According to the members of CVCHE (pronounced “ceviche”), they’re just some guys who’ve known each other a long time and like making music together. That’s their version of events, and they’re sticking to it—even if they happen to be affiliated with some huge bands. Jimmy Shaw (Metric, Broken Social Scene), Liam O’Neil (Kings Of Leon) and Dave Hodge (Broken Social Scene, Leisure Cruise) first came together in 2022 to remix Metric’s “All Come Crashing.”
“One track happened, then another, then another, and eventually we realized we had a whole batch of songs,” says Shaw. “At that point, we figured maybe we should release an album.”
CVCHE recorded its self-released debut, Get Fluffy, over the course of a year in off-hours, bringing in conceptual artist Jon Morris (Windmill Factory) to fill out the concept. “From the beginning, the only rule was that if it ever stopped being fun, we wouldn’t do it anymore,” says Shaw, noting that their version of fun didn’t involve getting caught up in marketing, positioning, chasing playlists, etc.
“We made a little videogame (play it here), made some merch and shot a few weird videos ourselves,” says Hodge. “At some point, someone asked what genre the music was, but we weren’t trying to be good boys and find a predefined lane. So we made one up: rural Canadian techno. We mostly just hid in the woods with a bunch of great synths, ate good food, drank good wine and made music that made us feel good. And Fluffy … Fluffy is our fish, our logo and the small bit of strange glue holding the whole thing together.”
Here’s more from Hodge on each track.
—Hobart Rowland
1) “Welcome To CVCHE”
“This is basically the on ramp. It’ll make you want to drive fast; please don’t go too fast. Cozy fire going, fuzzy socks on, dancing on hardwoods.”
2) “Eyes Of Darkness – A Novel By Dean Koontz”
“The title came first. None of us read the book, but it was there on the coffee table. And while we didn’t know how it got there, the track just felt like wandering through something slightly tense and slightly ridiculous, so we kept the name.”
3) “Get Fluffy”
“This one is tied to our trusty logo, the pixelated fish named Fluffy. The track just sounded like the kind of thing Fluffy would dance to if he had tiny, pixelated legs, so we gave him the title track.”
4) “The Giblet Rim (Bitcoin Takes A Hit)”
“We were messing around talking about crypto tanking, and this track happened. It’s a bit chaotic, but in a way that made us smile. We can’t remember ever talking about giblets.”
5) “Never Whatever”
“One of the moodier tracks—and definitely one of our favorites. It’s a journey through different sections and moods, so it has a nice arc for people with longer attention spans.”
6) “Thumper”
“This one thumps, so we called it thumper. But it’s also vibey and linear—and we just followed the kick.”
7) “The Star”
“A quieter moment on the record … more space, more atmosphere. It feels like looking at something far away without knowing exactly what it is. This one’s named after Chris Seligman from the band Stars, who was in the room with us at the time. It has good energy—like him.”
8) “Private Volcano”
“Why did we call it ‘Private Volcano’? We’re not sure anymore. It’s like if you asked Alan Watts what Zen is … But, then again, it’s really nothing like that at all, so forget we said that. Lots of movement, lots of energy rolling around.”
9) “18 Days Later”
“We made this near the end of a long stretch in the woods. You can hear the isolation in it—and maybe some orange wine. If you’re not into orange wine, just think of hay in a barn that’s sometimes tasty. Anyway … It’s repetitive, hopefully in a good way, and a little frayed. Very ‘end of the residency’ energy.”
10) “CVCHE Or The Highway”
“This wasn’t meant to be a big moment. It just had the right momentum to finish the record and felt like the natural exit ramp. And by this time, if you’ve listened to every one of our jams in full, you’ve chosen CVCHE, not the highway. So thank you.”
