Q: Tell us a bit about yourself and how your childhood impacted your musical direction?
A – [Si]- The 4 of us (Dez, Gerry, Jinksy and Si) met when we were kids. We grew up in an around Hamilton, just outside Glasgow. The people growing up were great, everyone seemed to be right into their music, but the town itself was a bit of a dump and didn’t have a lot to offer. The one good thing going for it was it had a music studio – Chem 19 – that was owned by the Delgados and where Mogwai recorded some tracks. It was mindblowing as a youngster to rock up there and see some of the Mogwai Young Team hanging around. Gave you a bit of hope that it didn’t matter where you were based, you could create something that was truly incredible like they did. So in a way, that particular place inspired us as much as anything.
Q: Can you describe your musical style in 3 words?
A – [Jinksy] – We once got a review from a magazine that called it Cosmic Caravan Music. We’d settle for that. It’s difficult to describe because we incorporate a lot of different styles and tend not stick with the same sound from record to record.
Q: How do you stay connected with your fans and what role do they play in shaping
your musical journey?
A – [Gerry] – Our fans are great. They seem to come from all walks of life and have somehow gravitated towards us. Which is a miracle since we’ve felt that staying connected has been tricky when media and social media is so saturated. To be honest, we don’t think much when we create music, we just hope that if we create something we like, then there’s a chance that they might like it too.
Q – You are about to release your upcoming EP “Tangents”. Is there a story behind it?
A – [Dez] – We wanted to do a 4 track EP where each one of us wrote a track. Every track on the EP started off sounding quite a bit different, before it was rebuilt/reborn in the studio with Andy Miller (Gargleblast engineer – who has worked with de-Rosa, Mogwai, My Latest Novel, Songs:Ohia and others). That idea of death and rebirth was a theme for some of the tracks and so the Tangents we’re referring to are both the musical tangents from our creative process but also the tangents in life that come just when you think things are pretty hopeless. We feel it’s an optimistic EP despite the sometimes dark and dense musical and lyrical themes.
Q: What is your favorite track from the EP and why?
A – [Si] – Dirt is my favourite track. The words and music were done completely separate from one another, but when they got together they seemed to work perfectly. It’s musically one of the most dynamic things we’ve done, while the message of not giving up on yourself even when times are tough resonates with each of us deeply.
Q: Can you talk us through the creative process of producing the EP tangents?
A – [Jinksy] – All four of us worked on the bones of our own tracks separately before bringing to the rest of the group to sprinkle a bit of their magic and bring the songs to life. All four songs are crammed with ideas. Two of us work in Logic and two of us work with Ableton, so in order to really get the album ideas to work together, we needed the help of Andy Miller who is a phenomenal producer and a pro tools wizard. As soon as Andy was on board it all fell together perfectly. We regularly swap instruments and all of us sing on the record so there is real musical variation which comes from having 4 songwriters in the band.
Q: Reflecting on your body of work, each song holding its unique significance, could you share a particular track that stands out to you personally? What makes that tune special and why does it hold a place of pride in your musical journey?
A – [Gerry] Quiet the Sea Change, which was a track we were asked to contribute to a charity audio/video album raising money for SAMH, the Scottish mental health charity, was really important for us. Kris Boyle, who is an incredibly talented video artist who provides Auld White Label with all our videos, asked us to contribute a track to his project “Northern Strangers”. The album features Martin John Henry
[De Rosa] and Robert Douglas Gray [Life Without Buildings] so we already felt like we were rubbing shoulders with legends. The tune we made was a real collaboration from the 4 of us, based off an idea from Dez. It had a real groove and won us some new fans. Added to that, the video that goes with it from Kris Boyle was absolutely mindblowing. It’s on YouTube – you should check it out and see if you agree. All proceeds from the album went to supporting a charity that mattered to us too.
Q: Exploring the diverse creative processed within the music industry is always fascinating. Could you provide an insight into your unique approach to crafting music? From the initial spark of an idea to the finished song, how do you navigate the creative journey and bring its musical concepts to life?
A – [Dez] – we all write and produce independently, and we’ve each got our own unique style. I’ll tend to start with a guitar part or a bass line since that’s what I play more regularly, the others work a bit differently. Gerry can play almost anything so his arrangements are always great and fully thought out. Jinksy’s productions are always class, whether its wall of sound guitar feedback or complex designs (like Chapter 1)- whatever he does is interesting. Si typically writes an old fashioned song structure and produces from there. The 4 unique approaches mean there are always ideas floating about. I guess that’s one of the strengths of Auld White Label.
Q: What aspirations or dreams do you have for Auld White Label and what message would you like to share with your fans as they continue to accompany you on this musical journey?
A – [Si] – I think we just want this EP to be heard a bit more widely, so getting it out there as far and as wide as possible is the name of the game. Our fans, to date, have been great at helping us on this journey, so we’d just like to thank everyone who gives us a listen. We are proud of the EP and so want it to be enjoyed by as many folk as possible.