitious psychedelic pop. But, that’s Alex Calder, a man who recently announced his retirement from music to pursue a career in cooking, only to then spectacularly announce his musical comeback a few months later through the notion of dropping an entire an unexpected album online.

With his culinary calibre immortalised only on his Alex Calder Eats site, the stage was set for his triumphant musical return; so far flagged by NY’s independent label giants Captured Tracks being on hand to officially release Calder’s forthcoming LP Strange Dreams, out January 20.

Whilst the to-ing and fro-ing might seem arduous, music is crying out for idiosyncratic characters like Calder. So, if music remains his chosen métier and he chooses to drop an album like the drop of a hat, one like Strange Dreams no less; then so be it.

That said, if the multifaceted Calder can cook mean sweet potato fries, whilst serving up alluring music, what’s not to love? Apparently not a lot according to Mac DeMarco, seen spitting out and discarding said fries in a recent, classic Alex Calder Eats video.

One particular pursuit that won’t be chewed up and spat out, however, is undoubtedly Calder’s music – and for as long as he remains unretired; business is sure to boom. 

Matthew Liam Fogg: An ‘un-mastered’ version of your impending album, Strange Dreams, was posted on your BandCamp page recently, but consequently withdrawn before the announcement of it’s official release on Captured Tracks. Why did you originally decide to throw the album out there, for free?
Alex Calder: I make music at what I think is a pretty fast pace and I try not to over think anything. Being on a record label is a hard thing to settle into and I was finding it put things in slow motion, as far as how I make and put out music. So there was a slight difficulty there – making all these songs and really wanting to put them out, but having to sit on them and wait pretty much a year before anything was going to happen. The label was also going through a big transition, so there was some confusion on both ends. That being said, it is really nice to be on a label that will put out your records and take care of you. Also, Strange Dreams being put out this time is a bit different, some songs are reworked or some are completely new.

MLF: Aside from giving free access to your music, your fans are given clear insight into both your musical life and personal life thanks to your avid social network usage. Do you think it’s important to connect on such a level with the people supporting you?
AC: I think it is important to a degree, yeah. I really enjoy messing around, especially on the internet. I don’t feel like anything I put out there is too personal or indicative of how I really am, though. More of a parody I guess. I really like the idea of people perceiving things in a way that they aren’t. Telling people one minute I am quitting music to pursue something completely ridiculous and out of my element, then taking it back and always seeming to be this guy who’s completely unsure of himself. It’s nice to try to make people keep guessing all time.

MLF: You’re noticeably productive in recording terms, with your ‘Alex Calder’ catalogue building, as well as releases through your alias Mold Boy. Does your motivation come in waves, or are you constantly writing?
AC: It definitely comes in waves. There are periods where I make zero music for weeks, or even months, and then periods where I’ll make a whole bunch of songs at once. It’s definitely up and down as far as creativity goes. I guess it also has a lot to do with the seasons as well. If it’s the summer time I definitely slow down with recording. As for the Mold Boy stuff, at first I wanted to make, like, a ‘secret’ project where no one would know it was me, so I could try some new songs and not really have to over think it. But, I quickly got greedy and made the association pretty clear. So now they kind of coexist, so Mold Boy and Alex Calder is kind of one and the same I guess.

MLF: Do you have a live set up, currently?
AC: Yeah, I have a band here in Montreal. We haven’t been playing that much, but we’ll play in Montreal every month or so. About a year ago we went on a big 6 week tour over the US and Canada and it was really fun, but after touring in bands previously and doing it for long periods of time, I am not super big on long, drawn out tours. I definitely enjoy being at home and hanging out with friends and having my girlfriend over, sleeping on floors and feeling like shit for most of it. That being said, I have no problem with the shorter tours, as touring can be real exciting. We are planning going on the road with the new album early in the new year.

MLF: Can you tell me about the writing process behind your songs?
AC: It usually starts out on guitar and then I take it from there. Recently I’ve been trying to steer away from starting with guitar, to keep it fresh, and playing around with sampling a lot more. I mainly only record or get ideas at about four in the morning, which is unfortunate, but I guess it works for now.

MLF: You recently announced plans of a concept album entitled All In, documenting the struggles behind you and gambling. Is the album still going ahead?
AC: I guess I’d have to say refer to your second question! That being said, I actually do really love to gamble, but not in an unhealthy way. Mainly playing poker or dice. I play poker about three times a week at this point and it’s really, really fun. It’s a great social activity and it actually also strangely gives me a lot of time to think about other things while I’m playing. It’s relaxing in a weird sort of way. I also play a lot of dice, which seems to be a large trend among friends in Montreal right now. But, with dice, that’s just pretty much one hundred percent gambling, kind of like playing the slots but with a group of friends, so it can feel a bit dark sometimes.

MLF: People are very quick to bring up the fact you and Mac Demarco once collaborated in the band Makeout Videotape. Do you think it’s now something of a stumbling block considering people might be quick to compare your music to his? Or are you happy to go along with the affiliation?
AC: I mean it definitely gets old very quickly, but I can also completely see the association and comparison, so it doesn’t really bother me. Mac makes great music and he’s definitely an influence on me. And on my friends that are making music as well. I really think there’s something to say about a group of friends that are all in a tightly knit community making music and hanging out. I have been finding more recently, as maybe it’s because it’s a bit of a cliché to compare my music to Mac’s at this point, that people having started comparing the music I make to other bands like Pavement or Deerhunter, which makes me feel good. Comparisons are a good thing in my eyes, even if they are obvious.

MLF: How has your music grown since the days of being in the band Makeout Videotape?
AC: When I was in Makeout Videotape, it was essentially one hundred percent Mac’s thing, asides from helping out with recording or playing the odd bassline. At that time I was just starting to make music on my own and on the side, almost all of it was sample based, because I didn’t have the means to record and I didn’t really know how to play any instrument besides guitar. I guess after Makeout Videotape ended, I started to heavily focus on my own thing and learn how to actually play instruments, even if just the basics. I’m not sure if that really answered the question…

MLF: What happened to your plans of a concept album entitled All In, documenting the struggles behind you and gambling?
AC: I guess I’d have to say refer to your second question. I actually do really love to gamble, but not in an unhealthy way. Mainly playing poker or dice. I play poker about three times a week at this point and it’s really, really fun. It’s a great social activity. It actually also, strangely, gives me a lot of time to think about other things while I’m playing. It’s relaxing in a weird sort of way. I also play a lot of dice, which seems to be a large trend among friends in Montreal right now. But with dice, that’s just pretty much one hundred percent gambling, kind of like playing the slots but with a group of friends, so it can feel a bit dark sometimes.

MLF: Have you hung up the oven gloves?
AC: Well, the gloves haven’t been hung up quite yet. Look out for some amazing recipes in the new year.

‘Strange Dreams’ by Alex Calder is set for release 20th January 2015. Visit Alex’s website and BandCamp and follow him on SoundCloud, Facebook and Twitter.