Melburnian prog-metal quartet Acolyte next month will tour the east coast of Australia, promoting their new song 'The Message'.
The single is a taste of their upcoming debut album, 'Shades Of Black'. Vocalist Morgan-Leigh Brown steps away from her festive responsibilities to have a chat.
If you'll forgive the trite question, what is the message of your single 'The Message'?
When it came time to write lyrics for this track I must have been very inspired about where the musical tone of it was leading my imagination. It is a fictional narrative in which I use an experience of the fourth kind to explain broader matters of the Earth, and used much older and evolved beings [extraterrestrials] to communicate observations of how humans over time have affected our planet. It does leave room, however, for open interpretation that I always try to do when writing.
There are many contrasts in the song – the strong, pulsing guitars and the sci-fi sounding end tone. What attracted you to such musical eclecticism?
Yes, there are many contrasts or dynamic layers to the song. I think we are a very eclectic group of performers really, coming from very different backgrounds, fusing so many unlikely styles together to create our soundscape. We have always stayed true to our individual influences and our styles have never been interested in conforming to trends.
We work for epic pinnacles in our music and play strongly to its overall feeling. Presenting dynamic 'scapes and layers is very important to us as we want the listener to be coming on a journey not just listening to another track. The eerie ending was intended to give the song an unsettling finish and to hold tension going into the next track on our record, which I think it has done quite well :-)
The music video for the song features a lot of strange and beautiful imagery, with dark forests and burning dolls. What inspired these aesthetic choices?
The director and I did a lot of brainstorming for this song and its creative direction. We mostly pulled from the lyrical content of the song and decided to go in a cult/ Pagan direction with a very real, raw feel. We decided that mood was very important for this song, so deconstructed imagery juxtaposed with a loose storyline and band performance was the way to go – almost like a moving piece of art to accompany the music, not to overtake the music.
We were like so many other bands; on a strict budget. So having a clear vision and direction was so important. The dolls, feathers, smoke, hands, candles... they were all things we felt were beautifully eerie that would work to help support an emotion. It was also my first creative director role, so there were always going to be things that worked better than others. Overall we were proud of what we created with Jarrah Film.
It's all very Gothic, do you think that subculture influences your music at all?
We are ever-evolving, but we do tend to play to our strengths and the theatrical side of the music with regard to our videos particularly. This song's vision was very different from our first single release, 'Perceptions'. I guess the one linking factor that we seem to follow through with is our face paint and makeup. We like to keep people guessing and surprised. We are not influenced too much by subcultures and what others are doing with both fashion and music. We like what we like and we do what we do.
Is 'The Message' a good teaser for what will come with the new album, 'Shades Of Black'?
Yes, I think it is especially against 'Perceptions' which is also on the album. We set out and recorded 'The Message' and 'Perceptions' in October/ November 2014, which ended up shaping the direction and overall tone of the record. Our songs are quite long and distinctly different from each other. When it came to choosing the tracks for the record we wanted to make sure the album flowed from song to song, from start to finish. We ended up leaving a fan favourite off the album due to this, but I think listeners will forgive us when they hear the finished work and how well the songs work with each other.
Do you think Australia is a receptive environment for the prog-metal genre?
I think there is a trend in the prog-metal genre that is very well received in Australia at the moment. The sub-genre's that stem off from this style possibly aren't but again it's important to just love what you're doing and execute that the best you can to give punters the best opportunity to receive it positively.
Our style is very diverse, which has allowed us to play across a range of events and venues, alongside some amazing artists. It's a very saturated market, but if you're willing to work to be heard and you truly are delivering something compelling, there is a place in this country for it. Europe is already receiving our sound quite well and Japan, but it's a different beast over there.
What was it like working with famed producer Ben Ehrenberg?
Ben Ehrenberg is AMAZING! What a legend and all round top human. He isn't just a producer. He knows how to get the best out of me which I really appreciated. Ben almost became the fifth member of our crew over the twelve months of working together. Mostly he loves what he does, which was evident in every little thing he did.
The attention to detail was impeccable and the additional guidance and support was priceless. We weren't just a number to Ben and we always knew we were working with someone who loved what they do as much as we believed in what we do. There is a lot of passion on this record; that really comes through for a debut release.
You guys are just beginning your journey; do you have plans for tomorrow or do you tend to take things as they come?
Haha! We always joke about the fact that I'm always spreadsheeting. I'm not sure what others do but I'm a planner! We try to plan as far ahead as we can while remaining flexible to change and other opportunities. I think projecting where you would like to be and planning the best way for four people to get there without compromising sanity is important and promotes open communication within your unit. We are so candid with each other now, nothing is censored, which is SO important to us. We are entirely independent in every sense of the word [financially, creatively, management etc.] so planning, for me is of the upmost importance.
Written by Justin Smareglia
Acolyte Tour Dates
Fri 8 Jan - The Bendigo Hotel (Melbourne)Sat 9 Jan - The Musicman Megastore (Bendigo)
Sat 16 Jan – New Globe Theatre (Brisbane)
Fri 29 Jan - The Bald Faced Stag (Sydney)
Sat 6 Feb – Mynt Lounge (Bendigo)
