iNTERViEWED
BY BRiAN LUSH
It’s weird to think that this moment in time is the calm before for the
storm for the New Zealand-based band DARKLIGHT CORPORATION given the
hard and
heavy sound of their self-titled debut CD. In my years as a music
journalist,
I’ve forged a tight relationship with
Australia
but
New
Zealand
is a whole new frontier for me and DARKLIGHT CORPORATION is a most
interesting
welcoming party. Comprised of FABIO SANTOS on vocals, CHRIS PRENTER on
guitars,
ELLIOT CHAO on bass and DEAN BECK on drums, the band boasts a seamless
mixture
of heavy guitars and electronica textures. It is a sound that has taken
the
band a long way in a short amount of time. With a little help on the
promo side
from ISAAC PROMOTIONS and UNIVERSAL MUSIC NEW ZEALAND, the band’s
raucous debut is
capturing the attention of all of the right media outlets and radio
stations.
It’s only a matter of time before their metal blitzkrieg takes American
rock
radio by storm.
ROCKWIRED conducted an e-mail interview with guitarist
CHRIS PRENTER of
DARKLIGHT CORPORATION. Here are the results.
You are my first interview from
New
Zealand!
Interviews from Australia
are a lot more common! What sort of music
scene
are you guys surrounded by in New Zealand?
New
Zealand
goes through phases and at the moment it is Reggae/dub that is popular.
Before
that it was Hip-hop. Metal is still very much underground here, but it
has a
very loyal following but is not huge. We still get a lot of metal bands
coming
here to play though. MESSUGAH, TRIVIUM, and BEHEMOTH
have all been here in the last few months. So the scene is small but
healthy.
From what I’ve read, the music
of
DARKLIGHT CORPORATION is being well received. Has the debut album’s
success
taken you by surprise or was it something that expected given all the
work that
has gone into the album?
It has taken us very much by surprise. When you make an album it’s a
very
insular process and it’s hard to gauge what the reception will be. But
I think
if you put your heart and soul into something completely and it moves
you when
you listen to it, other people will respond to it to. But as far as how
it’s
taken off, we had no idea we would get the response we have. It’s been
awesome
and we feel very privileged that people like what we are doing.
DARKLIGHT CORPORATION is an
interesting moniker! It sounds kind of STAR WARS-y! Where does the name
come
from?
When I first came up with the concept I started with that name. To me,
it
sounded otherworldly and a bit mysterious and had a great ring to it.
It’s got
a secret handshake kind of vibe.
How did the band begin? What
got
everybody onto the same page to want to do it?
I returned from living in the UK
and had been influenced by the
electronica scene there at the time. But I sort of rediscovered the
guitar
again and started mashing up these tracks in my studio and before I
knew it I
had about twenty songs together, so I thought, man these sound a bit
different
so I put my feelers out for a vocalist and tried a few but as soon as I
met FABIO
I knew he was the man for the job, the tone of his voice and presence
was
perfect. So we got together and knocked the tracks into shape and
recorded the
vocals and drank a lot of beer. Then just through people we knew we
found ELLIOT
and DEAN who ended up being perfect for the job and they dropped in
their ideas
and re-recorded the bass and drums, it all happened very quickly and
fluently
and was a very enjoyable experience.
How did music begin for you?
I grew up in a very musical house where my mum had
guitars and pianos
and whatever lying around. We grew up listening to classical music and ABBA, BAY CITY ROLLERS
(laughs) it was a crazy mix of music. Then one day I bought this compilation album on vinyl
called HEAVY and it changed
my life. The first track was NUMBER OF THE BEAST by IRON
MAIDEN, and man the hair stood up on the back of my neck
and changed my
world forever. I couldn't believe this music was out there, and I went
out and
got a guitar straight away and there was no turning back.
Was there a succession of bands
for
you before the establishment of DARKLIGHT CORPORATION?
We have all been in various bands before this but
none of us knew of
each other until DARKLIGHT. There were speed
metal bands,
electronica/dance bands and alternative bands but none of them have
compared to
DARKLIGHT. The timing and flow of this band has surpassed everything
that's
gone before it and the chemistry is perfect for us.
Explain –if it’s explainable –
the
creative process. How do songs get written within this band?
With the first album it was very much me coming up
with the music and
FABIO doing the lyrics and melody. The other guys would put their stamp
on it
but they were following the formula we had already come up with. The
new
material we are writing starts usually with me coming up with the basic
track
then everyone having input into the final product. The new songs get
jammed a
lot and new ideas tried etc. But we are very conscious of the DARKLIGHT
sound
and our own identity and if it doesn't sound like a DARKLIGHT track it
doesn't
get used.
Was there a song on the album
that almost
seemed to write itself?
They all came pretty easy but I think ONE MAN
REVOLUTION just beamed
itself onto the computer. The songwriting process is a mysterious beast
and you
can never force it but some tracks definitely seem like they were
already there
and you just pulled them out of the air
Was there a song that was
especially
difficult to write?
I think middle eighths and bridges are always hard to
write cause you've
gotta keep with the flow of the song but introduce something a bit
different so
we always have trouble with those. PROPAGANDA
was
quite hard from a technical aspect because its a real mash up of real
and
synthetic instruments and especially live its a challenge.
Talk about each of the band
members
and what you think each of them brings to the table both musically and
personality-wise?
I will start with FABIO. I think a front-man for a
band has to have
something special, its not something you can fake, its a thing you are
born
with. To me FABIO is a rock-star without being a rock-star, He has a
massive
presence but is quiet and calculated. The tone of his voice is
unbelievable and
his roar is like a steam train at full blast and he is always willing
to try
new things with his vocals. and in contrast he has such a laid back
personality
and likes to drink beer at 9 AM!!! DEAN has such a passion for playing the drums he is like
a mad dog and attacks
songs with such ferocity and power its hard to believe the geezer is
still
standing at the end of a show. His playing is very musical and you can
just sit
and listen to him play and not get bored. He lives and breathes
DARKLIGHT and
is a pleasure to be around. ELLIOT is the quiet assassin. He is this
smaller
guy with a massive bass tone that moves mountains. He also has a great
sense of
songwriting and comes up with ideas I wouldn't even think of, a great
collaborator and the chicks love him. As for me, I tend to be the boss
but I
love working with each of these guys and playing live with
them is the
best experience I have ever had in a band. Technically I keep
the show on
the road because these guys have hooves when it comes to using
computers.
Describe working with ISAAC
PROMOTIONS
in getting the word out on this CD?
I think for any band if you want to get your product
out on a big scale
like any other commercial band is to use company's that specialize in
marketing
and distribution. It’s so much work to try and do it yourself and there
is a
standard formula for releasing a product and these guys know how to do
it. We
were lucky enough to get heard by ISAAC and they pumped out a 9 month
campaign
to get the album into the public eye so the public can make a choice if
they
like it or not and if they do the album is readily accessible
for them to
buy. We are using the same formula in the US market but using Rainmaker
media
group to take care of marketing and TWISTED HILLBILLY
RECORDS/BLASTZONE to take care of our affairs and distribution
What songs off of the CD
resonate for
you the most personally and why?
At the time I was writing this album the credit
crisis was just
beginning and I was quite pissed off with companies that were giving
out loads
of credit to people who couldn't really afford it, They make people
think they
need to live a certain lifestyle and lure them into racking up credit
and trap them.
Even today I see ads on TV saying "come to us and we can help you get
ahead in life". How is getting in debt ten grand helping the average
family get ahead? It’s not! It’s just a trap! In general the album is
about the
upper collective taking advantage of the lower collective with no
remorse
whatsoever. ONE MAN REVOLUTION is about making the change person by
person and
saying I really don't need all this shit to be happy and living within
our
means.
Since starting this band what
has
been the biggest surprise for you?
Probably the ratio of females that like the band, I
mean its still
pretty heavy music and Fabio loves to swear and be angry but the girls
seem to
really like the music for some reason I cant put my finger on.
What would you like a person to
come
away with after they’ve heard this album?
I hope it gives them a blast of energy in their
lives and makes them
feel alive like it does to us when we play it. Music is escapism at its
purist
and I hope we achieve that with the listener.
What do you think is next
musically
for DARKLIGHT CORPORATION?
Well we are about half way through writing the next
album and we can’t
wait to get the new stuff out there. It’s the first album on steroids,
a lot
more powerful and we are extending ourselves as songwriters and taking
it to
the next level. We can’t wait for people to hear it.
MAY 13,
2010
BRiAN
LUSH (FOUNDER,
EDiTOR-iN-CHiEF)
