SCALE THE SUMMIT (Eng.)
– Hello, lots of thanks for answering our interview. How is everything going into the SCALE THE SUMMIT’s camp right now? You are now touring the US so, how is the tour going thus far?
Chris Letchford: Fantastic! Couldn’t be better. We are on a stretch of 23 straight shows with no days off, so its been pretty brutal!
– You have just released your latest album, entitled «The Migration». How are the first reactions being?
Chris Letchford: Great, we out sold our last album’s first week sales by 4 times. So far so good, if people are willing to pay Im thinking they like it. All the material we have played live has been going over well too, people seem excited.
– Digging deeper into this new record, what does its title make reference to?
Chris Letchford: Our music is always forever changing, so simply “The Migration” is just another journey with Scale The Summit.
– This is your first opus with Mark Michell. What has he brought to the band?
Chris Letchford: Some serious Bass playing talent. Great guy, player and super hard working musician. He added a lot to the final songs and tracked in the studio like a machine.
– After giving this effort some spins I could say its your most aggressive album to date. Was this something you were aiming for or maybe each album you release reflects a certain time in your life?
Chris Letchford: Nope, but I agree 100%. When we finished the record that was the first thing I noticed, didn’t really take notice until it was completely done. Its cool to see natural progress without having it be forced. Who knows what will come of the next record, definitely keeps things interesting for us.
– It also has more dynamics, which makes the whole album more exciting. Is something important for you to keep things fresh and interesting?
Chris Letchford: Definitely more dynamics, that’s one thing we all always want more of. As we grow as musicians and just as people we hope to progress and get better at song writing.
– This album has a whole atmosphere or mood quite different to your previous releases but, what kind of emotion do you want to convey with it?
Chris Letchford: I just set down and write and whatever came out came out. No emotions were planned, so it must have just been a day to day emotion while I worked on finishing each song.
– And what’s your music mean for you? Its full of different emotions so, maybe its somehow an outlet for your own feelings?
Chris Letchford: Maybe through the subconscious. I just want to write music that I can be proud to listen to, share with people, and play.
– You have always managed to top over your previous release, and this time you make no exception. Is this something you strive for or rather a natural evolution and the experience time gives you as musicians and songwriters?
Chris Letchford: Yes, for sure. We are always trying to get better at our instruments, as players and song writers. Im always pushing myseld and the guys to get better. Its best for the future of our band as well. I don’t want to ever release the same album twice. If we do, tell us to quit haha.
– Your music is quite forward thinking and has plenty different dynamics, due to this I would like to know how was the song writing process behind «The Migration».
Chris Letchford: I start with all of the guitars, I write the outline for the song and finish all of the guitar parts. Then I’ll send off the songs to our bassist and drummer, some parts for them written that they can change, alter, add, delete, etc… and then the rest with measure by measure notes for them to go off since the music isn’t recorded they have no way to know what the final idea would sound like. Then after a couple weeks of working on each song on our own, we get together to rehearse them to see where they are at. We are all pretty much on the same page, so its pretty easy for us to whip out finished songs.
– And, due to the progressive nature of your music, both in spirit and musically, could you say the song writing is, somehow, a challenge?
Chris Letchford: Thankfully no, knock on wood. I have always been able to sit down and write with little ease. Haven’t experienced serious writers block, hopefully never will. Plus like I mentioned before writing comes easy for complete songs since we are all on the same page.
– All this about «The Migration» being said; how would you describe it in just 3 words?
Chris Letchford: Aggressive, Heavy, and EPIC!
– And finally, what are your upcoming plans?
Chris Letchford: We’re hoping to make it to Europe this fall or by at least next summer. So keep an eye out, until then we’ll be doing a ton of touring in the US. Stay tuned!
