A Talk With…
Howllers,rock is almost ready because on 13th of August 2021 will be enjoy the new record “Strange, Strange Times” let warm up and enjoy our talking with Nic, bass player and a friend. Discover the recording process during these pandemic days and what can we expect of the new record.
Thank for agreeing to have this interview with me.
How did the Ugly Kings feel mentally once the first 2020 lockdown had started?
Well given that the first lockdown happened literally about 10 day before we were booked to enter the studio to record our new album and we´d just come out of pre-production the previous that definitely put the spanner in the works at the time and pushed everthing back indefinitely. That was the most challeging part however we usued this opportunnity to reagroup an refine the songs and in the midtime Napalm Records got it touch with us so talk about meant to be.
Did the lockdown experience change your method of making and perceiving music? How has the pandemic affected you individually as artist?
Personally (Nic) I definitely listened to a lot of music to bring the positive out of a grim situation. Music has always been an escape for me so that helped a lot. I also took this time to practice my piano skills which has helped bring another dimension to the songwritting process. I also spent a lot more time playing bass and guitar at home, practicing my parts, writing song so all in all we kept busy.
November 2020 marked the fifth anniversary for “Of Sins” and you included five new songs for this celebration. How did it feel to dust off songs from the past?
It was great! These were songs we,ve always loved but we never took the opportunity to release properly. This lockdown has given us the time to remix and remaster this hidden gems and include them in this beautiful Of Sins’ Deluxe Edition on the very day of 5th anniversary of the original release (Friday 13th of November 2015/2020) It couldn´t have worked out any better.
What were the sources of inspiration for the new songs on the record, or had these songs already been in the works way back then ?
Given that we constantly write in rehearsals some of the riffs and structures existed before but they have been refined a lot throughout preproduction process, especially when our producer Julian jump on board and we had all this extra time due lockdowns. Lyrics wise, our singer Rusty has this poetic wizardry to turn current events, life stories o movie themes in to these increidble stories that are The Ugly Kings songs. That´s what this new album is all about.
I saw that it took 3 lockdowns to finish the recording of the new album. How was the whole process? At some point, was it difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel?
It was when the third snap lockdown happened the week before entering the recording studio that really was a gut punch. But it all worked out in the end, that lockdown didn´t last, we managed to squeeze a couple of more rehearsals that week and enter to the studio confident the following week. All in all the moment we were allowed to rehearse after each lockdown we were straight in the studio in the first day guns blazing and ready to roll. We kept in touch troughout with online meetings to talk about songwriting and release strategies so we never lost track of the end goal.
What can we expect for the new album? Have you chosen a name or release date?
In the wise words of Daft Punk, harder better, faster, stronger HAHA! Seriously this was our first album with the sound engnieer Julian «Doctor» Schweitzer and it´s been an absolute delight. His work ethic and attitude has brought the best out of each of us in the studio and we believe in this new album has all the signature Ugly King elements and then some! The album is called Strange, Strange Times and will be realesed on Friday 13th of August 2021.
You are now part of Napalm Records family. How does it feel to be under the wing of a new label? Do they allow you the creative freedom you feel is necessary for the Ugly Kings to record new music and experiment where you feel it’s appropriate?
We feel very honoured and proud to be part of the Napalm family! What´s best is that without lockdown we probably would have recorded the album as plan and release it independently in 2020 and missed the change to ever work with Napalm altogether, so everything happens for a reason, rigth? We believe we´re bulding a great relationship with them they´ve been awesome to work with. They listen to our opinions; they guide us and give us a lot of great advice without stepping on our creative freedoom. They believe in us and have been very supporting through the whole process so we couldn´t ask for a better start.
Thank you so much for your time. I hope to see you play in Mexico City sometime in the near future.
Thanks for having us, we can’t wait to take on Mexico! Saludos a todos!
The Howll 