‘New Album’ is where a band or artist answers some questions about their latest release. Up next is Jonny Marks from The All Seeing Hand, who have just dropped their latest release ‘Syntax Error’.

When/where was the new album recorded?
The album was recorded in a variety of places over a long period of time. The vocals were tracked at Arawhata -Flat Point, and a little bit in Jonny’s home. The electronics have been tweaked and honed in every quiet internet free space David can find. The drums were captured at Scumbag College, an amazing studio that is unfortunately no longer with us, due to the control of property by a wealthy class who have no interest in community.

Who produced/engineered the album? How did the tracks come together in the studio, or at home?
Alphabethead is the person who brings it all together. He ensures the bass is deep, and puts on just the right amount of sparkling sprinkles. The drums were recorded by Vanya Vitali who has worked with Ben extensively and has a gift for keeping life in the sound. Alphabethead works from home, but occasionally gets to housesit somewhere and live a blissful life of solitude and mixing.

How did the songwriting happen? Are there any overall themes within the songs/album?
The songs on this album come from a long time frame. Some we were performing around the time of Mechatronics and others we’ve never played live (until this tour!); so the ways they came to be, and the ways they have grown, are incredibly varied.
We always try to have a sense of the tracks belonging together when putting out an album; this is why it has taken a while for some for some of these songs to finally be recorded, they were waiting for some other sonic friends to hang out with.
With the title ‘Syntax Error’, all the tracks exist in a retro-future of jittering screens. The times we live in are confusing, and provoke both optimism and pessimism. The tracks are playful, and hopeful, but exist within a cracked piece of code. The sounds glitch between discord and harmony; resonate with tones of dystopia, and excite a more honest, flawed, utopia. Let’s reboot.

Were you going for a different sound/approach on this album?
Musically we approach each tune as an individual entity. Through playing live we see how they sit together; so any evolution of sound/approach happens as a natural process, we allow ourselves to explore our interests in the now. This means what we do is always changing, but sometimes it takes putting together an album to take that step back and attempt to amplify unconscious patterns. When putting this all together it definitely instigated a new visual world and colour palette.

Was there any specific gear you used to capture that?
David’s favourite cup, Jonny’s acoustomatic slippers, and Ben’s Squeak-a-Stool drum tech.

Is there a particular single/track that you feel captures the essence of the album?
A difficult question, in that the album is an entity, to focus in one line of code tells you nothing of the program.
That said, the final touches on Royal Oil were done after the album had come together, so perhaps there is something in its arc that tells the overall tale of dystopian observation with a strand of resistance and hope in the final melody.

Is there a physical copy available? If not which digital platforms is it available on?
We will have cassettes available at shows. and some record shops will have t-shirts that come with a download code; otherwise it will be available online. We primarily use Bandcamp. Unfortunately the evils of Spotify have become so ubiquitous that we are currently researching how to assist in letting them leech and maintain market share. Once we have worked out the best distribution option we will be on most of the steaming streams. If you want to have pretty much direct interaction with us though Bandcamp is the place to get our music and merch.

Are you working on a video/videos for any of the songs? Are you doing any gigs or promotion for its release?
We have a video coming out for a song from Silicon and Synapse, called Lizard Brain. We worked with a team of some of our favourite people: Aurs Illojgali, Cooki Martin, Erica Sklenars, and Nathan Taare; and we are stoked with how it has turned out. We enjoy the collaborative process of video making, and the way it can place a song in an imagined environment; so hopefully there will be some, from this new album, in the future.
From Syntax Error we have released the first single Royal Oil, and we are touring New Zealand, taking in Dunedin, Lyttelton, Auckland, Wellington, and Whanganui.