FALLOCH (Eng.)

– Hello, thanks for your time. What are you currently up to?

Hello, no problem. We’ve just recently finished playing our very first gigs and now we’re just trying to organise some more for the new year as well as starting to work on our second album.

– First of all, and as you are a quite new band, could you make some history of the band for all those who aren’t really familiar with you yet?

Andy and myself started Falloch at the end of 2009/start of 2010 with the aim of making an album which we felt conveyed atmosphere and emotion. Throughout 2010 we wrote and recorded our debut album and then at the beginning of 2011 we sent it to Ronan Chris Murphy (King Crimson, Ulver etc….) to be mastered. Not long after we were offered the chance to release our album on Candlelight Records. Since then we have formed a full live line up and have started to play some gigs.

– And why did you pick «Falloch» the name of the band? Both its origin and meaning.

The name Falloch comes from a waterfall named ‘Falls Of Falloch’ which is near Loch Lomond. The word Falloch (Falach in Scottish Gaelic) means hidden/in hiding which we felt would suit our style of music.

– You have recently released your debut album, «Where Distant Spirits Remain», which has got a really great feedback; did you expect such a good response for this effort?

When we were finished with the album we were both extremely happy with the outcome, we weren’t sure about how it would be received though as we had never released anything previous to this, so we had no way to judge how people would react to our sound. So it has came as a very nice surprise that so many people seem to be enjoying it.

– And how are you guys feeling about this first release? I guess it may be an exciting moment.

Definitely! It’s been very exciting for us. We wrote and recorded this album all by ourselves without really letting anybody hear it so it’s been brilliant to finally get it released especially considering we managed to have such a well respected label to release it on. We’re really proud of our album and we feel for a debut album it’s given us a lot of possible directions we can go in with our future music.

– Releasing your debut full-length album just a year after forming the band, and with a well-known label as Candlelight is something not many bands can boast about. Have you been under much pressure or being with such a big label made you feel more comfortable and relaxed?

So far it’s been very relaxed. The whole album was completely finished before we were working with Candlelight so we were under no pressure or anything while making the album.

– For all those who haven’t had the chance of listening to your record; how could you describe your sound? As I personally think you have managed to create a perfect mix between Post-Rock, Folk and Metal sorrounded by great and well-cared atmospheres.

Thank you! It’s very hard for me to describe our music, when we were making the album we were concentrating on making music which we felt contained atmosphere and emotion. We’ve used quite a few styles to reach our goal (like you said Post-Rock, Folk and Metal) but feel there is more in our music than just those 3 particular styles although they are probably the most dominant styles.

– «Where Distant Spirits Remain» has been produced by Ronan Chris Murphy (ULVER, KING CRIMSON), how did you hook up with him? And are you pleased with the final outcome?

Ronan actually only mastered the album, we produced the album ourselves. When we were recording the album we decided that we wanted to have somebody with quite a lot of experience to take control over the final processing just to make sure everything was sounding as good as it could. We had a few people down that we wanted to work with and we ended up just emailing them and in the end we choose to go with Ronan. He was brilliant to work with, he is so enthusiastic about music and really cares about the projects that he is involved.

– I can notice in your sound elements similars to bands as ALCEST, AGALLOCH or earlier ANATHEMA but, what are your musical influences (both bands and musical styles)?

We both have so many influences. Neither of us try to limit the styles of music that we listen to. I can listen to anything from Black Metal through to Choral Music or Hip Hop through to Prog Rock. I’m constantly influenced by so many different artists and musicians it changes constantly. Out of the bands you mentioned I only really listen to Alcest much which I would say they influence Falloch’s music in some ways. I’ve never been able to get into Agalloch and in general I prefer Anathema’s newer albums but would never call them one of my favourites so wouldn’t really say either of those have been a particular influence.

– And your non-musical influences? Where do you draw inspiration from? Specially where do you take inspiration for lyrics, as they are full of sorrowful and nostalgic feelings.

We’re both influenced by the landscape and nature of Scotland, especially up in areas such as Glencoe and the Isle of Skye. All the lyrics are written by Andy. He generally writes from personal experience and is also interested in the idea that the landscape and scenery of Scotland is an escape from normal life, so we hope we’ve managed to convey that through our music and lyrics.

– Due to the aforementioned blend of different details and textures I would like to know how was the songwriting for this album.

For most of the album we wrote it together and we recorded the songs while writting them. We would work out a basic arrangement of the songs with guitars and drums and maybe some keyboards where needed. Then we would work on the full arrangements and trying to create the desired atmosphere. Once all the music was finished we then moved onto the vocals for the album.

– You also use plenty acoustic parts and traditional instruments that compliment perfectly some of your musical passages. What role has your land in your music?

We both a really influenced by the landscape of Scotland when you head further north, the feeling of isolation you have when in some areas is just incredible. In relation to the traditional instruments and acoustic parts we both enjoy lots of Scottish folk music so we felt it would help us create the atmosphere we desired if we incorporated some of those instruments.

– Considering your record deal with Candlelight, the great acceptance your debut album has got, etc. The goals you had when you formed the band have now changed? Which are they?

One of our main goals once the album was finished was to find a full live line up and start playing live. Now that we have a live line up and have played a few shows our next main aim is to try and work on our live performances to get a level where we feel we are putting on the best shows possible.

– I don’t actually know many Metal bands hailing from Scotland; what bands could you suggest? As it seems like Scotland doesn’t have the most known Metal scene.