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Interview: Twin Atlantic make waves with debut album
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Scotland may be known for its kilts and Americans with bad accents making movies about its wars, but underneath all the stereotype is a young band ready to unleash their music internationally and watch it climb the charts. Twin Atlantic, who breed a unique blend of alternative rock and powerpop that is laced with authentic accents, released their new album Vivarium last month on Red Bull Records.I had the chance to talk to drummer Craig Kneale via an email interview.
How did everyone's collective experience in other bands help you create your own sound?
- Good Question! Our previous bands were all quite diverse, so when we came together it became kind of a melting pot of all those sounds. But what we took more from those bands was all the things we'd like to change when we came together as Twin Atlantic. All the things that frustrated us in those bands were the things we made sure were dealt with from the offset.
You've toured with a fairly large variety of bands--everyone from The Matches to The Subways. How have the crowd's reactions been different to your music with each genre you've mixed in with?
- For the most part we've been received really well! We don't really fit into one genre that well, so we can usually get away with some pretty diverse supports. We've actually found that the less typical 'rock' band crowds receive us quicker. We thought the Subways tour would be a goldmine for us as we both consider ourselves straight up rock bands, but we did have to go above and beyond to win over their crowds! That said, we supported a great band called The Joy Formidable in London a couple of nights ago and I don't think we've ever gone down worse!
How was the writing and recording process for 'Vivarium'? Was it a long time in the making? What's the meaning behind the title?
- Well, Vivarium is kind of a concise timeline of our first two years as a band. It features the first song we ever wrote together (Audience & Audio), a song we finished weeks before we started recording (John Wayne) and Light Speed which has morphed a ridiculous amount over the last two years to the song it is now. The recording process for the most part was great, we tracked all the instruments live in a room together which I love doing - it gives them a real sense of energy. We had some problems when it came to the mixing process but it all got sorted in the end, we're all insanely proud of the record now. As for the title, a Vivarium is an enclosure for plants or lifeforms, it kind of represents the more organic sound of the songs and the recording. Before the lyrics were all very insular and personal, whereas these songs all have a much broader message.
Do you prefer recording or touring better? Do you have any crazy tour stories?
- I'm going to sit on the fence and say I like both equally! Recording is amazing as you get to hear these songs that you've worked so hard writing together come to life, you always have an idea how it'll sound in your head but when you start to hear it being played back to you in a studio it really does blow your mind. Plus, because I play drums it usually means once my parts are done I get to relax for weeks! Niiiiice. But playing your songs in front of people is maybe the best feeling in the world. I know I count our best shows as some of the best nights of my life. Touring and getting to see places you might not have seen otherwise is something i'll hopefully never take for granted, it's incredible. As for crazy tour stories, we're pretty boring and don't drink that much - when we do the most mental things happen and if I did tell you all of us and our crew would probably be sent to jail. We shouldn't drink.
Do you aim for a specific sound/genre when you write your music, or is it just a natural progression?
- We aim to never pigeonhole a song we're trying to write. Usually Sam will come in with the bones of the song and then we'll all flesh it out together, but we usually just let everything flow, we'd never be like "this doesn't sound like us" - if it sounds good then it sounds good. I think a lot of bands get stuck in a rut by focusing on the one sound and deciding that's how they always have to sound. Nobody wants to hear the same album every two years . But at the same time, we're not naive - we couldn't go from this and write a jazz record, but natural progression is exciting and keeps things interesting.
I noticed that your accent is really strong in the singing, which is rare for a lot of bands, but also really cool. Is that something you aim for, to NOT mask your accent at all?
- One of the things we've tried to do from the start of this band is to not hide who we are. We're from Scotland, so why would we sing in an American accent? So, we always think that it's not really a conscious decision that we do, it's just the sound that naturally comes out of Sam's mouth!
How'd you hook up with Red Bull Records? How do you like working with them so far?
- They'd been in touch towards the end of last year, and to be honest we were all a bit sceptical as they were, at the end of the day, a drinks company. But they came to see us when we played a festival in London and after the show we ended up talking to them for about three hours in our dressing room (even though we knew we had a 7 hour drive back to Glasgow that night) and they just completely understood what we were trying to do with our band. They genuinely knew all of the songs and had all the right ethics for people we'd want to work with us. They made a great point that they wanted the label to be known for its bands rather than the label itself, and also the fact that even the major labels had to start somewhere - for example, Warner Brothers started out making car parks! We've been signed to the label for around six months now and we're all very happy. They've never told us that we need to do anything and actually listen to our ideas. And they've given us the opportunity to work with people that we never could have before, and given our band exposure we couldn't even have dreamt of.
What's the story behind "You're Turning Into John Wayne" ?
- It's basically just an observation on how American culture spreads and influences other cultures. Like how American television programs are syndicated all over the world, and American brands are everywhere. And we don't necessarily think that's a bad thing, but what we do think is crazy are when people from the UK etc... start to think they're actually American and forget their own roots. It's not the US's fault, but when you hear all these bands singing in American accents when they're from Glasgow, it's just weird.
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