Mascots - Sound In The Signals Interview
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| Photo: Robert Coyle |
Your new song “Figure It Out” was just released. Can you tell me a little about the writing and recording process for the song?
Chris Henderson: The recording process was a little different this time around. We had the instrumental ready to be recorded before we got to the studio. The lyrics on the other hand were written during the recording process. Like I said, a little different than we normally go about things but sometimes a little change in the writing process can go a long way.
I really like the lyrics. What were some of the inspirations for the lyrics. Do you usually write lyrics or music first?
Chris Henderson: Some of the inspiration came from waking up day after day, “dreaming of change”. I'm the type of person who not only likes change, but almost feels like I need change. Another huge part of inspiration came from feeling like I haven’t done enough with my life or know what I’m doing really. All while your friends and family always talk you up and look at you as someone who has really got a grasp, and is in control of their “successful” life. Now when it comes down to writing lyrics, I personally like putting lyrics, melody, and syllable counts to the finished product.
You’ve said the song is about how sometimes in life you feel stuck in a series of ups and downs. That’s true for the world we’re in currently. How is the band coping with the uncertainty as musicians and how are you coping as a person living in the pandemic?
Chase Nichols: The way I see it, every single day is an uncertainty, with the pandemic maybe even more so. Actually, possibly because of that, creating and playing music has been the one thing I’ve felt the most certain about. Personally, there’s not a better feeling in the world than playing a live set in front of people whom our music has connected with, whether it’s a crowd of hundreds or a small group of supporting friends, the energy that comes along with that is unlike anything else! Even though I’m missing that feeling deeply, I think the current state we’re in globally has allowed everyone some time to analyze what’s most important to them and how they can continually improve themselves, I think we’ve just been correlating that philosophy into our music.
The music video is really interesting. How did you put it together and who came up with the concept?
Alex Stewart: We originally were shooting a live music video in late February but then COVID-19 happened which made us have to take a break from shooting the video.
As time moved on, we were wanting to release the song but still needed a video and we came up with this concept of using older, 1950s, 1960s footage as a backdrop for the song. If you take a closer look at the video, you can see that there are little "stories" happening, each having their own beginning and end. And there are others that you never really find out what happens and we leave you to figure it out for yourself.
The single artwork looks great, as well. What is some of the meaning behind it and who designed it?
Alex Stewart: The concept is a combination safe with a busy home inside, representing security and stability - all behind a locked door. This plays on the idea of the song being that all these ideals are available to everyone but sometimes can be hard to access or figure out in order to get to that point in your life.
The single artwork was designed by Alex Adam through his design company, Boredom Kills Creative. Some of you may know Alex when he provides vocals and plays guitar in the band ROAM. It was very cool to work with someone that we as a band look up to and have traveled many miles to see play live countless times. But Alex provided really great ideas for the artwork, really understood the concept of the song, and turned it into what you see today.
Thanks for taking the time to answer the questions. Do you have anything else that you would like to add?
Chase Nichols: Thank you so much for having us! We would like to send our deepest gratitude toward everyone who has supported us this far and hope to see everyone as soon as possible! And if you haven’t already, be sure to check out our latest single, “Figure it Out” on Spotify and Apple Music today!
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