Psychedelic
Space Rockers – Mammatus – are perhaps one of the most weirdest,
strangest and exciting bands around within the
Psychedelic/Stoner/Space Rock world. They have showed a wealth of
creativity in the last 10 years they've existed as a band.
Epic
spaced out drone based riffs that can last a lifetime. Their last
album – Heavy Mental – won a huge range of admirers within the
Doom/Stoner Community as it was one of the strangest audio
experiences you could hear in 2013. I classed it as their best album
to date as it showed that the band weren't afraid to change their
sound for one heavy as hell sonic experience.
Two
years later the band are about to release their 4th album
– Sparkling Waters – and from the sounds of opening track –
Sparkling Waters Part One – this album is going to be another
awesome album from these guys.
I
was luckily enough recently to get an interview with Aaron from
Mammatus. Here's what went down....
Hi
guys, Thanks for doing this interview. How are things with you today.
Far
Out.
For
people who haven’t heard your band before, Can you give a brief
history of how the band came together and where it is now.
My
brother Nicky and I had been playing music together since we were
kids. Our first jam sessions occurred before I had a drum set. Nicky
would play guitar through a little amp and I would bang on plastic
boxes and hit a metal dish filled with coins for cymbals. We had a
few different bands as teenagers, playing at high school Battle of
the Bands and house shows and coffee shops and so on.
Eventually
we started a band called Sad Monsters and recorded an album with
Nicky and I playing all the instruments and mixing in all kinds of
weird found sounds and field recordings and stuff. We wanted to
create a live band to play songs from the album and we ended up with
our friend Chris Freels on bass, who we knew from high school. Chris
was that kid at school who knew the name of every person in every
important punk band there ever was. He was also pretty into metal.
Once he started playing live with us our music just started getting
heavier. We were always into Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin and
stuff, but Chris was the first guy to introduce us to more modern
heavy bands like Sleep and Neurosis.
After
a while it became apparent that we were transforming into a different
band altogether, so we decided to reform and became Mammatus. We
played a few shows as a trio and then added Mike Donofrio on second
guitar. Those were the good old days in Santa Cruz, around 2004 and
2005 there were a bunch of really good really weird bands playing
every week at dive bars and warehouses. Santa Cruz had recently
gotten some attention as a psychedelic hub thanks to bands like
Comets on Fire, Six Organs of Admittance, and Residual Echoes. I got
a job at Streetlight Records in Santa Cruz and met Adam Payne of
Residual Echoes. I helped him record some of his songs for a EP that
Rocket Recordings was putting out. I sent them a Mammatus demo and
they were immediately into it. Adam was also doing a record for Holy
Mountain at the time, so I sent them a demo too, and they were also
very into it.
In
fact Holy Mountain wanted to put out the demo just as it was. I think
it was live to two track cassette. We recorded our first album by
ourselves in our parents garage using Pro Tools with a Digi 001
interface and a bunch of really cheap pre amps. Rocket and Holy
Mountain put it out and it seemed like lots of people liked it.
Suddenly we were being asked to play much bigger shows opening for
way bigger bands, it was pretty fun. We went on some tours around the
US and Canada and had a blast. I was also playing drums for Residual
Echoes and we did a tour with them where I played in both bands. In
2007 we released The Coast Explodes and toured North America with
Acid Mothers Temple.
After
that we decided to slow down a little bit. We were all in our mid
20's and trying to figure out what we were going to do with our
lives. We all got married and started careers and had kids and bought
houses. We scaled down and became a power trio again. We began
writing new music that eventually became the album Heady Mental, but
due to the obligations of life it was a very slow process. Heady
Mental didn't come out until 2013, and by then I'm sure lots of
people had forgotten about us. Now we're back with our most ambitious
record yet, and we seem to be moving at a better pace these days.
I’ve
been a fan of your band for a number of years now. Always wanted to
know why you called yourselves Mammatus.
Our
music has always been an attempt at reflecting the awesome power and
beauty of our natural world, so we wanted a name rooted in nature
that also communicated a large sense of scale and general far
out-ness. Mammatus clouds are large and heavy and beautiful and far
out, which is how we try to make our music. Nicky came up with the
name from looking in his cloud photo book.
How
would you describe your music as I’ve seen Mammatus been described
as a million different things. What would you guys call your music.
Post
Wizard New Mage Far Out Casual Spa Rock Breath Metal
You’re
about to release your 4th album – Sparkling Waters – and I’ve
heard it’s going to be your most diverse, experimental and heaviest
record yet. And hearing the 22 minute opening track – Sparkling
Waters Part One – I feel that is the case. What can people expect
from the new record.
This
is our first album that was made in an actual recording studio, so
hopefully people will enjoy the enhanced sound quality. It's quite
expansive, lots of finger tapped guitar arpeggios, lots of synths,
lots of sick riffs, lots of ambient zone outs, a few pastoral
reflective passages, and even a straight up Tangerine Dream style
jam. It's a double LP designed for a complete sit down zone out
session. It's a commitment to listen. We're trying to conjure up in
you the feeling we have while standing on a cliff below a redwood
forest watching the ocean sparkling and exploding beneath us.
Your
last album – Heavy Mental – was perhaps your most diverse record
and experimental record to date. It took me a few listens to fully
enjoy the record compared to your earlier albums. Were you pleased
with the response that album received. As it did receive a ton of
great reviews though it took some people time to fully appreciate it.
Heady
Mental is a weird record, I can't really say I've heard anything
quite like it. It certainly hasn't been a huge commercial success. We
are just happy that anyone at all would like it and buy it because
that is what allows us to keep making music. We have never really
expected much exposure or critical acclaim because we know we're kind
of a weird band that doesn't get out much.
Was
that the original intention when you released Heavy Mental. Release
some different what came before it.
I
think our intention was to challenge our brains and hands to see how
far they could go. The concept was that we would make a record about
making a record, trying to communicate the intensity of tripping out
on a riff over and over again, trying to piece different small
fragments of sound together, getting lost in the clouds and layers of
constantly changing ideas. Often times our jam sessions would leave
us in a sort of stupor, Brain Drain we called it. That became the
theme of the record. We got faster and tighter and proggier. We had
just gotten a bit bored of sludge and wanted to widdly wah a little
more.
Was
– Sparkling Waters – an easy or hard album to write and record
for. Did you do anything different recording this album compared to
your other albums.
I
can't even remember writing these songs, we've been playing them for
so long. After a while they just sort of feel like they've always
been there. I think writing the songs comes pretty naturally for us,
we just gotta be patient and let the song form over time. We move
very slowly to allow the song to evolve and we don't record until
that evolution is over. That can take years. We recorded this album
in two quick bursts over two different weekends. It is the first time
we've worked in a proper studio. We did it in San Francisco with Phil
Manley, who is absolutely a most righteous dude to work with.
What
is the song-writing dynamic in the band. Is it down to one individual
or is it a group collective.
We
just jam forever until a song forms. Often times we have a bunch of
little short riffs that we piece together and flesh out over time.
Do
you all use an advanced setup when recording or playing live. As you
guys have pack a lot of different sounds into your music.
Nothing
too fancy. When we play live it's just guitar, bass, and drums. Nicky
can conjure up quite a bit of atmosphere with his guitar pedals. In
the studio we like to expand more and add synthesizers, piano, flute,
pedal steel, field recordings and effects, that's the fun of making
records. These days we like to think of the guitar, bass, and drum
tracks as a canvas to layer all sorts of other far out sounds on top
of.
You
started the band back in 2005. Did you ever expect that it would last
this long and over the course of 4 albums.
Yes
I've always expected to be playing in a band with my brother. Nicky
and I have been playing together since before we both knew how to
play. Chris has been with us so long now he's sort of like the third
brother. I can't imagine not being in Mammatus. We don't plan on
stopping any time soon.
What
have been your personal highlights with Mammatus. And if you could
change anything what would it be and why.
My
personal highlight is getting to hold my very own record in my hands
for the first time. Growing up being obsessed with vinyl it just
seemed like a far away dream to be able to make our own record, I'm
still kind of blown away that I've been lucky enough to do it
multiple times. If I could change anything I guess it would be nice
if we had more commercial success, as it would be number one dream
come true for us if we could actually make a living playing music.
Will
you be touring much to promote the new album. If so, where will you
be performing. Are there plans for an Overseas/European Tour in the
near future.
Unfortunately
we have no plans to tour. We all have lots of commitments with jobs
and small children, we can't really afford to go on the road.
Hopefully that will change one day.
It’s
good to see you’re releasing the new album on Vinyl. Looks a
fantastic design. Did you have much input to the design of the vinyl.
Or was that left to the record label(s).
I
took the photographs and did the design for this record and for Heady
Mental. Spiritual Pajamas is a great label because they pretty much
let us do whatever we want and they love it.
Which
bands and artists influenced you as musicians. Any particular bands
or albums stand out.
Popol
Vuh, ZZ Top, The Ventures, Eno, and Bach.
With
2015 drawing to a close. What have been your favourite albums to
listen to this year.
We
all listen to lots of new age. Not much current music. As far as
records that came out this year I like “1000 Days” by Wand,
“Where all is Fled” by Steve Hauschildt, and “Buy Now” by
Eyeliner.
Thanks
for doing the interview guys. All the best with your new album. Can’t
wait to hear it. Before you go do you have anything to say to your
fans.
Thank
you for taking the trip with us. It is for you that we live and
explore our dreams, it is because of you that we live and explore our
dreams. Because of you the three of us feel a deep sense of purpose
and you validate the joy of our existence. We are deeply grateful to
you for this.
Words
by Steve Howe and Aaron Emmert
I
want to thank Aaron for taking the time out to talking to me. Much
appreciated. Sparkling Waters will be available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl
from November 20th 2015.
