On The Record - Silverlight Shadows

Silverlight Shadows are launching their debut album at The Bendigo Hotel in Collingwood next Friday 23rd September with Sun God Replica, Swidgen and Rathead.

Recorded at Goatsound Studios by Jason P.C, the album is available now on a limited edition Clear Green vinyl run of 200 and digitally through Bandcamp [Here].

Silverlight Shadows hail from country New South Wales. Their self-titled debut album is the culmination of many years of effort and much personal struggle.

Songwriter Nida started by learning guitar. Eventually, he moved to playing in bands simply because he was “stuck out on a farm when I was a kid, writing riffs all day.”

“The band really started after bass player Dan suggested we get something going, but after going through the death of the drummer, Juddy Roller, from my former band The Blue Swimmers, I felt like my days in bands had run their course. After thinking about Dan’s idea for a while, I looked at an old band photo taken at my Blue Swimmers’ studio and I asked my old drummer Juddy to send me a few riffs. I then went and wrote ‘Hysteria’, ‘Overdrive’ and ‘Hellrazin’, all of which ended up on the album.“

The band blends Australian classic early 90s rock bands such as Tumbleweed, Magic Dirt and Spiderbait with overseas contemporaries such as My Bloody Valentine, Nirvana and Motorhead.

To find out a little more about the new album, Nida answered our Hotseat questions this week. Take a read of his answers below while giving the album a spin.

LISTEN WHILE YOU READ

ON THE RECORD INTERVIEW

Tell us about the release title.
The Album (Silverlight Shadows) is self titled so no real meaning there. I came up with the band name while I was drinking beer and cleaning my kitchen.

Tell us about the artwork.
The Album cover was done by Ben Phillips who does some amazing paintings. He is currently in Germany full time painting. The album cover is actually a photo. I haven’t asked him what it is of because it’s probably a photo of a door or a puddle or something weird like that. I gave him the themes of mental illness substance abuse and Silverlight Shadows to work with and that’s what he came up with. The artwork on the inner sleeve is a painting also by Ben. Another friend of mine Scott Walker designed the layout of the vinyl and also designed a cool logo for us which is on the back of the record and in the center of the vinyl. Scott also designed us an original font for the album cover which we had embossed in silver it came out really nice.

What format/s will it be released on and how will it be packaged?
The album is available on limited edition clear green vinyl it’s a run of 200 and digitally through bandcamp. It will be on iTunes and all the other stores on the 16th of September.

Who will it be released through, and when?
The album is out through Bootlicker Records which is our own label. It is available now but the official release date is the 23rd of September

Tell us about the studio and why you chose to record there?
We recorded at Goatsound studios in Melbourne. It doubles as a recording studio and rehearsal space. It is owned by Jason P.C of Blood Duster, Dern Rutlidge etc fame. We recorded our film clip there as well. It has quite a large area with a massive roller door entry around the back just enough room to do a film clip.

Tell us about the producer / engineer and why you chose to record with them?
Jason P.C was the engineer on the album he also mixed it. We chose to record with him because Dan (bass player) had recorded there before with his old band Drifter with great results and I am a big fan of the Blood Duster album Lyden na which Jason engineered and produced it has such a massive sound. We produced the album ourselves.

Did you go into the writing process with a clear direction in mind?
No not really it was originally going to be an E.P I had five songs ready to go a few years back. I jammed with a few different people on those five tracks. I was quite unwell at that time so nothing really came of it, the tunes just sat in my head for a while. When I was feeling better I purchased some new fuzz and Overdrive pedals from Tym guitars and they inspired me to finish the album.

Were you listening to anything in particular during the writing / recording process that influenced the songs at all?
I can’t really remember what I was listening to when I started the album something heavy no doubt. When I wrote the second half of the album I was listening to Clowns, Jeff the Brotherhood and Violent Soho those guys definitely inspired me to pull my finger out and finish the album.

Were there any albums you were referencing in the studio to aim for a certain type of sound production wise?
Not really, Jason mixed the album with a 90’s style sound in mind, some tracks he had the band blazing with the vocals a little back in the mix

How long did you spend in the studio recording?
We spent three days in the studio over a few months between December 2015 and February 2016. On the first day we tracked 8 songs. We then went back a few weeks later and did two more songs. The third day was spent mixing.

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Tell us a little about the recording process the band used?
We did all the tracks live except for the vocals, I did them later on. Then we doubled the guitars and ran the bass signal through Dan’s rig later on to fatten the sound a bit.

Was this any different to previous processes you have used?
I have recorded that way before and track by track on other albums with my old band the Blue Swimmers

Any guests involved? if so, who.. and what did they do?
No, someone dropped us of a slab at some point so thanks to them for that

When it comes do naming the tracks, is there any particular approach or process to it all?
I usually choose a word or statement that is prominent in the lyrics or what the song is about

Any particular equipment outside your usual live gear used in the process?
No we used exactly the same gear as we use live although Dan (bass player) is now running a Tym Big Bottom and Red Mud pedals live so we will probably use that set up on the next record. Rick (Drummer) has a sweet new DW kit that we are now using live as well.

Any memorable studio moments?
There was plenty of good bad and funny moments. I was a bit stressed out at first because we had only had three jams with our drummer Rick and were definitely winging it a bit but after a shaky start it all came together really well. Jason is a pretty funny guy so there was plenty of laughs. I can’t repeat most of the stuff said but he definitely kept us entertained. Dan got a bad electric shock off his bass rig and we captured his reaction through the bass mike, it is on the end of the album and are the only expletives on the record.

Any additional tracks recorded that didn’t make the cut but may see the light of day sometime?
No we just recorded the ten tracks for the album. After our album launch which is on the 23rd of September at the Bendigo hotel in Melbourne were going back into the studio to record six more tracks for a 10inch vinyl release

What track/s are you most looking forward to playing live?
I really enjoy playing Detox live as well as Hellrazin’. Hysteria and 2012 are also fun

How would you compare the final product to previous releases?
This is my first release with this band. I have done two other albums and an E.P with my old band the Blue Swimmers which has more of a punk edge to it.

Anything else you want to say or about the release?
I’m really happy with how it came out. I really poured my heart and soul into this record, it has consumed most of my time for the last twelve months and also a lot of time when I started writing it a few years back so it’s great to have it done. Just looking forward to the launch and getting the next record done now.

LAUNCH POSTER