The Function of Dreams: An Interview with Mark Owen of We Lost The Sea

Sydney post-rockers We Lost The Sea have just released their new album, A Single Flower, and are about to embark on their first USA tour along with hubris. Long time fan and friend of the band Gilbert Potts connected with founding member Mark Owen to discuss.

Gilbert Potts: Thanks for agreeing to an interview with Will Not Fade, and congratulations on the new album A Single Flower and the US tour.

Mark Owen: Thanks Gilbert, I know this isn’t a question, but I just wanted to thank you for your support over the years. It is always great to see you up front of the stage having a great time. Your passion is infectious and you have become a very valued member of the big extended WLTS family.

1. What’s the most beautiful sound you’ve ever heard?

Oh man, this is a hard one. Let me think about it. I’ll let you know.

2. You’ve built a strong following over the last eighteen odd years from just four releases, and for many fans it’s mostly the appeal of the thirteen tracks from the last two, instrumental ones. Why do you think people feel such a strong connection to your music?

I think maybe it seems to work out that way for a few reasons. With Departure Songs we really talked about a universal phenomenon of grief and loss, something that everyone experiences, as Nick Cave says: “that if we love, we grieve.” With Triumph & Disaster, we talked about our, humanities, relationships with the earth and each other and it came out at the perfect time really, in the middle of the plague. Well, maybe great topically, just not for touring a new album. Ha.

These are things that people can easily connect to, can easily empathise with and can feel heard about. Which is what we all want at the end of the day, to be seen, feel heard and have our fears and hopes and dreams validated. I think the storytelling and the artwork really helps, although we strive to not be disingenuous. We never write a riff we don’t mean, if it’s angry we are angry about something, if it’s sad we are sad about something. Art imitates life. Listeners can discern if someone is being full of shit, they might not be able to articulate it, but they can tell, especially live. I’ve seen a bunch of Post-Rock bands who are NOT genuine and it really comes across as a bit gross live.

Another reason, without tooting our own horn, we are pretty approachable guys. We love a laugh and a beer and we always try to make time online or in person to talk to people. It has led to some really memorable funny moments as well as hearing some horrifying and heartbreaking stories. We’ve been put into this really amazing position where we get to hear all these peoples stories and it’s a privilege.

3. You’re the last OG of WLTS. What have you gained along the way, both as a band and you personally?

I have experienced some of the greatest moments of my life in this band, not all of them playing shows. Some core memories have definitely been unlocked on tours outside of the shows. Drinking wine on the steps of the Sacré-Cœur with Solkyri and our crew singing “Wonderwall”, of course, bloody Australians, drinking beers in Biergartens in Dusseldorf or snow in Prague, food in China. All of it has been amazing. I’ve gained friends for life, in other bands, in promoters, in people who started as fans and became great friends (not you Bruce from Pray For Sound).I’ve been surrounded by the best crew, Matt, Zoe, Chris, Anton, Mike, Jef the list goes on. We’ve played with some of our favourite bands, met some of our favorite musicians.

But I think what I have gained most of all is a sense of meaning, in all of this. It is something I struggle with, a Camus-like constant questioning, if you follow me on social media you know some of my content can be quite nihilistic at times, and in the moments when I am playing music or sharing a vodka with a local in Poland outside the venue in Warsaw, the noise in my brain, the constant searching for meaning, quietens just a little bit. There isn’t so much of a din happening and I feel settled in that moment. I always felt like I was meant to play music and when I get to do it, I get to share these moments in time with an audience. It’s like everything just feels right.

4. What are you happy to have lost on your journey, and what do you miss?

I am glad we’ve lost a lot of negativity, the band is in an amazing place right now, personally and believe me when I say that over the, just under, 20 years we’ve been a band, we’ve been through it. All kinds of through it. We’ve been angsty and drunks and combative and mistrusting, the entire gambit, all those things that can happen when you have a creative relationship with people. We’ve all been dealing with all of our own bullshit, then wins and the loses and then you walk into a band room and the smallest thing is wrong and next thing you know you feel like a lone soldier landing at normandy, a bit dramatic, maybe.

Actually Matt Harvey described us and I think he was being kind as ‘a bit dramatic’ and I couldn’t have put it better myself. But for the first time in the life of the band it feels very settled, I don’t spend a lot of time mitigating problems or dealing with one drama with one band member or another. I love the guys and it just feels really good.

What I miss is the simplicity of playing a show at venues like The Old Bar or Blackwire Records. Booking a show, doing a flyer and turning up. Maybe you have merch, maybe you don’t. You drink your door take in beers and you just have a great time. Now there is always so much to think about, so much money changing hands, so many people involved. So many fucking emails.

5. Your new release, A Single Flower, has clear WLTS DNA, but you’ve explored new structures, sounds and emotions. From 6:15 on in “Everything Here is Black and Binding” is a good example of the unexpected. What has been inspiring this move away from the more familiar crescendocore?

I have found that the general consensus amongst our fellow post-rockers is that a lot of us don’t listen to a lot of post-rock. I mean, I actually feel like we kind of fell into the genre and while I am happy to have found a home, I don’t love the label per se. So as a band we all listen to a lot of different music, I find myself not actually listening to heaps of music these days, I know I know I should. I am pretty bad at staying on top of new releases etc, I mostly listen to Audiobooks, I have for the last few years, follow me on Goodreads! Ha.

So we try to write what we like, what we want to hear. We don’t actually ever intentionally talk about what styles of things we want or how we want a song to end up being, most of the time. Sometimes, for example “If they Had Hearts” I had a pretty clear vision of how I wanted it to be, what the end result was and how I wanted to achieve that. Likewise, “Everything Here is Black and Binding” was really pushed by Matt (Harvey) who had that guitar motif and the big dirty fuzz part for a long time. And we tried to deviate from it a fair bit and we kept on coming back to the simple almost electronic idea. He wanted a very NIN vibe and we took that general vibe and then pushed it through the WLTS meat grinder.

Just exploring new ways to get heavy or big is always exciting. We all come from heavy band backgrounds and love big riffs and big dirty guitars, and a lot of Matt’s natural playing style is aggressive and angular and he always writes unique to him parts. So he led the charge on this one and fought the good fight to keep it within his vision. The new record feels like a lot more people had moments to stand on a hill and die for parts, if that makes sense.

When things start happening in the writing room ideas can snowball and things move quickly when we are cooking. So it takes a bit of coaxing and a bit of bravery to stand up and say this part is really good, but it’s not what I wanted it to be, and he did that. It was actually the song I had the least to do with overall, still involved, but I intentionally took a back seat because he really had the vision, so I just trusted him and went with it and the results speak for themselves.

6. Your new drummer, Alasdair Belling, has brought a new style following the departure of Nathaniel D’Ugo. The production of A Single Flower has also brought a sharper drum sound to the fore. You must be happy with how the transition has gone?

I literally couldn’t be happier. Al has been such a revelation, such a great breath of fresh air. He brings not only his amazing ability as a drummer but he also has added such a great positive vibe to our band. He’s young and excited and keen to do anything. Obviously after Nathaniel being with the band for such a long time there was a lot of anxiety around the change and it was such a big change to make.

But Al has made it a dream. I could crack on for a long time about how much I love the dude and am grateful for him being in our little band of miscreants but I won’t, I will say though, that we as a band felt in a pretty dark place and I think his joining and what he has brought to the table probably saved us from extinction. I started this band in 2007, it’s been going a long time and the fire was burning low, the writing process had all but stalled and it was growing increasingly difficult to a, get together with D’Ugo living in Perth and b, to write in the room together. The creative fire had gone out and we had hit a wall. When we added Al it lit a fire. The first demo’s for one or two of the ideas on the record were recorded almost 6 years ago and we didn’t have one complete song. Al joined in Oct 2023 and Christmas Day 2024 (shout out to our legend Mastering engineer, Simon Struthers, who finished mastering the record on Christmas Day while holidaying in Japan) it had all been wrapped up.

One thing I love about Al’s drumming on this record is that he’s taken what Nathaniel had established over the years and has just evolved it. Al plays well within his abilities and really was respectful of Nathaniel’s legacy in a way. He does at moments unleash and show us all what a monster drummer he is and he’s also a very good songwriter which really helped. I think when we start writing again he’ll really be able to establish his own style more and I am very excited about that.

As for the production Tim Carr, our Orb Father, did such an amazing job. Everything sounds incredible and we have had a lot of people comment on the drum sound. One thing we did was I wanted to discern Al and Nathaniel in some audible way, something more aural that wasn’t immediately obvious, so I basically told Al i wanted him to trying recording with a vintage Ludwig kit, get that John Bonham, Dave from Russian Circles vibe, more than a traditional drum sound and because Al is a trooper he was happy to, and it worked out really well!

7. Sophie Trudeau of Godspeed You! Black Emperor wrote, recorded and mixed the strings on “The Gloaming”. How did that come about?

It came about with me drinking probably a bottle of red by myself one night, and thinking about the piano piece I wrote and thinking about how I could make it really special. I LOVE Godspeed, they are my favourite band of all time. I think everything about them is amazing, the music, the ethos, the whole thing is amazing. Greg Norman who recorded Triumph & Disaster is from Chicago and he works out of Electric Audio Studios, Steve Albini’s studio and he had recorded two of the previous Godspeed records.

Greg is an absolute legend and we had an amazing time with him and became good friends. So I shot him a drunken email saying “hey I’ve got a dumb idea and please tell me if you aren’t cool, but could you pretty please put me in touch with Sophie from Godspeed.” He said yes and did, and she was absolutely lovely. Godspeed were going on tour and it didn’t look like it was going to happen, but I was just very happy to have her be open to it and I essentially said “If it doesn’t work that’s all okay maybe we can do something further down the line” and I had basically moved on.

I got an email only a few days before we basically needed to submit the record to get mastered and she said that due to a band member illness she was back early and did I still want her to do something, which the answer of course was hell yes. So I didn’t really give her any direction at all and she wrote, recorded and mixed the strings and sent it through to me. I was actually driving a work truck at the time when I got it and I pulled over to listen to it and it was perfect, better than I had ever imagined. It was exactly what I wanted, what it needed and I am so grateful for her, especially considering what the song is about. It feels very right that it was her to play on it.

1.2 What’s the most beautiful sound you’ve ever heard?

There is one moment in “The Gloaming” where Sophie does this one run that is THE MOMENT for me. I am sure there are plenty of other answers but right now that is the one.

8. When streaming started it changed the music industry. There were good changes and bad changes, but everyone has had to adapt and there is more music out there than ever. What brings in money for a band your size? What are some of the new ideas you’ve played with to increase awareness and income from music?

Streaming has allowed basically everyone in the world access to our music, which inherently is good. The problem becomes the total oversaturation as well as the problematic pay structures, the complete utter domination by the top tier bands and of course old mate from sp0tify being a warmongering piece of shit. I think to combat this we’ve tried to part of communities. I am in so many online groups and I jump on Reddit and we respond to as many fans who send us messages and emails as we possibly can. I think that connectedness has really helped us with our community and the ability to keep those who are already fans engaged and looking forward to new music, new tours, new merch etc.

I think the hard part is breaking through all the white noise and getting your music out there to new listeners. We aren’t a cool, young hip band, so Tiktok and the likes have no use for us and essentially we’ve been relying on fans to spread the word about us. We’ve also dropped two new clips, one of us in the studio and another which Matt worked hard on with Simeon from Siems. That kind of content helps and both have had a pretty good reach, as well as things like being on some TV shows and the superbowl etc. We’ve always focused on putting out quality, we have really high standards and not much gets past us

9. You’re off to the US very soon. What can your fans over there expect to hear? And can you bring me back some Hatch Green Chilie?

Yes, very excited about it. They should expect to hear a bunch of the new stuff and also of course the old favourites. I think they are lucky, they are getting the best version of the band yet and the best live version and the best live sound we’ve had. So get ready to have a good time/good cry.

And yes, sure. Where do I get it from?

10. You also have some Australian dates coming up in October/November. Last time I saw you the crowd demanded an encore and we got “Balaklava Cold” sans vocals, and it also popped up with vox just before Covid hit. Is there any chance of hearing some more earlier stuff sometime in the future?

We will never say never. Those songs are a big part of our DNA and I love them. The Quietest Place on Earth is my favourite record of ours, well until this new one and I love throwing down heavy riffs with vocals. However, we also want to move on as a band and back ourselves for our newer stuff. But maybe, If we can convince Johannes from CoL to jump up with us, sure!

Thanks for the interview and best wishes for Flower and the tours!

Thanks man, see you at the shows!

We Lost The Sea links:

https://www.welostthesea.com/

https://welostthesea.bandcamp.com/

https://www.instagram.com/welostthesea

https://www.facebook.com/welostthesea

https://x.com/welostthesea

Interview by Gilbert Potts

It’s gonna be Okay: An interview with Taylah

I’ve been friends with Taylah quite a while now. She made the move down from her hometown of Kerikeri along with Dean from Adoneye, and soon enough a handful of their friends followed suit. They are all amazing musicians and we’d often have musical jams and parties at each other’s places. [If you watch her Flat Sessions videos on her YouTube channel you’ll see her old flat in Island Bay where a lot of these jams took place]

Taylah with OddJive at Valhalla, April 2019. Photo by Will Not Fade

I’d seen Taylah play in her old band OddJive, but I remember the first time I went to one of her gigs, doing her own music at Rogue & Vagabond. She was joined by her long time collaborator Sam Nakamura and I was floored. She has an incredibly powerful voice, and can transition between a wide range of styles with ease. Some of the music was super fun and upbeat (e.g. “Undies”), and other songs felt like vulnerable tearjerkers (e.g. “Coming Down”), but no matter the mood, the talent was undeniable. Taylah recruited more amazing musos to her band in time, and each gig was more impressive than the last. The aforementioned Flat Sessions are great examples of how good they are.

It’s never a bad time to listen to Taylah’s music. I’m a Kindergarten teacher and frequently have her music playing throughout the days as the tamariki and I play and learn. Not only is Taylah’s music fantastic and fun, but I also think her themes and messages are great for the children to absorb. She touches on things like whakapapa, self acceptance, identity as wahine Māori, and feels super down-to-earth and relatable in many respects. “Okay” is also one of my favourite songs and a total jam, so why not listen to it at work?

Taylah and Sam Nakamura at Rogue & Vagabond, Jan 2022. Photo by Will Not Fade

Taylah made the move up to Tamaki Mākaurau a few years ago as a step towards progressing her musical career. I miss seeing her as frequently as I did when she lived here, but have been hyped to see how Tay has been doing with each milestone she reaches. I had a trip to Auckland in December 2023 and went to visit her at Stebbings recording studios where she spends a lot of her time writing and recording. We had a nice day together and I loved hearing about how she’s been branching out. She’s been making moves into licensing, collaborating on EDM tracks, and learning how to self-produce.

Things have started to get especially exciting of late. Last year she was asked to join Fly My Pretties, a NZ supergroup featuring a revolving cast of some of the premiere musicians found in Aotearoa. And now on March 21, Taylah is releasing her debut EP, Tilt.

I reached out to Tay to see if she’d be down to do an interview to help promote the new release.

Joseph (Will Not Fade): Hi Tay, release day soon! How do you describe your music to people who haven’t heard it?

Taylah: I tell them that I write uplifting neo-soul with a flair of cynicism. You know, just to keep ‘em guessing.

You’ve released singles over the course of your career to date. What made you decide it was time to release a bigger body of work in the form of an EP?

Over 2024, I was writing so much music, and I didn’t know what to do with it. So I created this collection. That’s why the subject matter is so varied for this EP. It covers everything from love, corruption, and sex to magic. It feels like a time stamp of all the lessons I was experiencing over the course of the year.

I’m often really impressed by your lyrics. When writing, how much time do you dedicate to lyrics compared to the music and composition?

I’d say it’s 50/50. I’m still new to producing, so the music creation takes longer because I’m still learning new skills through the project. But writing lyrics is like second nature for me. I write a lot of poems and opinion pieces that never see the light of day, but they tend to pop out through my lyrics. I’m a firm believer that partaking in all art forms will better inform your chosen art form, if that makes sense? Like, doing pottery, cooking, dancing, or woodworking will help me write better lyrics at the end of the day.

Which of your songs are you most proud of?

From this EP, my favourite is ‘Glow’. It’s euphoric, and its message is really beautiful. But from my entire catalogue, my favourite is ‘Today is Hard’. Its lyrical flow is just so pleasing to me.

Last year, you were invited to join Fly My Pretties to co-write their new album Elemental. Tell me about that.

It was the biggest project I’ve ever been a part of. I was flown down to Pōneke for a few songwriting sessions in the beautiful Massey studios to co-write with Laughton Kora (Kora), Barnaby Weir (Black Seeds), Louis TM, and Tawaz. It was such a surreal experience to be creating music with musicians that I’ve listened to since I was a kid. The album we created is incredible, and the live show is even better! The concept surrounds Te Ao Māori and the natural elements. We’ve got another round of shows in Auckland and Christchurch coming up in May/June.

You have Casual Healing doing a guest verse on “Okay”, and you’ve been a featured vocalist on a few EDM tracks. How did that compare to your usual process?

I put on another persona when writing vocals for EDM. I’m more sultry and direct. And the vocals are much more ‘feel’ oriented, so I use a lot of imagery to evoke movement, since dancing is usually the main objective of EDM. It’s been really fun!

You’ve lent your voice to Dera Meelan for previous releases like “After Dark”, what was it like having one of your original tracks remixed by Dera?

It was really cool to see how differently our ears work. When you get a track secured in its pocket, it’s hard to hear it any other way. So a house mix of ‘Sundown’ was really refreshing to hear. Dera has this crazy ability to make sounds that shouldn’t work, musical. It shows in his work with ‘Church & AP’ which I think is vital to their unique sound.

Which musicians have you got on your radar that you’d like to collaborate with?

I would like to write with more Māori artists. I’m on my reo Māori journey, and my dream is to eventually write waiata Māori. So collaborating with artists who are already doing it would be amazing, like MĀ, Lee Stuart, or Jordyn with a Why.

A lot of your early work was produced by Tiny Triumphs, and he has mixed your new EP, but I know you’ve self-produced all your latest releases. How have you found that transition?

Hard. Toby made it look so easy! In all seriousness, though, I have found it both challenging and validating. A big lesson that helped my progress is: writing to my own taste. Instead of trying to sound like someone else, or write ‘radio’ bangers, I’ve learned that if I can listen to it and enjoy it, that’s the tahi. Basically, don’t listen to anyone else’s advice. Keep going.

I really love the covers you do. “Broke” by Samm Henshaw is obviously one that stands out. How do you settle on which songs to cover?

I can feel it in my body. I like to perform songs that feel good to sing, vibrationally. I’ve also really taken to the music coming out of London at the moment, there’s something brewing over there that’s making truly electric music.

You’ve made the shift from your home of Kerikeri to Wellington, and then to Auckland, where you’re currently based. How have things changed for you with each move?

Kerikeri was where I discovered my love of music. Wellington is where I explored different styles, and Auckland is where I’m choosing to launch my career. And I’ve fallen in love with each place. Each step has been vital to my progress as a musician, and I’ve met so many truly inspiring and supportive people throughout.

What do you think success looks like, as a musician?

Well, I used to think it was when lots of other people validated your art. But now, I think it’s the fact that I’m still creating. I still have the itch to write, perform, create, and collaborate. I still feel inspired by other musicians and I still crave connection. THAT is success to me.

Tilt is a big milestone, being your first EP. Where to next?

Well, I’m about to embark on my first headline tour, which feels like such a leap. And once the dust settles for this EP, I’d really like to write a full-length album and maybe get some of those collabs going I was talking about.

Thanks for your time. Is there anything else you’d like to share?

Support local artists! You’ve always offered your help to promote my music, Joe, and that is the mahi that truly supports us small artists. So I appreciate your time and energy to uplift the arts in Aotearoa 🙂

Tilt will be released on March 21 2025, with Taylah doing a three date tour in support of Tilt in March/April.

Tickets can be found via https://linktr.ee/taylahmusic

Taylah links:
https://www.facebook.com/taylahmusic/
https://www.instagram.com/taylahmusicnz/
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2Fu39RmIeY5HD1DGJS4Xk7?si=8A6XkpTSRXabPAU4BrYCRA
https://www.youtube.com/@taylahmusic2897

Taylah at San Fran, July 2023. Photo by Will Not Fade

Premiere: FVKVSHIMA – KUATO

FVKVSHIMA are a new metal band based in Wellington, New Zealand. I am very excited to premiere their debut single, “Kuato”, and have interviewed vocalist Mark Mundell so that you can learn a bit about the band.

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Will Not Fade: How are you?
Mark Mundell: I’m staying frosty, mon frére. Simply splendid. Top of the world. 2024 is shaping up to be a far better year than the ones we’ve had recently.

How did FVKVSHIMA come to exist?
The band had been around as a three-piece for several years – it’s only in the last year or so that the band has numbered five. The guitarist, the bassist and the drummer all knew each other of old – Nathan and Greg were formerly members of Backyard Burial, while Peter was the drummer for Shakahn, as well as playing in a million jazz bands. Our keyboardist, Dayle (aka Jellybones) is also an extremely talented and prolific musician, having been involved with blues, honky-tonk, ska and Balkan brass.
And then you have the hanger-on that is me. I stand at the front and shout at people. I’m also in Planet of the Dead. Around eighteen months ago, Planet was on a hiatus – we were all pretty burnt out by the pandemic and sorely needed a breather – and I wanted to keep on with a musical project. Pete had put a note on Facebook that they were looking for a vocalist, and I thought I’d give it a shot. For some reason they kept me around. Dayle joined us around a year ago in April, and not long after that we performed our first shows in October.

How would you describe your sound?
A fine question, and one I struggle answering all the time. I’ve heard some people compare our sound to Meshuggah, because it’s heavy and progressive, which I am not mad at in the slightest. Personally I’d say there is a definite industrial influence, as we have sharp edges on the guitar sound and the synths. But I don’t know, I’d rather people heard our stuff and judged for themselves.

I’ve seen FVKVSHIMA play three times now, and I’ve got to say I’m a huge fan and have been telling all my friends they need to come to your shows. I’m very excited to help introduce your debut single to the world. Why did you pick “Kuato” as your lead single?
As we’ve played live shows and worked on new material, I think there has definitely been an evolution of our style – particularly when Dayle was on board. His synths have been a real game-changer for our sound, and we discussed that the first songs we would release would be taken from those we had developed together.
To be honest, it was a two-horse race between “Kuato” and “Dominator”, which isn’t far behind. I think both of these songs do a great job of personifying where we’re currently at and giving everyone an idea of the versatility of our sound. I’m super excited to find out what people think. The plan is to roll out all the songs we’re playing in our live shows, and we have lots of new songs waiting in the wings. We’ll be busy this year!

Your first single – “Kuato” – is a Total Recall reference. What is your official statement on the 2012 remake starring Colin Farrell?
If “Rekall” was actually a thing, and they could erase the part of my memory where I watched the 2012 version, that would be great. Some films just do not need a reboot.

And are you aware that a recent Rick and Morty episode revolves around Kuato as well?
Yeah, I saw that episode. I did enjoy the reverence to the movie, but I wouldn’t have needed the excuse to watch it – “Rick and Morty” has always been bloody hilarious. Now I just need a Recall-themed Futurama episode.

Tell me about the artwork.
We opted to develop artwork that was specific to the tracks we’ll be releasing initially. Our drummer has a good friend who has come up with some awesome imagery for “Kuato”, featuring the titular mutant himself – we’ve also worked that into a lyric video that will drop with the single. We want the visuals to be as striking as the music.

Tell me about the songwriting process. Do you write music with a theme in mind, or come up with lyrics to fit the music?
Nathan and Peter are the creative engine when it comes to writing the music, and when I first started writing lyrics for FVKVSHIMA, it was a challenge to make them fit. The music is quite technical and it took me a while for it to click – I spent hours listening and re-listening to practice room cuts trying to feel out where lyrics would fit. My approach to writing lyrics has typically been to write them like poetry, and then I’ll work out how to make them fit the music later with Nathan. Nathan and Peter normally have a good feel for where they want stuff to go, and we’ve always been able to land on an arrangement we all agree with.
I find I’m generally always writing lyrics. I get a spark or two every so often – it could be a passage in a book, or a particular scene in a film (the first part of “Kuato” is actually the first scene of the original “Total Recall” movie, where Quaid and Melina are walking on the surface of Mars) – and I’ll just write. It can end up a bit more abstract in some cases, but people have always managed to pick up the themes. When I joined FVKVSHIMA, the guys already had heaps of music ready to go, so I went through a process of deciding which lyrics fit which tracks – I definitely wanted the feel of the track to fit the lyrical theme. So far I think it’s turned out pretty well, but we will let you be the judge.

I’ve seen you use a vocal effects pedal during your live performances to add different sounds to your vocal delivery. How do you settle on the sounds and effects that you choose to use?
I use the TC Helicon VoiceLive, which has served me pretty well so far. When it comes to vocal effects, I’m a firm believer that “less is more”. I initially just wanted a little gain and the occasional bit of reverb, but I found some sections of the music that I felt would benefit from a little something extra, to add to the atmosphere – especially in a live show. I tried a few things at a few live shows and people seemed to dig it. As we continue to write new material, I’ll often experiment with effects in the practice room and see if I can land on something that suits the theme. I’d like to say the effects I land on where targeted, but to be honest it’s often a bit of trial-and-error. With the layers that Dayle adds on keys, vocal effects don’t feel out of place to me.

Obviously you’re a huge sci-fi fan. Please list some of your top recommendations for our readers who’d like to explore the genre.
Oosh. There are so many! People who have heard my other stuff will know I’m a massive Frank Herbert fan, but we won’t go there. I’m a fan of a lot of old school sci-fi writers – Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Kurt Vonnegut – but for my money, you can’t beat Philip K Dick. It’s no surprise that several of his books were the inspiration of many great movies.
I think one of the more modern sci-fi book series I’ve read and liked is The Gap Cycle by Stephen Donaldson. It’s definitely not a space opera – it’s pretty near the knuckle at times – but I think his characters are really interesting and it’s a story that holds you until the end. The other series I’d recommend is William Gibson’s Neuromancer books, which are more cyberpunk in nature.
For graphic novels, my go-tos would be Otomo Katsuhiro’s Akira, Watchmen and V for Vendetta. I’m also a big fan of 2000AD, so I was reading stuff like Judge Dredd, Strontium Dog, Rogue Trooper and the ABC Warriors as a kid. All of the above have inspired or featured in my lyrical themes at some point or another.

What lessons did you learn from your previous bands that you brought with you to this band?
Tolerance is the main thing. Bands are really like a family and often you will disagree on things, so I’ve tried to be better at being flexible and knowing how to pick your battles. When I was younger in bands I’d argue about a lot of crap that I wouldn’t give a shit about these days. I guess another aspect is how you keep everything above the grind so the band doesn’t end up becoming a chore or like another day job. Some folks want to write, some folks like gigging, others the promotional and the socials – I guess as a band you collectively have to find what makes people tick and let them pursue their passion, and that helps keep it fresh for everyone. I think I’m lucky with Planet of the Dead and FVKVSHIMA – we’re all of a similar age, we all seem to manage to pull in the same direction, even with our various real-life commitments, and we all still find joy in what we do. I sincerely hope it stays that way for a long time.

Your other band, Planet of the Dead, had a lot of plans disrupted around the time of your last album release due to covid-related events like lockdowns and reduced capacity shows. Has this made you more cautious with making plans going forward, or do you think the major impacts of the pandemic are behind us now?
New Zealand has been slower than other countries (at least in my opinion) to come out of the covid cocoon – you only had to walk the streets of Wellington last year and the one before to see that for yourself. However, I honestly believe we’ve turned a corner and I think we’re starting to get there. There are great promoters doing righteous work and pushing hard to bring international acts to New Zealand more recently, and those shows I’ve attended have been jammed. It’s been a wicked year so far for live music. I always jinx these things though, so I’ll state my position as “cautiously optimistic” and we’ll leave it there.

I know that you’re a fan of physical media because I see how much your record collection has grown every time I come to your house. Have you got plans to release FVKVSHIMA music physically?
Digital will be the way initially, but I would love to see FVKVSHIMA’s work on a CD or a bit of wax. That’s a medium-term goal though, I think initially the priority has to be just getting our music out there in the first instance. Once we’ve got an album’s worth on Bandcamp, then we’ll maybe look at getting some vinyl pressed.

This is just the start for FVKVSHIMA. What have you got lined up for the future? Touring, releases, world domination?
More tracks, more shows. We’ve got a year of real mahi ahead, but none of us are work-shy in the slightest and we’re finally getting our sound out there for everyone to check out – we seriously hope people will dig it. We’ve had some great live shows in the last six months with some amazing NZ metal acts, and we’re generally always up for jumping on a bill with whoever. So I think our plan for the next year is to be seen and heard as much as possible. After that … world domination? Sure, why not. Can’t hurt.

Here’s your chance to say anything that we haven’t covered.
Thanks for the chance to have a chat. Music sites, blogs and fanzines are part of the lifeblood of our scene – it’s how we get heard. So we appreciate you writing about it, and we appreciate all the people who take the time to read it.
Stay frosty.

Kuato available across all platforms including:

Youtube:
https://youtube.com/@fvkvshima?si=mYNTq0k211Q14RSF

Bandcamp:
https://fvkvshima.bandcamp.com/track/kuato

Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/6QzpIJeK3qDYNCkKaGg0wL?si=Om8MLMQoQg2AqYQveMoSgA

Distrokid:
https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/fvkvshima/kuato-2

FVKVSHIMA links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064268550642

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fvkvshima_band/

Photos by Joseph James/Will Not Fade and Jechtography

Inside Voices: An Interview with Just Neighbors

Just Neighbors are an awesome math-rock band from Gainsville, Florida. They play wonderful happy tappy music with care-free vibes. They are about to release a new album, Inside Voices, which showcases a slightly different sound for the band.

Will Not Fade: Here in New Zealand, we put a “U” in “Neighbour”. I read somewhere that Americans stopped putting “U’s” in some words because when putting listings in classified ads they had to pay by the letter, so began dropping letters that weren’t vital in order to save money. No idea how true that is, but it’s interesting. Also, partly off topic, but the band Living Colour has a “U” because their guitarist Vernon Reid is English. [Real talk, I discussed this in an interview with Living Colour drummer Will Calhoun, and someone cited me on the Living Colour wikipedia page. Am I an academic now?]

Just Neighbors: Interesting fact, we always assumed it was another way to rebel against the Monarchy.

I’ve listened to Inside Voices a handful of times now. It’s quite a departure from your usual style. What motivated you to write such different music? It’s still got the chill vibes, but it’s a lot more straightforward.

Inside Voices is beginning to feel like a detour as opposed to a departure. Some of these songs were written years ago and some came about during the process. I think we were partly motivated by wanting to try our hand at home recording and wanting to change up what we were doing. Another reason this album came together was that two members were moving at the time and we wanted to get some ideas recorded before they left.

What is your stance on 4/4?

Overrated (we can swing it ;()

꧁༒•based•༒꧂

ᗷᗩSᘿᕲ

What artists have you been listening to lately?

Aerial M, Charlie Martin, Homeboy Sandman, Russian Circles, SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE, Cassandra Jenkins

Who influenced your songwriting with this album?

Land of Talk, Silver Jews, George Strait, Fog Lake

America confuses me. Places considered Midwest are on the eastern side of the country. Anyway… Do you get Southeast vs Midwest emo beef? Like West Coast/East Coast hip-hop where rappers do drivebys and gun down each other and also say hurtful things with their words?

While the west coast/ east rapper beefs died in the 90s, the southeast Vs Midwest emo beef is very much alive. Most southeast emo bands get labeled Midwest because they wrote a riff that sounds like American football. This is unfair because the last place we want our music to be associated with is the Midwest.

Did you grow up on MTV Unplugged albums?

I am a bit young to really say that I grew up on the unplugged albums, but I did grow up getting ready for school and watching MTV. Like I remember when Dashboard Confessional dropped ‘vindicated’ for the Spider-Man 2 soundtrack – that was big for me.

Just Neighbors is mostly an instrumental band. Do you find it scary or daunting writing music that features singing? [I’m a drummer. I did some backing vocals when my new band played recently and although I’d practiced a lot, it was terrifying.]

Justice Diamond: In a way it’s scary and daunting. It’s also exciting and challenging which has been the appeal to pursue it lately. It’s really nice to be able to add vocal melodies and lyrics to our songs.

Dan Lohr: It’s scary in that it’s so damn vulnerable. Rather than sitting, meditating, and writing a song based on a feeling and having the melodies do the talking – I am actually directly speaking about it; that’s a lot.

How did the writing and recording process differ with this album? Have you been stuck at home much over the past year?

Our past albums were huge undertakings for us with a lot of time spent preparing parts and tracking them in a studio. With this project we didn’t set out to make a Just Neighbors record in the traditional sense, we were really just interested in recording some song ideas we’ve been sitting on for a while. Inside Voices was recorded at home and was much more of an intimate recording process. We’ve all been stuck at home over the past year so it was nice to be able to continue writing and recording despite the circumstances.

I’ve noticed you have a visual theme of lights from what I’ve seen of this album. Do you have an overall theme or message with the music?

We don’t have an overall theme with this music but sometimes they emerge unexpectedly after the fact.

I remember that for your last album, If It Ever Comes Back, you made the album available for purchase and download on Bandcamp a week or so before you put it on streaming services. Talk me through how you settled on that decision.

We’ve always appreciated Bandcamp as a service that connects music supporters with the artist. Spotify and streaming services lack that connection, so we wanted to try and direct fans to our Bandcamp where they could purchase the music and more directly support us. It also helped us fund our tour to Mexico.

You also made extended versions of songs available for the people who supported you by purchasing your music. Is this like how Japanese CD’s often have bonus tracks?

It’s similar, we really wanted to provide something additional to anyone who bought the album and keep the streaming experience more succinct. Appreciate that you took notice! Those tracks have become some of our favorite moments from the album.

I notice that your URL link on your instagram leads to “Capture” on Spotify. So you still want Spotify streams?

Despite our criticism, yes. The fact is most listeners are on streaming services so it only makes sense to bring the music to the masses. It’s sad, because Spotify really has the opportunity to throw it back to the artists by *actually* paying them or integrating merch shops for any artist.

While we are on the topic of different listening formats, I love that I can support you through Bandcamp without needing to pay for expensive shipping fees by buying digital music. But you also have CDs and Vinyl for sale. How do you personally prefer to listen to music? I have a record collection, but just can’t afford to buy records most of the time. I saw on the witter page that someone recently bought Weezer’s Pinkerton.

We love listening to records on vinyl. It’s also a good time to pop in a CD while driving.

Have Bandcamp Fridays made much of a difference for you as a band over the past year?

In all honesty, not really. It’s a nice gesture from Bandcamp but it hasn’t made a particularly big impact on sales or revenue from us.

What is your relationship with Refresh Records?

Refresh Records are good friends and partners. They pressed a limited vinyl release of Being Where I Thought I’d Be and have done a great job at managing orders. They have some other kickass bands as well, shout out Cuzco and Catholics.

Tell me about the Gainesville music scene. I’ve never been to Florida but I have spent some time traveling around America with bands and I loved seeing DIY music communities and how the musicians support each other over there.

The Gainesville music scene is pretty eclectic and it has always felt very supporting. You can find just about anything here. Impressive how many scenes can exist in what started as a small college town. We were lucky enough to be a part of a mathy/progressive side of it. There are too many good bands we’ve shared the stage with getting started; you know who you are 😉

Have you got connections to the hardcore/punk scene? Do you know about the legendary band Jud Jud? [if not, please educate yourself and report back]

Not really and no but holy shit Jud Jud rocks.

My friends in Tides of Man are from Clearwater. That’s not a question, it’s just Florida related.

Go gators.

How are the local venues doing? Do you see yourselves playing shows or touring at any point in the future?

It’s hard to say at this point. It seems like shows are going to come back this fall so we are hoping our favorite spots survived. Shout out to the hardback cafe. As of now, we’re no longer all in Gainesville so we have no plans for shows or touring in the immediate future.

You featured on a Ripcord Records fundraiser compilation recently. Tell me about how that came about.

They actually reached out via email and we sent them a track to feature on the compilation. When the compilation dropped we couldn’t believe how good it was. It also raised a lot of money for a charity called Refuge that helps victims of domestic abuse. Both the link for the compilation and charity are below in case anyone is interested https://www.refuge.org.uk/

https://ripcordrecords.bandcamp.com/album/refuge-part-i

What have been some of your most effective ways of reaching wider audiences? [ I can’t even remember how I discovered your band.]

Releasing music has always seemed to be one of the most effective. The internet has its ways.

Some of the best math-rock bands come from Japan. How was your time touring there? [I went to Tokyo in 2014 I think. It was incredible. Toe are also on top of the bucket list for bands I need to see before I die]

Our time touring Japan was incredible. It’s wild how different the shows are from the US and It’s honestly surreal we were there in the first place. We wholeheartedly enjoyed meeting so many new people and bands. We got to play with so many kick ass bands like Paranoid Void, Nengu, pFpG, momoku, and the enigma RIL.

And you’ve played in Mexico a bit, right?

We’ve played in Monterrey, MX twice and absolutely loved it. We’d like to extend further down next time but it is a massive country. Our friends down there have a collective called Monterrey Emo Club and play in a band called ‘Local Champion’.

Let’s hear some tour stories! Got any crazy things that happened to you on tour? Interesting foods you ate? Strangest venues?

Well on our first tour we all got Norovirus *redacted* after one member (Justice) ate street clams so things got pretty hairy. We also have fond memories of muffulettas on the Mississippi, tacos in Mexico, and ramen in Japan. We’ve played just about any venue at this point: Rooftops, apartments, basements, ballrooms, verandas, offshoots, fouriers, truck stops, bowling alleys, Applebees, Chuck e. Cheese, Red Robin, Ace Hardware, Amazon Fulfillment Centers.

Nintendo time. What are your go-to characters in Super Smash Bros? Favourite video games? Fave video game soundtracks?

Justice Diamond: Ice climbers are my main and falco comes second.

Dan Lohr : I run villager

Reid Casey: Lucas that guy

Justice Diamond : Spelunky and spelunky soundtrack

Dan Lohr : FORTNITE!!! Was a good game :c

My friends in Man Mountain managed to get onto the Borderlands 3 game. What game would you most love to get your music onto?

We’d love to get featured on the Borderlands 4 actually, dm us.

Which band member is the most neighborly and why?

Jrok (Jarrett) because he was always the one to get the mail and he introduced himself to our current drummer (Reid).

If you were to get a face tattoo, what would it be?

(っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ based ♥

Thanks for taking the time to do this interview. Anything else you’d like to say?

Thanks for taking the time to interview us, this was really well done!

Just Neighbors links:

Buy Inside Voices on Bandcamp: https://justneighbors.bandcamp.com/album/inside-voices

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jneighborsband

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JustNeighborsBand/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justneighbors/

Scattering The Rats: An Interview with Donita Sparks of L7

Here’s a playlist of Mina’s favourite L7 songs:

Will Not Fade

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