‘New Single’ is where a band or artist answers a couple of quick questions about their latest Single release. Up next is Aleister James Campbell, who has recently returned to Wellington after six years in Melbourne. ‘When Night Returns’ is his first new music since returning.

What is the new song about:
It’s interesting to me, the line between real life and dreams. Dreams are so fleeting, yet real life can be equally so. When you remember your dreams, or look back on events from your life, what’s the difference?
The lyrics to ‘When Night Returns’ just came out one afternoon while I was riding the tram in Melbourne. It was a stream of consciousness, really, based around the melody which I’d already come up with. When I reflect on what they might mean, I think it’s partly about the dream/reality division. It’s all tied in to an individual’s relationship to the subconscious. Technology is making it easier to never have to confront the deeper recesses of your mind. I feel it’s important, though.

Which gear or effects that you used in the mix to get the sound you were after?
The main part of the song came when I was fooling around with a delay pedal I’d recently acquired. The setting I had it on was making this cool rhythm and I just starting reacting to it. The rest of it came pretty easily after I stumbled on the initial idea. The heavier part at the end of the song came later.
On the recorded version there’s plenty of delay, and some distortion at the end. I really like reverb and the mood that it creates, so there’s all sorts of reverbs on there. I used a bit of reverse echo on it, too, which is sadly not possible in a live setting – at least until they find away for computers to see seven seconds or so into the future…