Today's
guests have a growing fanbase within the Stoner/Sludge/Post-Rock
community as their previous two albums have been acclaimed by fans
and critics alike.
Though
it's with their stunning 3rd new album - Beholden To
Nothing And No One – which is going to launch these guys in a big
way. As it's colossal 84 minute double album that sees the band
venture into heavier sludge/post-metal territory that Neurosis and
Isis made their name with.
I described the album as: “Sunwølf have delivered an
unsettling album with a dark twisted vision that will have you
thinking about its hidden meanings for a very long time to come.
Ignore Sunwølf’s previous albums, as this is where their future
lies. They need to stick with this style of apocalyptic sound as it
will take them a very long way indeed.
WOW!!!
– Plain and Simple. – WOW!!!”
Sunwølf
are here to explain to us here at Sludgelord HQ what the album is all
about and why the change with their dynamic in sound yet again.
So
lets get started with Sunwølf.
Q1
– Hi guys. Thanks for doing this. How are things with you all
today.
Hi
Steve. Thanks for having us. All is well cheers, I’m enjoying some
rare Scottish sunshine and Dom is over in Vienna on a short break.
Q2
– Can you tell our readers a brief history on how the band started
and where it is today.
Sunwolf
started in June 2012 when Dom and I were playing in an ambient
project called Ten. We decided to mix up some ambient sounds with
some riffs and out came the first SW album shortly after which was
‘Beyond the Sun’. We put out an LP last year called Midnight Moon
and did a few tours off the back of that in mainland Europe.
Fast
forward to today…we recently finished recording a double album
which is due out on 30 June.
Q3
– Where did the name Sunwølf came from.
I
honestly couldn’t tell you. There was a lot of back and forth with
Dom and I about the name. We had some terrible ones to whittle out,
but this was the one we both agreed on and still like, so we did
pretty well.
Q4
– How did you all become involved with music.
I’d
only be speculating about Dom’s musical education but I’ve been
in bands since I was a teenager. Some of my earliest memories of
playing music are bashing the living daylights out of the school drum
kit. Although, I use the term ‘music’ advisedly, it was a lot of
fun, and I remember those days fondly.
Q5
– Lets get talking about your new album. Beholden To Nothing And No
One. Awesome album. Was it a hard or easy album to write and record
for?
Thank
you very much! It was a very ambitious project for us to undertake
and the process was a very different one from before. We spent a good
few months writing and making pre-production demos which is something
we haven’t done before, but it allowed us to review the songs and
make additions and changes. We were super prepared when we entered
the studio and even had one of those progress-chart-grid things that
those professional bands have, with all the instruments, tempo maps,
tunings, midi stuff, overdubs and so forth plotted out on. Pro shit!
We
also had a load of guests on this album so that was quite hard to
synchronise as some of them live in other countries, and as with any
project with a time-frame, we had to do some occasional nagging to
get parts sent over. We’re really happy with all the talented
guests we have on the album, we wanted to make a collaborative record
and I think we’ve achieved what we set out to do in that respect.
We
managed to record and mix everything over 7 days at Ghost Town Studio
in Leeds with long-time SW producer Ross Halden. Again, it was a lot
of work considering the amount of material we had to lay down, but we
managed to get through it with very little compromise…or sleep.
Q6
– What is the overall theme of the album? It can be a very cold,
violent and emotionally involved experience.
By
enlarge we like to leave the themes and feel of our music open to
interpretation by the listener. Obviously there are certain feelings
that we are trying to evoke through our music and artwork, but what
we’re really interested in is the different ways that people
analyse our songs and find understanding in them. For me personally,
the themes of this album are largely ones of isolation, reflection
and anxiety. Cheery bunch we are…
Q7
– You have added vocals to your music for the very first time. Was
that a hard decision? Will you be adding vocals for future Sunwølf
releases?
No,
it wasn’t a hard decision at all. We both felt that the time was
right to try some new things out, it’s something we’d been
discussing for some time. It was perhaps a gamble putting out an
album with so many vocal tracks, considering we’ve been an
instrumental band since we began. But, the new material is way more
song orientated, so we figured a vocal would finish the tracks off
nicely.
We
view the vocal just the same as any another instrument and have taken
that approach on some tracks; processing and manipulating a vocal
much in the same way we would say a synth, and it has produced some
great sounding results.
Q8
– You have changed your sound with each and every album.
Stoner/Ambient/Post-Rock and now your adding elements of
Sludge/Post-Metal/Drone to your music. Are you going to stick with
the new sound on Beholden To Nothing And No One? Or will you change
your style yet again?
Who
knows? To be honest, we just get our heads down and write the music,
there’s very little thought given to a preconceived idea of
‘right…let’s write a stoner album’. We don’t over-think the
process, nor do we write 50 songs for a 10 track album. We just do
our thing and have some conviction in the songs we commit to tape,
which I think is key. Far too many bands are too critical of
themselves, forever scrapping material, which I think is just counter
intuitive.
Q9
– Why did you decide to record a double album? One part heavy. The
other part more quiet. Would it of been easier to combine the two for
one epic release?
We
began the recording process with the intention of recording it as one
whole record…but it soon became apparent that we had some really
different material this time around. I was pretty concerned about the
narrative of the album; that it would be a little too
eclectic, bordering on the random. So I suggested that we release it
as a double album. It’s worked out perfectly and has been really
well received so far by everyone’s who’s heard it.
Q10
– Why did you call the album – Beholden To Nothing And No One?
Any particular meaning behind it?
It’s
an embodiment of our independent diy spirit…we’ve always done
everything ourselves: booked our own tours, made our own artwork,
done our own press, all on our own terms, and we don’t owe fuck all
to anyone. That’s not to say we’re not grateful for the time
people invest in our band, be it those listening to our music,
booking us for gigs, reviewing us. I’d like to make that
distinction clear; we’re not ungrateful, but nor do we feel bound
or owing to anything.
There
are just so many artists and bands who become diluted and jaded when
they sign their rights away to these two-bob labels and often become
artistically compromised as a consequence. We’re total advocates
for taking the road less travelled and this record is a real
testament to that spirit.
Q11
– Which bands and artists influenced you as musicians? Any
particular band or album that stand out?
I
always find this question hard to answer because I’m not entirely
sure what the actual answer is…There are people who’s
attitudes and values I respect and then others I just really enjoy
their music. To save a long, drawn out answer I’ll just list a
bunch of stuff I really like. Fall of Efrafa, Harold Budd,
Stars of the Lid, Neurosis, Black Sabbath and Red Sparowes.
Q12
– Who designed the cover and how much input did you have with
overall design.
Reuben
at Rainbath Visual did the cover art… I love his style, he’s done
some great stuff for near enough every decent band out there. We just
gave him a few pointers, sent him some new songs of ours and left him
to it. I think it’s important to allow artists to have a lot of
creative input. I’ve commissioned artwork in the past and sent an
essay sized brief for artists to follow, and they usually end up way
off track. They’re trying to re-create my vision, when I should
perhaps be embracing theirs instead. At least that’s the way I’ve
come to see it…I find it’s best to find an artist who you like
and let them do their thing, to some extent.
Q13
– What is the song-writing process in the band? Is it down to one
individual or is it a group collective?
There’s
a few ways we tend to write Sunwolf songs. Typically, I write the
majority of the material, demo it and send it to Dom and then we’ll
go over it at practice and he’ll add his drum parts or what-not.
But sometimes, especially with the more experimental or ambient
stuff, it’ll be a case of building the layers gradually. Dom will
send me some samples, I’ll work on them and send them back and we
carry on from there. Then we normally leave room for a few wildcards
in the studio, eleventh hour type tracks, which will be largely
improvised around one core idea or phrase. We utilise a bunch of
different processes in writing, and it’s all very natural, and
never forced, which is very important.
Q14
– How big of a help has Bandcamp and the Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metal
community been in promoting your music?
Bandcamp
has been great for us, it’s a brilliant platform, run by smart
people who understand what bands want and need, which is why it’s
been so successful. And what’s more…they don’t rip bands off,
unlike the big con that is Spotify et al, who pay bands around £4
per 1000 streams.
All
the stoner/Metal blogs have been a massive help in promoting us to a
wider audience. There’s a number of blogs who have been really
supportive of Sunwolf from the very beginning and we really
appreciate that. I much prefer reading blogs such as The Sludgelord
because the writers are so passionate and actually love the music.
Whereas with bigger print publications
Q15
– What is your verdict on the current state of the UK
Sludge/Doom/Stoner/Post-Metal scene? It has been thriving over the
last few years. Can you see this continuing? or do you see a natural
decline when you're performing gigs at home or on the road?
To
be perfectly honest I’m not massively in tune with what’s going
in that scene right now but I’ve really enjoyed the new record from
heavyweights Conan…really cool band and it’s great to see them
doing so well! The Bast album is a banger too!
The
underground Metal scene in the UK is definitely thriving, there’s a
great network of awesome bands and promoters all over the UK putting
on some cool stuff, so I definitely see this continuing and becoming
stronger. I guess this is where I say who my favourite UK bands are?
Latitudes are phenomenal, we’ve been booked to play with them a
bunch of times but it’s never happened for one reason or another, I
love all of their records! Some of my other favourites are: Fen,
Ageless Oblivion, Envoys, Nhor and Dragged into Sunlight.
Q16
– What is your musical set-up when playing live or recording your
music? Any hints and tips would you like to give to the budding
musicians out there?
Live
I use a Gibson SG through a guitar amp and bass amp which varies from
time to time. I use a pretty minimal pedal setup (reverb, delay,
tuner, distortion.) I’ll have a few stereo di’s for samplers and
a laptop. I’ll likely use a midi keyboard live also. I need more
limbs so I can operate it all at the same time. Dom’s live setup is
normally: drums (snare, kick, rack, floor, hats, crash, ride) Bass,
keys and sometimes harmonium. We’ll use a similar setup in the
studio.
The
advice I’d give…start recording your songs as soon as you can,
all you need is a half decent laptop, some software (logic), an
interface and some cans. Record and review all the stuff you write
and before long your songwriting will really start to develop and
improve.
Q17
– We are massive Vinyl Heads here at Sludgelord. Are you vinyl fans
yourselves?
We
are indeed. We were super stoked to get our last record out on wax…a
first for us both and a special milestone for Sunwolf. It’s such a
wonderful format and it’s the antithesis of the intangible,
disposable, mp3 generation. Listening to records is such a ritual and
it’s great that people are buying LP’s again, as it’s restored
some value to music, a value that has been otherwise lost in the
digital age we live in.
Q18
– Do you guys perform a lot of gigs in your home town? Or do you
have to travel further afield to perform regularly?
We’re
originally from Leeds which has a ton of awesome venues…so we play
here pretty regularly, perhaps a little too often! But that’ll
change soon…I’ve just moved to northern Scotland so we’ll be
playing live a lot less frequently.
Q19
– What is your verdict on the whole crowd-funding scene? Where
bands ask fans to fund their next album. Are you a fan of that
platform? Would yourselves ever go down this route?
I’ve
got mixed feelings about the crowd-funding scene. On the whole I
think it’s a brilliant idea, it essentially cuts out the need for a
label, connecting bands directly to their fans. However, some of the
campaigns on there are just woeful and it’s obvious that some bands
are just trying to pull a fast one and make a quick buck.
We
considered it for our latest record, to enable us to put the album
out as a double gatefold LP. But I don’t think we have a big enough
fanbase to make it happen and I wouldn’t want to spam people about
it all the time trying to reach our target.
Q20
– If you could give any advice to someone wanting to start a band,
What would it be?
Don’t
bother… get a proper job instead! And if they ignore that sage
advice I’d just say… just have fun with it. Don’t start a band
because you want to get signed or get famous. You see bands like that
all the time, it’s so transparent and fucking sad. They all end up
as these strung out 30+ yr old weirdos, hitting on freshers at shit
rock clubs. Just have fun with it.
Q21
– The last thing before you go, Do you have anything else to say to
your fans?
Thanks
for the interview and your continued support! I hope I haven’t come
across too jaded or vitriolic! Haha. The new Sunwolf album will be
out on 30 June. People can pick it up here:
http://sunwolf.bigcartel.com/
or here: http://sunwolfuk.bandcamp.com/
Well
guys. Thanks for doing this. All the best with the album.
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Written by Steve Howe
