Deli writer Ellen Green recently tracked down our Year End Poll grand champions STEREO IS A LIE for a quick Q&A. SIAL plays the Ghost Room this Friday (3/5) along with an all-local lineup of New Roman Times, Sad Accordions, The Distant Seconds, and DJ Parklife. And here’s what STEREO IS A LIE had to say…
So, you have an album coming out. How was it working with Chris Cline?
We’ve been tracking the album on and off for the past seven months, but we’ll be completely wrapped up next week. It has taken a little longer than we thought it would, but we wanted to explore every possible avenue, leaving no stone unturned so to speak. We’ve used every mic imaginable, smashed guitars, plugged in as many amplifiers at one time as we possibly could, learned new instruments etc. Finally, what we’re left with are ten songs that we feel, capture the band. Chris Cline (…Trail Of Dead, The Society Of Rockets, Explosions in the Sky, etc.) is going to mix the record, so that’s really the next step. Chris is one of the few people outside of the band that we trust to put the same amount of love into the record that we have, so we’re very excited to be working with him.
When is the album due out?
It’ll definitely be this year, but we don’t have an exact release date just yet. I’m sure it would just change anyway, so I don’t want to tell you any fibs.
What influenced the music (ie life, kids, other music, politics) for this album?
Lyrically there’s a lot of social commentary and the music certainly reflects that as well. It’s hard to ignore the rate at which the world falls further into chaos everyday, but I mean why would you ignore that? I’d much rather make honest observations as opposed to churning out another distraction that helps anesthetize the masses.
What is the live show about? Tour plans?
Blood, sweat and beers. I guess maybe watching a SIAL show is a bit like taking a non-stop train journey. Although you may be familiar with your carriage’s environment, the surroundings outside of that are constantly changing.
We’ll definitely do a bit of touring to support the release. Now that the recording part of our lives is nearly finished for this record, we can shift some focus toward more shows, festivals and tours.
What is your Saturday night album? Sunday morning album?
I don’t know, there isn’t really an album I go for when I’m putting my lipstick on, doing my hair and getting ready to hit the town on a Saturday night. Hit shuffle and go I say! Sunday mornings are for sleeping, but if I have to listen to anything then it had better be sensitive to my hangover.
First concert you ever saw?? Best concert?
The first concert I saw was The Mission at Newcastle City Hall, I think they were touring the Carved In Sand album. The best? That’s way too tough to answer, there are just so many to choose from…Radiohead, Dubstar, Constantines, Suede, TVOTR, Longpigs, The Raveonettes, Suzanne Vega, BRMC, Ladytron, These Animal Men…the list goes on.
What are your/the band’s musical influences?
There are countless influences, but definitely nothing we really lean towards, instead we prefer to subconsciously absorb everything and see what our brains spit out. We take from everything, be it a Renaissance piece by John Dunstable or Phil Collins ‘In The Air’ tonight. Nothing is out of bounds and nobody is safe.
–Ellen Green