Long Read: Experiment 637 - Finding Catharsis In Art
Having just released their second single ‘Too Soon to Call A Search’, we caught up with Experiment 637 to discuss their new single and its accompanying video, which we’re happy to exclusively premiere below.
These days, it’s difficult for a band to sound wholly original. Most things we listen to will harbour a degree of familiarity, be that in its delivery, melody, or influence. This is no bad thing of course, but it does mean that it’s harder for bands to carve their own niche, at least organically, without it feeling forced or sounding trite.
For Bradford duo Experiment 637 however, this simply isn’t the case. Bonding over the shared pain stemming from a breakdown in personal relationships, the two began to lay the foundations for the project, developing the experimental and idiosyncratic sounds heard across their two recently released singles. The result is something exploratory, otherworldly, and ultimately, cathartic. Where their debut ‘Plains’ was an airy and heady experience however, recent release ‘Too Soon to Call A Search’ is something of a departure from that.
“When we began Experiment 637, we didn’t really know how things would sound. We just knew we wanted to work together musically, and that we wanted to dive into previously unexplored waters, sonically” explains Mickey Dale “When we finally got started, we were both going through a rough time personally, and soon after that, COVID and the Lockdowns came a-knocking, which almost derailed the entire EXP project. Our debut album covers a range of themes which relate to what many of us go through during break ups – the erosion of trust, anxiety, fear. Slowly but surely, we both found ourselves. And because of all that, the album has sad songs, it has some more playful songs, and it even has a song about love, which is something we didn’t think was possible when we began writing the album!”
Indeed, ‘Too Soon to Call A Search’ certainly feels like one of the more sombre tracks promised, but an important one too, its track and accompanying video tying in to a much wider narrative explored across the forthcoming album.
“The songs are an honest reflection of what we were both experiencing in our lives. It was only when we finished the record and listened to the songs in the order in which we wrote and recorded them that we realised there’s a strong narrative and decided we should keep the songs in that order. It feels like a true account of our story, coming to terms with a difficult period and finding a way through that maze.”
“It’s also worth saying that I think both Ronan and I are good at making each other laugh” Dale continues. “Inevitably some of that joy and playfulness found its way into the songs. Even with ‘Too Soon’ which is a pretty heavy song lyrically, we still had a lot of fun making it! We were both well out of our comfort zones, and often that’s where the good stuff is waiting for you, artistically.”
Artistically is the right word to use. Far more than just a band, there’s a strong visual aspect to Experiment 637 too, both with ‘Too Soon…’, the video to which switches between spacious etherealism and jarring, paranoid claustrophobia, and to the forthcoming album; each track and its respective video tying together to create something truly ambitious that in turn effortlessly conveys the imagery and emotions carried by the music.
“The verses of ‘Too Soon’ are dealing with trying to save a dying friendship by not letting it out of your sight, and being the best friend you can be, only to see that friendship falter, and you suddenly and painfully realise that this so-called friend sees you as a burden. The choruses are about realising that the end is inevitable and unstoppable, and the realisation that something valuable is gone forever, and the person or people you loved no longer even acknowledge your existence. You think you’re in clear view, but you’ve become invisible to them.”
Weighty concepts indeed, yet the band manage to explore them artistically certainly, but also optimistically. “The video stars our actor friend Dean and addresses the existential concerns that are covered in the song” Dale explains further. “Our character is haunted by ghosts which represent aspects of his life that are causing him pain and emotional suffering. One by one, he engages with the demons and is able to cast them away, eventually finding a peaceful existence.”
Once one watches the video, it’s easy to see just how intrinsic a part of Experiment 637 the visuals are. Was it always important that the band were able to go down such artistic avenues?
“We both love visual art, films, TV as well as trying to look at what’s around us. And we both love lyrics which rely upon imagery. When we played the album to our good friend and filmmaker Alex Kershaw, he immediately said that we should make a film to accompany the album, and that’s what we’re in the process of doing now.”
“It’s the most crazy and ambitious thing we have ever set out to do” Dale admits. “So far, we have shot videos for four of the songs. The video for the song called Undercurrent is shot entirely underwater, and features a man sat in an armchair watching TV as though that’s the most normal thing to do underwater. It appears one of us will have a very outlandish idea, and then we all have to find a way to make it happen!
And here in lies the inherent appeal of Experiment 637, a band who truly live up to their name. Not only are they unafraid and unflinching in the way they deal with their emotions, creating a quiet sense of catharsis unlike any other. But they push boundaries creatively, and if that isn’t, deep down, what being artists and indeed musicians is all about, then I don’t know what is.
