Archabald is a five-piece band from Albuquerque, NM. Their music is a blend of Indie, Pop, Rock, and Talk Music. Recently, they came up with a brand new album, ‘’Relativity’’ scheduled to be released on the 29th of February. We had the chance to catch up with the band members and chat about them and their music!
Rockoverdose.gr: Hello Archabald and welcome to Rock Overdose! Your brand new album ‘’Relativity’’ is scheduled for the 29th of February! What are we to expect from you this time?
Randy: The creative parameters have expanded quite a bit since the “Archives” ep. There are some songs that are quite a bit more aggressive while others are very mellow. All of the songs on this album were written/performed/recorded by the same five guys from start to finish so the feel of the music is much more cohesive.
Rockoverdose.gr: Could you describe for us the creative and the recording process of ‘’Relativity’’? Where did you mainly draw inspiration from? Any overall mood that you tried to capture while composing your songs?
Jacob: We mostly recorded demos first and then re-recorded all of our parts with tweaks at a higher quality. Randy would come up with a loose structure and melody for a song and then everyone would put their parts on top of that idea. After some constructive critiquing, we would lay down the final takes for each instrument and build on top of the song one thing at a time.
Stefan: We draw inspiration from a variety of artists. There is only a few bands that we all actually listen to and enjoy. There is a tension that can be both beneficial and challenging while writing because we each have an idea as to how the song should sound, but in the end most of the songs end up being a collaborative effort.
Randy: With tracking parts vs. cramming everyone in a room and trying to play over each other, this gave us immediate results and the ability to quickly hear what worked/didn’t work in a song. The only challenge to this method is that you lose the live, in-the-moment creative input that happens when you play a song together. The influences in the album came from all over the place. All of us individually have broad spectrums of creative interests so each guitar riff/melody/chord structure etc. was influenced by a myriad of different elements.
Rockoverdose.gr: How important is for you to constantly experiment with the sound and to seek originality? And how do you define an original piece of music?
Stefan: We don’t intentionally pursue an “original sound” as much as we will keep messing with a song to get it to a point where we’re happy with it. Most genres and styles of music have been thoroughly explored, so we tend to try to make music that we would want to listen to.
Rockoverdose.gr: Are you planning a tour following the release of ‘’Relativity’’ any time soon? Which places will you be visiting?
Jacob: We are going to wait to see if our album is received well before we plan a tour. Touring has to be financially beneficial to everyone in the band for us to put so much time and effort into it. We all are married and some of us have families, so touring has to make sense before we start booking dates and organizing something.
Rockoverdose.gr: Do you think that a musician can actually influence people, transfer thoughts, emotions and ideas throughout his music? Is that also what you intend to do as a band?
Jacob: I think we mainly want to make music that we all like. Making 10 songs that 5 people all genuinely like to listen to is really hard, but I think we accomplished that. From there, we are just hoping other people like it ok too haha.
Stefan: If we make music with the sole purpose of trying to impact people, we would most likely end up disappointing our listeners and getting frustrated with how our music is never “good enough”. But with that said, if you’re honest in your writing and don’t tell people how they should take your music, you’re more than likely to connect with some people on a deeper level.
Randy: Music naturally influences people which is why it’s something that will never go away. You can handicap yourself by putting unnecessary thematic boundaries on your writing and forcing a certain “message”. It is impossible to divorce your beliefs, worldview and emotions from your writing so they will be communicated whether you force it or not.
Rockoverdose.gr: Nowadays, technology and the Internet have taken their toll on our lives and music is available easy, fast and at no cost to everyone. In your opinion, is this situation beneficial or detrimental for new bands and musicians? Do you use it a lot as a band?
Andy: I think we see it as a VERY helpful tool. Even just in the writing process we’d each be recording little ideas on our own devices and sending them out to the rest of the band. Then someone else would record on top of it and send that back out. We were able to get a lot done even if we couldn’t all be in the same room. The Internet has its pros and cons , but I think a lot of us agree that it’s a great time to be an independent musician.
Randy: Another aspect of the internet that has been helpful is filming live videos of ourselves playing a song and releasing that on YouTube. Whether people like it or not, local shows really don’t function as a helpful promoting tool. They can be a lot of fun but since it is close to impossible for five people’s schedules to align to practice, we have to look at how to leverage the time we have together. Since we all have families, rather than taking an entire evening away from the family to play a show for 20 people, it makes more sense for us to take an afternoon and record ourselves playing a song and putting that on a platform for millions of people to see.
Rockoverdose.gr: How do you usually spend your time when not in the studio or touring?
Stefan: We’re all married and some of us have kids, so we don’t do anything too crazy. Most of us work normal jobs. We have a great local beer brewing scene in Albuquerque, so we spend a decent amount of time hanging out at different breweries.
Rockoverdose.gr: You are quite young yourselves and you have achieved so much so far! Would you give some advice to all the young musicians who dream of your recognition and success?
Stefan: If you’re getting into music for recognition and success, you may want to think about why that is, because you may get burnt out very fast if you don’t achieve a certain level of fame or notoriety. But, if you’re getting into music because you genuinely love to play and enjoy being creative with other people, I would say learn how to use the tools around you (internet, recording software, practicing your instrument). If you want to play in a band, find people you like to spend time with and that share similar goals as you.
Randy: Fame and success are very transient and elusive items. Music can be a very frustrating endeavor because it's such an oversaturated industry. You shouldn’t ever get into it for fame because, like Stefan said, you’ll never be satisfied with where you are. Create music because you love music. Also, don’t be afraid to let people speak into your craft and give some constructive feedback. Know that one dude with an ego can drive the band into the ground. Be proactive about utilizing the tools you have and don’t wait for the “lucky break”.
Rockoverdose.gr: What does the future hold for Archabald?
Jacob: We view this project as something that we all enjoy and that doesn’t lose money. If we can keep up a really fun, self-sustaining hobby that creates music that other people like listening to, I think we see that as a win.
Stefan: We’d like to put out more Library Sessions videos where we do live versions of our songs as well as possibly doing some music videos. And of course write new music.
Rockoverdose.gr: Finally, would you like to leave a message for the readers of Rock Overdose?
Randy: If you’re just starting a band, you have to view this as a marathon rather than a sprint. I still don’t know if we’ve “arrived” at anything, because it’s still a working process for us. I feel very privileged to be in a band that has given me the opportunity and platform to creatively express myself and do it in a self-sustaining manner. If you consistently practice, refine your craft, write as often as you can and put work into it, you’ll be happy with the end result regardless of the level of fame it brings.
For Rockoverdose.gr,
Hope Vnz
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