Interview with Somaesthesia

Dave speaks to Marc, guitarist of Somaesthesia on their new EP, what he’s listening to at the moment and the story behind the name!
You can buy the EP ‘Path Of Least Resistance’ here

Dave: Thanks for giving up your time to speak to us, how you doing today?

Marc: I’m good, thanks. Myself and the guys appreciate you taking the time to ask some
questions regarding the band.
You recently brought out your new EP ‘Path of least resistance’. How did
you feel it turned out?

Given our budget we feel it turned out really well. It definitely captures our general vibe and it was the first time that we recorded anything together as a full band. I’m definitely proud of what we achieved, as are the rest of the guys.

What was the writing process like?

Three of the songs had demo versions before the band was formed, so they acted
as recruitment tracks in a way. The other two tracks that were added came about
when Mike (guitarist) brought those ideas to the table as we were practicing
the other material. It’s not until we all start chipping in to the song that it really begins
to feel more organic and like a full song. Some of them change more throughout the
process than others, but that’s generally how we do it. When Stoo (vocals) joined the
band he brought in a whole load of lyrics and that helped to add any finishing
touches to the songs.

You’ve recorded your own demos. What was it like recording in a studio?

It was very different to how I was used to recording demos in the house; we basically
did a few whole play throughs of our rhythm parts before choosing/blending the best
ones and then adding any other layers and leads – a lot less stop-and- start than
when I’m doing it at home! It really helped to give us more of an idea of methods and
techniques that we are keen to try out on a future release. We learned a lot
throughout the process.
Working with Stu Gordon at Wall of Sound made the whole experience less daunting
as he was very patient and easy to deal with which added to the enjoyment of it all.
How would you describe yourselves to people who haven’t heard of you?
I always find this tricky, but I’ll give it a go! We are a progressive, spacey blend of
heavy, sometimes complex rhythms.

You recently announced a show with Car Bomb. Have you got other
shows lined up?

It is the night before the Car Bomb show as I write this and I am ridiculously excited!
Hopefully it remains that way and in turn outweighs any nerves.
We have some more cracking shows lined up through to the middle of November:
Hordes of Belial in Dundee on the 30th September which is guaranteed to be a
whole lot of fun. It’ll be particularly nice for us as we played our first gig in Dundee as
an instrumental four-piece back in November ’15.

We are supporting Words That Burn (IRE) on the 7th October in Edinburgh for their
first jaunt to Scotland.

And lastly we have just recently confirmed that we will be supporting Crackhouse
(FRA) alongside fellow local lads, Dvne, on the 15th November for their Edinburgh
show.

What can we expect from your live shows?
We often get compliments on our live tone which is really kind. I’d say expect things
to sound even heavier than on the EP and ready yourself for a journey!

What’s the story behind your band name?
The use of Somaesthesia came about while I was reading quite a bit about
perception, illusions, and sensation.
It was just a song title before we adopted it as our band name too. We toyed with
shortening it to Soma, but ultimately we preferred going with the full word as the
definition of it fits well with the overall feel and vibe of what we do. People often
mispell it which has become a bit of a running joke with us.

What’s in your stereo at the moment?
I’m actually listening to Car Bomb’s Meta album as I write this, partly to further
psyche myself up for the show! Apart from that I’ve been listening to Meshuggah and
C.B. Murdoc recently.
I’m also a really big fan of ambient and dark ambient music, brilliant to listen to whilst reading! it’s usually a long playlist but if you want a specific recommendation then you
should check out Kammarheit.

Any last thing to say to our readers?
Just that we appreciate you taking the time to read this and checking us out!

Don’t forget to come back to Mind Noise Network tomorrow for the review of  ‘Path Of Least Resistance’!