Alarmist are set to take over the Project Arts Centre in Dublin for two nights this weekend as they launch the release of their brand new album Sequesterer. The group recently spoke to TLMT about the record, their inspirations and what they’re listening to now.
What’s the last record you bought? Third – Portishead Broadcast – The Future Crayon
What’s the last song you played on Spotify? ‘Mandy’ Love Theme – Jóhann Jóhannson Piel – Arca
What is inspiring your music at the moment? Having gotten four very busy and detailed records out of our system we’re enjoying trying out looser, more stripped down approaches.
Tell us about the making of Sequesterer? We already had a lot of material to use straight after the last album but it took a couple years to regain full momentum amid other stuff we all had on. After we set a few goals the whole thing came together in under a year, with our regular studio folks Deaf Brothers down in the Meadow. We’re so comfortable with the process that productivity and pure cabin fever silliness go hand in hand (some of which you get an idea of in our Lactic Tang video ).
A lot of the new tunes started as individual demos we brought to each other, learned and then played around with as a group. Rather than going for a raw band in a room sound were more focused on creating a vivid atmosphere and sense of place in the tunes, figuring out the live approach later.
We took more opportunities to do things differently on this record. Probably the most unique experience was recording Life in Half Time. Neil had demoed it and we decided to take an open ended approach, planning an organic/acoustic sounding arrangement and putting it all together in studio with piano , drums , winds and guitar. Usually we split hairs on tracks for ages but this arrangement came together in a few hours and is one our favorites.
What can people expect from your upcoming double headline shows? A continuous flow of our music where sound and visuals are at the forefront, with some really amazing laser, holoscrim and projection work from the Algorithm guys.
It’s a return to and evolution of the big shows we worked on together in Block T/Block B in Smithfield back in 2011-13, and we’re excited to be doing it in such an immersive theatrical setting.
What are your thoughts on the Irish music scene at the moment? We’ve been a little absent from the Irish live scene as a band over the past while but it’s nice to become more active locally again. There’s no shortage of diverse talent in the pop/rock, experimental and classical scenes but – to echo what everyone is saying – there’s a worrying lack of venues or welcoming spaces to let potential really bloom. Hopefully that has some way of turning around in the near future.
What has been a highlight of your 2019 in music? As a band, finally releasing this album to the world with nice feedback so far, getting our live show back up to scratch and playing some very nice gigs.
Alarmist play the Project Arts Centre in Dublin on Friday, October 18th and Saturday, October 19th. Tickets are on sale now via projectartscentre.ie.
Alarmist are set to take over the Project Arts Centre in Dublin for two nights this weekend as they launch the release of their brand new album Sequesterer. The group recently spoke to TLMT about the record, their inspirations and what they’re listening to now.
What’s the last record you bought?
Third – Portishead
Broadcast – The Future Crayon
What’s the last song you played on Spotify?
‘Mandy’ Love Theme – Jóhann Jóhannson
Piel – Arca
What is inspiring your music at the moment?
Having gotten four very busy and detailed records out of our system we’re enjoying trying out looser, more stripped down approaches.
Tell us about the making of Sequesterer?
We already had a lot of material to use straight after the last album but it took a couple years to regain full momentum amid other stuff we all had on. After we set a few goals the whole thing came together in under a year, with our regular studio folks Deaf Brothers down in the Meadow. We’re so comfortable with the process that productivity and pure cabin fever silliness go hand in hand (some of which you get an idea of in our Lactic Tang video ).
A lot of the new tunes started as individual demos we brought to each other, learned and then played around with as a group. Rather than going for a raw band in a room sound were more focused on creating a vivid atmosphere and sense of place in the tunes, figuring out the live approach later.
We took more opportunities to do things differently on this record. Probably the most unique experience was recording Life in Half Time. Neil had demoed it and we decided to take an open ended approach, planning an organic/acoustic sounding arrangement and putting it all together in studio with piano , drums , winds and guitar. Usually we split hairs on tracks for ages but this arrangement came together in a few hours and is one our favorites.
What can people expect from your upcoming double headline shows?
A continuous flow of our music where sound and visuals are at the forefront, with some really amazing laser, holoscrim and projection work from the Algorithm guys.
It’s a return to and evolution of the big shows we worked on together in Block T/Block B in Smithfield back in 2011-13, and we’re excited to be doing it in such an immersive theatrical setting.
What are your thoughts on the Irish music scene at the moment?
We’ve been a little absent from the Irish live scene as a band over the past while but it’s nice to become more active locally again. There’s no shortage of diverse talent in the pop/rock, experimental and classical scenes but – to echo what everyone is saying – there’s a worrying lack of venues or welcoming spaces to let potential really bloom. Hopefully that has some way of turning around in the near future.
What has been a highlight of your 2019 in music?
As a band, finally releasing this album to the world with nice feedback so far, getting our live show back up to scratch and playing some very nice gigs.
Alarmist play the Project Arts Centre in Dublin on Friday, October 18th and Saturday, October 19th. Tickets are on sale now via projectartscentre.ie.
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