No Signal On the Making Of ‘Distorted Reality’
What was the creative process like for ‘Distorted Reality?’
To keep it laconic I’d say interesting for sure. I conceptualized this record during the making of our debut LP Seat of Dreams... So some songs are over 6 years old, while some are close to 4 months old as of right now. In terms of just the music, it starts with the ideas entering my head. I cannot predict when that will happen haha. I’ll then go into turning them into demos, I’ll work to get everything recorded and sounding nice to match what I was/am hearing. This involves fine-tuning lyrics, achieving the desired tones, production, and such. Once that is done I’ll start recording the final versions of tracks, setting up the guitar and vocals booths to match the sounds I want, and scheduling the studio for drums and strings. For this record, I did that a lot. Every new record things change just a bit, I’d say the biggest difference between this record and our previous (venus) is that we had a deadline. So the process was a bit more rushed than I would have wanted.
Were there any specific recording techniques or equipment used to achieve the desired sound?
I am the producer of this record. I’ve had the idea for what I wanted this record to sound like for a very long time, the same amount of time since I first conceptualized this record. To match the dark thematic territory taking place within the record I wanted the instruments to have a similar sonic vibe. A full stereo guitar with a deep bassy tone, a full and vibrating bass; and punchy and violent drums. I think we got pretty close to what I was envisioning, which is exciting. Some songs definitely don’t call for those traits and I adjusted things accordingly, but for the most part that’s what I felt was perfect for the record.
How do you feel "Distorted Reality" represents your artistic identity or musical evolution?
We know you're only 21. But you've been at this a while.
I try to ensure that every song we release is better than the last, this is new territory for us in that these songs are definitely on a new level than previous works. In all honesty, there is a lot I would change about our back catalog, so I actively made sure that there was absolutely nothing I’d want to change about these songs when they came out. For the most part, I do believe I achieved that. With that, we as well have a lot more opportunities for fitting visuals and shows as well. The videos have always been extremely important to me, and I have equally as large plans as the music for them, if not larger. The fact that we are closer to that is amazing, and finally seeing videos/visuals that fit the music in
What has been one of the most significant moments of your musical journey so far?
I would say this exact moment, including the last couple of months. The plan was for this record to be our biggest yet, so we put everything we had into it. The release of this record plus the attention and positivity we’re receiving from people and fans. It makes me feel like this is all able to be understood by others. I always thought it was, but you can never really know.
How do you stay inspired and motivated to continue pushing boundaries in your art?
Staying inspired and motivated doesn’t seem like something I have to actively do. It’s always been there, to an overwhelming extent at that. You’ll hear me saying this a lot but I feel less like an artist and more like a messenger because these ideas will simply enter my head and from there it’s simply a race to get them recorded the way I am hearing them in my head. This is my always, all of these ideas and passions keep me inspired and motivated.