The Inquisition: 004.Barrows

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

Barrows by definition means "burial mounds". I guess for us its this idea of being pushed to create after observing this sort of visual reminder of where we are all headed.

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?

We start small and build, could be a riff, or a drum beat, or a sound, or anything really. We usually start with some pieces and think about what these sounds feel like to us. From there we construct the theme of the album. Once the concept for the album is planned out we write the rest of the music to that concept.  A lot of our new album “Red Giant” started with a drum beat and the songs were written around it.

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

We have a lot of influences, music, films, art, stories etc… 

Usually we like for our albums to have a strong concept/or theme and that original idea can be inspired by any kind of art.  We listen to all kinds of music, not just rock music.

4. What is the first record you've ever bought ?

 The first two albums I (Jim) owned were Nirvana "Nevermind" and Kris Kross "Totally Krossed Out" both on tape, I think I was like 7 or 8 years old.  Although I still like and listen to Nirvana today, I can’t say the same for Kriss Kross. That just goes to show you how influential the radio/mass media can be on young kids.

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

 Current: Maserati
 Past: King Crimson or Pink Floyd

6. 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?

Internet has been hugely beneficial for us. Blogs have shared our videos and music.  Without it we would not have reached many of the people that we have, and for that we are grateful.  The majority of digital and mail order album sales we have are from foreign countries.

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

 Bandcamp is the shit! Everyone should support it because it lets bands keep what they have earned.  We really like the “pay what you want” feature.  People have the option to download for free or they can download and also throw us some cash if they want to contribute.

As far as Spotify and Pandora are concerned, we don’t think it’s a very fair business model as far as payouts, but it seems like the major forms of music distribution have always been unfair. We choose to be a part of these services in hopes that our music will reach someone who likes it.

8. Where do you see yourselves in 5 years?

 Playing music.

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

We consider our artwork an integral part in understanding the concept of our albums.  Even if there isn’t a concept that unifies a bands album, the artwork is still very important, its an extension of the music in a different form.

10. 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?

 These days CD’s are obsolete, you can get everything you can from a CD in an uncompressed digital track other than the packaging, which is very small anyway.  Vinyl is our favorite.  It has a warm sound that CD’s cant deliver. Plus the artwork is displayed in a much bigger and nicer fashion.  Its nice to experience an album as a whole.  In such a fast paced digital world a lot of the time the simplicity of that act is lost on people.  These days a lot of people just listen to playlists.  It’s also nice just to have a tangible form of music, instead of a digital file.

Barrows' second album "Red Giant" is going to be released on May 6, 2014.

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