Band Of The Week #130 - Another Sky
This week’s Band of the Week are London based Another Sky - who have just released their debut ‘I Slept On The Floor’ via Fiction Records. From start to finish, this album can only be described as a piece of art - with the band pulling you in close to experience this thunderstorm of perfection. We had a chat with vocalist Catrin Vincent about how the debut album came together.
Hey Another Sky, how are you? So the album is finally here - how does it feel to have it out there in the world?
Actually quite scary! I've just read a bad review. I thought bad reviews would crush me, but actually, surprisingly it hasn't. I think because we've been through a lot behind the scenes already. It's just occurred to me that this album is so personal, and I can't really take that back, once that's out in the world. But I think the story of it is more important than winning critics over, and this is only the beginning of us as a band, really. Music is a journey. We're babies.
It is titled ‘I Slept On The Floor’ - does that title have a certain meaning for you?
It's referring to sleeping on bathroom floors as a kid, because I was always sick in the night with anxiety, although then I didn't understand what it was. I started to feel safe on bathroom floors.
Where was the album recorded? Any behind the scenes stories from the recording process you are happy to share with us?
It was recorded all over. Chale Abbey Studios on the Isle Of Wight was our favourite place to record, though. Jack's from there so I guess we feel an affinity with the place. I had really bad insomnia there. I ended up sleeping in the control room. One night, we set up mics and wrote a whole song until 2am. It didn't end up on the album, but that's always a favourite memory of mine.
The album feels almost like a diary - so where does it start and will it ever have an end?
I'm not sure where it starts, and I don't think it'll ever have an end. God, I hope album number two isn't about the same thing again though. It probably will be in some ways, with the theme being no escape.
Is there a political tone in some of your songs on this album? What made you want to speak out about it?
I've never thought too much about speaking about it. I guess it's just what I think about all the time. I'm always analysing and picking apart why things are the way they are. That doesn't mean I'm always right, and my opinions shift all the time, but it's just never been weird to me to talk about that stuff.
Catrin’s vocals often get mistaken for a man - do you feel you can use this to your advantage in a way? And more importantly should it matter?
My feelings on this have changed over time. When we first started releasing music as Another Sky, we released no photos of ourselves. We got no backlash. Then, we started showing who I was in videos. Gary Lightbody from Snow Patrol tweeted one of our songs. People replied with “female fronted band? I’m out”. Well, that wasn’t happening when everyone thought I was a man! A journalist once wrote, “it’s a little jarring hearing a voice with a masculine flavour coming out of a rather petite woman”. I want that to stop. I mean, mainly because I’m nearly six foot, but also because I want people to start asking themselves why it upsets them. Why does my authentic self upset you?
I think ultimately, I want to be accepted as exactly who I am. I want who I am to be the norm, because it is! So many people don’t fit into one gender and have been shunned out of music! And entertainment! And everything! I don’t find it weird I ‘sound like a man’, because what is a man? And what is a woman? We’re discovering gender isn’t as binary as we thought, and so many of us exist in the inbetween, but are socially conditioned to ‘pass’. My end goal is for it to not matter, for it to stop being the sticking point of the band. We'll get there.
What are the key themes and influences on this album?
We always say Talk Talk, but to be honest, we don't really talk about influences when we write. One review said the album sounds like it's straight out of the 70s and 80s, which we didn't intend for either. One huge subconscious influence is probably Jon Hopkins and his use of dynamics.
Do you have a favourite lyric on the album? If so, which one and why?
"This is not the world I wanted". I always overthink my lyrics, but that one just came out. It felt so obvious, but so real. It's the only lyric on there where I was just talking to myself. I didn't write that sentence for anyone but me, so I don't care if it's glib, or obvious. That one's for me.
Now the album is out there - what next for Another Sky?
We're focusing on our second album. We're pretty excited about that, to be honest. It feels like a really nice progression.
Photo Credit - Parri Thomas