Our recent APF Records: The Sound of Heavy 2020 introduced many of you to Sound of Origin, whose album The All Seeing Eye we will be releasing at some point in the hopefully not too distant future. We caught up with drummer Chris Foster for a chat about the record and the band’s story so far.
Q: For those new to the band, tell us a bit about you.
Chris: After forming in 2016, releasing the first EP in 2017 and getting on a roll playing shows up and down the country ... we then spent most of 2018 looking for a singer. A number of people came down to the studio and had a crack but nothing came out of it. Months went by and out of the blue Joe (Wilczynski – guitar) came across an advert Joel put out on a “musicians offered / wanted” site for “a vocalist looking for a stoner / doom band”. Joe messaged him back and from there things were sorted pretty quickly. We arranged to meet up at a pub in Leeds and right from the start things just worked, and after a beer and a chinwag we left the pub feeling much happier than when we went in. Joel came down to the studio, plugged in the mic and just blew us away. The 3 of us were just stood there listening like ... fuuuuck! He listened to some of the new stuff we were working on at the time and just said “yep, I’m in boys’’. The rest as they say ... is history.
Q: So you should have released your new album The All Seeing Eye by now, but the dreaded virus has delayed things. For those awaiting it, what can you tell people about it?
The All Seeing Eye has been a long time coming. It’s a bit of a mixed bag really. Writing-wise there are songs that were kicking around in 2016 (and riffs from well before then) that have been freshened up a bit, and newer stuff that we worked on when Joel joined the band. Although Joe wrote most of the riffs everyone contributed in some way shape or form. Morning Bird came about after Jax (Townsend – bass) was messing about with a bass line in the studio. Joel brought in Dim Carcosa and we all added bits to that. I had an idea that formed into The All Seeing Eye and Joe’s baby is Tempest Dunes for sure.
Recording-wise we went down to Foel Studio in Wales. What a quality place that is. Big shout out to both Chris Fielding and Mike Bew for making our stay there so cool. Two proper easy going blokes and Chris did a fantastic job with us in the studio. So easy to work with. From there the album went over to America to be mastered by James Plotkin and It would be fair to say we are pretty pleased with how it turned out.
Q: The album marks the start of “new Sound of Origin”. Your sound has changed significantly. Tell us a little about that.
We don’t really stick to any one particular genre now. There is a strong element of the stoner / doom “low and slow” sound but nothing is really out of bounds to us, we play what we like and as you go through the album that becomes apparent pretty quickly. There are riffs aplenty but also stuff you can chill out to. There’s sludge, clean blues, heavy metal and vocally there is something for all tastes. One of my favourites on the album is the track Stoned Messiah Blues. The band and Joel in particular go through the gears from Robert Plant-esque crooning in the beginning to absolute sheer rage in the middle and all the way back again. It’s a song we always kick off with playing in the studio and the feedback is all positive so far in the live environment.
Band influences and tastes are pretty diverse to be honest. We haven’t looked at one band and gone ... that’s what we will try and sound like. Type O Negative, Alice in Chains and Goatsnake have all been mentioned by people to describe us. Others have said we’re a cross between Faith No More and the and Acid Bath so take from that what you will.
We all pretty much like our music around a similar core of bands. Jax probably strays furthest and whilst listening and being a fan of bands from the UK Underground such as Desert Storm and Woven Man, he is much more into newer bands and styles of metal. If he gets into the studio first he gets control of the stereo and some of the stuff he puts on is varied to say the least haha.
Q: Your track on the APF compilation is Voices Left Behind. Why did you choose it? Who wrote it, and tell us what it’s about?
Voices Left Behind was chosen because it’s one of the shorter and more to-the-point songs on the album. People who hear the APF compilation may be listening to us for the first time so we wanted to give them a quick snapshot of what we are about. Lyrically this song is close to Joel’s heart and deals with the aftermath of losing a loved one and the impact it can have on you.
Q: What’s been keeping you out of mischief during lockdown?
Joe is a key worker and his workload has doubled so he’s permanently fucked. Jax is still out working too whilst Joel is working from home and Chris is furloughed so is dividing his time between home schooling the kids and gardening haha. We’ve all been keeping in touch though and been working on new music for when we manage to get back together.
Q: Imagine the band is in lockdown together for several months. How would that go?
After surviving our first 18 months / 2 years together, this band can pretty much go through anything I reckon. Some stories there but some top memories as well. After Joel joined the longest time we spent away together was when we went down to Foel last year to record the album. None of us knew how it would go but the week we spent down there together was mint. We got along like a house on fire and if that was anything to go by I reckon we would be pretty sorted in Lockdown.
Q: Finally, anything you’d like to declare?
Fingers crossed that everyone stays safe and well in these troubled times and we can all get together at some point when we come out of this. Looking forward to playing on our first APF shindig and to people hearing the album. Best wishes to Fieldy for giving us a platform to do our thing and big up APF Records.
Follow Sound of Origin on https://www.facebook.com/soundoforigin/
