Your debut album By Design was recorded and co-produced with Bodyjar’s Tom Read and mixed by the Grammy-Award winning Adam Kasper. What was it like working alongside such prestigious musicians?
Tom brought a sense of calm to the recording that I’ve never experienced before. Usually, you’re on the clock when you’re in the studio and you need to perform; when things aren’t landing or sounding right, the pressure is on to fix it and fix it quickly. With Tom, we went in without that feeling, and in essence, his relaxed approach actually sped up the process.
With Adam, he was very professional, down to earth and great to work with. To be honest, I couldn’t believe we were working together. This legend who’s worked on some of the most influential albums of the past two decades chose to work on our record.
You’ve been travelling around Australia on your Obsolete Tour, taking you to places like Tasmania for the first time. How do you approach a brand new location?
New places can be nerve-racking for a control freak like myself. The fear of the unknown. The are so many things that can go wrong at any show, but they’re harder to control when you don’t know your surroundings. On the other hand, it’s really exciting to play to an entirely new audience who’s never seen us live, and we all grasp the opportunity to melt faces and make new friends and fans.
The energy is definitely different when we play somewhere new. We are all really focused on making sure our audience’s first impression is a good one. We make sure that we play a wide variety of our catalogue for a full taste-test.
Is there a different way for you to approach live performance compared to recording and production?
I approach live performance, recording and production very differently. Recording and production is about refinement of the songs and how they are portrayed. These tracks will be the basis of how people will hear our music. They are a snapshot in time that people can go back and listen to. ‘Demo. Listen. Repeat.’ are the essentials for this process.
The live format on the other hand is about bringing those songs to an audience. Musicianship is key for our style of music, which is built on a tight performance. For me, it’s about taking the recordings and blowing them out of the water. This is my opportunity to grab a fan’s attention and make my statement.
You’ve described the track Obsolete as a fan favourite. What about that track do you believe resonates so well with fans?
Our style borrows from an array of genres that allows us to keep fresh, mixing tough riffs with catchy, melodic hooks. It works well with connecting with a broader audience. The tight, live performance is the key factor that helps resonate with the crowd. From the first time we played Obsolete live, it was the song that everyone would sing along to. They remembered the song. The chorus is simple and striking, with a catchy groove built on a punk rock skeleton.
Michael Conti became a permanent member of the band after the release of By Design. How did that circumstance come about, and how has it altered the band?
When we started AAR, one of the main ideals was to challenge ourselves musically. One of those challenges for me was to be the only guitarist.
When By Design was written, there were at least two guitar parts for each song. We started looking for another guitarist after recording the album, but nothing transpired. Two weeks out from the start of the album tour, we got an email from Mike. I sent him a few tracks and gave him a day to learn them. He came in blew us away. He has added another level to our sound and performance.
