Masked country performer Orville Peck is an enigma if ever there was one. Never without a handmade fringed mask, the Canadian singer-songwriter broke through last year with his mononym'd debut album, Pony.

The Recording Academy caught up with Peck while On The Road at Austin City Limits 2019, where we talked about his influences, the music he grew up with and more.

Orville Peck Talks Influences, 'Pony'

"My parents exposed me to lots of different types of music," he told us. "Country, obviously, but also glam rock, punk, gospel, soul, world music, you name it."

Peck certainly carries a proto-punk mentality when it comes to his influences; he cites '70s punk pioneer Patti Smith as one of his idols. "Patti Smith had a big impact on me," he says. "When I was like 14 years old, I wanted to be a musician but when I bought Horses—which is funny because my album's name is Pony—it made me feel like I could make music in a different way than I knew how when I was a kid."

Speaking of Pony, which dropped n March of last year via Sub Pop, Peck explains that he "just wanted to make my love letter to a classic country album."

"[It's] the country that I love," he continues. "It's just my stories of places I've been, people I've known, people I've been with, things I struggle with."

Hear more from Orville Peck in the interview above, including the "visual" way he approaches the creation process and more.

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