Track By Track: Wray - 'Stream of Youth / Blank World'
Having just dropped their new album 'Stream of Youth / Blank World’, we had a chat with Wray about the release - track by track.
“Originally, Jogging was much longer and had a different rhythm. I remember we had issues with the tempo and decided to track another version sped up and with a motorik beat. That change really smoothed things out and laid the groundwork for the new romantic inspired synths and guitar lines.The nostalgic lyrics came easy. I thought about growing up in the suburbs of Birmingham and how I felt then and now.
We are all three a fan of ambient music. Neon Forming just sort of happened. It worked out nicely as an ending to the album intro. Its really simple; just two tracks and a single faint vocal at the end. "Dreams of you".... I hope it's inspiring.
Limelight was the first song we finished for this record back in 2017. It's bouncy and somewhat jerky. There is some anxiety in there but it still rides on the continuous mood of the record. I wrote the lyrics while we were touring on our last album, they are positively introverted.
In early 2017 we had finished two songs and were planning to release them as singles. After we secured the cover image from artist Boris Vallejo, we decided to go ahead and try for a full length album. We went back into the studio to experiment. Nebulous was an attempt to step out of the box. We collectively have a lot of influences and electronic music is one. There was a lot of pressure to write the lyrics and a vocal melody for this song, as it was new territory. I came up with a simple phrase "Nebulous Love". That concept informed the rest of the lyrics, rambling, romantic and lustful thoughts. I asked my wife, Luciana Giovinazzo, to come read some spoken word in French and do some backing vocals. Her role in that song was the icing on the cake.
Luciana actually recorded all of the back-up vocals on the record, including Wishing. This is another song that was different for us. The rhythm is inspired from techno with an added jungle beat in the chorus. It's dark and low, but also bouncy and pop oriented. I still don't know what to think about this track but it fits well at the end of the first side, "Stream of Youth".
We titled the second side of the record "Blank World" and it opens with Blank World. The concept behind this song goes back to the very beginning of WRAY and our interest in repetition. We wrote this riff some time ago and decided to leave it as just that until we could get in the studio. When we finally were able to record it we played the same thing over and over until the tape (literally) ran out. This song really came together once we started layering and building. Lyrically, this song was a conversation with myself. This song, this whole side of the album, is not hopeful but it is coming to terms with things that are mostly out of my control. It is my favorite song on the record.
We have been playing Through Lines live for a long time. It's fairly simple and I think shows our influence in jangly pop from the 80s and 90s. It's sincerely about people who share too much of themselves on social medias. I think this habit kills some of the mystery and romance of actually getting to know someone.
Good Time was written solely in the studio. We had no preconceived ideas, it was us sitting in a room and writing it together. It's another loop that breaks in the end. The lyrics are mostly abstract ideas that fill gaps.The gated reverb, booming tom hits, and choir synth make it what it is ... crystal clear.
We went through a kick where we were writing long songs. Superior is one that drones on but with ethereal chorus breaks. I lost someone, as a long time friend, to drug addiction. When I get nostalgic for my adolescence, that thought is not ever far. The droning parts and lyrics to this song echo that sentiment. “