Mass of Amara's latest EP "Through The Ether" showcases a blend of muscular sounds and lush atmospherics. Here's an exclusive look into their creative process and influences..
1. Congratulations
on the release of "Through The Ether"! Can you tell us more about the
creative process behind this EP and how it differs from your previous releases?
Preston: Thanks
so much! We've had these songs in the works for some time and were so excited
to finally share them with the world! So the creative process for this EP
really just stems from either me working on a song at home and bringing it to
the band or victor working on a song and we get together and flesh out the
ideas and song structures. Once we get to a point where we're like hey the song
is just about done, that's when we'll hand it off to Ella so she can begin to
write her vocal parts. Id say the only major difference is that this EP has our
other members on the recordings and their ideas as well. Prior to the EP all of
our singles and first EP were done by me and ella back when it was just us in
the beginning.
2. The
EP features a mix of muscular sounds and lush atmospherics. How did you achieve
this balance in your compositions and recordings?
Preston: Personally,
I feel we established the mix of "brutal but pretty" when Ella and I
made the MoA debut with our take on Bjork's "Army of Me". Naturally
that song already has the pretty and dark elements so when we did that song I
was like all it needs is a fresh heavy riff and her brutal screams to really
make this version ours. After that we had our song rebirth written but not
released till way after, and if you listen to that song, that's the true first
original song we wrote for this project. It perfectly combines the ethereal yet
brutal side of our sound. I think that's honestly where it all began.
3. Ella,
you wrote the lyrics for the EP, exploring reactions to life's problems and
occurrences. What inspired you to delve into these themes, and how do they
resonate with your personal experiences?
Ella: When
I write I like to pull from my experiences and what I am currently going
through because to me that is how I best write. The more personal I get, the
more relatable it can be and I always aim to connect with whoever listens to
our music. During the time I was writing this EP, there was a lot of confusion
and fear because I had gotten deeper into my spiritual healing and had to
unlearn and relearn a lot of things. I felt like such an amateur in a lot of
the process because I still think there is a lot of room for me to grow in and
get better at so sometimes I can feel lost and that's really what writing is
for me, it's a way to remain grounded in the process of self awareness and
growth.
4. The
track "The Ether" serves as an interlude and intro to
"Storm." Can you explain the significance of this interlude and how
it connects the two songs?
Preston: So
when I wrote the song, it also had this pretty drawn out intro for it, I
definitely envisioned it being the intro and our walk out track for when we'd
start playing shows, it just had the perfect length that built the hype for
what was about to start and the bam, the song kicks off and were off. That
honestly was its main purpose. Funny enough though, once we had everything
mixed and ready to go, it was very apparent to everyone the song that had the
strongest kick off was unspoken. no intro no count off just a single punch to
the gut and its on. So the ether now serves its purpose as a short break before
the song storm kicks in and closes out the EP. Looking back on it now I
definitely think this is the best way it could've played out.
5. With
influences like Periphery, Spiritbox, and Gojira, how do you integrate these
inspirations into your music while maintaining your unique sound?
Preston: Honestly
I feel like our sound just comes naturally. there's absolutely no doubt there's
some songs that may sound like one band or another, but once Ella enters the
picture its no longer a "Jinjer" or a "spiritbox" song, on
top of that once we add our layers of synths or guitar leads it definitely
alters the vibe and what once was a "Jinjer inspired song" doesn't
sound all that close to Jinjer in the end. Great example would be our song
"Eyes for Perception" on our first EP, I was jamming Jinjer around
that time, and i definitely can see that without the vocals that could be a
Jinjer song all day, but Ellas voice is just too unique, and to steer it away
from the Jinjer I think I threw in an old school deathcore breakdown to really
help make the song more us.
6. You
mentioned that "Through The Ether" explores the infinite unconscious.
How do you tap into this concept during your songwriting process, and what
impact does it have on your music?
Ella: All I
did was be as raw as I could when writing about how I approached a part of
myself I hadn't really explored yet and it felt like I was going through
endless circles made up of negativity and fear. I realized what the unconscious
part of me was made up of and a lot of it was trauma and forgotten memories
that we store away to avoid feeling but it all came down on me pretty hard when
I was faced with an opportunity to do better for myself. So as I was feeling
and experiencing this realm I wanted to capture it and make it as vividly as I
could by really putting all of my emotions into every line. Delving into
concepts like this can be confusing or healing for some. I only wish it reaches
people at the right time when they need reassurance that they are not the only
ones having these problems. My goal is to always make our music do something
good for this world, and in this time we need understanding and compassion more
than ever.
7. Preston,
as a producer and guitarist, what challenges did you face in producing
"Through The Ether," and how did you overcome them?
Preston: The
challenge from the start I knew was gonna be myself. I wanna hear the Kick and
Snare a certain way and the guitars a certain way and onward. and the tricky
part is actually getting those qualities dialed in how i wanna hear them. Even
if someones over my shoulder saying "hey man that sounds good".
Personally I didn't want to settle for that. And when it came to crunch time
for getting the mixes done i had to basically mix on a bluetooth speaker that
would connect to my mac mini. I also lost the ability to check my mixes in my
car because my stereo crapped out, and with my mixes i trust my cars stereo ANY
DAY. I do not have a proper listening environment, and my headphones I use most
definitely lie so i gotta be extra careful sometimes, but i knew if i can get
the mix to sound brutal and thick on my bluetooth speaker those mixes should be
good to go on most car systems especially mine. And it most definitely slams
HARD, Im very proud of the mix work i did and extremely happy with the end
results. Everyone tells me the snare is brutal and that's what I absolutely
love to hear!
8. The
EP artwork, created by Ella, is striking. How does the visual aspect of the EP
complement the music, and what message were you aiming to convey through the
artwork?
Ella: Through
the whole process of writing this EP, I kept thinking about how much we have
yet to explore about ourselves and it can be so overwhelming sometimes. The
mind is made up of infinite space and there is no end to the thoughts and
imagination that resides there. So to me it seems like a realm where everywhere
you turn there is a new path to explore. I liked the idea of having something
that can represent how the unknown might look like to us , a place where
anything can happen with a hint of fear of what might be just beyond the fog of
our surface level awareness. We also had a lot of ethereal/atmospheric vibes to
our music so I wanted to create something that conveyed those themes. I decided
to have a human-like character to wander this realm to represent the person
choosing to wander off into the infinite unconscious and see what they might
find…
9. Since
forming in 2021, you've gained a lot of traction performing all over central
Texas. How has your live performance experience influenced the music on this
EP?
Preston: I
think my answer is gonna be backwards, because we wrote and had these songs
done before we ever started playing live. so there was no direct live influence
into the music, however, there's plenty of sections throughout the EP that when
I was writing I knew would translate live. Therefore my mind is always set on
writing certain things for live if that makes sense. Thankfully i've just about
been right about every section i've written thinking about the live product so
let's hope that streak never dies!
10. What’s
next for Mass of Amara? Are there any upcoming tours, new music, or other
projects you’d like to share with your fans?
Preston: What's
next for us, goal wise we'd love to get out there on a support role for a tour
and really get our name out there while also supporting some awesome bands.
Secondly we have some shows coming up in August and the fall season. Lastly, we
want to start writing our first debut album this year for a release next year.
Mass of Amara (@massofamara_official) • Photos et vidéos Instagram
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