Post by blade on Jul 9, 2014 17:46:53 GMT
Source:
www.russhmagazine.com/arts-music/music/howling-bells-interview/
Text:
Howling Bells
WORDS Alexandra Godwin
That feeling when a song evokes a melancholy within you that ultimately lifts your spirits, it's that moment when you say to yourself mid song, thank God someone else feels it too. Australian band Howling Bells’ latest release does just this. Heartstrings sees the band return to their musical roots.
Where did you find inspiration for the record?
It think it was as simple as being inactive for a long period of time (their last album was released in 2011), feeling very frustrated that there was such a lack of creation going on. So that kind of really pushed things forward. Also, I had a baby, so that was really a magnificent rush of inspiration for myself.
You’ve recorded in Australia, America and England, what is it like recording albums in different countries?
L.A. is an incredibly different landscape from where we grew up in Sydney and where we are living. I find L.A. very intriguing as a town, the people who inhabit it and just the general kind of personality of the city is really interesting to me. It was a fascinating experience, I think having just recorded this record in London gives me great perspective and makes me feel like, as a musical landscape, a lot more comfortable here.
Heartstrings was recorded in 10 days, what was the process like?
Great, it was really great it suited me to a T. I’m a very hands-on and impatient person so the fact that there wasn’t a lot of time to mess around; there definitely wasn’t the luxury of overthinking anything at all. It definitely informed the sound of the record and if anything it gave everything an extra sense of urgency, which suits us, fine.
How was that experience of working with such highly esteemed producers?
It was amazing. Really, really amazing. Catherine Marks (Foals, The Killers), I’m sure very soon she will be a highly regarded producer in her own right. She’s a Melbourne girl and we have similar stories, she moved overseas about a decade ago and has just been working really hard ever since. It felt like a really fateful meeting with her and as soon as we sat down and started talking I felt really connected to her and really inspired to begin working immediately, it was fantastic.
Tell us about the sound of this album...
As the title of the record suggests it is a highly moody and emotional record. It is a very urgent record but its also a very atmospheric record, there is a lot of recovering from profound experiences, so it’s a heavy record but its not trying to beat around the bush.
What role did film play in the making of Heartstrings?
I feel like film encapsulates a lot more than music can. The perfect film, the immaculate pairing of music and visual, what more could you want. I remember when I sent an email to the guys before we went into the studio, talking about inspiration for the record. I sent a memo saying ‘watch Paris, Texas and watch Blue Velvet and let’s go make a record’ and it was really that simple. I hope we have captured something of that mood.
What do hope your audience takes away from Heartstrings?
I hope it is uplifting, I hope it makes people feel empowered, uplifted and hopeful, that would be really nice if people connected with it. I have never bought into that theory that that music has to be bouncy and cheesy in order to be uplifting, I think some of the most beautiful music is the world is really, really moody, so that would make me happy.
www.russhmagazine.com/arts-music/music/howling-bells-interview/
Text:
Howling Bells
WORDS Alexandra Godwin
That feeling when a song evokes a melancholy within you that ultimately lifts your spirits, it's that moment when you say to yourself mid song, thank God someone else feels it too. Australian band Howling Bells’ latest release does just this. Heartstrings sees the band return to their musical roots.
Where did you find inspiration for the record?
It think it was as simple as being inactive for a long period of time (their last album was released in 2011), feeling very frustrated that there was such a lack of creation going on. So that kind of really pushed things forward. Also, I had a baby, so that was really a magnificent rush of inspiration for myself.
You’ve recorded in Australia, America and England, what is it like recording albums in different countries?
L.A. is an incredibly different landscape from where we grew up in Sydney and where we are living. I find L.A. very intriguing as a town, the people who inhabit it and just the general kind of personality of the city is really interesting to me. It was a fascinating experience, I think having just recorded this record in London gives me great perspective and makes me feel like, as a musical landscape, a lot more comfortable here.
Heartstrings was recorded in 10 days, what was the process like?
Great, it was really great it suited me to a T. I’m a very hands-on and impatient person so the fact that there wasn’t a lot of time to mess around; there definitely wasn’t the luxury of overthinking anything at all. It definitely informed the sound of the record and if anything it gave everything an extra sense of urgency, which suits us, fine.
How was that experience of working with such highly esteemed producers?
It was amazing. Really, really amazing. Catherine Marks (Foals, The Killers), I’m sure very soon she will be a highly regarded producer in her own right. She’s a Melbourne girl and we have similar stories, she moved overseas about a decade ago and has just been working really hard ever since. It felt like a really fateful meeting with her and as soon as we sat down and started talking I felt really connected to her and really inspired to begin working immediately, it was fantastic.
Tell us about the sound of this album...
As the title of the record suggests it is a highly moody and emotional record. It is a very urgent record but its also a very atmospheric record, there is a lot of recovering from profound experiences, so it’s a heavy record but its not trying to beat around the bush.
What role did film play in the making of Heartstrings?
I feel like film encapsulates a lot more than music can. The perfect film, the immaculate pairing of music and visual, what more could you want. I remember when I sent an email to the guys before we went into the studio, talking about inspiration for the record. I sent a memo saying ‘watch Paris, Texas and watch Blue Velvet and let’s go make a record’ and it was really that simple. I hope we have captured something of that mood.
What do hope your audience takes away from Heartstrings?
I hope it is uplifting, I hope it makes people feel empowered, uplifted and hopeful, that would be really nice if people connected with it. I have never bought into that theory that that music has to be bouncy and cheesy in order to be uplifting, I think some of the most beautiful music is the world is really, really moody, so that would make me happy.