Q&A: Slow Crush’s Emotional Hammer and Whispers on Upcoming Album, ‘Thirst’
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY CHLOE GONZALES ☆
“This one is a little bit of everything. I think this one is sort of the ultimate Slow Crush envelope, bringing a bit of everything that people can kind of find something that will tickle their fancy.” – Thirst, an album that has come with changes for Slow Crush, delves into emotional waters for the band and audience. Sonically “a little bit of everything,” Thirst contains something that audiences of all genres can come to appreciate.
“We felt that with this record, we needed a bit more of that heaviness to come out.” The Luna Collective had the pleasure to talk to Slow Crush about their upcoming album, Thirst, and the emotions it brings.
LUNA: How does Thirst reflect this new era for Slow Crush?
ISA: I think a lot has changed since we recorded our last album. There’s quite a bit of time between Hush and Thirst, but we spent all of that time touring and perfecting what would become Thirst. I think we’ve gone through multiple iterations of songs that made it just because we wanted to make this the best album that we could. We definitely took our time when we had time, because as I mentioned, we were touring a lot. We’ve got a new label, now we’re with Pure Noise, and we’re very excited to see how they will be able to bring music out to people who have never heard of us before. It’s a pretty broad spectrum of listeners. There’s not so many shoegaze bands on the label. So we’re excited to see new faces out there in our shows and really excited to see what the album will bring once it’s released in August.
LUNA: Wait, that's so exciting, congrats on transitioning to the new label! What’s evolved sonically for this album and what’s stayed true to your roots?
ISA: I think that there is a definite Slow Crush sound that has been with us since the very beginning, for sure. The effect pedals are a big part of our sound. I know that Jelle puts a lot of effort into finding the exact guitar sound. We even made our own fuzz, especially for the first recording of our first album, Aurora. We commissioned a friend of ours to build a fuzz pedal based on the Smashing Pumpkin's “Skreddy Mayo” that is no longer available but with a Slow Crush tweak. We still got some of those on sale on our Bandcamp. This was prototyped especially for our recordings and we just got so many comments on our sound that we thought, “Hey, people are really looking to reproduce this, but there’s nothing on the market available. Why don’t we build a few more?” And we did, and we said, “After the first 100, that’s it.” But then we just kept on getting more messages, so we kept making batches. So I think after this one, it might be it, but there might be something else in the pipeline.
So yeah, that sort of typical fuzz sound has been with us from the start. I think the biggest change with this record–musically, I think there’s a definite evolution between our albums. Aurora was very much more up-tempo, a little bit punkier, and then Hush was a bit more dreamy and doomer or darker in sort of the overall message or emotion that it carried. This one is a little bit of everything. I think this one is sort of the ultimate Slow Crush envelope, bringing a bit of everything so that people can find something that will tickle their fancy. I think we put together the tracks in a way that kind of replicates Smashing Pumpkin’s Mellon Collie & the Infinite Sadness feel where there’s a Side A and Side B flip in mood. So I’m excited to hear what people find, how people find that, and how they feel.
Another big change is definitely the production of this record. We went back to our favorite recording studio, The Ranch in the UK. We’ve worked there before and at least have had them involved with all of the other records with us. We were very lucky to be able to work with Lewis Johns, who has produced harder bands in the past, so his portfolio is more metal. So we were very interested in what he could do for us, but we were always very confident that he would be able to bring us to another level, and it was really what we needed. We felt that with this record, we needed a bit more of that heaviness to come out. It just meshed well with the songs. And I think that he did a really good job. He managed to add extra layers on top of the sometimes 300 track songs that we put down for instruments, and then he just added more to that, to perfection.
LUNA: That’s amazing to have someone like that on your team, to just be able to identify that.
ISA: Yeah, it was definitely a learning curve for us as well. We’ve always been very hands-on in everything that we do, and it was sometimes difficult to let go and put the trust in somebody else’s hands, even though we knew that’s what we wanted. But I think because we’d been working on these songs for so long, and we had them sort of ingrained in our minds, how we wanted them to have someone else pick them apart in a different way. It was sometimes a bit nerve wracking.
LUNA: Understandable, like that’s your baby.
ISA: But in the end, we have some tough times sometimes, just because you’re there for so long and it’s a lot of concentration so sometimes emotions can get heightened but we got through it and we’re all friends afterwards. That’s what counts, that we’ve got the best record that we could produce come out of it.
LUNA: Absolutely. And you mentioned the A side, B side format–it does seem like there’s a striking balance on this album with heavier stuff but also there’s more ambient sounds. Was that intentional? Or was this something that happened naturally, before you realized that it was this A side, B side.
ISA: I think it was. The songs have been through different sequences, and we felt that this what made the most sense, to give it a kind of storyline, to have the listener go through a journey. And it also just felt natural afterwards. So yeah, it’s definitely something that we paid attention to. And after a lot of different tries, putting them in different orders and listening through, this is what came out as the winner.
LUNA: And speaking on the thematics of the album, you touch on human connection, love, and identity. I was particularly interested in identity and how that shaped the record, because there’s a lot of things to be said about it. I was wanting to hear your perspective on that.
ISA: I think it’s definitely something that we should take more time to dwell on for ourselves. It’s hard for us to do that in a world that’s so fast, sometimes you don’t get a chance to breathe, let alone be with your own thoughts. To be able to sit down and think to yourself, “Okay, where am I right now? What do I want to do right now? What do I want to experience now?” We’re always thinking about what’s going to happen next or what needs to happen next, but you can’t get to that next step unless you can do what you need to do and be with yourself at this moment. So that's definitely something that I feel. I feel that needs more attention, that we should give ourselves some more attention and allow ourselves to take that breath and just be in the moment. And that’s a message that we’ve always had with our music, to be able to sit down and listen to the songs, let them envelop you and be that warm embrace that I think we don’t allow ourselves to experience most of the time.
LUNA: That’s beautiful. And what was the emotional journey with this recording? I read somewhere that you broke down a couple of times in the booth.
ISA: There are a some songs on the records and some other songs that we were preparing for recording that definitely pull a few extra heart strings. And I think that it’s not always about a message lyrically but music in general, it can be something that can definitely take you by surprise sometimes. And again, it’s about letting go and allowing yourself to be vulnerable, which is something that I felt that is another thing that we try to hide from, from ourselves as well as from others. So yes, that was my vulnerable side, being able to make it through all of these songs, practicing them and recording them. I just feel like some of the melodies pull your heartstrings, especially “While You Dream Vividly.” That was a hard one for me. And even some of the soundscapes, I feel that they bring you into a space. I think that music has a way to wire into your brain in ways that can’t possibly be explained. So yeah, those certain melodies, they had that effect on me, so I hope that they can touch other people in the same way and that other people will let them in.
LUNA: No, music is so lovely. That’s like one of the only things that makes me cry these days. And it doesn’t exactly have to be lyrically, even the way people present themselves, for example screaming, it gets me so emotional because screaming is just a release of emotion. It’s such a complex but lovely feeling to have vulnerability.
ISA: Mentioning that, like “Haven,” I use my voice in a different way than I’m used to using and that came from purely deep down inside me. So I hope that’s something that carries over as well as I felt it.
LUNA: When it’s something so authentic, it totally does. The song “Cherry” ends with a fade out. It reminds me of what they did with pop songs back in the day, a nostalgic thing. I was curious just to hear from you if that was something intentionally nostalgic or just something you want to do?
ISA: I think that there’s always a kind of–I don’t want to say vintage because that makes it sound really old–but we’ve always kind of had a ‘90s vibe around our sound. I don’t think it was intentional with the fade out, but something that felt natural for this song.
LUNA: Amazing. I also wanted to know what kind of emotional or sensory world do you want Thirst to create?
ISA: I just want people to be able to feel the music, take time to feel it, let it take you somewhere that you’ve never been before.
LUNA: Yes, that’s something that people should know before coming into your album. I know artists who have made statements before an album release, telling them to really sit down and listen to their album, like you can’t be doing other stuff.
ISA: You can definitely be doing other stuff, totally fine with that, but I don’t want to have the repercussions of you crashing your car.
LUNA: [laughs] So more of a warning.
ISA: Yeah and definitely on our live shows as well, we’ve put a lot of thought into our production on stage. We have our own light display and lots of smoke. So that’s another aspect if you come to see us live, then we will definitely take you elsewhere in that venue. A total 4D experience.
LUNA: That’s so cool to hear! What do you mean by the lighting? Do you have a specific light projection?
ISA: Might be something that we are working on. We have our light rigs that we take to shows and even in the States, we try to take as much as we can.
LUNA: That’s dedication! Mad respect for that. My last question is if there were any unexpected influences on this album–it doesn’t have to be musical.
ISA: I think that there isn’t any particular band that influences Slow Crush. I think that Slow Crush is the collection of all the music we’ve ever heard in our lifetime. We come from very different musical backgrounds. We kind of bring together everything that we’ve ever heard or known and played before, which can definitely be picked up on in all the music that we’ve put out so far. As for where inspiration can come from, it can come from anything from an ice cream truck passing by the house to sounds of ducks in the background far away. Inspiration can hit you at any time, at any place. As you mentioned, it doesn’t always have to be musical. Even the small sorts of rhythms that you can hear in your kitchen that can inspire, maybe a drum beat. Let the world inspire you!
