HEIGHTS
PHOTO COURTESY OF HOLD TIGHT PR  l  WEBSITE: www.heightsband.com

WHO FIRST SUGGESTED THAT YOU SHOULD GET TOGETHER FOR A JAM, AND HOW DID THINGS PROGRESS FROM JAMMING FOR THE FUN OF IT TO A FULL ON RECORDING PROJECT AND LIVE BAND?

AL: I had known Jay for a while and really respected his playing abilities, I also used to be in a couple of bands with John and we clicked really well, so it all fell into place nicely. In our early compositions, we wrote with vocals in mind, but just couldn’t find the right person for the job and realised the songs were pretty vast in terms of structure and ideas. So shortly after we realised being instrumental seemed like the best option and we really enjoy the freedom and challenge that instrumental music offers.
 
JOHN: The early gigs we did culminated a big show at the Wilde Theatre in Bracknell where we released our first album ‘Salvation and Trepidation’. It’s fitting that 2 years on we are playing the same venue on September 30th to promote this record. It’s going to be a blast!

JAY: … and I’m forced to play 2 sets! My other band TesseracT are also playing that show.

WITH ALL THE RECORDING SOFTWARE AVAILABLE TODAY, WHY WAS IT IMPORTANT TO KEEP THE BAND’S SOUND “ORGANIC” BY JUST USING A GUITAR, BASS AND DRUMS?
 
JAY: We’re very lucky in that we have access to Creative Control studios (Al’s Studio) so we have total control of all aspects of our recordings. For example, we can spend time getting a precise drum sound whereas a lot of bands now, whether they realise it or not, are not achieving a real recording of their drummer. It is standard practice for studios to use sampling software, which replaces drum strokes so what you’re hearing 99% of the time now is actually not a real drummer – it’s a computer!

AL: We also feel it’s important that we can pull things off live and as you mentioned, we are simply drums, bass and guitar, so we wanted to try and get the best possible representation of our band without relying on excessive layering and studio magic.

JOHN: I think a lot of bands are afraid to sound like they are, they feel under pressure to keep going and going in the studio to overdub to excess and become something they aren’t. An album should be the refinement of what a band can achieve live and not somewhere a world away.

IS PLAYING IN HEIGHTS A WELCOME ESCAPE FROM YOUR OTHER PROJECTS THAT YOU ARE INVOLVED WITH?

JOHN: It’s a welcome escape from work!

JAY: Haha, that makes our other projects sound terrible. We all love playing in Heights and I think all try to involve ourselves in other musical ventures. For me Heights really allows me to play quite openly and it’s the project in which I get the most practice behind my kit. My other project (TesseracT) has a very different approach to rehearsal but both ways work well.

Al: For me it’s my first really self-indulgent project. I am the main songwriter within the band, although Jay and Jonno both have a great ear for what works. I know I can throw something fairly outlandish into the mix and we’ll run with it, rather than being held back by what is musically “correct” or not.

WAS YOUR LATEST ALBUM “FROM SEA TO SKY” RECORDED AT AL HESLOP’S STUDIO AND HOW WOULD YOU SUM UP THE RECORDING PROCESS?

JAY: Yes, we recorded From Sea to Sky at Creative Control studios. We had recorded a couple of album demos before we went in to record this so we were comfortable with our parts. As a result, the recording was done fairly quickly – I think I’m right in saying about a week…

Al: Yeah that’s right; drums were recorded in a day, bass over a couple of evenings and guitar over a couple of days, then mixing over a few weeks. The first mixes came together fairly quickly then it was just a case of deciding how hard we should push certain elements of the mix. I also mastered the album, which meant we all experimented by playing the album on as many different systems as we could find to make sure it wasn’t too bassy or lacked clarity.

JOHN: It was really satisfying to hear the album coming together. Al has invested in a lot of really amazing gear since we did the first album and you can really hear the difference in the quality of this recording. Our playing has stepped up a notch too.

THE ONE THING ABOUT INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC IS THAT BECAUSE THERE IS NOT A VOCALIST INVOLVED, THE MUSIC DOES HAVE TO HAVE A GOOD VIBE AND ATMOSPHERE TO KEEP THE LISTENERS ATTENTION. IS THAT WHAT KIND OF MAKES IT A FUN CHALLENGE FOR YOU AS A SONGWRITER?

Al: I must admit I usually don’t really write music with a “listener” in mind, apart from myself. If a certain chord sequence or melody grabs me I’ll try and incorporate it into a piece. I think atmosphere is definitely crucial though, I strongly believe the best type of music has some sort of atmosphere attached to it, like a good film.

JAY: …Inception!

WERE THERE THINGS THAT YOU WANTED TO DO DIFFERENTLY OR BUILD UPON WITH THIS ALBUM COMPARED TO YOUR DEBUT “SALVATION AND TREPIDATION”?

Al: Yes I think the progression has mainly been in our abilities. Some songs on “Salvation and Trepidation” were written with a vocalist in mind, so suffered slightly from sounding too empty in places. From Sea To Sky was written and arranged as completely instrumental, so I think it’s a more cohesive record.

JAY: I don’t think we consciously tried to do anything different though. We just focussed on playing and writing the best music we could imagine.

AT THE MOMENT “FROM SEA TO SKY” IS ONLY AVAILABLE AT GIGS AND WILL SOON BE AVAILABLE ONLINE TO. WOULD YOU LIKE TO KEEP THE BAND INDEPENDENT OR ARE YOU GUYS LOOKING TO ORGANISE SOME OTHER FORM OF DISTRIBUTION THROUGH A LABEL AT SOME STAGE AS WELL?

JAY: You can buy From Sea to Sky on iTunes now – it was released on 9th August. Physical copies are currently only available at our shows though. We have a slightly different agenda to most other bands in that huge commercial success isn’t our aim, so we haven’t spent any time really thinking about releasing the album in shops. We’re recording the music we love and at the moment, are quite happy releasing it to the world through outlets such as iTunes and Arkade.

Perhaps album 3 will see a physical release in the shops…

THE GREAT THING ABOUT INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC IS THAT IT CAN ALSO CREATE GREAT OPPORTUNITIES TO COLLABORATE WITH OTHER ARTISTS ON SONGS AS WELL. IS THAT SOMETHING THE BAND HAS CONSIDERED?

JAY: Definitely yes! We’re just about to start work on our biggest musical challenge to date (an EP) and will almost certainly need to enlist the help of a few musical minds. More on this soon…

WHEN DID THE BAND MAKE ITS LIVE DEBUT AND WAS IT EASY TO TAKE THIS PROJECT INTO A LIVE ENVIRONMENT BECAUSE IT STARTED BY JAMMING TOGETHER?

JAY: Our first show was late in 2007 I believe. Heights has always been about writing, recording and performing so we’ve not had any difficulty taking it live.

JOHN: The first gig was terrifying though! It’s always a bit nerve wracking when you debut songs, especially when they’re in a genre that’s maybe a bit left of centre. We aren’t your average rock band. However at pretty much all the gigs we’ve done the audience has been really receptive. I think even if people don’t normally listen to instrumental music they seem to appreciate something in what we do.

UNFORTUNATELY INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC IS NOT AS POPULAR AS IT SHOULD BE. ARE YOU HAPPY WITH THE FAN FOLLOWING THAT YOU HAVE BUILT UP SO FAR?

JAY: We have some really loyal fans and because the music is, dare I say, different (?), we tend to come away from each show with a handful of new ones. I think we all know instrumental music isn’t everyone’s cup of tea and we do still get the occasional ‘so, are you getting a singer then?’. But with the release of the 2nd album, people are taking us for what we are and cementing our wish to be known and classed as an instrumental band.

ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR ANYTHING ELSE FANS SHOULD LOOK OUT FOR?

Thanks for checking this out and if you haven’t already, please visit www.heightsband.com for latest news, gig listings etc. Oh and please check out our album ‘From Sea to Sky’ on iTunes.

INTERVIEW BY NEIL VAN ZYL