INTERCONTINEN7AL are rewriting the principles of music collaboration with their formidable EP, World Over, assembled throughout all seven continents. On the core is Matt Smith, whose resourcefulness in discovering like-minded contributors on BandLab allowed the undertaking to flourish, even in distant places comparable to Antarctica. On this unique interview, the band talk about how they united guitar riffs, percussion, and vocals from each nook of the globe, constructing a robust testomony to collective creativity. In addition they reveal the non-public passions that impressed them, the logistical complications they overcame, and the way they saved every monitor centered regardless of numerous geographical obstacles.
INTERCONTINEN7AL, welcome to A&R Manufacturing unit! Firstly, we’d like to congratulate you on being the primary and solely band to document unique music throughout all seven continents together with your EP, World Over! What impressed the daring intercontinental undertaking?
Hi there A&R Manufacturing unit, that is Matt Smith, founding father of INTERCONTINEN7AL. First off, thanks a lot for taking the time to interview us about our undertaking! The seeds of the group have been planted again in 2020, out of sheer necessity relating to sustaining music collaboration and creativity through the onset of COVID. Members of the native Columbia, MD band Toast, comprised of myself, Jamie Miller, Ben Gaither, Emily Betz and visitor singer Becca Drayer, searched for methods to proceed working collectively through the pandemic.
After some on-line looking, I discovered the app BandLab, and began testing out importing guitar concepts and riffs, whereas Jamie tried out recording some drum tracks. Afterward, the band acknowledged the potential of BandLab’s public neighborhood and determined to publish inside tune concepts – making them “forkable” and labeling them with hashtags (ex. #needsbass) in order that any BandLab person can then add their concepts in the event that they so want. I posted an Alice in Chains Unplugged impressed acoustic tune thought of mine, and inside days, a number of lead/concord vocal submissions have been acquired, together with North America’s Hope Grey’s backing vocals and South America’s Gustavo Prida’s lead vocals (sung in Spanish), reworking my tune thought referred to as Aslin into No Somos De Este Lugar – which ended up on our self-titled debut album. The band continued this course of, the place I posted a blues thought between myself and Jamie for exterior contributors, and this quickly developed into the tune After I’m Gone, with Robert James Shoveller from Australia on lead guitar. Issues shortly developed from there…
Your EP is irrefutable proof that geographical borders have gotten more and more irrelevant within the music business. How did you set the undertaking into movement?
As I discussed above, we started to unintentionally create these musical connections via the app, and it was a really thrilling second for us. Within the late summer time of 2020, I vividly recall being in my yard in Columbia, MD when a lightning bolt of an thought hit me: how about our band borrows the methodology of the Sonic Highways document that Foo Fighters launched (creating music with native artists from cities throughout the US), and taking it to the subsequent degree by inviting much more worldwide musicians and making an attempt to incorporate each continent. I made a decision to name it INTERCONTINEN7AL, stealing the 7 within the identify after the band Software’s tune “7empest”. I began hitting the pavement, so to talk, and tried to fill within the blanks when it got here to what continents weren’t already represented in our present songs.
How did the method of assembling musicians from totally different continents come collectively? Did you have already got connections worldwide, or was it a matter of looking for out the correct collaborators?
For the remaining members, I messaged mates, former bandmates and household who have been fellow USA musicians (i.e. bassists Devin Heritage, Alex Burke), and leveraged BandLab’s Discover and Creator Join options to focus on by location in addition to instrument kind to attempt to discover new potential collaborators for our undertaking (i.e. guitarist Josh Pearlson of Africa). I acquired type of nerdy and researched musicians’ profiles that our bandmates have been following to see who these of us have been collaborating with, to develop our community. One noteworthy addition to the group was after I acquired a notification in BandLab that Marcin Nawrocki from Poland favored considered one of my unique tune concepts, Albatross Flight. I reached out to him after getting that discover, and over 4 years later we’re speaking each week and he has contributed an unlimited quantity to the group, each through music concepts in addition to manufacturing, mixing, and mastering. However there have been so many incredible musicians that we now have added to the group through the years, every one has a novel “origin story” as to how they have been launched or referred to our band.
How did you make sure the authenticity of every continent’s contribution whereas sustaining a cohesive sound?
Glorious query – I feel the important thing ingredient right here is constructive dialogue in regards to the course of, and what the objectives are for the ultimate product. For instance, if I’m importing another rock riff, after which share it with the group, I’ll counsel some melody or lyric concepts in addition to what normal course I feel we might wish to take the tune. That being stated, some of the thrilling issues about this band is seeing bandmates hear an thought and interpret it in a completely totally different and surprising mild, after which contribute one thing completely magical and in contrast to something I used to be anticipating. Permitting your self to be open to new concepts and artistic journeys is a pivotal side of this whole course of.
How have been the tracks composed and recorded just about?
BandLab was the core platform utilized to create the tracks. Mainly, each tune thought would begin as a undertaking in our band’s library. Anybody within the group can add an thought – which may very well be recorded on their laptop computer and even their telephone – utilizing a DAW or residence studio software program utility. For me personally, I all the time would use BandLab’s Studio to import concepts or document them immediately from my telephone. As soon as an thought is uploaded, it’s obtainable to anybody within the group so as to add their concepts…so mainly opening up the “studio” on their machine of alternative, after which including a brand new instrument or audio recording monitor. As soon as a brand new monitor is added and saved, a brand new revision is created within the tune undertaking. This enables for unbelievable model management, and for limitless artistic freedom as a result of no earlier thought is ever erased or written over. The truth that BandLab gives a multi-track digital studio that may be accessed by a bunch of individuals nonetheless blows my thoughts to this present day!
Incorporating instrumentation from Antarctica is groundbreaking. Are you able to share the way you managed to incorporate sounds from such a distant surroundings?
To seek out these two musicians from Antarctica, I researched Wikipedia and different on-line instruments to find out near 25 energetic analysis stations, after which in September 2020, I emailed every considered one of them to see if there have been any researchers on web site that occurred to be musicians. After some exhaustive efforts, I truly heard again from two analysis stations that stated that they had musicians who can be desirous about taking part, and my mates Aymar de Lichervelde and Stijn Thoolen entered the fold.
Each of those proficient artists have been capable of document their percussion or guitar elements utilizing microphones or their telephones whereas on the station, after which despatched their recordings to me through WhatsApp. I used to be then capable of add them into the BandLab Studio, together with the opposite present tracks for the tune “Manor Hill” that we have been engaged on for the debut album. Since 2020, each Stijn and/or Aymar have contributed to the opposite 4 songs on this World Over EP, to proceed the objective of getting 7 continents represented.
What have been the principle challenges when recording the EP?
I must say the principle problem can be delays in communication between members, however that is anticipated as a result of tasks outdoors of the group. We’re doing this primarily as a interest; this band will not be our full-time gig, and since all proceeds are donated to charity, we don’t earn any revenue from the undertaking. Consequently, we now have to carve out the time to make our recordings. It could take fairly a little bit of backwards and forwards to finalize a tune – for instance, “Butterflies” took nearly 12 months to finalize – however I personally really feel the outcomes converse for themselves.
What do you consider the intercontinental strategy delivered to the EP?
I feel that our strategy was capable of finding the completely happy medium between combining an enormous quantity of various influences and concepts, with out songs sounding chaotic. I’ve to giggle as a result of one reviewer from our first album listened to “Manor Hill”, and said that they “anticipated an instrumental mess, fairly truthfully”, however have been “pleasantly shocked” after they listened. Statements like this make me ecstatic, understanding that we now have made the seemingly unimaginable attainable – a cohesive composition that may spotlight all individuals’ efforts whereas sustaining a united message.
Do the songs on the EP draw from cultural or environmental themes of the continents represented? In that case, how did these influences form the artistic course?
In my humble opinion, I consider that a whole lot of these lyrics are of a extra private nature (or maybe making a fictional story based mostly on actual occasions), versus any normal commentary on cultural or environmental themes. I personally needed the music to really feel real and natural, and never pressured in any specific matter or theme when it got here to lyric writing.
After making historical past with World Over, what’s subsequent for INTERCONTINEN7AL?
We’re already engaged on concepts for Quantity 7, and have additionally simply uploaded a playlist on numerous digital platforms referred to as The Better of INTERCONTINEN7AL, which options the cream of the crop on the subject of our music – fairly a various array of genres which are coated there. A terrific approach to change into ingrained with the group you probably have simply listened to World Over and wish to take a look at extra of our catalogue.
Discover your most well-liked approach to hearken to the World Over LP through INTERCONTINEN7AL’s official web site.
Interview by Amelia Vandergast
