“Our goal with the band was to incorporate different elements,” he explains, “and combine different styles of music to make fluid tones. So yeah, I think it is hard to pinpoint our sound sometimes, but I think that’s what I enjoy about it!” he laughs.
So, more specifically, what musical and non-musical sources do you draw your inspiration from? “It’s all over the place,” he responds. “There’s a primary focus on metal, extreme metal, and we also incorporate elements of shoegaze and post-rock, bands like Mogwai or Mono, Slowdive, My Bloody Valentine and that whole side of things. And we get a big influence from American black metal, and the greatest goal is to combine them in a way that doesn’t sound boring, and that works together to complement one another.”
Australian audiences will be able to experience the wild and unique sounds of Deafheaven in a live sense for the very first time in January when the band make their maiden voyage Down Under. George is extremely happy to be coming down for the first time, and promises a very immersing and different experience for Aussie fans.
“Oh I’m more than excited,” he enthuses. “It’s a place we’ve been trying to tour for a while now, and we’re really glad that we’ve been given the opportunity, and we’re looking forward to bringing a bit of heat!
“I like to think that when we play live, it’s a very personal experience. It’s weird,” he hesitates slightly, “it’s very personal, and I really just hope that people respond on an emotional level, and share it together. It’s typically very intimate and it’s very intense, and I think that’s what people should expect, just intensity and emotion.”
In return, he only has somewhat vague expectations of what our country and its crowds may have in store for he and his band, but is ultimately optimistic about the band’s prospects on the tour.
“It’s kind of hard to have any (expectations),” he admits. “I have friends who have toured over there before, and they’ve all had positive experiences. So I’m just looking forward to meeting with people and seeing parts of the world that I haven’t seen before.
“I think the response is going to be good. I’m confident that the crowds will be good, and I’m just looking forward to being able to share our music in a live setting with people that have been able to hear it before.”
A relatively new band, forming in 2010, Deafheaven have just the two albums out. They will be playing tracks from both records, however, focusing more closely on their more recent release Sunbather, which came out mid year. The album has been extremely well received all over the world, and George is very happy about the reaction it’s received.
“Yeah, absolutely,” he agrees. “It’s interesting, because when you make a record that’s sort of the last thing that you’re thinking about, and you never really expect to get the praise that we did. So we’re very appreciative, I think it’s a very unique experience, and we’re pleased with it.”
The rest of 2014, post Aussie tour, will see the band touring right across the rest of the world, and then possibly starting work on the follow up to the very well received Sunbather.
“Just a lot more touring, on a global scale,” he says. “We’re in Australia, then some US touring. Then we go back to Europe, do a couple of tours there. We go back to Japan, just try and play as much as possible, and then some time towards the end of the year [we’ll] start focusing on new material.”
BY ROD WHITFIELD
