BY KEEGAN PROSSER

On Saturday, August 25, Marymoor Park in Redmond will be transformed into a wonderland for alternative music fans. Presented by 107.7 The End, Summer Camp ‘12 will feature an assortment of rock and alternative acts, including Fun., Alex Clare and Husky.
The Scene recently caught up with Husky Gawenda, lead singer and songwriter for Austrailia-based folk act Husky.

SCENE: How did you get started making music?

HG: Me and Gideon (Preiss, his cousin and keys/vocals for Husky) grew up together – playing music together, listening to music together; we both had musical backgrounds and grew up singing.

SCENE: In 2011 you won triple j Unearthed, a music competition in Australia, but you’ve mentioned you were surprised by the outcome. Why?

HG: Well, we had no industry support. Up until that point we were very much doing it on our own. We wanted to put together an album that we would be proud of – and we didn’t know how that would translate. It was more than we ever hoped for.

SCENE: In 2011 you became the first Australian band signed to Sub Pop Records, based in Seattle. Why did you decide to go with Sub Pop?

HG: I wasn’t very knowledgeable about the [music] industry, especially in America, but I did know Sub Pop. I got to meet some of the people at the label and I was really impressed by them. They had a great ethos, and I loved the way they saw music and their approach. It’s very much about the music, not about making it the most commercial.

SCENE: Your debut album, “Forever So,” was released in the states in July. Why did you decide to record it in your house?

HG: Pretty simply, we didn’t have the money to go to a studio at the time. We knew we wanted to spend a lot of time on the record and wanted to experiment with different sounds. So we pulled together equipment from our friends – and just set out to make good sounds.

SCENE: Your sound seems to be warm, folk-y tracks of the Northwest persuasion. What influences this?

HG: I think a lot of things inspire my songwriting. Our sound is created by all of our inputs, tastes. I grew up listening to a lot of Crosby, Stills and Nash; Brian Wilson – because my parents had those records. I also listened to Leonard Cohen from a very young age; and Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell – these great, seminole folk songwriters.

SCENE: Have you played in the Northwest before?

HG: No. This will be our first time on the west coast. We’re starting off in Phoenix and heading up the west coast. We’ve heard amazing things about the area.

SCENE: How do your mellow, folk-rock songs translate to a festival like Summer Camp?

HG: It depends on the festival and the sort of audience. Our album is fairly intimate and introspective … and sometimes intimacy draws you in more than being loud. But we also have our ways of kind of beefing up our songs for moments that require something more upbeat.

Summer Camp 2012 kicks off at 1 p.m. on Aug. 25 at Marymoor Park in Redmond. $25. Tickets available now at Ticketmaster.com.