Jason Corbett from Actors: the artist, the album, the tour.
Actors are back on the road. Today the Vancouver band kicks off the European leg of the Our Love Will Live Forever tour from Berlin, with Spanish dates following in a fortnight: Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia, via Sturm Promotions. Before the tour gets underway, we spoke with Jason Corbett about the record and what’s next.
Our Love Will Live Forever is out. It builds on the trajectory the band has been sharpening record by record, that particular blend of cold darkwave and cinematic new wave that has made them a reference point within the North American post-punk scene. We won’t go further than that here: the full review is coming soon on Other Voices, and we’d rather let the record speak for itself before we break it down track by track.
What we can say is where this tour lands in the band’s arc. Actors operate on terrain they know well: long tours, festival slots within the core darkwave and post-punk circuit, and a live show that critics have flagged for years as one of the tightest in the scene. This European run backs that up, opening in Germany and running through three Spanish dates, unusual for a band of this profile and a fair indicator of how much traction Actors currently have outside North America.
The interview below was conducted in writing in the days leading up to the tour, with Jason Corbett still deep in final preparations before taking this record to a European stage for the first time. Other Voices wants to thank Jason for how easy and accessible he made the process: finding time mid-countdown to a tour isn’t always simple, and it shows in every answer he gave.
The Bandcamp release notes add a detail that changes how several answers in this interview land. During recording, Jason Corbett went through a serious cardiac emergency that halted the sessions and left him wondering whether he’d finish the album or get back on a stage at all. With that context, a few of his answers here read differently
The full conversation follows.
The album
You’ve put out several singles ahead of Our Love Will Live Forever, more than you’d usually give away before a record. Why open up so much of it in advance this time?
There were a few factors that led to the delay of the album. I wanted our fans to have more music sooner than later. We just had to do our best to navigate the past year. So releasing songs early made the most sense.
“Youth”, “Left On Read” and “CTRL” all sit clearly within the Actors sound, no surprises, no left turns. Was that a conscious decision, staying inside a defined identity rather than experimenting on this record?
I write what I feel at the time. There’s an honesty to what we do and that’s my compass. I didn’t feel a need to change our identity. We already exist in a world all our own.
Which track from the new record do you already know is going to hit hardest live, before you’ve even played it in front of a crowd?
This album is full of songs that are really fun to play. I think there’s a few possibilities. I’m really excited about playing “Stimulation.”
The production
Jacknife Sound is your own studio, and you’ve been producing the band from inside it for years now. What actually changed in how you recorded this album compared to Acts of Worship?
I’m just in a different headspace. We finished our last tour in October so I had the rest of the year to work through everything. Even with all the obstacles life presented I’m really excited with how the album turned out. I couldn’t be more proud.
How has your songwriting process changed from the early years to now?
I’ve continued to trust the process. There’s an ebb and flow to all of it. I’ve also tried to have as much fun as possible.
The band
You’ve been together as a lineup for a long time now, and it shows on stage, everything locks in tight. Does that connection exist off stage too, or is it something that only happens once you’re up there playing?
We are pretty close. We’ve spent so much time together. It really is a family. There’s lots of love and laughs. It’s really best case scenario.
What’s something Kendall, Shannon or Adam bring to a song that you couldn’t have written yourself?
They all bring elements of their personality to the songs that really give life to what we do. I’m so thankful to have them in my life.
Shannon runs Leathers alongside Actors. How does that coexist with the band’s identity without pulling the sound somewhere else?
Leathers and Actors each have their own lane. It feels natural to have both.
The tour
From 2012 to now you’ve gone from playing Vancouver to headlining festivals like Cold Waves and Wave-Gotik-Treffen. Was there a specific point where Actors stopped feeling like a local project and started feeling like this?
We started touring when the first album came out. So in my mind we really started in 2018 when we signed to Artoffact Records. The album was well received around the world and opened the doors for us.
You’re back in Barcelona, this time at Sala Wolf. What do you remember from the previous visits? Any story that stuck with you, good or bad?
Spain has been good to us. Always an enthusiastic crowd and just warm and wonderful people. All good experiences!
The tour runs through Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Spain, France, the UK and Canada almost back to back. How do you keep a show’s energy up when the record isn’t even fully out yet and you’re already playing it every night?
The album will be out Sept 4th, the same day our tour starts in Berlin. We keep a varied setlist of new songs and favourites. It’s always fun for us.
If you had to pick one show out of your entire career, which one would it be, and why that one?
We had fun at Cruel World last year. The stage was absolutely massive. It was an experience.
About Jason as artist
What’s your biggest fear as an artist at this point?
That one day it will all end and the good times will be in the rear view mirror. But we are a long way away from that happening!
What’s the last piece of music, not necessarily your own, that actually changed how you think about your own writing?
I’m inspired by music from all over. I love film too. It all constantly informs my own writing.
If Our Love Will Live Forever were the last thing people ever heard from Actors, what would you want them to take from it?
Life isn’t guaranteed. Enjoy the moment and express yourself. Live your best life.
Actors play Sala Wolf on 18 September, with Madrid and Valencia closing out the Spanish leg in the days that follow. Our Love Will Live Forever is out now, and Other Voices’ full track-by-track review is coming in the days ahead. Anyone wanting to test what Jsaon Corbett says about “Stimulation” against the real thing already knows where to be.
Tickets:
Barcelona: https://www.ticketmaster.es/event/actors-entradas/1974046253
Madrid: https://www.ticketmaster.es/event/actors-entradas/958268808
Valencia: https://movingtickets.com/Entradas-Actors-2026-concierto-en-16-Toneladas-Valencia/
