Commonweather‘s new EP, Apparitions (out now) has been a long time coming, and that much is obvious in the care that the Chicago five-piece took in creating it. Exactly one year after the release of their last EP, Smoke & Decay, these guys are ready to take the world by storm, and what better way than an upcoming music video release and hitting the road this summer? Keep an eye on Commonweather on Facebook and, stream Apparitions and read the entire interview below!
Interview by Dom Vigil
Can you tell us a little bit about Commonweather for those who may not be familiar?
We’re a 5-piece Alternative-Shoegaze band based out of Chicago, IL.
How do you feel the Chicago music scene has shaped or influenced Commonweather?
The music scene here is truly awesome and has been growing rapidly over the past few years. Everyone feels like a family, all supporting each other in so many ways. The positivity that brings definitely influences us to keep moving.
You just dropped your new EP, Apparitions – can you tell us a little bit about it?
We spent about half of 2015 writing and prepping for it. We really wanted to take a different route in terms of direction for this EP compared to our earlier music. By experimenting with different pedals and heads, we were able to really set the tone and the mood for ‘Apparitions‘. We also added transitions between each track making it so that the EP is meant to be listened to from start to finish.
Did you have any major goals when working on the EP?
‘Apparitions‘ really centers arounds the concept of loss, whether it’s the loss of a life, your mental stability, control of your health, or a relationship. Our goal was to make these songs and lyrics relatable to people who have ever dealt with these experiences and hope they can find some comfort in knowing that they’re not alone.
What do you feel was the most challenging part about the writing and recording process?
I can speak for our drummer Jon in saying recording drums. We would all be sitting in the mixing room while he was recording and just get a kick out of making faces at him. He got mad and and we laughed, it was a good time.
What was the most rewarding part?
Hearing the finished product through the monitors. We spent a lot of time trying to perfect this EP so we were all just so happy to finally have it completed and sounding the way we wanted it to.
How do you feel you’ve grown, either as musicians or as people, between your last EP, Smoke & Decay and Apparitions?
We ironically released that EP the same day 1 year ago from ‘Apparitions‘ release. Over that year from playing shows and spending more time together on writing, I can say we’ve grown more than we ever have even from the previous bands we’ve been in.
With the EP out now, do you have any plans to hit the road in the coming months?
Yes, we’re actually doing some weekend runs through the Midwest this summer with an our friends in a band called On A High Wire.
Do you have any other big plans for 2016?
We’re planning to shoot a music video for a song off of the EP so keep an eye out for that. Other than that, we’ll just be keeping busying and going with the flow.
Thank you for taking the time to chat with us! Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Thanks so much for having us, and check out our new EP ‘Apparitions‘ on Bandcamp, Apple Music and Spotify.
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