Band Of The Week #158 - GHLOW
This week’s Band of the Week is Swedish-Russian duo GHLOW - who have just released their debut album ‘Slash and Burn’ via PNKSLM Recordings. GHLOW have been making a name for themselves in the Nordics for the past couple of years with their explosive live shows, showcasing their powerful blend of alternative rock and electronics. Band members Emille de Blanche and Nikolay Evdokimov took a moment to discuss with us how their album came together.
Hey there GHLOW - how are you? So your debut album is out now - how does it feel to have it out there in world?
We’re great! Can’t wait to finally get out there and play it live.
It is titled ‘Slash and Burn’ - what is the meaning behind that?
(EdB) - It’s about starting again. You might be chopping things down, or setting fire to something, but that’s a reset - something positive comes out of the flames.
Where was it recorded? Any behind the scenes stories from that experience?
(NE) - We generally do everything ourselves. I think it is something that started out of necessity but it has now become a way of working. Technically it’s been recorded in a few different locations with a very raw and direct approach and mostly we’ve been using whatever equipment and software we had access to. The idea was to recreate the energy and sound that GHLOW delivers live.
You both come from creative backgrounds - can you tell us a bit more about that? And how did your lives intertwine to create GHLOW?
(EdB) – It was a few years back, I was getting a ton of silicone for a sculpture project I was working on and I ran into Nikolay at my supplier, turned out that he had his studio there too and we started talking. At the time we were both involved in other projects but I think we both were looking for something different so it was an immediate fit, think we even started trying out stuff the next week or so.
What are the key themes and influences on the album?
(EdB) - I think we both use GHLOW as an outlet for experimentation, a place where it is ok to combine anything and everything. All the time focusing on raw energy while creating this wall of sound that can translate and carry what we are about. I mean anything from Bulgarian Voices to Breach or Prodigy has played its part, each adding a different building block.
When it comes to this album, genre boundaries are pushed to another level - was this your intention?
(NE) - For us it is really important that anything goes. There has always been weird, genre-bending stuff we’d wanted to try out in previous bands, but we couldn’t get whoever we’d been working with to go with it. Now, we could just put all of that away and follow our instincts.
There are parts of it that feel quite angry and violent - was that your intention also?
(EdB) - Personally I think that anger and frustration can be great, you just can’t be consumed by it. When we play live, it’s a physical experience. This raw emotion whatever the reason, there’s an intensity to that - a feeling of just wanting to be this vehicle speeding at 180 kilometres per hour.
Do you have a favorite lyric on the album? If so, which one and why?
(EdB) - Depending on the day and on the mood the favourite shifts. Sometimes you need that banger style Not Fit For This to kick off whatever the day is and sometimes all you want is Sleep.
Now the debut album is out there, what next for you?
(NE) – Like everyone else we are waiting for the restrictions to be lifted so we can tour and play live again. But in the meantime we keep ourselves busy with experimenting on new stuff in the studio.