by Joe Fielder
A few years ago, upbeat indie rock group The Deadly Syndrome burst upon the LA music scene and quickly made a name for themselves as one of the best live acts in town. They made a few music writers' "most likely to succeed" lists, got signed to Dim Mak, released a solid debut album, and then... seemed to virtually disappear from sight.
Flash forward to the present: they're returning with new album Nolens Volens, due out on March 23rd. And we recently spoke to drummer/keyboardist/producer Mike Hughes about it.
Hey, Mike. It's been awhile. What have you all been up to since the release of The Ortolan?
Hey! It has been a while indeed. After the release of The Ortolan, we did some touring, we scored a documentary, we did some remixes, we got some full time jobs, and we wrote some songs.
You've got a new album coming out soon. Who did you record with? When did you start working on these songs?
I think the writing for Nolens Volens began more or less in 2008, once we had a pile of tracks that we were adequately excited about, we started figuring out how to record them in 2009. I handled the production, and recording of the album. It was a long process, there are any number of directions a song can go in once you start putting it together, and it can be quite arduous, and time consuming trying to be sure that you are making all the right decisions, sonically, and with the arrangements. I think we're all pleased with what we've made, and excited to put it out into the world.
You're doing this all on your own this time, correct?
Yes, this release is 100% Deadly Syndrome-cultivated, and funded, we're very lucky to have our manager Drew McKinley guiding us along.
How do you feel like your sound has changed? What's different this time?
I think the core elements that define our "sound" are still intact, but we've certainly done some exploring. I think it's necessary to try new things, and push yourself into unknown territory to see what you can use. To me it's very boring to hear a band regurgitate the same sounds, and arrangements, album after album, the "formulaic approach" is not something I'd ever want to be involved in. As far as what's different on this record, I'd say the songs are lyrically based more in reality, and we've incorporated a lot of new textures, sequenced elements, and song structures. This record "flows", it feels more cohesive to me than The Ortolan.
What's next for you?
We're going to support the album as best we can, we're setting up some tours, we'll probably score a documentary, do some remixes, get some more full time jobs...
We've already got some new songs written, or in the beginning stages of being written, that we are very excited about, so hopefully we won't take quite as long to come up with another record! But for now, we're really happy this album is finally coming out, and really looking forward to playing some shows.
Thanks for your time, Mike. Looking forward to your next show.
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