Interview Another Sky: “We’ve pushed ourselves into the unknown again”

Last month you returned with your first new music in over two years; how did it feel to get some new material out into the world? What was the reaction like?
Catrin: It feels very freeing. It was hard to sit on those tunes for a while, especially considering the intense subject matter. It’s a bit like journaling. You can let it go by writing about it. I don’t actually know what the reaction is besides love from my friends. I don’t look at comments anymore. That’s been bliss.

Can you tell us a little bit about how ‘Psychopath’ and ‘Watching Basinski’ came to life? What inspired the two songs, what are their back stories?
Jack: ‘Psychopath’ was actually the very first moment of music that happened after we moved into our new studio space! Late one night Max and myself stayed in and couldn’t believe that we finally had a room sound to play with - our old studio was a soundproofed box with no natural acoustics. The Crypt is very large and we have two tunnel bunker like rooms.
I had the riff kicking around for a while but as soon as we both launched into it we knew we had something really strong! It wasn’t until a year later we all actually wrote the song, the day after seeing Tool at The O2.
Catrin: ‘Watching Basinski’ was a song of mine, recorded in lockdown.

Why was it important to release the two tracks together? What do you think they say about the band’s next era?
Catrin: I think ‘Watching Basinski’ was a “don’t worry, we still write ballads” kind of track. Because ‘Psychopath’ is such a new sound for us. I think they both say, “you’ll still get lyrical honesty, but watch out for how it’s dressed”.

Are you able to tell us anything about what’s coming next musically for the band…?
Jack: We’ve pushed ourselves into the unknown again. There’s been a lot of focus from a production point of view to capture the essence of our live sound. Anyone who’s been to our shows will know what I mean. The two worlds have always felt very separate, so we had a big goal to try and make the new music feel like a show.

As well as working on music, you’ve also built a brand new studio in the crypt of a church; how did that come about? What has it meant for writing and recording for the band?
Jack: A very good friend of ours knew about this empty crypt and gave us a heads up. So I immediately rang the vicar of the church and proposed the idea of us building a studio in it. Luckily he’s an amazing guy and was extremely excited about the idea. He’s a big fan of The Cure so we immediately bonded over that.
Without The Crypt none of this new music would have been made. We fully embraced the mad uncontrollable nature of the tunnels and set up in a live band formation. The whole process was made extremely simple. We didn’t have thousands and thousands of pounds worth of gear. Just basic equipment, a really strong idea of what we wanted to do and a very cool space to do it in.

You recently played your first live show in London in quite a while; how did you find it?
Catrin: Yeah, we did a really small comeback show at The George Tavern, and it was exactly how it used to feel to play. “Fuck, I can’t hear that guitar part. Is any of what I’m saying on stage making sense? Oops I hit that note wrong.” All the same anxieties. But I’ve learned not to take myself so seriously now, which feels much better. I’m just here to tell stories. No one cares as much as you think they do, everyone just wants a good time. And that’s what we do.

You’re also set to play at The Great Escape this month; how are you looking forward to being back at the festival? Have you being prepping anything special for your set?
Catrin: We’ve played it once before, and to be honest, I’m looking forward to seeing everyone play. As far as special stuff prepped? New songs, of course.

What’s your best tip for anyone else heading to Brighton this year?
Catrin: Paris Paloma, Arlo Parks, Jessica Winter, Billie Marten… bring it on!

Another Sky play The Great Escape (11th - 13th May), where DIY is a media partner. Head to the festival’s website for more info, and to buy tickets.

Tags: Another Sky, Festivals, Features, Interviews