There are only few bands who can take pride in stigmatizing an entire genre. One of these bands is God Is An Astronaut, who have become synonymous with Post Rock and in their 20 years of career have managed to dress up with their soundscapes from documentaries to very personal moments. It is also one of the bands that, because of their very strong character, are highly acknowledge from almost every music listener
On February 12th they released their 10th album Ghost Tapes #10 and on the occasion of the release of the album Rock Overdose and Vaggelis Giannakopoulos managed to have a little discussion with band’s main man Torsten Kinsella about the new album and the band in general
Rock Overdose: How did the COVID crisis affected God Is An Astronaut?
Torsten Kinsella: These are very strange times we are living in, we were aware an Outbreak was always a possibility but we never really thought it would happen on a scale like this. It’s been devastating for families and for the Economy, the music industry has been almost the worst affected. Our All is Violent 15-year anniversary tour in 2020 fell through due to the pandemic which was very tough for us financially.
On the positive side, we have been able to focus more on writing, experimenting and recording. Rehearsing some old songs, we haven’t played in a long time. It’s important to turn a negative into a positive. Most of the material for “Ghost Tapes #10” had been written before the pandemic had started but we recorded it during the pandemic and experienced a certain degree of Cabin Fever which perhaps added to the tension and intensity in the song writing and performances.
Rock Overdose: We have seen a lot of bands, take advantage of this break to discover more creative paths. Did you manage to explore different paths or you have been devoted in the new album Creation?
Torsten Kinsella: We made most of our time off, we took the opportunity to experiment with Amps and Pedals and successfully reimagined our sound and we no longer use the digital amp modellers. The new sound is rawer and more vibrant. We rehearsed the album for 2 months prior to recording it last May which is something we haven’t done before; we would normally write and record at the same time.
The rehearsals proved to be a huge benefit, we learned a lot and made many changes in the song writing, arrangements and tempos. When it came time to record it, we wanted to keep the focus on the live instruments and slightly less on the electronic textures. It was all recorded in 1 week with no overdubs which was a very different approach for us.
Rock Overdose: Until now you have released 3 videos from the album. Burial, Fade and Adrift. May you please tell us few words regarding each video?
Torsten Kinsella: We liked the idea of trying something different for the videos for "Ghost Tapes #10", "Chariot of Black Moth" known for his dark themed black and white videos which are well known in Black Metal circles and other dark underground genres. On the surface it may seem like an unusual collaboration but his style complimented our music, like a symbiotic audio/visual amalgamation. I cannot give any more insight into Jakub’s concepts behind the videos as he is not interested in discussing it, he strongly feels everything you need to know is all in the videos and we can appreciate that.
Rock Overdose: Every God is an Astronaut record has a story to tell. What is the story behind Ghost Tapes #10?
Torsten Kinsella: "Ghost Tapes #10" isn't written about a specific event but is more of a reflection over the last 2 years which have been unprecedented for us. Our last live performance was in Boston nearly 16 months ago and as I mentioned earlier our All is Violent 15-year anniversary tour in 2020 fell through due to the pandemic and that was especially frustrating because we hadn’t been too busy with touring in 2019, the Scandinavian tour had fallen through in April and the US tour in the fall was costing us a lot of money.
When we got home writing something with tension and intensity felt like the natural thing to do. “Burial” was the first song we wrote for “Ghost Tapes #10” which touches on the aftermath of “Epitaph” which was written in memory of our 7-year-old cousin “Oisín”, “Burial” is the transition between the two albums. “Adrift” was written in February of 2020 so perhaps subconsciously it was written about the state of World being Adrift.
Rock Overdose: The album “Epitaph” was one of band’s darkest moments. Expressing all those dark feelings is like a therapy for the band or you think is stigmatized the band creativity forever?
Torsten Kinsella: We have always written music about the events we experience. For us, writing and playing music has always been a catharsis. “Epitaph” was our way of saying goodbye and to try to come to terms with this most tragic incomprehensible loss. Music sometimes can convey an emotion when words fail.
Rock Overdose: Ghost Tapes #10 is like a catharsis for the band or a whole new creative chapter?
Torsten Kinsella: Stylistically it has opened up some new doors for us to potentially explore and we will continue to focus on a rawer tone for the future. One thing that will never change is that the music must represent what we are feeling, experiencing in our own lives, otherwise it’s really style over content and when you go down that rabbit hole, you may find yourself pandering to the naysayers.
Rock Overdose: How do you think political situation in Ireland had affected band’s music and creativity?
Torsten Kinsella: I never find politics an inspiration, our influences are more introspective. Each album is shaped by the events we experience in our own lives, it’s the main source of our inspiration.
Rock Overdose: You have managed to achieve a quite phenomenal MTV airplay and your music is way far from “easy listening”. Where do you think this is related to?
Torsten Kinsella: It’s important to establish it was 17 years ago when MTV played proper music, shows that sadly no longer exist like the 120 min show which always pushed underground artists, MTV took an executive decision to abandoned all Underground music and it’s got even worse since then, they don’t play much music at all anymore, making them completely irrelevant in my eyes.
Rock Overdose: Have you ever thought adding a permanent singer in the band?
Torsten Kinsella: No when we began “God Is An Astronaut” in 2002, our first album ‘The End of the Beginning’ was originally intended as our final farewell to the music industry after trying for 10 years to get signed with vocal driven projects. We decided we just wanted to finish on a release that we were really proud of, something we liked and forget about what anyone else, critics, labels etc expected. We have kept that ethos and never questioned it since, we are aware we appeal to niche audience but it’s what we like and do best.
Rock Overdose: How do you think Post-Rock scene have evolved from early 00’s till now?
Torsten Kinsella: It’s ironic when you see a post punk revival trend being championed today by the alternative media in their quest for promoting something new and fresh but then behave snobbish and wonder if Post Rock is evolving. You can argue that Post Rock has become so diverse that it has successfully combined everything from Avant Garde, Trad, Ethnic, Progressive Rock, Shoegaze, punk, Jazz, electronic ambient to metal to Orchestral music and beyond but then you will have some who will make the case that it sounds all the same.
As far as post-rock becoming too repetitive, this is a common problem with all genres and while it’s not the worst offender, it’s certainly true. We do make a conscious effort not to repeat ourselves, it’s important to challenge ourselves and to keep the listener guessing and engaged.
Rock Overdose: If you had to choose 2 bands now that you would like to tour with, who they were going to be?
Torsten Kinsella: The Cure and My Bloody Valentine.
Rock Overdose: Tell us 5 records you think that they have affected your music the most.
Torsten Kinsella: I will be honest during the 80’s & 90’s we listened to a huge variety of music from Thrash metal, Grunge, Industrial, Punk, New Wave to Electronica. Bands like Metallica (Master of Puppets), The Cure (Disintegration), NIN (The downward Spiral), Massive Attack (Mezzanine), My Bloody Valentine (Loveless). As young guys starting out, we wanted to emulate our peers but you do reach a point of maturity where the music becomes your own journey and not someone else’s.
Rock Overdose: During your live shows, the silence from the audience is remarkable. I have been in several shows where audience doesn’t respect more “quiet” parts and there is a lot of annoying noise. How do you think you have built this respect?
Torsten Kinsella: Our Audience are sophisticated listeners and they come to listen and watch, not talk through it. In the past when the audience talks through the show, we just turn up until they are drowned out. But in saying that a live show has many facets to it and socialising is a big part of it which only has been made clearer during the last few months.
Rock Overdose: Anything you want to say to your Greek fans?
Torsten Kinsella: We really hope they enjoy the new album and that we look forward to return to Greece again as soon as this Pandemic ends which we hope might be this year but most likely it will be next year, until then stay safe.
Take care
Torsten - GIAA
For Rock Overdose
Interview-Translation: Vaggelis Giannakopoulos
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