Passion for the music returns with North band Alkanes' new single
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After a gap, North band Alkanes have returned with a new single taken from their second EP. Dale Sutherland – who also performs solo as Justboy – talks about keeping creative across the miles and describes the thoughts and images that have gone into the music and stunning new self-made video for Artefact.
Q Why has it been three years since Alkanes had anything out. I’m imagining the C-word has something to do with it ... C for Covid, I mean! But how has life changed for Alkanes? Is it as easy to write and create new work as it was in the beginning?
A The dreaded C word! We had just played our first sold out headline show at The Tooth & Claw just weeks prior to lockdown which really hit us hard. We wanted to take the momentum from that show and kick on and hit the road in the summer. Unfortunately, during the pandemic we were just completely drained from all that momentum and for me it was really difficult to find the drive and the passion for Alkanes. It was hard for me to come to terms with how I felt about the band at that time because it’s been a big part of my life for years now. As we started to get our lives back we did a couple of shows, but we still remained pretty quiet. And often it’s the case with many bands that adult life has gotten in the way a bit. I moved to Aberdeen in May last year so that of course can be hard to work around when it comes to writing and rehearsing with Connor up in Dingwall but we’ve made it work and it feels so good to be back!
Q How did the plans for your new EP This Is It [expected May 23] and this single – Artefact – start?
A During the pandemic and those spells where I lost the drive for it, I was telling myself we needed to use that time to write an album. Initially I had about seven or eight ideas. But a lot of them just fizzled out and were never finished. Only one song made it out of those when we were able to get together in the practice room again and that was Artefact. It felt like an Alkanes song straight away and we finished off the structure pretty quickly. A couple of the other tracks we had been sitting on for a while and we’re reworked Persistence To Existence from the debut EP. It’s always been a fan favourite and I wanted to do it justice now I’m a little wiser (only a little!). There came a point before my move to Aberdeen where I thought Alkanes wasn’t going to be any more. But myself and Connor had a chat before I left and he was adamant that he will be there and ready to go as long as I am. I told myself that at the very least, we would put out a new EP. From there the passion and the drive came back. Getting in the studio and laying down the tracks just filled me with so much excitement and now we’re driving forward again. I’m so happy we stuck it out through that rough patch!
Q The video is stunning – how did you go about making the mood of it fit the music of the single. The video is edgy and scary and has some incredible images incorporated?
A I toyed with some different ideas for the video. We didn’t really have a budget to work with since recording the EP so I wanted to challenge myself to produce something on my own. My original idea was to work with some AI images but I binned that idea pretty quickly. I ended up building a bank of footage and images that I felt could tie in with the mood and story behind the song. The lyrics of Artefact are written from the perspective of a troubled individual who understands that a lot of their behaviours have been toxic and how this is having a detrimental impact on their closest relationships. The protagonist also views themselves as someone who is broken, run down and has little purpose being part of anyone’s life. They see themselves as a useless “artefact.” So I wanted to try and capture the emotions that people might feel. I wanted to convey frustration and hurt from both sides in a situation like this, but also how it can drive you crazy. The editing process was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed how I implemented a sense of intensity to the video which I felt complimented the track really well. It was a lot of work, but the process was far more simple than many would think!
Q Why did you choose your producer?
A I’ve worked with Steve Bull quite a bit before. He worked on the very first Alkanes EP and he also produced my Justboy [solo] material. We felt Steve has come a long way from the first EP and we loved all his recent work. He’s also brilliant to work with in a studio setting. He always has some really exciting ideas but also allows you the creative freedom to really express yourself with your own music. We feel his approach is just perfect for how we want to record. Having Acle Kahney of TesseracT on the mastering is still a bit surreal to us! We just took our chances and emailed him to see if he would like to work on the tracks. He responded really quickly despite playing over in the Netherlands the same week! He got to work on the tracks really quickly and was very complimentary for the tracks which was nice. It’s just really exciting to be able to put a big name to the tracks. Connor is a big TesseracT fan too, it’s safe to say he had a bit of a fan-girl moment!
Artefact is out now on all major digital platforms. More: Instagram, TikTok: @alkanes_band facebook: @Alkanesband Twitter: @Alkanes_band
