The Inquisition: 064.Aerials

1. How did you came up with the name of the band?

This was actually the hardest thing in my opinion. It took us a couple of months to think of a name and "Aerials" had a nice ring to it. Of course it's a classic System of a Down song but it's also a really good band name. It was either "Aerials" or "Knife Sky" but people thought we were saying "Nice Guy" so we scrapped that one in the end and went with "Aerials", all over a few beers of course.

2. Do you have a standard procedure of creating a song? Do you just jam around or is there a main riff and the track is build up on it?

I listen to a lot of electronic and synth-heavy music these days so most of the songs I bring to the table originate from MIDI tracks or EDM ideas that I have written on my laptop. Usually the initial "Guitar Riff" will be composed as a lead synth line but by the time I show Tristan and Jackson the demo and explain the notes to them from a keyboard perspective, the song is totally different from what it was originally was by the time we jump into the rehearsal room and pull the song apart. Since I can't play guitar to save my life, all the songs are written on piano/MIDI and the guys need to figure out the notes on guitar. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't but for most of the time, this is how we write as a band.

3. What are your influences and what kind of music do you hear when you are at home?

To be brutally honest, not a lot of new music influences me these days. I haven't been overly impressed with new releases lately so I guess you could say I'm not easily impressed with modern music. I listen to a lot of classic albums by Deftones, The Mars Volta, Tool, Sigur Ros and earlier Muse albums most of the time. In regards to influences, I'm always excited when Mew and Deftones release a new album because in my opinion, those bands haven't released a bad album yet. Other than 'bands', the last couple of years I've really enjoyed getting into 'synth heavy' or 'synth wave' genres like Perturbator, Carpenter Brut and Gost - all European artists of course. Artists like Geseffalstein and The Glitch Mob always impress me with the sounds they create so these are some of the artists you'll catch me at home listening to. On vinyl of course :)

4. Which is the one album you can't live without?

This is always a hard question isn't it. I honestly cannot name one album but for the sake of this interview I will just have to say De-Loused In The Comatorium by The Mars Volta - it's absolutely flawless. I actually have a crate of records that are my 'white whales' or 'records I can't live without', so if there ever is a fire in my house, I can just pick it up and run.

5. What's the first record you've ever bought?

I honestly don't remember. I know the first record I was given to me from by my brother was Bjork's - Greatest Hits. I think it might have been Interpol - Antics or Bjork - Medulla. Hard to say. Maybe you should ask me what's the latest record I've bought? That I could answer.

6. Name a band that you would like to share the stage or tour with?

If The Mars Volta were still around that'd be amazing. But to share the stage or tour with Deftones or Mew, would honestly be a dream come true. Mew are touring Australia later this year so seeing them live is amazing enough but to support them would literally be a milestone for us as an independent band.

7. Did the internet and specially the blogs helped to spread your music around the world? Name a place (country) that you were surprised to know your music has reached to?

Definitely. The internet has been a huge part in getting our name and music out there. This day and age is heavily relied on the internet so artists can advertise and market their product. Even though we find it difficult to reach our audience on Facebook and other social media platforms, we are very overwhelmed by our worldwide listeners and fans out there. We recently launched our pre-orders for our second EP called 'Restless' and two-thirds of the sales have been overseas. Most of the sales were in Europe (France, Germany, Russia, Greece) but we've had consistent sales in the USA, UK and Israel as well so it's definitely a nice feeling.

8. Do you support the idea of bandcamp where fans can decide the price or services like Spotify?

I do like the idea that fans can pay what they want because at the end of the day, if they don't want to pay for it, they don't have to. As an independent artist, we set the price to what we think is good value and the fan or customer can pay more if they want to. We're just stoked that people are actually buying our music and appreciating a physical media like vinyl again. We believe in our music and I think so do our fans so getting vinyl pressed was a present for them and us at the same time.

9. Where do you see yourselves in 5 years?

It's hard to know where we will be in five years but all I can say is that in years five years time we, as a band or individually as musicians will still be writing and releasing music in some way.

10. Is the artwork of an album important nowadays in the digital era?

From my perspective as a record collector and all-round music lover, artwork is definitely an important factor. Of course we now live in a digital world where the artwork itself isn't recognised or appreciated as much as the music but it's sill relevant to a release. Ed Sheeran released "X" last year and at the time I had no idea what his music was like or what his album cover looked like. However, each time I was on music blogs or searching releases on iTunes or flipping through records in a record shop, I would see this green square with a black "X" on the cover. As much as I found the artwork boring and still never knew who this artist was, the artwork stuck with me. Only until recently, I finally picked up the CD at a shop and realised it was Ed Sheeran. I can't stand that ginger guy BUT I was brainwashed by his artwork and presence for so long that it stuck with me all this time. I guess I'm a little bias because when I design all the artwork and branding for Aerials, I always try to imagine what it will look like on vinyl. I want it to be striking, detailed and eye catching immediately.

11. What is you favorite album cover?

Have you seen the album cover to Restless by Aerials? On a serious note, I would probably have to say Absolution by Muse or Ireworks by Dillinger Escape Plan. I'm a big fan of centralised and balanced artwork.

 Aha Shake Heartbreak by Kings of Leon is also great.

12. It seems that a lot of people are turning on vinyl again. Why do you think that is and which is your preferable media format?

I think there are a few variables as to why people prefer vinyl. It used to being a product for a niche market and now it's appealing to the a wider demographic. It's the "in thing" now and "must have" item from your favourite band. It blows my mind to see what's actually being repressed on vinyl these days but I try not to be too judgemental on the alternative scene. My preferable format is definitely vinyl because I enjoy listening to an LP or album from start to finish. Sure, the digital quality can be better if you don't have a sound system to support your record player but I like supporting the whole format of an LP. I enjoy seeing the artwork big, flipping the record over and I appreciate an album as a whole, whereas I think you can forget this when "shuffle" is on in your iPod.

13. What's the most vivid story or moment as a band?

Probably when we went to the woods for a few nights last year to get in touch with nature before writing our latest EP "Restless". It was great to just hang out as three mates, drink a lot of beer and talk absolute rubbish for a few days. Clearly we were also busy writing music too but it's always good to remember that this band originated from friendship and a love for the same type of music. In the midst of the chaos in the music industry, you can sometimes quickly forget why we're writing music but that moment was a good reminder why we are passionate about writing music.

Aerials are releasing their new EP "Restless" on September 4th in digital, vinyl and CD format.

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