August 11, 2025 • 20 mins
Interview by Angela Croudace
Post-rock outfit In Transmission are back with their new EP, Betterment, a record that blends atmospheric beauty with an urgent social conscience. Frontman Martin says the inspiration behind lead single Catching Up (and the EP as a whole) comes from observing a world plagued by environmental and civil issues, often met with apathy.
“When it’s out of sight and out of mind, it’s easy not to care,” Martin explains. “But if we ignore these things and just focus on our own individual lives, it’s going to catch up to us.” That message of personal accountability, particularly through mindful spending and daily decisions, threads through the band’s latest work.
Betterment also represents an evolution in In Transmission’s sound. Known for their instrumental, post-rock style, the group has embraced a more vocal-forward approach, blending melodic guitar layers with a heavier edge. “It’s about trying to do better in all aspects — creatively and personally,” Martin says. “We’ve naturally gravitated toward a heavier live set, but still hold onto the atmospheric elements.”
Recorded with longtime collaborator Beau Burchell, the EP benefited from Burchell’s ability to enhance rather than overhaul the band’s ideas. “He just takes what we have and makes it sound way better,” Martin notes.
The writing process remains rooted in live jamming, with songs developing organically — sometimes in a single rehearsal, other times through extensive trial and error. Influences range from post-rock staples Mogwai and Sigur Rós to post-hardcore acts like Thrice, Citizen, and Basement.
The Catching Up music video, filmed in a Los Angeles photo studio, takes a simple performance setup and adds a playful twist in the form of a motorised rotating floor. “It started as a joke,” Martin laughs, “but ended up being some of the coolest shots.”
While touring is on hold due to new arrivals in the band’s extended family, Martin hopes Australia is in their future. A keen surfer, he dreams of spending a month exploring the coastline. “That’s why I haven’t gone yet — I want to do it properly.”
For now, Betterment captures a band balancing introspection and intensity, with music that resonates as much in a wedding aisle as it does in a packed venue. Watch the interview for more on the sweet request from a fan to walk down the aisle to an In Transmission song.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.
Post-rock outfit In Transmission are back with their new EP, Betterment, a record that blends atmospheric beauty with an urgent social conscience. Frontman Martin says the inspiration behind lead single Catching Up (and the EP as a whole) comes from observing a world plagued by environmental and civil issues, often met with apathy.
“When it’s out of sight and out of mind, it’s easy not to care,” Martin explains. “But if we ignore these things and just focus on our own individual lives, it’s going to catch up to us.” That message of personal accountability, particularly through mindful spending and daily decisions, threads through the band’s latest work.
Betterment also represents an evolution in In Transmission’s sound. Known for their instrumental, post-rock style, the group has embraced a more vocal-forward approach, blending melodic guitar layers with a heavier edge. “It’s about trying to do better in all aspects — creatively and personally,” Martin says. “We’ve naturally gravitated toward a heavier live set, but still hold onto the atmospheric elements.”
Recorded with longtime collaborator Beau Burchell, the EP benefited from Burchell’s ability to enhance rather than overhaul the band’s ideas. “He just takes what we have and makes it sound way better,” Martin notes.
The writing process remains rooted in live jamming, with songs developing organically — sometimes in a single rehearsal, other times through extensive trial and error. Influences range from post-rock staples Mogwai and Sigur Rós to post-hardcore acts like Thrice, Citizen, and Basement.
The Catching Up music video, filmed in a Los Angeles photo studio, takes a simple performance setup and adds a playful twist in the form of a motorised rotating floor. “It started as a joke,” Martin laughs, “but ended up being some of the coolest shots.”
While touring is on hold due to new arrivals in the band’s extended family, Martin hopes Australia is in their future. A keen surfer, he dreams of spending a month exploring the coastline. “That’s why I haven’t gone yet — I want to do it properly.”
For now, Betterment captures a band balancing introspection and intensity, with music that resonates as much in a wedding aisle as it does in a packed venue. Watch the interview for more on the sweet request from a fan to walk down the aisle to an In Transmission song.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
My name is Martin. I am the singer and guitar
player in transmission.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Beautiful, Thanks so much. Catching Up is a powerful track.
What inspired it and how does it reflect the rest
of betterment?
Speaker 1 (00:16):
The inspiration really comes from just all the things that
are happening in our world. There's a lot of frustrations.
There's a lot of bad things happening in our world,
and I feel like a lot of people kind of
get stuck in their own little narrow window of their
own lives and don't really pay attention to what's happening
(00:38):
around the world. And so that's why it's you know,
the lyrics of like, you know, when it's out of
sight and out of mind, it's that's easy if you
don't care about what's happening. But eventually that's going to
come back around and catch up with us. You know.
It's like whether it's environmental issues or civil issues, you know,
if we ignore these things and just focus on our
(01:00):
own individual lives, things aren't going to get better, and
it's going to catch up to us. Yeah, definitely. The
rest of the EP, I mean, that's that's basically the
fame across the board is just there's a lot of
I have a lot of frustration with the lack of
care that people put into their decisions on a daily basis.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
You know.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
It's like we just tend to like worry about what
we have to do in our own lives and without
what the consequences are or how our decisions affect the
rest of the world, you know.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Yeah, definitely, and like the bigger picture, how how little
actions can affect the bigger picture as well.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
I think, yeah, And you know, being individuals, it's like
we can't change things individually, you know, on the grand scale,
But the only power we do have is the decisions
we make every day with our money, how we spend
our money. You know, that's kind of the only real
control we have. And since everything's rooted in money and
(01:58):
greed anyways, you know, it's like, and of the only
way we can make the difference is paying attention to
how we spend and who we spend our money with
and where we contribute that, you know. So it's like
trying to take that extra step to really think about
it when we're making those decisions is kind of the
hope and the role.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
Yeah, I like it. I like a very strong and
powerful message behind the album and the title as well,
betterment suggests growth. What kind of personal or creative changes
shaped the EP.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
Oh Boy, Well, you know, we've been a band for
quite a while and we kind of just take things
slow and we're just doing whatever feels natural. And our
sound has kind of changed over the years and has progressed,
and we started out with a bit more of like
a kind of post rock instrumental vibe, and over the years,
(02:55):
myself personally, I've just always kind of wanted to like
learn to sing more and better and so put in
a lot of effort to try and do that, and
so it just kind of naturally evolved into that where
now we just have a bit more of like a
vocal forward, kind of alternative indeed kind of sound. So
it's kind of just this idea of trying to do
(03:19):
better in all aspects and just trying to move forward,
whether that's creatively or like we've talked about, you know,
making a difference in the world. Y're just trying a
little bit harder, you know, in all aspects, and that's
just kind of where we ended up. And you know,
it's it's quite a bit difference. It's funny. We were
listening to like our older material and just campaign and
be like, wow, we totally sound like a different band,
(03:41):
but well into it. You know, it's been a lot
of fun trying different things and kind of still holding
onto a little bit of the original sound.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
And yeah, that's it. So do you think you've not
found your sound because obviously you found your sound quite
a while ago, but this it's maybe changed for the better.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Yeah, I think so. I think over the years, we've
always had some songs that were much softer and lighter
and more tranquil, and then we've had some songs that
were heavier and more aggressive, and we always kind of
leaned towards more of the heavier songs. A lot of
us then come from like hardcore backgrounds and stuff, and
so I think we just naturally gravitate towards that direction
(04:21):
while still trying to incorporate all the layers of the
atmosphere and you know, melodies with the guitars and stuff.
But yeah, I think when we play live, it's like
we always tend to make a set list that's a
little bit on the heavier side. So yeah, I think
this new EP has a bit more of that.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
Awesome and had it. Working with Bo Virtual influenced the
sounder direction of the project.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
I've done many records with BO, and I hope and
pray that I can do every record from here on
out with Bo because he's literally just the best person
to work with. It's just always a good experience. He's
so good at what he does, and it's interesting because
it's he definitely helps mold the sound, but he's very
(05:06):
open to just letting the bin and like do what
we're going to do. He just kind of like picks
up on what we're trying to do and goes, oh,
maybe you know, go this direction or do this and that,
and it's always like it always feels like it's still less.
It's I know some producers are very like involved where
they're like, no, you have to completely change this, do
something different. But doesn't do that, and it just like
takes what we have and makes a sound way better
(05:27):
than we are.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
Yeah, that's awesome. So you could really like give him
what you guys had and then he could add his
little sort of twiaks or whatever in there.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
Yeah, exactly, and both so like musically talented and diverse
that he can kind of just like adapt to whatever
band's doing their thing. You know, it's not like it
just has to be Bow's sound. It's in the band
and like just really helps us enhance what we're doing.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
Yeah, that's weak and post rock realized heavily on atmosphere.
How do you keep structure an emotion shouldn't balance in
your writing.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
I think for us, we've always been kind of a
live feel type of writing band, and so these songs,
similarly to our previous stuff has all been just like
product of us getting together and jamming together. Yeah, and
so it's just like kind of going off of feel.
I think the only difference now is like now I'm
in the back of my head going okay, at some
(06:25):
point I'm gonna have to try and sing over this.
So how do we kind of structure that to make
it make sense? But generally we're just going off feel
and like what feels right. How many times we're doing something,
how many times things repeat, you know, what kind of changes, crescendos,
you know, heavy parts, whatever. It's all just like us
in the studio together kind of jamming feeling it out.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Yeah, that's awesome. And because you guys do have that
more live aspect or feel, does it take you a
really short amount of goes to get a song to
where it feels right.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
It's across the board. Some of them are just like
come very quickly and naturally. I'm just like, I guess
that's it. I guess we're done, you know. And the
other ones, it's like, man, something just doesn't feel right.
Let's try a different bridge, Let's try and change this up.
Maybe it's the speed, maybe it's the effects we're using, whatever,
And sometimes it really takes a lot of extra changing
and draft work, but it's across the board.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
Yeah, Yeah, And we're bands like Mogway and Cigar Ross
direct influences for you guys.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
Especially early on. Yeah, I wanted to do this band
when I had just been kind of spending a lot
of time in the hardcore scene and playing hardware music
and stuff, and I've always loved post rock, and I
was just like, man, I just really want to like
get on the lighter side and be playing some atmospheric
stuff with a ton of delay and stuff. And at
(07:51):
that time I was listening to a lot of like Explosions, Sky, Cigaroes, Maguay,
Cassie and like all kinds of stuff like at and
I just, like, you know, asked a few friends, Hey,
anybody want to play stuff like this, and like a
few few of my friends the guys in in the
band are like, oh yeah, I would love to do that,
and so we just got together and started playing.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Yeah, that's awesome. And is there any bands at the
moment that you're really impressed by? They don't have to
be within the same genre as you, guys, but yeah,
what bands are you liking at the moment?
Speaker 1 (08:24):
Wow? Across the board, I think all the last few
records that Touche Moria has put out, I've just been phenomenal.
I've been listening to a lot of like singer songwriters
and stuff. There's this guy Darryl Ron. There's this kind
of like alt country, like the alternative if you will.
It's weird. It's like kind of like alternative folk. But
(08:46):
then there's like some slad guitar and banjo and stuff,
but it's not country, it's like adjacent and it's just yeah,
a great songwriter. I actually got turned onto an Australian
band recently, Press Club Yea is awesome and I really
love I've been listening to a lot of different stuff
(09:12):
as far as like influential bands that have like kind
of influenced our sound. I think that Thrice would be
a big influence on kind of our more modern sound
and just any sort of like post hardcore, citizen basement
things like that.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
Yeah, awesome. And what was the concept behind the video
of Catching Up?
Speaker 1 (09:41):
Well, I've I've had this kind of strong feeling that
it's really hard to do sort of a like a
video treatment of like a storyline unless you have a
full production and really good you know, like writing for
that portion and acting and all of these things. You're
basically making a small movie. And I feel like, as
(10:02):
far as a DIY video goes, it's really hard to
pull that off. So we kind of knew early on
we just wanted to do like a very simple performance video,
but we wanted it to be shot in kind of
a clean space, and so we found this photo studio
in La Our friend She and Smith came down. We
said like, hey man, we just want to get some
shots and do your thing, like whatever you think will
(10:22):
look cool. And so we just set up and played
through the song a bunch of times. And it's funny.
There's a there was like a moving roundabout on the floor,
and we were like, oh, that's kind of funny. It
would be funny if we like got some shots of
us spinning around on the spinning floor. Yeah, and so
we did and ended up kind of being the shots
that we like the most. And you know those are
(10:43):
in the video quite a little.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
So that's how you did it. It was like a
spinning plight on the floor.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
The whole entire floors was on a motor and it
would spin and everything. And I mean it makes sense
for like video or photo shoots and stuff like that.
We can actually pull ours on it the car and
then spin the car around. Yeah, and we're like, well,
let's go for it, let's get a shot. This was
so funny that the part that we thought was going
(11:09):
to be cheeky or funny as like a joke ended
up being kind of the coolest shots. Sing.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
Yeah, that's it. And how do you know when a
song is finished? We've kind of talked about this already,
but how do you know when a song is finished?
Especially in the genre built on layering and dynamics.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
It's a great question. It's it's just the feel, you know.
It's like, obviously when you're in a band with a
bunch of people, there's compromise, you know, and finding the
point where everyone is happy enough. We always talk about
it as a band and saying like, hey, don't just
give in, don't just say like, yeah, it's fine, I'll
play that whatever if you don't like it, you know, like,
(11:49):
let's just keep working until everybody's happy. Yeah. So once
we get to that point and one goes, yeah, like
that feels good, let's let's roll with that, that's when
we call it, you know. And so it's just kind
of iterations and people and a lot of times it
really has to do with that individual's part. You know,
they might not be happy with just what they're playing,
so we just keep playing it until they make a
new part at a new lay or whatever it is,
(12:11):
until everybody feels like, ye, that's it. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
And with the writing especially, is that something that is
really just personal to you or does everyone else also
have a saying that.
Speaker 1 (12:25):
As far as the lyrics, yeah, yeah, I think the
majority is coming from me, but I definitely share it
with the group and make sure that there's nothing in
there that anybody is not agreeing with, you know, or
they can't stand behind. You know. It's like, you know,
putting it out there into the world. It's like everyone's
(12:45):
being represented, so trying to make sure that I'm not
misrepresenting anyone else's views or feelings, you know, and I
think generally we're aligned on that.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
Yeah, And what's been the biggest challenge you face so
far as a group?
Speaker 1 (13:04):
I would say consistency. We're just you know, people are
we're getting older, some guys have kids, some of our
business owners. Everyone's really busy. So it's just hard to
like have the consistency of playing a lot and like, so,
you know, it just everything takes longer. You know, when
we're writing, it takes longer because we're not getting together
as often and so we're you know, sometimes it feels
(13:27):
like two steps forward, one step back. It's like, wait,
what did we do last time? I remember somebody had
this part that we really liked. What was it? You know,
like remember, so I'd say that's it. But you know,
we've been playing a long time and it's kind of
like when we get together, it feels like it just
gels and ye were.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
And how did you all meet? Because I know it
was way back in the earlier two thousands. That's crazy
that you guys have been going for so long.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
Yeah, So Darryl and I the bass player, and in transmission,
him and I were in a hardcore band in like
the late nineties early two thousands together, and then Daniel
Cardoz of the other guitar player my old band, played
with his old hardcore band, and so we're friends do that.
We worked together, and then the drummer we just knew
(14:18):
through mutual people. And then the only person that I
had not known for a long time was Jerome the
other guitar player, but he's been friends with Garrett the
drummer for a long time. So when we were getting together,
we were playing and Garrett just suggested Jerome could be
a good fit. He came on and he was just
an awesome dude and great guitar player, and so we're like, yeah,
this is perfect.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
That's so cool. So it seems like the community was
kind of tight knit, and you all sort of knew
someone that knew someone.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
Yeah. I think that's generally the case in music. Most
music scenes, it's like those people from other bands and yeah,
oh that's wicked.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
And do you see yourself sticking with post rock or
evolving into other sounds over time.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
I can see us continuing on with the sound that
we're kind of going with on betterment. It just feels
like kind of in our wheelhouse and a culmination of
like everything we've done in the past kind of got
us to this point and it just kind of feels natural.
And I don't know, we'll see what happens, but yeah,
I couldn't imagine us veering too far off from that
(15:24):
or going in too much of a different path. And
it's like this just kind of feels right, it makes sense.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
Yeah, And I feel like you guys have already as
well experimented away from your earliest sound, but while as
you said, you also still incorporate that earliest sound, but
you have you know, explored other areas. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:44):
Yeah, I don't think we would go much heavier than this.
You know, it's like we're all playing hardcore bands still
and so we kind of scratch that itch over there,
and I don't think we would go much lighter because
we kind of already did that and felt like, you know,
we always wanted to go a little heavier. So it
just feels like right in the middle, sweet spot.
Speaker 2 (16:03):
Yeah, yeah, I agree, And who takes the long list
to get ready before a show and what exactly are
they doing that entire hour?
Speaker 1 (16:13):
It's probably me because it's not you know, the vocals
are like scene is so hard. It's not. It doesn't
come naturally for me. It's like it takes a lot
of effort and a lot of work. I'm not just
like a natural singer. So it's something I've been learning
over the years and and it just takes so much
like warming up and practice and all this stuff to
(16:36):
like do that. I've had it. I've had a lot
of fun learning and like getting to where I am
right now. But it's definitely a lot of work, and
it's uh, you know, I'm very jealous of those people
that I can just naturally sing so easily, and it's
I wish I had that. I don't. Also, I have
to i and put a lot of work into it.
Speaker 2 (16:55):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, And so obviously you there's a lot
of preser before and after a show. Do you like
to do you have to recover and really take care
of your voice as well after a show?
Speaker 1 (17:08):
Yeah, I think it depends too on like all of this,
all of the contributors, like can I hear myself? You know?
Like when you can hear yourself really well, Like in
a studio setting, it's much easier. It's like you can
just hear all the notes you want to do. It's
like way easier. But in a life setting sometimes you
can't hear things like years are bed or the monitors
(17:29):
are not working on whatever it may be, and it
just kind of like changes the whole dynamic, and you're
trying to push harder, to be louder, to like hear
yourself better, and so it really just depends on all that. Yeah. Yeah,
if it's a situation where I can hear everything and
it's good, then it's no problem. But sometimes that's not
the case, and it's it's more strenuous.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
Yeah. Yeah, I never thought about that. And have there
been any fan reactions online or at shows that really
stick with you or have made you reflect on the
impact of your music.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
Us to play one of our songs or a piece
of our song in their wedding as they walk down
the aisle, And that was to me, that was like
super touching. I was just like, wow, you you like
this melody that we made so much that you want
to walk down the aisle to it, Like that's crazy,
like a really stripped down version of equipment, small equipment,
but had like a full live band, and we played
(18:28):
the song like while they walked down the aisle, and
I was like, I'll never forget that.
Speaker 2 (18:31):
That's beautiful. Do you know which song it was?
Speaker 1 (18:36):
I can't remember the name. It was off of our
Second Pig. Yeah, but it was just like this one
bridge and it's like a really pretty guitar part and
like really kind of like atmospheric and pretty, and it
made sense for the setting, you know, and I just
never really thought about that, but it was it was
really cool to like get that request, you know, like
all the songs you can pick for your wedding. Yeah,
(18:56):
they want you to come play live as I walked
down the Okay, possible.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
That's beautiful. Well that's so I wish I had that idea.
And do you have any tour plans after the EPA drops?
Can we hope to see you in Australia?
Speaker 1 (19:14):
Oh man, that would be great. No big plans right now.
It's just kind of one of our members just had
a baby and then another member is having a baby
at the beginning of the year. So as far as
playing live, it's kind of things are on hold for me. Yeah, yeah,
I mean I would love to come to Australia.
Speaker 2 (19:35):
Oh beautiful. Have any of you guys ever been here before?
Speaker 1 (19:41):
I have not. I believe a couple of the members have. Yeah,
I have not been there. It's high on my list.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
Yes, yeah, beautiful. And do you know what you'd like
to experience once you do, hopefully finally get over here.
Speaker 1 (20:01):
I surfing is a big part of my life.
Speaker 2 (20:04):
Oh wow. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:06):
We love to spend a bunch of time like cruising
up and down the coast and like a camper dam
with a bunch of surfboards and just like experience all
the nature and all the awesome surf spots and stuff.
It's yeah, that's definitely, Andrew. That's why I think that's
why I haven't gone yet, because I'm like I need
to go and I can like have a month there
(20:26):
and just spend some time, not like one week.
Speaker 2 (20:28):
And yes, yeah, exactly, no, exactly. That's awesome Martin. Congratulations
on catching up. We're loving it. We hope to see
you guys Obiki soon. Thank you so much for your time.
Speaker 1 (20:40):
Thank you. How do you go on
My name is Martin. I am the singer and guitar
player in transmission.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Beautiful, Thanks so much. Catching Up is a powerful track.
What inspired it and how does it reflect the rest
of betterment?
Speaker 1 (00:16):
The inspiration really comes from just all the things that
are happening in our world. There's a lot of frustrations.
There's a lot of bad things happening in our world,
and I feel like a lot of people kind of
get stuck in their own little narrow window of their
own lives and don't really pay attention to what's happening
(00:38):
around the world. And so that's why it's you know,
the lyrics of like, you know, when it's out of
sight and out of mind, it's that's easy if you
don't care about what's happening. But eventually that's going to
come back around and catch up with us. You know.
It's like whether it's environmental issues or civil issues, you know,
if we ignore these things and just focus on our
(01:00):
own individual lives, things aren't going to get better, and
it's going to catch up to us. Yeah, definitely. The
rest of the EP, I mean, that's that's basically the
fame across the board is just there's a lot of
I have a lot of frustration with the lack of
care that people put into their decisions on a daily basis.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
You know.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
It's like we just tend to like worry about what
we have to do in our own lives and without
what the consequences are or how our decisions affect the
rest of the world, you know.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Yeah, definitely, and like the bigger picture, how how little
actions can affect the bigger picture as well.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
I think, yeah, And you know, being individuals, it's like
we can't change things individually, you know, on the grand scale,
But the only power we do have is the decisions
we make every day with our money, how we spend
our money. You know, that's kind of the only real
control we have. And since everything's rooted in money and
(01:58):
greed anyways, you know, it's like, and of the only
way we can make the difference is paying attention to
how we spend and who we spend our money with
and where we contribute that, you know. So it's like
trying to take that extra step to really think about
it when we're making those decisions is kind of the
hope and the role.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
Yeah, I like it. I like a very strong and
powerful message behind the album and the title as well,
betterment suggests growth. What kind of personal or creative changes
shaped the EP.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
Oh Boy, Well, you know, we've been a band for
quite a while and we kind of just take things
slow and we're just doing whatever feels natural. And our
sound has kind of changed over the years and has progressed,
and we started out with a bit more of like
a kind of post rock instrumental vibe, and over the years,
(02:55):
myself personally, I've just always kind of wanted to like
learn to sing more and better and so put in
a lot of effort to try and do that, and
so it just kind of naturally evolved into that where
now we just have a bit more of like a
vocal forward, kind of alternative indeed kind of sound. So
it's kind of just this idea of trying to do
(03:19):
better in all aspects and just trying to move forward,
whether that's creatively or like we've talked about, you know,
making a difference in the world. Y're just trying a
little bit harder, you know, in all aspects, and that's
just kind of where we ended up. And you know,
it's it's quite a bit difference. It's funny. We were
listening to like our older material and just campaign and
be like, wow, we totally sound like a different band,
(03:41):
but well into it. You know, it's been a lot
of fun trying different things and kind of still holding
onto a little bit of the original sound.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
And yeah, that's it. So do you think you've not
found your sound because obviously you found your sound quite
a while ago, but this it's maybe changed for the better.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Yeah, I think so. I think over the years, we've
always had some songs that were much softer and lighter
and more tranquil, and then we've had some songs that
were heavier and more aggressive, and we always kind of
leaned towards more of the heavier songs. A lot of
us then come from like hardcore backgrounds and stuff, and
so I think we just naturally gravitate towards that direction
(04:21):
while still trying to incorporate all the layers of the
atmosphere and you know, melodies with the guitars and stuff.
But yeah, I think when we play live, it's like
we always tend to make a set list that's a
little bit on the heavier side. So yeah, I think
this new EP has a bit more of that.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
Awesome and had it. Working with Bo Virtual influenced the
sounder direction of the project.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
I've done many records with BO, and I hope and
pray that I can do every record from here on
out with Bo because he's literally just the best person
to work with. It's just always a good experience. He's
so good at what he does, and it's interesting because
it's he definitely helps mold the sound, but he's very
(05:06):
open to just letting the bin and like do what
we're going to do. He just kind of like picks
up on what we're trying to do and goes, oh,
maybe you know, go this direction or do this and that,
and it's always like it always feels like it's still less.
It's I know some producers are very like involved where
they're like, no, you have to completely change this, do
something different. But doesn't do that, and it just like
takes what we have and makes a sound way better
(05:27):
than we are.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
Yeah, that's awesome. So you could really like give him
what you guys had and then he could add his
little sort of twiaks or whatever in there.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
Yeah, exactly, and both so like musically talented and diverse
that he can kind of just like adapt to whatever
band's doing their thing. You know, it's not like it
just has to be Bow's sound. It's in the band
and like just really helps us enhance what we're doing.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
Yeah, that's weak and post rock realized heavily on atmosphere.
How do you keep structure an emotion shouldn't balance in
your writing.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
I think for us, we've always been kind of a
live feel type of writing band, and so these songs,
similarly to our previous stuff has all been just like
product of us getting together and jamming together. Yeah, and
so it's just like kind of going off of feel.
I think the only difference now is like now I'm
in the back of my head going okay, at some
(06:25):
point I'm gonna have to try and sing over this.
So how do we kind of structure that to make
it make sense? But generally we're just going off feel
and like what feels right. How many times we're doing something,
how many times things repeat, you know, what kind of changes, crescendos,
you know, heavy parts, whatever. It's all just like us
in the studio together kind of jamming feeling it out.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Yeah, that's awesome. And because you guys do have that
more live aspect or feel, does it take you a
really short amount of goes to get a song to
where it feels right.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
It's across the board. Some of them are just like
come very quickly and naturally. I'm just like, I guess
that's it. I guess we're done, you know. And the
other ones, it's like, man, something just doesn't feel right.
Let's try a different bridge, Let's try and change this up.
Maybe it's the speed, maybe it's the effects we're using, whatever,
And sometimes it really takes a lot of extra changing
and draft work, but it's across the board.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
Yeah, Yeah, And we're bands like Mogway and Cigar Ross
direct influences for you guys.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
Especially early on. Yeah, I wanted to do this band
when I had just been kind of spending a lot
of time in the hardcore scene and playing hardware music
and stuff, and I've always loved post rock, and I
was just like, man, I just really want to like
get on the lighter side and be playing some atmospheric
stuff with a ton of delay and stuff. And at
(07:51):
that time I was listening to a lot of like Explosions, Sky, Cigaroes, Maguay,
Cassie and like all kinds of stuff like at and
I just, like, you know, asked a few friends, Hey,
anybody want to play stuff like this, and like a
few few of my friends the guys in in the
band are like, oh yeah, I would love to do that,
and so we just got together and started playing.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Yeah, that's awesome. And is there any bands at the
moment that you're really impressed by? They don't have to
be within the same genre as you, guys, but yeah,
what bands are you liking at the moment?
Speaker 1 (08:24):
Wow? Across the board, I think all the last few
records that Touche Moria has put out, I've just been phenomenal.
I've been listening to a lot of like singer songwriters
and stuff. There's this guy Darryl Ron. There's this kind
of like alt country, like the alternative if you will.
It's weird. It's like kind of like alternative folk. But
(08:46):
then there's like some slad guitar and banjo and stuff,
but it's not country, it's like adjacent and it's just yeah,
a great songwriter. I actually got turned onto an Australian
band recently, Press Club Yea is awesome and I really
love I've been listening to a lot of different stuff
(09:12):
as far as like influential bands that have like kind
of influenced our sound. I think that Thrice would be
a big influence on kind of our more modern sound
and just any sort of like post hardcore, citizen basement
things like that.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
Yeah, awesome. And what was the concept behind the video
of Catching Up?
Speaker 1 (09:41):
Well, I've I've had this kind of strong feeling that
it's really hard to do sort of a like a
video treatment of like a storyline unless you have a
full production and really good you know, like writing for
that portion and acting and all of these things. You're
basically making a small movie. And I feel like, as
(10:02):
far as a DIY video goes, it's really hard to
pull that off. So we kind of knew early on
we just wanted to do like a very simple performance video,
but we wanted it to be shot in kind of
a clean space, and so we found this photo studio
in La Our friend She and Smith came down. We
said like, hey man, we just want to get some
shots and do your thing, like whatever you think will
(10:22):
look cool. And so we just set up and played
through the song a bunch of times. And it's funny.
There's a there was like a moving roundabout on the floor,
and we were like, oh, that's kind of funny. It
would be funny if we like got some shots of
us spinning around on the spinning floor. Yeah, and so
we did and ended up kind of being the shots
that we like the most. And you know those are
(10:43):
in the video quite a little.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
So that's how you did it. It was like a
spinning plight on the floor.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
The whole entire floors was on a motor and it
would spin and everything. And I mean it makes sense
for like video or photo shoots and stuff like that.
We can actually pull ours on it the car and
then spin the car around. Yeah, and we're like, well,
let's go for it, let's get a shot. This was
so funny that the part that we thought was going
(11:09):
to be cheeky or funny as like a joke ended
up being kind of the coolest shots. Sing.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
Yeah, that's it. And how do you know when a
song is finished? We've kind of talked about this already,
but how do you know when a song is finished?
Especially in the genre built on layering and dynamics.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
It's a great question. It's it's just the feel, you know.
It's like, obviously when you're in a band with a
bunch of people, there's compromise, you know, and finding the
point where everyone is happy enough. We always talk about
it as a band and saying like, hey, don't just
give in, don't just say like, yeah, it's fine, I'll
play that whatever if you don't like it, you know, like,
(11:49):
let's just keep working until everybody's happy. Yeah. So once
we get to that point and one goes, yeah, like
that feels good, let's let's roll with that, that's when
we call it, you know. And so it's just kind
of iterations and people and a lot of times it
really has to do with that individual's part. You know,
they might not be happy with just what they're playing,
so we just keep playing it until they make a
new part at a new lay or whatever it is,
(12:11):
until everybody feels like, ye, that's it. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
And with the writing especially, is that something that is
really just personal to you or does everyone else also
have a saying that.
Speaker 1 (12:25):
As far as the lyrics, yeah, yeah, I think the
majority is coming from me, but I definitely share it
with the group and make sure that there's nothing in
there that anybody is not agreeing with, you know, or
they can't stand behind. You know. It's like, you know,
putting it out there into the world. It's like everyone's
(12:45):
being represented, so trying to make sure that I'm not
misrepresenting anyone else's views or feelings, you know, and I
think generally we're aligned on that.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
Yeah, And what's been the biggest challenge you face so
far as a group?
Speaker 1 (13:04):
I would say consistency. We're just you know, people are
we're getting older, some guys have kids, some of our
business owners. Everyone's really busy. So it's just hard to
like have the consistency of playing a lot and like, so,
you know, it just everything takes longer. You know, when
we're writing, it takes longer because we're not getting together
as often and so we're you know, sometimes it feels
(13:27):
like two steps forward, one step back. It's like, wait,
what did we do last time? I remember somebody had
this part that we really liked. What was it? You know,
like remember, so I'd say that's it. But you know,
we've been playing a long time and it's kind of
like when we get together, it feels like it just
gels and ye were.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
And how did you all meet? Because I know it
was way back in the earlier two thousands. That's crazy
that you guys have been going for so long.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
Yeah, So Darryl and I the bass player, and in transmission,
him and I were in a hardcore band in like
the late nineties early two thousands together, and then Daniel
Cardoz of the other guitar player my old band, played
with his old hardcore band, and so we're friends do that.
We worked together, and then the drummer we just knew
(14:18):
through mutual people. And then the only person that I
had not known for a long time was Jerome the
other guitar player, but he's been friends with Garrett the
drummer for a long time. So when we were getting together,
we were playing and Garrett just suggested Jerome could be
a good fit. He came on and he was just
an awesome dude and great guitar player, and so we're like, yeah,
this is perfect.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
That's so cool. So it seems like the community was
kind of tight knit, and you all sort of knew
someone that knew someone.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
Yeah. I think that's generally the case in music. Most
music scenes, it's like those people from other bands and yeah,
oh that's wicked.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
And do you see yourself sticking with post rock or
evolving into other sounds over time.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
I can see us continuing on with the sound that
we're kind of going with on betterment. It just feels
like kind of in our wheelhouse and a culmination of
like everything we've done in the past kind of got
us to this point and it just kind of feels natural.
And I don't know, we'll see what happens, but yeah,
I couldn't imagine us veering too far off from that
(15:24):
or going in too much of a different path. And
it's like this just kind of feels right, it makes sense.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
Yeah, And I feel like you guys have already as
well experimented away from your earliest sound, but while as
you said, you also still incorporate that earliest sound, but
you have you know, explored other areas. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:44):
Yeah, I don't think we would go much heavier than this.
You know, it's like we're all playing hardcore bands still
and so we kind of scratch that itch over there,
and I don't think we would go much lighter because
we kind of already did that and felt like, you know,
we always wanted to go a little heavier. So it
just feels like right in the middle, sweet spot.
Speaker 2 (16:03):
Yeah, yeah, I agree, And who takes the long list
to get ready before a show and what exactly are
they doing that entire hour?
Speaker 1 (16:13):
It's probably me because it's not you know, the vocals
are like scene is so hard. It's not. It doesn't
come naturally for me. It's like it takes a lot
of effort and a lot of work. I'm not just
like a natural singer. So it's something I've been learning
over the years and and it just takes so much
like warming up and practice and all this stuff to
(16:36):
like do that. I've had it. I've had a lot
of fun learning and like getting to where I am
right now. But it's definitely a lot of work, and
it's uh, you know, I'm very jealous of those people
that I can just naturally sing so easily, and it's
I wish I had that. I don't. Also, I have
to i and put a lot of work into it.
Speaker 2 (16:55):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, And so obviously you there's a lot
of preser before and after a show. Do you like
to do you have to recover and really take care
of your voice as well after a show?
Speaker 1 (17:08):
Yeah, I think it depends too on like all of this,
all of the contributors, like can I hear myself? You know?
Like when you can hear yourself really well, Like in
a studio setting, it's much easier. It's like you can
just hear all the notes you want to do. It's
like way easier. But in a life setting sometimes you
can't hear things like years are bed or the monitors
(17:29):
are not working on whatever it may be, and it
just kind of like changes the whole dynamic, and you're
trying to push harder, to be louder, to like hear
yourself better, and so it really just depends on all that. Yeah. Yeah,
if it's a situation where I can hear everything and
it's good, then it's no problem. But sometimes that's not
the case, and it's it's more strenuous.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
Yeah. Yeah, I never thought about that. And have there
been any fan reactions online or at shows that really
stick with you or have made you reflect on the
impact of your music.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
Us to play one of our songs or a piece
of our song in their wedding as they walk down
the aisle, And that was to me, that was like
super touching. I was just like, wow, you you like
this melody that we made so much that you want
to walk down the aisle to it, Like that's crazy,
like a really stripped down version of equipment, small equipment,
but had like a full live band, and we played
(18:28):
the song like while they walked down the aisle, and
I was like, I'll never forget that.
Speaker 2 (18:31):
That's beautiful. Do you know which song it was?
Speaker 1 (18:36):
I can't remember the name. It was off of our
Second Pig. Yeah, but it was just like this one
bridge and it's like a really pretty guitar part and
like really kind of like atmospheric and pretty, and it
made sense for the setting, you know, and I just
never really thought about that, but it was it was
really cool to like get that request, you know, like
all the songs you can pick for your wedding. Yeah,
(18:56):
they want you to come play live as I walked
down the Okay, possible.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
That's beautiful. Well that's so I wish I had that idea.
And do you have any tour plans after the EPA drops?
Can we hope to see you in Australia?
Speaker 1 (19:14):
Oh man, that would be great. No big plans right now.
It's just kind of one of our members just had
a baby and then another member is having a baby
at the beginning of the year. So as far as
playing live, it's kind of things are on hold for me. Yeah, yeah,
I mean I would love to come to Australia.
Speaker 2 (19:35):
Oh beautiful. Have any of you guys ever been here before?
Speaker 1 (19:41):
I have not. I believe a couple of the members have. Yeah,
I have not been there. It's high on my list.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
Yes, yeah, beautiful. And do you know what you'd like
to experience once you do, hopefully finally get over here.
Speaker 1 (20:01):
I surfing is a big part of my life.
Speaker 2 (20:04):
Oh wow. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:06):
We love to spend a bunch of time like cruising
up and down the coast and like a camper dam
with a bunch of surfboards and just like experience all
the nature and all the awesome surf spots and stuff.
It's yeah, that's definitely, Andrew. That's why I think that's
why I haven't gone yet, because I'm like I need
to go and I can like have a month there
(20:26):
and just spend some time, not like one week.
Speaker 2 (20:28):
And yes, yeah, exactly, no, exactly. That's awesome Martin. Congratulations
on catching up. We're loving it. We hope to see
you guys Obiki soon. Thank you so much for your time.
Speaker 1 (20:40):
Thank you. How do you go on
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