Interview & Track Premiere: Elephant Tree Talk About the Making of Habits and More
[Click play above to stream the premiere of ‘Exit the Soul’ from Elephant Tree’s Habits. Album is out April 24 through Holy Roar Records and Deathwish Inc.]
I’ve been fortunate a few times now to see Elephant Tree play live, and never once have they not surpassed the prior gig. Each time has been better than the last. The clarity of their progression as a band can likewise be heard in their recordings. The latest of them, Habits (review here), is a sure-fire, no-question contender for the best heavy rock album of 2020, and though it was preceded just by their 2016 self-titled debut full-length (review here) and 2014’s Theia EP (review here), their evolution is to be ignored only at the non-listener’s loss. Emerging as they have from a hyper-crowded London and UK scene, with the advent of Habits, they stand among the most essential underground heavy bands currently active. And yes, I mean that.
Just a few days ago I expounded at great (read: probably too much) length about the quality of their craft across the wide scope of Habits, so I’ll spare you that. If you’re still reading this and haven’t just scrolled on to the Q&A, first, thanks, and second, I’ll just say that another aspect of who they are that comes across with Habits more than ever is the closeness of bond between the now-four members of the band. It’s not just about the harmonies between guitarist/vocalist Jack Townley and bassist/vocalist Peter Holland, or the hefty dose of synth John Slattery brings in his first recording with the group, or the steady foundation of roll drummer Sam Hart sets beneath the floating melodies. It’s the core relationship among the players upon which their performance chemistry is built. These guys laugh together. They’re becoming family as the best and steadiest bands do over time. You can see it when they clown around on stage. Just ask Pete what his favorite kind of bird is.
As that relationship extends to their work with producer/sometimes-bandmate Riley MacIntyre, it’s only fair that all five are included in this interview. If you haven’t found it yet, you’ll find the Q&A below.
Enjoy:
Interview with Elephant Tree: Habits Forming
Tell me about being in the studio this time vs. last time. What was different, other obviously than the songs, and what did you want to keep sound-wise from the self-titled?
Riley: The biggest difference between the making of this album and the last was the amount of time we spent on it. With the self-titled we had a very short and specific period of time to finish it. I believe we recorded all the music in four days, and then spent another few weekends doing vocals, production and mixing. It was maybe 8-10 days total. Also, I had a very clear vision for that album in terms of how it should sound. So, although we did play around a bit in the studio, it was a relatively focused process of recording what we needed to make it sound the way we imagined.
By contrast, Habits took the better part of a year (not full time by any means, mind you), and we had almost no idea how we wanted it to sound when we started out. Although we still did all the main live recording inside of a week, the production ultimately became a protracted process of trial and error, exploration, discovery, mistakes and happy accidents. For better or worse, without a deadline we were able to let the album take shape over time, and to be guided by what we found to be working along the way.
In terms of changes to the sound, we knew we wouldn’t be messing with core elements of the band – we would certainly be keeping the heavy guitars and vocal harmonies – but I think everything else was more or less fair game. I don’t remember having any conversations about what we wanted to stay the same, but we did have some about what we wanted to add… namely, energy. Whereas the last record was deliberately raw, lethargic, and syrupy sounding, we wanted this one to have a slightly more focused energy and to feel more alive and exciting. We tried to achieve this with more top end on the guitars, the drums being a bit less smashed and drowned out, little production tricks, and lots and lots of SYNTHS!
Describe recording with Riley. What does he bring to Elephant Tree’s sound as a producer?
Sam: Riley brings us a pretty unique opportunity when it comes to recording. He usually works on music that’s totally different, if not the polar opposite, to ours, so being able to come at the tracks with fresh ears and ideas is a real boon. The process usually involves us heading into the studio with an idea and Riley really then has free reign to deconstruct and digest it before coming up with all these wired and wonderful suggestions. Sometimes that can mean the whole re-writing of a track and others it might just be an odd synth added here and there. Most of the time though is him taking the hodge podge of riffs we have and moulding them into a song that makes sense.
Obviously having John in the band is a change from the first album. How much of Habits was written when he joined? How do you feel about the way the keys and second guitar fit in this material and how has it changed the experience of playing live for you?
Sam: John was there from the start on Habits pretty much. I think we had maybe Bird and one other track written but nowhere near finished. We needed to take the Self Titled on the road and wanted to do it justice with the extra guitars and synth that you could hear on the album. The more John practiced with us, the more we ended up jamming, and then from there he just naturally became a part of the next album. The keys and extra guitars were there on the self titled release but perhaps slightly less focused. That was because we wanted to still be able to give a live performance that was true to the album that people would listen to at home in some respect. Having John with us now means we can explore those second guitar parts and add these synth flutters knowing that when it comes to playing live we can deliver. He’s really a key member in pushing the band forward now.
How did you land on the title Habits and what does it mean to you? – Jack: It was actually Pete who shouted the album name out when we were trying to think of a title that sums up the ideas behind the album. I wouldn’t want to explain exactly what it means to us because I think it could mean a lot of different things to everyone else. However, I will say that it does reflect different parts of our lives and the times we are living through in a very real sense.
What’s happening in “The Fall Chorus” lyrically, and how intentional was it to pair that with “Broken Nails” at the start and end of side B?
John: Lyrically, “The Fall Chorus” is about struggling on with life against the backdrop of what seems to be an increasingly hostile environment politically and economically. The verses and choruses operate as counterpoint to each other. The chorus offers up the idea of having personal hope and being saved (whatever that might mean to you personally). The verses counter that with a feeling of impending doom. The last verse slightly aims to offer comfort in knowing that it cannot last forever and that at some point in the future, I will die (along with all my hopes and fears). I find some comfort in that.
With regard to the pairing of both songs, I think thematically they are in a similar vein. There was a strong feeling that Broken Nails was going to close the album out relatively early on in the recording process. I think we tried out a few different arrangements for the tracks, but felt that it was nice to come out of Exit The Soul and into something completely different with The Fall Chorus when you flip to Side B.
Tell me about the development of “Bird,” how that came together instrumentally and lyrically. –
Jack: The initial sketch music for Bird came first followed by the first ideas for the lyrics about 10 minutes later! I’ve never really written an idea down like that. Musically it came from a folk place. I’d been listening to old watersons records and a lot of Lankum at that time. I’d also just had my daughter! All this you can hear. The lyrics reflect the happiness and worries that come with raising a child (the worry part is especially relevant now). I brought the demo to the gang and it all came together really easily. We started to play it live for a while before we took it into the studio, it changed a fair bit in terms of arrangement since then as most things do when we work it all out together! Once in the studio Sam helped with parts of lyrics that had holes, Pete brought the riffs in. Slootz Mcootz brought in his keys, synths and charm, and Riley brought the whole thing together with his massive (when warm) production!
One assumes, plague permitting, you’ll tour. Any plans or closing words you want to mention?
Pete: Definitely, when this has settled down and normality (or as close to normal as we can get) has returned to us, we hope to pick up where things have been put on hold. Play out the new tracks from the album people have gotten used to by then, and be the band people want and need. The messages we get from fans can really leave us feeling humbled, we forget how our music and lyrics can help people through tough times, so it truly keeps our glass half full.
And as far as touring goes, plans were being made to be on the road with another band that, coincidentally, have their album coming out the same day as us, so fingers crossed for that come September.
Elephant Tree, “Bird” official video
Elephant Tree, “Sails” official video
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Tags: Deathwish Inc, Elephant Tree, Elephant Tree Habits, Habits, Holy Roar Records, London, UK
