Today's
guests have been going as a band since 2001. They have released only
one album under their own name back in 2007. But they have released
split albums with Yawning Man and Treasure Cat. They have also
released split singles with legendary Stoner Rock outfit – Karma To
Burn.
I
have been a fan of this superb Dark Rock collective for a long time
now. I have featured them a couple of times on the blog over the last 6 months or so.
So I have been given the chance to interview one of the
UK's finest and most creative Instrumental Rock bands – Sons of
Alpha Centauri.
Q1
– Hi guys. Thanks for doing this. How are things with you all
today.
Marlon
– Yeah, things are good with us thanks, we’ve just been
appreciating the best UK weather since 2010.
Q2
– Can you tell our readers a brief history on how the band started
and where it is today.
Nick
- Ok... So yeah we formed in 2001 and wrote 35 songs before compiling
a 12 track debut. The debut wasn't necessarily the best 12 tracks of
the 35 but represented the spectrum of music we were playing. From
there we went onto collaborate with different artists and then went
on to pursue a series of vinyl single releases. Now.. we feel that
we're ready to start the second album.
Q3
– So. How would you describe your sound. As you truly have a
strange and wonderful sound that you don't come across that often.
Nick
- Thank you! Our love of electronic and ambient music has had a input
into the band and I guess none of us really listen to any bands that
are 'new' particularly. When we started rather than tie ourselves to
a specific genre and grow from there we played lots of different
styles and built on each one. Eventually with the aid of electronica
and orchestration we have started to meld them together. We want to
express a darker and more sinister edge.
Q4
– How did you all become involved with music.
Nick
- Well for me it was a case that I didn't want to play football at
lunchtimes anymore so I started hanging out in the music rooms and
learning from watching people play. Eventually, I managed to get a
few of us together enough to start playing and writing music. I
formed my first band with guys in my music class and anyone else we
could scramble together that could play an instrument.
Q5
– Why the name Sons of Alpha Centauri. Any specific meaning behind
it.
Nick
- we don't want to be part of a scene or a crowd. Don't get me wrong,
we're nice enough but ultimately we feel a greater purity away from
others and want to standalone artistically. The name is about us
being separate and originating from somewhere else.
Q6
– You have been going since 2001. It's hard to believe that not a
lot of people know about your band and music. Is that something
you're proud of. Or something you want to change.
Marlon
– Don’t get us wrong, we haven’t deliberately avoided fame and
fortune; it’s just been given a lower priority than most bands
would probably give. We are heavily focused on our song writing and
the band is heavily theme based. A lot of the time we can find
ourselves going off on a tangent, and sometimes it can be a good few
months before we reel it back in. But it doesn’t faze us, as long
as we are enjoying the music, we will continue to write/release our
tracks and eventually, more people will get to hear it.
Q7
– You released your debut album back in 2007 which I am a huge
admirer of. But since then you have only released split albums and
singles with other bands. Will there be a new Sons Of Alpha Centauri
record anytime soon.
Marlon
– I can tell you there is definitely a second album on the horizon,
which horizon though is a another story. We have already written
nearly 30 new tracks towards this second album and so far we are
really happy with the results. We are aware it’s been a while since
the debut and have appreciated all the positive feedback from it. All
I can say is hang-in there guys, not too much longer now.
Q8
– Let's talk about your collaborations with other bands such as
Yawning Man, Karma To Burn and Treasure Cat. How did they all come
about.
Nick
- when the debut came out in 2007 rather then jumping straight into a
second album and the promo mill we thought that a different approach
in order to learn and grow as musicians would be to collaborate with
established artists. The collaborations we hoped would enlighten and
grow us as band to enhance the second album beyond the experience
that just starting a second album would do. I had been doing a lot of
work with Karma to Burn in the mid 2000s by sending over their
bootleg tapes so working with Will (Mecum) was the obvious first
choice.
Q9
– My personal fave collaboration you participated with was Treasure
Cat on Last Day Of Summer which I reviewed recently. That is such a
fantastic sounding album though very dark at the same time. What was
the original intention behind that record.
Nick
- Yeah, that was the first of the collaborations. For me, getting
into the studio with Will was a bold step for SOAC as a band. He was
someone who held a lot of influence for me as a musician in terms of
terms of riffs and hooks so to try and meld the two styles together
and get the record that we got was a rewarding experience. Also, you
know he had come from that 90s American Roadrunner scene which was a
long way from where we were (or are) so I think we learnt more from
that record than anything up until that point as a band. And of
course, that record was more than just a simple start and finish
project - it was the start of something much bigger between the
participating artists.
Q10
– Plus you recently released a split single with Karma To Burn. Was
that an easy decision to make to work with Karma To Burn.
Nick:
Totally! Karma to Burn both as a rock and as an instrumental band
were influential on early SOAC and after the Treasure Cat split then
the Karma to Burn collaborations and split singles just all fell into
place and felt natural. The two bands complement one another now and
we've toured, released singles and it's more of a partnership now. I
just wrote the biography and one sheet for the new KTB album 'Arch
Stanton'! I think that we'll complete a trilogy of the Karma to Burn
/ Sons of Alpha Centauri 7" split releases and see what happens
from there. That said, we don't intend for there to be any new
collabs until the second album comes out.
Q11
– What is the song-writing process in the band. Is it down to one
individual or is it a group collective.
Marlon
– The song writing process with SOAC tends to vary considerably. A
lot of the original tracks from the debut with their intricate guitar
passages were written solely on guitars by Nick and me with no
backing. However equally we will have complete band writing sessions
where we jam out a riff and develop it as a band. Some of the darker
tracks will start off by Andy writing an ambient passage which as a
band we then develop the track around.
Q12
– How big of a help has BandCamp and the Hard Rock community been
in promoting your music.
Nick
- It's been handy sure. I see a lot of those websites though as a bit
trendy and after Myspace imploded I haven't really spent much time
investing in any third party websites outside of our own really. I
still really just like bands own websites - they have a lot more
identity and character to them.
Q13
– What is your verdict on the current state of the UK Hard Rock
Scene. Do you see yourselves apart from that scene. Or is it
something you haven't really noticed.
Nick
- As far as I can tell it seems pretty good with lots of UK bands
touring and playing together. We don't see ourselves part of the UK
hard rock scene though. We've never really 'hung out' with other UK
bands or toured with them and as we're in the middle of Sheppey we're
pretty isolated but those who we do know seems like good people I
guess. But that works for us.
Q14
– Do you perform many gigs in your home-town or do you have to
travel further field to perform on a regular basis.
Nick
- The first few years we didn't play, then after that for five years
or so we just stuck to the occasional show locally just to find out
feet and get the sound down. Since then the past 5 years have mostly
been London on a irregular basis and usually when the guys that we've
collaborated with are playing so that we can make it more of an
event. I think that in total we've probably done less than 20 shows
in 14 years, maybe less...
Q15
– 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.
Marlon
– I love the sound of Marshall amps, so my personal preference is
always to use them. I had one of the newer HDFX models originally
which was great for when we were playing local shows, I now use a
JCM800. Our Bass sounds go through Fenders, namely an old school 70s
bassman. That said, you don’t always need retro equipment to get a
decent sound or the sound you want. We use them as it gives us more
flexibility recording wise.
Q16
– 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.
Marlon
– The music industry is changing and adapting with the times, I
think the crowd funding scene reflects exactly where the future of
music is heading. The latest generation believe that music should be
free, which is a nice concept, however the unfortunate reality is
that it costs a lot of time and money to make. Crowd-funding is one
way of showing there is a demand for music which otherwise is unable
to be made due to a lack of funds.
Q17
– If you could give any advice to someone wanting to start a band.
What would it be.
Nick
- don't change members unless you really have to and stay friends.
Marlon
– Sounds very simple but; finding like-minded people so the sound
you are going for doesn’t get thrown around and split between
members… it can be difficult enough to find musicians these days
but don’t compromise the band if the goals aren’t the same.
Remember that band rehearsal isn’t your own instrument practise;
you need to always work on your own technique and have ideas to bring
to the band. Rehearsals will always have their own challenges and not
being able to play something shouldn’t be one of them.
Q18
– So what exciting projects do you have in store in the future.
Anything you can share with us here.
Marlon
– We always have a number of tracks being turned around and several
projects that come along with that. The last few years we have been
very focused on our vinyl releases however at the moment we are
focusing on the second album and hope 2015 is the year. Couldn’t
possibly tell you what other secrets we have up our sleeves at the
moment though, you’ll have to wait and see.
Q19
– The last thing before you go, Do you have anything else to say to
your fans.
Nick
- Thank you to everyone who has taken an interest in the band and
continues to support us and being patient. We appreciate that we've
been around 14 years and are just about to start the second album -
please keep the faith and for us all, this is still just the
beginning!
Karma
to Burn & Sons of Alpha Centauri play the Camden Underworld on the 30th August for the sole SOAC show of the year. The night will
feature the exclusive release of the clear version of the split 'Sons
of Alpha Centauri / Karma to Burn' 7" split available for one
night only!
Well
guys. Thanks for doing this. Really appreciate this. Hope SOAC make
as music for many years to come.
Check The Band From Links Below
Written by Steve Howe
