Tasmanian outfit Your Demise have now released and launched their debut full length ‘Brothers In Arms‘ on CD and digitally. You can order a copy now [Here] where a couple of tracks are also streaming. We grabbed the band recently to give us a little insight into the album via our On The Record questions. Expand this post to take a read and keep an eye out for more tour dates shortly.
Tell us about the release title.
‘Brothers In Arms’ is a track from the album about playing shows with your best mates, partying and singing your favorite songs together and the strong bond that exists between like minded bands in Tassie. We thought it perfectly summed up the album and is a reference to all our bothers that have helped us over the years and with this release. It is also a homage to Dire Straits.
Tell us about the artwork.
The artwork was designed by Lucas Walker from Hobart bands Ballpoint and Ride The Tiger. He spent so many hours on the design and it looks fantastic. We went with the pirate zombie theme, because lets face it, its cool! The front cover featuring the band of pirates also reflects the album title really well.
What format/s will it be released on and how will it be packaged?
The album will be released on standard jewel case CD and as a digital download from iTunes and Bandcamp. Perhaps vinyl down the track a little when we have enough money.
Who will it be released through, and when?
We released the album ourselves on March 19th.
Tell us about the studio and why you chose to record there?
We recorded at Red Planet Studios in Hobart. We had worked there previously on our EP ‘This Road Takes Me Home’. Being so close to our homes / work means we could head there straight after and bash out a solid 8 or 9 hour session before heading home in the wee hours of the morning. It’s packed with some fantastic mics and pre amps and is the perfect place to eat pizza/curry and drink beers / coffee, while listening to the tracking you have just done.
Tell us about the producer / engineer and why you chose to record with them?
Our producer / engineer / mixer was once again Nic White from The Scandal / Ride The Tiger. He also worked on the Luca Brasi record last year. He has a really great understanding of our band and the sound / vibe we were trying to achieve. We listen to all the same late 90’s emo bands and he was a great help in writing the third and fourth guitar lines, just the small parts that you only hear if you are listening carefully.
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Did you go into the writing process with a clear direction in mind?
Not really, the songs were written over such a long period of time, between our last release and the new album. We are not the fastest song writers so once we get one in the bank, it generally stays there. Luckily the songs really seem to complement each other well, there is plenty of double time on there but there are also songs where we use tempos that we would never have considered in the past.
Were you listening to anything in particular during the writing / recording process that influenced the songs at all?
Over the last couple of years I guess one of the bands to influence us most would be Polar Bear Club. They have been pumping out fantastic records and have really set the bar for punk rock song writing. There are a few Jimmy Eat World moments on the album and plenty of Hot Water Music of course!
Were there any albums you were referencing to aim for a certain type of sound production wise?
I know our drummer wanted to make his snare sound like the latest Living Daylights record. Overall we were trying to create a lot of space and atmospherics, not too dissimilar to the latest Samiam album.
How long did it take to record?
We recorded the drums, bass and guitars over a weekend and 3 weeknights. We then recorded the vocals in 2 parts, with all backing vocals done piece by piece over about a month at our friend Linc le Fevre’s studio. The main vocals were recorded back at Red Planet over two nights.
Tell us a little about the recording process the band used?
Drums were tracked to a click track, with bass and guitars playing along as scratch tracks. Bass and guitars where then overdubbed. Vocals where then recorded at a later stage which dragged the process out a lot but gave us plenty of time to reflect on what we had done so far and what the album still needed.
Was this any different to previous processes you have used?
Last time everything was done within a week, including mixing. It was really rushed, but came out great for the amount of time spent on it. Nic had to mix the EP basically in a night last time, this time round he spent weeks on it.
Any guests involved? if so, who.. and what did they do?
Our good friend Tyler from Luca Brasi leant us his amazing gruff voice as well as Kenny Forshaw from Face The Fiasco. Kenny was simply amazing at tracking vocals, those ridiculously high harmonies, that’s all Kenny.
Any particular equipment outside your usual live gear used in the process?
We used a number of different guitar heads for the album including a Marshall JMP and a really old Peavey from the studio. If you listen carefully you will also hear glockenspiel, tambourine and bells, none of which you will see live, unless someone wants to help us out?
Any memorable studio moments?
Sometimes your brain completely disappears at 2am, we found ourselves doing the old pull one arm out of your jumper and then grab the sleeve with the other hand, move up it up and down, and then you pump your fist in your jumper from your groin region in time. Weird I know for a bunch of dudes in their mid twenties, but it kept us amused for hours.
Any additional tracks recorded that didn’t make the cut but may see the light of day sometime?
Nup, we used them all, we only went in with 10 tracks so they all had to make the cut.
What track/s are you most looking forward to playing live?
The Middle is great fun to play live because the chorus is so simple and it’s easy for people to learn the words, seems to be a crowd favourite.
How would you compare the final product to previous releases?
Better songs, better playing, better melodies, better sounds… basically better.
Anything else you want to say or tell us about the release?
You can order the album at our bandcamp page, yourdemsie.bandcamp.com, where you will find limited edition t-shirt and CD packages and much more!
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Order your copy now [Here]
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