Space
Witch have returned with their epic new album – Arcanum. Another
spaced out Doom/Stoner journey from these talented rockers. Though
this time the band have added vocals to the mix for a more
psychedelic experience. The album is already becoming a firm
favourite within the Doom/Stoner Metal community and it's not hard to
see why.
You
can read our review here.
I
was given the chance to interview Space Witch recently and this is
what we discussed.
Hi
guys, Thanks for doing this interview. How are things with you today.
You excited for the release of your new album.
Hi there, good of you
to ask. We’re fine. Yes, we’re humbled by the reception that the
album has received and appreciate everyone who has supported its
release.
Can
you give a brief history of how the band came about and where it is
today.
The band started as a
way for Daz (Rowlands) to get some cathartic release after a
particular troubling time in his life. Over the years, we’ve gone
multiple line-up changes, playing with some great musicians, and
since 2013, we’ve had the same members for the past four years.
What
can people expect with your new album – Arcanum.
We’ve really
experimented with what we can do with the sound this time. After the
self-titled, we spoke about what we want to do and we agreed we
wanted to try passages that focus on certain instruments and try out
a new additions. So you can expect proggy rhythms, bigger riffs,
synthy passages and some new additions.
What
are the underlying themes of the album.
I don’t know if there
are any preconceived themes that appear in the songs. We wrote the
album with the musical decisions in mind but, for the most part, any
themes that are apparent worked their way in there by osmosis. I
suppose if you look at the artwork, created by Adam Burke, there is a
definite theme of Rebirth that’s in there.
What
influenced you when recording the album.
There was a lot of
excitement and nerves before we went into recording. It was the first
time we had used a professional studio and we had limited time to get
everything down. If I think about it now Universal Thrift Club,
where we recorded, had a positive effect on the individual tracks. We
could try things on the fly and see if they worked, drop them if they
didn’t and make those new additions if they did. That freedom
definitively helped shape the final output.
It’s
very different to the other records you’ve released so far. It’s
a more cosmic sound plus you’ve added vocals for this album. Was
that a hard decision to make by including vocals for the album.
As stated, we all
agreed we wanted to experiment more with the sound but keep true to
what we’ve built in the past. The synthesiser being more at the
forefront, which adds that cosmic sound, was intentional and the
vocals is something we’ve tried in the past but just seemed right
on this one. It wasn’t difficult, vocals are like any other
instrument, they shouldn’t be included if they don’t work with
what you’re doing.
How
did you decide who would deliver the vocals.
For Cvlt Nation, the
online counter-culture blog, we recorded a version Sleep’s ”From
Beyond” for their tribute to “Holy Mountain”. We knew someone
would have to sing the vocals so we tried a couple of different
people and settled on my (Peter JF Callaghan) delivery. It was fun to
do and we thank Cvlt Nation for the opportunity.
Even
then the vocals aren’t your standard style. With them changing from
heavy shouting style to them becoming more chant like. Is that a fair
assumption to make.
For “Hex Solaris”,
Tomas brought a riff that we all really liked and the addition of
vocals was added as we jammed it out. At the beginning, there was no
lyrics and I just yelled incoherently to the rhythm but, over time,
it evolved into the heavy shouting style. We used a similar way of
writing the words to “Astro Genocide”, finding the rhythm first
and then added the lyrics later.
What
inspired you when recording the actual vocals and did you feel any
pressure when recording the album because of this.
Other than the
previously mentioned pressure of time constraints, I remember going
into the studio and finding it strange that the yelling and bellowing
that I did on that day would be the permanent sound of the track. I
took a few items with me for sentimental reassurance but it turned
out I enjoyed shouting those words out and relaxed into it pretty
quickly.
What’s
the song-writing dynamic within the band. Is it down to one
individual or is it a group collective.
A little of both
really, someone might come into practice with a riff or an idea and
we’ll collectively jam to flesh it out. Alternatively, ideas might
come through improvised jams and we’ll try to recapture those
moments, transforming them into songs.
HeviSike
Records are releasing the album. They released your last album on
vinyl. Did you have any other record label offers to release the
album.
I believe, in the past,
we’ve had offers on the digital downloads and CD digipacks but we
worked with three labels to release the self-titled vinyl; HeviSike,
Fear Me Music and Orchestrated Dystopia. Out of those, we’ve
continued to work with HeviSike but appreciate the support and hard
work that Fear Me and Orchestrated Dystopia put into our first big
release.
Will
you be touring this record heavily or will it just be individual,
one-off shows such as festival appearances.
We had ambitions to
tour the album but its turning out to be individual shows like
all-dayers and headlining shows. It’s partly due to the current
status of the band, members live in different parts of the Country
and there are day job commitments. For every show we’ve played this
year we’ve had astounding feedback and people are really enjoying
our material. It’s an absolute pleasure to do this and thank every
promoter who has put us on.
Is
Space Witch your main band. Are you involved with any other
bands/projects you like to tell us about.
At present, Space Witch
is main project for all current members. We’ve had side projects in
the past and there is opportunities on the horizon which I’m sure
we’ll keep everyone updated on.
What
have your been high points and low points being with Space Witch or
your musical career in general.
The high point has to
be playing over in Norway for Subculture; wonderful people and an
incredible experience. I think the low point of any creative
endeavour has to be the gaps in projects. The points of low
inspiration where things might get in the way of progressing a song,
where there’s a great deal frustration and interest sometimes
wanes. It’s all part of the ebb and flow but those low points
always herald break through moments which are the best.
Looking
back on your musical career so far, is there anything that you would
change.
There are ideas I wish
I followed up on sooner and there are future possibilities to do so.
Mostly I am glad to had opportunities that I’ve been involved.
There are plenty of stories for as long as we’ve been together that
end in pitfalls, broken strings and logistic nightmares. Better told
in person I feel.
Before
you go, do you have anything to say to your fans.
Thank you for your
continued support, we’re amazed at the response to our new material
and we will continue to smash out gigs where ever we’re playing
live.
Words
by Steve Howe and Space Witch
Thanks
to Curtis at Dewar PR for arranging this interview. Thanks to Space
Witch for doing this interview. Arcanum is now be available to buy via HeviSike Records now.
Links:
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