In Conversation With.. North Atlas
For our next ‘In Conversation With..’ series, we chat to Leon, Cam and Liam who make up the Scottish Alternative trio North Atlas, providing Cinematic sounds and a thunderous live presence, North Atlas provide a fresh perspective to the genre as a band of brothers whose contrasting influences combine to defy the traditional sensibilities of a rock 'n’ roll band.
For those who know nothing or very little about you, please introduce us to North Atlas.
Leon: We are a 3-piece electronic rock band from Scotland. Influenced by Biffy Clyro and Bring Me The Horizon.
You are very competent musicians. Do you recall when you first picked up your instruments?
Leon: That’s very kind, thank you. It was when we were all teenagers. The drummer, Cam, and myself are brothers. Like most young folks starting out we got into our parents' dusty garage and made a lot of very bad noise for a couple of years. I’d play Queens of the Stone Age riffs on the guitar and Cam would play along. Our biggest ambition as 14 year olds was to be able to play the QOTSA ‘Song for the Dead’. We’ve known (guitarist) Liam Russell for years, since we were kids in fact, and he’s always been operating at a high level, musically and spiritually. They’re almost definitely connected for him. We were hanging out in his bothy and after a few beers he brings out a tiny guitar, only a foot long. He jams this tune out about money and says it’s the first thing he ever wrote and that this was his first guitar. Think he’s been playing since he was 2 ft. tall.
Liam: It wasn’t a ukulele I promise – although Twenty One Pilots seem to rock that vibe.
A very poignant time, but do you remember the moment you discovered how cathartic making music could be?
Leon: Yes. Only last year. Prior to last year I think to myself, my lyrics sucked because I was too wired when I was in bands previously to be myself. Too concerned with what others would see in me that I masked almost everything I wrote in BS. South is the first song I’ve written that I can say “yeah, that’s me now”. It’s made me connect to music again with the same honest excitement I had playing those QOTSA riffs as a kid.
How important is it for you to have full creative reign over what you create?
Leon: As a group of artists we have a fair idea of what we want to say. We’re all morally and spiritually aligned in all the darkest and lightest places. So yeah, we’re not going to go off in some crazy direction. We know what we’re doing here. That being said, the security that comes with being truthful creatively means that collaboration with other artists is easier and more fun to do. There’s not that insecure jealousy that comes when you’re uncertain of what the hell you’re not saying.
Cam: We're very lucky that between the three of us we are able to do a lot in-house. Leon takes care of most video & socials stuff, Liam and I are both massive production geeks so we have our demos & pre production covered. Having absolute control over a creation can be great, if you want to get right down to the nitty-gritty and nail something specific. But on the other hand it can send you down a rabbit hole and you can easily lose perspective or become disheartened. Working together with people who share the same vision as you and that you trust helps keep ideas grounded and can lead to amazing things that you would never have thought of on your own.
Liam: I agree with Cam on working with other like-minded creative. It’s all too easy to get “used” to what you think a song or melody should sound like. Sometimes familiarity acts as barrier and bringing in that outside ear can help to push boundaries even further –which we are all about – and unlock the full potential of a track.
You will be releasing your next single ‘Hypnotist’ on the 1st of May, please tell us about that subsequent release?
Leon: Hypnotist will be the second single available from the band, as well as ‘South’. The new song is about anxiety, how it can have a grip on the mind so convincing that it’s almost like being hypnotised. It’s based around a kind of grunge riff, which is layered up with horns and guitars. It’s dark man, that’s where we’re at. If you want to give us a hand, you can pre-save Hypnotist on Spotify. It’ll help us reach new people, the more pre-saves that happen before release day. If you have done already, we are grateful.
Your visual presentation of music is very bold, how important is the aesthetic to the whole North Atlas package?
Leon: With Hypnotist we were drawn to these visuals by wanting to explore our origins. The character in the video is the Celtic “horned god” Cernunnos, a deity from Scottish myth that represents a connection to nature. A character that we’ve felt a closeness to for a long time. I have a tattoo of him on my arm. In the Hypnotist video Cernunnos is representing our turbulent struggles against the unnatural Anxieties that a modern way of living can bring. Big shout to our friends Aaron Shepherd, Charlotte Powell and Ruari Barber-Fleming who worked closely with us on this. The song and video is going to be released on the 1st May, the time of year that the Beltane celebration is held as a nod to those origins.
North Atlas’ new single ‘Hypnotist’ is released on 1st May - pre-save it here.
You planned to go on a spring tour of Scotland this year, but in light of the current situation with COVID-19 your dates have been postponed until further notice. Do you enjoy being on the road and what piece of invaluable advice would you give to a band who was considering designing a tour?
Leon: We did 3 dates of that tour before the lockdown began. Edinburgh, Inverness and Dunfermline. It was getting exciting, things were really starting to kick off, at one date in particular. I'd say we work best live. In the rehearsal room there’s this kind of dark energy between us. I don’t really know how to explain that. It’s totally present on stage but it kind of becomes shared with everyone who’s there. I suppose it’s like this electric, unpredictable feeling, but that you’re totally safe with. You can see it reflected most in the people who come out to the gigs and those who really care about music. That’s the thing I like best about touring, being around people who love music. As far as advice goes, who knows if I’m the guy to ask but as far as I can tell the best idea is to put together bills with bands that you actually like.
COVID-19 has brought our beloved music industry to its knees, how have you been making use of quarantine, creatively?
Leon: My neighbours across the street from me keep having parties. I think that with a running start, I could maybe chuck a Les Paul to reach their window. Can we call that a creative use of time? No, in all seriousness, we were lucky to have already recorded Hypnotist and made the video before the lockdown happened, but we haven’t stopped writing. Sending demo vocals, guitars, synths and drums across the airwaves. Nah, it’s not stopping us, we’re just getting going. We are continuing our ‘bothy sessions’ from lockdown; a little series where we play stripped back versions of our favourite songs, which at the moment we're doing from our living rooms. We’ve played Nine Inch Nails, Sabbath, Fever Ray and the last one was a request for a dark version of ABBAs “Money Money Money”. You can check those out on our Instagram.
At Dumfries Music Conference, we love discovering new music, who has been on your radar recently?
Leon: Black Futures are one of my favourite bands at the moment. Obviously been rinsing the new Enter Shikari album that came out a few days ago. Ghostemane, you’ve got to check out the album N/O/I/S/E. It’s very weird, but it’s kinda brilliant.
Cam: Covid has polarised my playlists completely. When I'm spending that 95% of my day in the house, I've been taking it easy with downtempo beats, which is quite uncharacteristic for me. SHHE and Forest Swords are staples at the moment. But for that other 5% when I'm out on a daily run it's got to be the most intense rock possible - Dinosaur Pile-Up, grandson, VUKOVI.
Liam: I have been drawn to cinematic sounds during this lockdown period. I think it allows my imagination to drift to a place in which life is more dramatic and fast-paced than our current reality. Hidden Citizens and Prep School are amazing examples of collectives producing this kind of music. Check ‘em!
Once we step out of these uncertain times, what is next for North Atlas?
Leon: We were booked a while ago to be in a recording studio this week to make a few new songs to put out after Hypnotist, they’re mostly written already. We’re finding ways around it as everyone is right now. There will be a string of new tracks out over the rest of the year whatever happens. As I said earlier this thing won’t slow us down. Huge love and respect to everyone for sticking with this isolation thing and to those going out and fighting the virus. In the meantime give us a follow on Instagram and check out what we’re up to in isolation
