SOURCE – Firstly, congratulations on Tu, it’s and incredible album! Tell us a little bit about the album and how the production and recording went for this?
Ethan Trembath (bass guitar) – Thank you so much. We actually were lucky enough record and produce the album with two different producers. One half with Tom Larkin, who is the drummer for one of NZ’s most famous hard rock bands, Shihad; and the other with a guy named Simon Gooding – both at Roundhead studios. It was really awesome working with two different producers from different backgrounds, and it was interesting to see the differences and similarities between the two outcomes. Overall it was an amazing experience and I really can’t wait to get back in the studio to get working on our next album.
SOURCE – What does the album title Tu declare and What are your ambitions for the album?
Ethan Trembath (bass guitar) – Tu is actually short for the name of the Maori God of War, Tumatauenga. We decided to name it after him because many of our songs are about great battles and conflicts, which all come from Tu. Another reason for the name is that Tu means to rise or stand up, which relates to many of our songs as well. We write about controversial topics that mean a lot to us, so we encourage people to rise up and stand for what they believe in too. We feel that people are too afraid of that these days.
As far as our ambitions for the album go, we always aim for the stars so we’re hoping it will go platinum But triple platinum wouldn’t hurt.
SOURCE – What was it like recording the video for Kai Tangata?
Ethan Trembath (bass guitar) – It was a great time. We spent about the three and a half days on filming it. One of those days we were up until two in the morning filming on our back lawn. It was a real surprise we didn’t receive any complaints from the neighbours, but luckily we live in the country. It was also crazy to be working with New Zealand’s most prestigious kapa haka group, Te Matarae I Orehu, who were involved in the battle scenes. We filmed that in Rotorua, which is the part of New Zealand where Lewis and Henry come from. So that was really great to stay at their marae and get a feel for where they come from.
SOURCE – Do you feel the way the music scene is at the moment, do you feel it’s harder for newer bands to break out of the underground scene and become more established?
Ethan Trembath (bass guitar) – I think that it’s more difficult for bands to break out in small countries like NZ but I definitely think it’s more easy than it used to be. I think it’s partially because of the rise of social media and the internet. Social media makes it so much easier for the audience to descover new bands and for bands to find new contacts within the industry. With that comes many more bands though, so I think that people find it harder to make something unique and diverse. I guess we’ve been lucky and came up with something different so we’re doing alright. We have been through times where we have felt like our career was at a standstill, but I suppose if you have something unique, work hard and stick at it then you should start getting some where.
SOURCE – How do you feel about the digital evolution of music? Do you feel digitizing music is partly to blame for decreasing physical sales?
Ethan Trembath (bass guitar) – About five months ago I started collecting records because I like the look of them. I really love listening to them because each record has its own sound from all the little scratches that they’ve collected over the years. I love having to work a little bit for my music because then I remember to appreciate it when I’m listening to it. These are things that you can’t experience with digital music, where all you have to do is a pay a monthly payment and you have access to all the music in the world. It is very practical, which is great, but I don’t think it compares to the experience you get from physical vinyl, CD, or even tape. I definitely think that digitized music is partially to blame for the decrease of physical sales because of the practicality and low prices. I hope there will always be a market for physical music, but soon enough the generation that still remember it will be gone. So hopefully more people like me keep on collecting!
SOURCE – In Brazil there’s much fans listening your kind of music. What do you know about the Brazil?
Ethan Trembath (bass guitar) – I know Brazil loves metal! I also know that Sepultura are from Brazil. We are often compared to them, mostly I think because we sing in our native language. It’s funny because we hadn’t really listened to them before people started making comparisons, but now we love them.
And, there is a cool new band called Nervosa from Brazil who we’re super excited to be touring with around Europe very soon. It was awesome to watch their new video ‘Kill the Silence’ recently – they did a wicked job!
SOURCE – What types of hobbies or passions do the members of Alien Weaponry like to engage in when they have the free time to do so?
Ethan Trembath (bass guitar) – I’m a big basketball fan so I love to shoot a few hoops and have a game with my mates for fun. I’m a little over 6 foot 2 so that helps. I also enjoy writing sheet music when I can, nothing serious, just for fun. And, I really enjoy wood working.
Henry really likes cars – fixing them, driving them, playing racing games on his phone and playstation, and watching YouTube videos about fixing, pimping and racing cars.
Lewis is into skateboarding at the moment – every time we go on tour, we have to figure out how to fit his longboard into our luggage. He’s also a pretty good unicyclist and a great artist.
SOURCE – Anything you wish to add to conclude this interview?
Ethan Trembath (bass guitar) – BUY OUR ALBUM. We’re so excited to be releasing it on the 1st of June so grab yourself a copy (especially if it’s vinyl).
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Alien Weaponry
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