‘New Album’ is where a band or artist answers some questions about their latest release. Up next is Iraia who is the drummer for The Nudge, who recently released their second album ‘Dark Arts’.
When/where was the new album recorded?
Dark Arts was initially tracked in 2013 at The Surgery Studios in
Newtown Wellington. We were the first band to record in the new
purpose built space, after Lee had to find a new premise. Ryan and
James along with others helped Lee to build and design the space,
and in return we got to spend a month in there. ‘Dark Arts’ is what
came of that month.
Who produced/engineered the album? How did the tracks come together
in the studio, or at home?
By in large, Lee Prebble did the engineering, that job was shared
with Ryan also. They had a huge amount of fun and shared creative
ideas, I guess you could say ‘The nudge’ and Lee Produced the record.
It was over such a long time, there were constant changes the more
we sat with the songs. Ryan especially should get a mention here, as
he literally threw hours upon hours of weekends and nights of his
own time when the surgery studio wasn’t in use.
How did the songwriting happen? Are there any overall themes within
the songs/album?
This was a very open blank canvas type approach to the music. We
jammed, and had jammed over the months leading up to our time in
there. So parts of BMYL had very much lived a life, both in a live
context, and also in our rehearsal space, but we didn’t have the
full mapped out arrangement. That came with time. Dark Arts and
Balance Change were created in that first month. One theme in BC we
had jammed on earlier, but the rest we found by literally playing
ideas and matching them together. Lyrically there may be a theme,
but I don’t think there was a conscious effort to make a concept
album etc. All we knew, is we wanted to create a vinyl, two sides,
one album.
Were you going for a different sound/approach on this album?
I think there’s an obvious change here both in song writing and the
way its been produced and recorded. As said above, we had time to be
creative, and felt that was the approach that we needed as a band.
To simply go places without the pressure of the live context or the
music that we had been performing for awhile.
Was there any specific gear you used to capture that?
I’m not the tech guy to be honest, but I can assure you everyone that
was involved in the making of this record definitely are gear
specific. From the instruments to the pedals, the amps and the post
production tools like reverbs and tape machines etc. its all about
creating and capturing the sound and the tone. Its not enough to
have a good riff, what does the tone need to be for the riff etc.
Is there a particular single/track that you feel captures the
essence of the album?
Hmmmm I think its fair to say its a body of work, but each track can
stand on its own. I think you could get away to listening to any one
of the 3 songs, and get the vibe that this record is not an ordinary
release.
Is there a physical copy available? If not which digital platforms
is it available on?
Yeah we had designed the whole 3 track album thing to suit the vinylmedium. This is the only retail available. However its completely available across many digital platforms … the usual suspects: iTunes, Spotify, our Bandcamp, etc.
Are you working on a video/videos for any of the songs?
The video single off this album, ‘Dark Arts’, was shot last year on
Great Barrier island and was released early November if I remember
correctly.
We are yet to formulate a plan for the other two tunes, as both
clock up serious time, and nailing the idea of what to do in that
time has yet to be decided upon. Watch this space though, as we do
hope to have a video alongside at least one more tune off the album.