I recently spoke to Dustin Payseur, who originally started Beach Fossils as a one man project, about giving up some creative control, doing exactly what he wants, and constant evolution.

The Creative Process

The Creative Process #3: Beach Fossils

I spoke to Frank recently about his aim to experiment on his next album, his favourite lyricists, and growing up but not growing old.

The Creative Process #4: Frank Turner

I spoke to Nick DiSalvo, guitarist and vocalist with the group, about how their creative process has had to change and adapt due to changing life situations, the influence of Japan on the new record, and the place of the album in the modern musical landscape.

The Creative Process #5: Elder

I spoke to Matt Weed, guitarist and vocalist with Rosetta, about what exactly the band does during their 10 hour writing sessions, arranging music before composing it, and the influence of LucasArts point and click games on his musical development.

The Creative Process #6: Rosetta

Today’s guests on the Creative Process podcast are Italian doom metal power trio Ufomammut. We had a pretty in depth chat about the symbolism of the number 8 which is the title of their new album, their thoughts on fate, why they love synth so much, if they ever considered releasing albums that just consisted of their synth work, how their work as graphic artists influences their music, their DIY attitude, working with Steve Von Till and Neurot Recordings. Before we get started I’d like to thank the patrons of Overblown and the podcast, without whom this would not be possible.

The Creative Process  #7: Ufomammut

Today I’m talking to Chris Spencer from seminal noise rock outfit Unsane. I’m not gonna lie, we had a great chat. He’s sound. We touched on how record labels influenced Unsane’s sound, what he thinks of MTV, why they love gore so much, the multifaceted symbolism of blood, the inspiration the title of the new album ‘Sterilize’, the influence behind the lyrics for ‘Aberattion’ and ‘The Grind’, the unusual writing process for their new album, overcoming writer’s block, and what keeps him creating music after 30 years.

The Creative Process #8: Unsane

Dylan from Cloud Nothings is with me today. We talked writing music, lyrics and working with John Congleton, Steve Albini, and John Goodmanson. We also touched on working with Nathan Williams from Wavves and where Dylan plans to take the Cloud Nothings sound next. Will it be pop or post punk? Things took a bit of a turn though and somehow we ended up talking about childhood, social media, and the benefits of personal music to teenagers. Thanks to Dylan for agreeing to be interviewed, and thanks to you for listening.

The Creative Process #9: Cloud Nothings

Joining us is Niall Kennedy, guitarist from the Belfast based instrumental rock band And So I Watch You From Afar. On October 20th they will be releasing their fifth studio album via the always excellent Sargent House. Titled ‘The Endless Shimmering’, it sees the band strip things back and follow their instincts. They’ve released two tracks from it so far called ‘A Slow Unfolding Of Wings’ and ‘Dying Giants’. Both of these are visceral, soaring tracks. If you haven’t heard them already, I recommend you remedy that situation. Make sure you catch them live too on their tour supporting the album. Personally, I’ll be seeing them at Cyprus Avenue in Cork in December and hopefully will be able to grab them for a beer.

My chat with Niall centred mostly around writing and recording their new album and how that differed from their processes in the past. We also touched on their album artwork and a meme competition idea before talking about being snowed in while recording the album at Machines with Magnets in Pawtucket, Rhode Island in March of this year. Finally, we got around to talking about what And So I Watch You From Afar means to Niall.

The Creative Process #10: And So I Watch You From Afar

Overblown is all about subterranean music. We aim to champion bands and record labels that we are passionate about and are overlooked and undervalued by the mainstream media machine, while still paying homage to the iconic bands and labels who laid and developed the groundwork for today’s emerging talent. Whether it is post punk, shoegaze, sludge metal, noise rock, or anything in between, we want to bring these alternative music genres to the fore.

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