2020 has already been an exciting year for genre-fluid Pacific Northwest outfit Dead Lakes. Just this month, the band not only announced their signing with Sharptone Records, but also shared the news that their upcoming EP, New Language would be released on May 1st. With a desire to write music that excited them, regardless of genre, Dead Lakes set out to begin working on New Language a little under a year ago, and now that it is almost out for the world to hear, it serves as a physical embodiment of the growth and the journey that the band has gone on over the past year.
With two new singles, “Close 2 Me” and “Paradise” out now, Dead Lakes are gearing up for easily their most dynamic release yet. We caught up with the band to discuss New Language, their writing and recording process and what has been keeping them busy the past few months. Read the full interview now below.
You guys just announced your signing to Sharptone Records and your upcoming EP, New Language. What are you most excited for fans to hear on the EP?
I’m very excited for everyone to hear the title track New Language. This track in my opinion has the most personality out of this whole record, but packed into the shortest song. It challenged me both lyrically and melodically because all of the vocals were written in the studio. We actually were never planning on using the idea, because the hook melody I had was terrible, and I literally heard that melody every time the song played. When I was finally able to hear a different hook the vibe of the song just felt perfect.
Did you have any major goals in mind when you first started working on New Language?
Our main goal was to take what we had done in the past and add all of the elements we love from music we listen to now. Like many “scene” bands we still love post hardcore, pop punk, emo (etc.) music. But over time we found ourselves enjoying lighter bands more than what we were currently playing genre wise. So simply put we just started writing what we enjoy writing and ditched being attached to a genre.
Along with the EP announcement, you also released your new single, “Close 2 Me” – can you tell us about the song?
Close 2 Me is an almost uncomfortably close up on my personal social anxieties. This was one of the earliest tracks written for the record. You can tell by the pace and the almost nostalgic post-hardcore essence of it. Vocally it leans more on the pop spectrum like the rest of the tracks. The idea itself came together pretty quickly compared to other tracks on the record that took more time. I feel like that’s because of how familiar and natural this song felt for us to write.
Did you come across any challenges when working on the EP?
I wouldn’t say we came across anything outside of what every other band has probably said while asked this question. I would say at one point or another we all had our own personal “crisis” during the writing/ recording process. Whether it be recording a part and really struggling, or overcoming writing blocks. Or even going through full on emotional breakdowns. I think all of those struggles add to what makes this record great, and you can hear that translate through while listening.
How do you feel you’ve grown as a band with the writing and recording of New Language?
Kind of piggy backing off of what was said before, but I feel our biggest growth was in conscious songwriting. We went into sessions with more intention to hit a certain vibe. Also we learned to write music more suitable for our tastes overall. I think we finally learned what we enjoy writing and plan to explore that further in the future.
I feel like we learned so much during the recording process that we have grown exponentially since recording the EP. It’s been a little under a year since we recorded New Language. It’s felt like a long time to sit on finished tracks, but we just wanted to take the time to ensure we were doing the songs justice aesthetically as well as sonically
While the music industry is at a bit of a standstill due to COVID-19, have you been doing anything musically or creatively to stay busy?
Luckily with planning the New Language release it’s almost felt like we never stopped being creative. It’s been a great time working with our team on the release, despite doing it during this pandemic.
We have a home studio so we are constantly able to record ideas, and explore new sounds. We also have made some upgrades to our live rig, and we have been dialing that in. So fortunately if Max or I feel like being creative we have the perfect outlet right here at home base.
Being real, most of us have been gaming a bunch. Just gaming, writing and smoking pot. Not in that order exclusively, but definitely those three activities on repeat.
Also huge shout out and thank you to everyone working in these strange times. Y’all are real ones.
Do you have any other big plans for 2020?
Unfortunately with everything going on in the world right now that’s fairly uncertain. We do have an insanely great team behind us so we’re sure that once this clears we’ll be very busy.
Thank you for taking the time to chat with us! Is there anything else you’d like to add?
We just want to shout out our homies from your area: Postcards, Dead Set, Contender, and Finding Common Ground
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