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EARTHIST: "Lightward"

EARTHIST-  and their debut studio album "Lightward". - "We don't follow any music genre" - The young, up and coming, Italian quartet proudly state. Listening to some of their tracks and you might however detect the radio friendly sound and music influenced by the likes of Mumford and Sons and Biffy Clyro. Professional stuff with strong vocals and lovely melodies. Find out more about the album and the band. Here's :  EARTHIST

How has the reaction to "Lightward" been so far?

The album will be released on March 30th but we've already received many good reviews from international webzines (Jammerzine, Iyezine and many more). They gave wide and good opinions about all the songs in the album and compared us to great bands (like Biffy Clyro and Mumford and Sons) who inspired us during the writing time. When we compose we want to surprise people with metrical and melodic experiments, trying to write something that no one else would; these songs have been appreciated so far (even before the release of the album) and this is a reason of pride according to us.

What kind of 'sound', production wise, did you have in the back of your mind prior to recording?

Before writing and recording the album, we were thinking of a powerful rock sound, similar to Nickelback's and Biffy Clyro's ones. While recording in Ferrara, working along with our producer Riccardo Daga, we found out that the sound we were looking for wasn't that one at all: the one we built was more similar to indie rock (Kings of Leon, Killers and Interpol) and the result was surprising, even better than we expected at the beginning

What kind of input did the producer have during the process?

"Lightward" is our debut album: we had never worked with a producer before, and this experience was great. Riccardo gave us precious advices during the recording: we changed many songs details according to his suggestions and many melodies were created. The opinions of Carlo Bellotti, Epictronic A&R and Manager, and Wahoomi Corvi, owner of Realsound studio, influenced our musical choices, too. When we wrote these songs, we didn't have a bass player, so we composed the bass parts on our own; the bass parts were then recorded by Cristian Coruzzi at RealSound studio. He is a very talented and experenced musician; his vision of our music and his way of playing bass revolutioned some songs in the record and the result was astonishing. We had always been used to write and compose focusing on our point of wiew, but working with more experienced people enriched our songs and changed our way to think about what we write. It was definitely a great experience!

And are you pleased with the final outcome? (sound - production wise)

We are so proud of the final result because it sound exactly like we wanted it to be: the listener can appreciate the moment of powerful melodies but also the most peaceful ones. This was possible thank to all the people who always supported us during the recording, mixing and mastering of the album and who helped us everytime we wanted to change a particular sound with another. Moreover, this album spreads all the emotions and feelings we gave it during the recording.

Any experimental miking and/or recording techniques on your record?

The most weird recording techniques were used for "Jolly Roger (A Pirates' Tale)". The first thing you can hear in the song is the sound of a crew's steps hitting the floor of a ship in a stormy wind: it's the Pirates' ritual, made before another long day in the sea. We decided to record these sounds by hitting the floor with our feet into a small corridor, while a special microphone recorded: it was weird and funny because the most difficult thing was to make our steps (took by four different people) sound like one heavy rhythm to give a strong idea of a ritual. Another strange recording technique came out for "Sirens Sing". At the beginning of the song, a creak of a small raft floating in the sea breaks the silence: it was recorded by moving a creaky chair.

Please inform us about your favourite songs off the album.

We are creators and fathers of all the song of "Lightward", because they picture our idea of music and spread it to the world. However, some of these songs have a particular meaning for us. "Helicon" tells a story about the moment of poetical creation: the name comes from the mountain where the legendary Muses were born. This song carries a deep message: the artist must find himself before any other inspiration. "Helicon" wants to show that no one can stop the strenght and the power of creation when it comes like a fire.

"Jolly Roger (A Pirates' Tale)" is the story of a Pirates' crew who faces sea life everyday, with its virtues and faults. This song represents us so much, because it gives a strong idea of unity (during our whole musical path, starting from the beginning) and talks about the hard work that lies behind every Earthist's song. "Sirens Sing" is a song full of fears but also of passion: a man is standing on a lonely raft and he's obsessed by the spirit of a woman who recalls tragic events of his life. The sound is really peaceful, but it's not clear if this tranquillity comes from something good or bad: a strong dichotomy that leaves a doubt, making this song so incredible. "Fox When The Night" and "Step Out Of The Shade" are full of meaning too, because they talk about love and hope for a better future.

Any overall theme of lyric and mood that you're trying to capture while writing songs?

One of the most important themes we look for in this album is the passage from the darkness to the light. People are the artist of their own lives: human actions define our nature and they can change the world or destroy it. What makes us survive in bad situations is the hope for tomorrow to be a better day: this is possible only with an active partecipation of human beings. Each of us can make things right and change the future thank to the ambition that always moves us. You can find this concept listening to "Brighter Later", "Step Out Of The Shade" and "The Lighthouse". Another constant element in our song is Nature: our stories take place in wide skies, deep seas, hills and mountains. Natural elements are the highest example of art, and this idea is strongly rooted in us. We cannot evolve if we don't understand where we come from: this is the "Earthist" concept. To find this meaning, listen to songs like "Helicon" and "The Astronaut".

Tell us something about "Sirens Song". What is the meaning behind the song?

"Sirens Sing" can suggest the passage of Ulysses' ship into the sirens' den; infact, we see a similar situation. A lonely raft is floating in the sea and a man is standing on it; he is obsessed by a spirit, a mysterious female entity who reminds him of tragic events in his life. At the end of the song, it seems to be a love story: but nobody knows for certain what kind of love it is. It's not clear if this entity is a real woman or just an illusion, and most of all it's not easy to give this story a precise connotation: it is full of fear and anxiety but also of hope and kindness. Anyway this song wants to show the power of passion, that can be stronger than any other event of life. For these reasons, one of the most interesting aspects is that "Sirens Sing" can be considered from many points of view but still many doubts remain.

Would you say it's an disadvantage to be from Italy and play this kind of music? People expect a certain kind of style and stereotype?

The fact that we are an italian band who plays and sings english rock music may be a point of strenght: the people who listen to "Lightward" for the first time are probably waiting for some classic italian stuff, so these sounds can be unexpected. In the opposite way, maybe those who appreciate the album wouldn't say that the composers are italian guys: in any case, we can be a surprising discovery!

I must congratulate you for excellent vocal performances. Do you work on articulation/accent?

We improved our english accent through the years. Moreover, when we play together, we often record a simple audio track; after the training time, we listen to it and hear how we sang and how we said some particular words. It's a kind of "auto-perception" we use to find mistakes or good elements. The two lead singers also took some vocal lessons to learn how to make their voice work for long periods.

What is the meaning and story behind your moniker: Earthist. Any concept or lifestyle behind your decision?

When we formed the band, we wanted to find a name that represented our way of making music: a suprising name, with a special meaning. "Earthist" is a neologism, made by two different words: "Earth" and "Artist". We wanted to highlight the role of art in our world, as inspiration for human knowledge, growth and evolution. Moreover, every new step of our carreer gives this name new deeper meanings: "Earthist" is more a concept than a name and it evolves with our music.

How would you describe the live scene in your part of Italy? Can you find venues to play?

Sadly, the live scene in Italy doesn't offer so much space to young bands. In the past, like many other guys, we had to look for some opportunities to play live on our own, because it's not easy to find someone who wants a rock band to be the lead attraction of a party or something like that. A band needs a stage to perform on, time for the placement and the soundcheck and some people who can work on sounds levels; not always all these conditions are possible. Moreover, these last years, the club's owners prefer a DJ performance to a live concert so young band's life is not easy at all.

Who are your influences and heroes/heroins?? (music-wise)

One of the most beautiful things about us is that we don't follow any music genre: each of us brings his own influences (Coldplay, Mumford and Sons, Beatles, Editors and many more) into the writing time and composition. The final result contains the elements of many of these influences and it is totally different from the idea of the starting point. However, our biggest common inspiration and model comes from Biffy Clyro, a scottish rock band.

If there's anything you'd like to add, say, please do

Ciao!
EARTHIST

Interview by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
Photos from the band's facebook page 

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