Melbourne outfit Aitches have just released the first taste of their debut album in the form of the double A-Side single ‘Trouble / What You Know‘. The album, titled ‘Stay In Bed‘ is expected to see the light of day in March. Last week they launched the single at the Bendigo Hotel in Collingwood and you can next catch them at Barwon Club in Geelong on February 10th. Keep an eye out for future dates and release information via their page [Here]. If you like your tunes tight and snappy, with influences like Descendents, Samiam and a slew of other melodic punk outfits then it’s worth giving these guys a listen. You may even recognise the voice as that of Brad who sung for Gameover in their latter years. You can stream both tracks below where you can also find out more about the release as the band have taken the time to answer our On The Record questions.
Tell us about the release title.
Well the title is pretty boring really as it’s just the names of the two songs on the single! ‘Trouble’ & ‘What You Know’. These two songs are the first taste of our debut album ‘Stay in Bed’ which will be out in March.
Tell us about the artwork.
The artwork was done by our mate Adam Collins and pretty much relates to the theme of staying in bed as the background of the disc art is of a doona. The physical singles are going to be hand stamped and hand numbered but copies will be very limited.
What format/s will it be released on and how will it be packaged?
The single will be released on CD in a plain white paper sleeve and copies will be available at the launch and at shows.
Who will it be released through, and when?
We are releasing this single ourselves as a teaser for our album, so if anyone wants to help us release the album we’d love to hear from you!
Tell us about the studio and why you chose to record there?
We recorded the drums, bass and guitar at Vortex in Toorak which is essentially a friend of the producers family home. Luckily his parents live in Hong Kong (I think) so we were able to make some noise without annoying anyone. The vocals were recorded in my lounge room. We chose to record in houses because it was cheaper and we could still get the sound we were looking for.
Tell us about the producer / engineer and why you chose to record with them?
My mate Mal recorded the tracks and insisted on being credited as Night Wolf as he reckoned he needed a good producer name like Jackknife Lee. I chose to work with Mal because I’d worked with him before and he always brings good quality cheese to recording sessions.
Did you go into the writing process with a clear direction in mind?
I think so. Writing began in 2008 when I was living in London and then continued in 2009 back in Melbourne with the band. I knew that I wanted the songs to be short and sharp and I think we have achieved that.
Were you listening to anything in particular during the writing / recording process that influenced the songs at all?
During the writing/recording I was listening to Descendents, Dinosaur Jr, the Lemonheads, Somerset, Satanic Surfers, Propagandhi, the Lawrence Arms etc.
Were there any albums you were referencing to aim for a certain type of sound production wise?
During the recording we listened to a lot of Distillers – ‘Coral Fang’ and Strike Anywhere – ‘Dead FM’ as I reckon those records sound awesome. That and Descendents – ‘Cool to be You’.
How long did it take to record?
The drums took two days, guitar and bass took four days, vocals took two days. The vocals really only took a day as the first day was pretty much lost due to Brad drinking too much delicious Jameson whisky. We couldn’t really blame him as we were all drunk too.
Tell us a little about the recording process the band used?
We recorded the drums first in the main room of the house then did the guitar and bass downstairs with the amps in the wine cellar. Luckily there was a pool table so Joel and Matt could keep themselves occupied when not tracking. Vocals were recorded at my house in the lounge room and as the weather was so nice we decided that the ‘control room’ should be outside. Recording vocals was a very pleasant experience.
Was this any different to previous processes you have used?
Normally I’ve always recorded the drums and vocals in a studio so it was different recording totally in houses. Having said that I think the drums especially sound awesome so no complaints.
Any guests involved? if so, who.. and what did they do?
Nope
Any particular equipment outside your usual live gear used in the process?
Matty borrowed our mate Porter’s drumkit and hired a Black Beauty snare. I borrowed my mate Greggy’s Marshall TSL head for guitar and hired a Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier to create a super blended tone. Joel borrowed our mate Sickle’s Stingray bass and we borrowed a blokes bass amp which happened to be in the house at the time.
Any memorable studio moments?
The bloke who owned the bass amp coming downstairs in just his jocks after spending the night upstairs on the floor wondering why someone was using his bass rig.
Any additional tracks recorded that didn’t make the cut but may see the light of day sometime?
Well these are two of fifteen tracks on the ‘Stay in Bed’ album.
What track/s are you most looking forward to playing live?
Both of them equally!
How would you compare the final product to previous releases?
This is the first release for Aitches so I’d have to say it’s our best work yet. Definitely better than any other project I’ve been involved in.
Anything else you want to say or tell us about the release?
Thanks to Bomber for the support and look out for the album in March!
Keep up to date with upcoming shows and album release information via the band’s Facebook page [Here].
