Aaron Turner

 

Isis

Interview by Cameron Edney

 

Earlier this week we had the pleasure of catching up with Californian based heavy rocker Aaron Turner from the kick-ass ISIS to discuss the band’s latest album ‘Wavering Radiant’, being a part of the Soundwave Festival line-up for 2010, Aarons thought on photo shoots and much more! 

Sit back as we walk down the ‘Hall of the Dead’ with Isis vocalist Aaron Turner!

 

Hey Aaron, it’s a pleasure to be speaking with you today, let’s kick off the interview discussing the latest Isis album ‘Wavering Radiant’. The album was released back in April and features some of your finest work to date! Looking back over the recording process is there anything you would have changed or wish you had done differently? 

 

The process itself was great and i can't think of anything in retrospect that i wished we'd done differently. That said… sometimes it takes me quite a while to gain full perspective on a completed album and that can take years.... I also haven't listened to the album much since we finished it, I’ve just been living with the live versions of the songs during all the touring we've been doing to support the album. There are sections of certain songs that i now have reservations about, but the same can be said of my feelings about just about every song we've ever written. For the most part though i feel this record is, sonically speaking, my favorite since ‘Oceanic’.

 

Just like your past work the new album is also very much “theme” driven. When it came time to write for the album, did you guys go in with a clear vision of what you wanted to do or did it all unfold as time went on?

 

Oh, I don't know that we've ever set out to create a specific kind of album when commencing the writing process… I think our goals were much the same as any other album - that is to create something that is a unified whole, satisfying on a musical and creative level, and more than a reformulation of past ideas and concepts. I think as the writing process evolves we begin to have a clearer picture of where an album is going and start working in a more focused fashion towards that end; but I’d say it is as much and intuitive process as it is an overtly conscious one!

 

I would imagine that when it comes to recording concept albums, you would spend much more time in the studio adding sounds and various effects. How much time did you spend in the studio on this one?

 

Actually, there really isn't much that's done in the studio that isn't worked out before hand. There's always a few different things we'll try out given the time and we spend as much time as we can refining our basic sounds, but when it comes down to it we don't leave much up to chance when heading into the studio. This particular album took about a month from beginning to end including the mixing, and I feel this is just about perfect for us! It's enough time to really get everything the way we want it, but not so much time that we over think things and clean the recordings to the point of sterilization.

 

 

 

Tool’s Adam Jones wrote and played on the album as well, which must have been amazing! Tell us about the experience of working with Adam, his input and opinions on the tunes?

 

The experience with Adam was totally relaxed and informal as we've known Adam for a while and knew he appreciated our overall aesthetic, and that we could trust him to add something appropriate to what we'd done. He had no input on the composition of the songs themselves, only on the individual parts that he contributed. After his parts were complete we worked with Joe [Barresi] to weave Adams parts into the mixes in such a way that they were complimentary to the foundational songs without being distracting.

 

Aaron, the last album ‘In the Absence of Truth’ was co-produced by the band along-side Matt Bayles and this time around you guys went with Joe Barresi who has done some amazing work with L7, The Melvins, Tool and Kyuss to name a few! Why did you guys choose Joe for the new album and more importantly why did you guys decide to stay away from the production side of it all together?

 

Well, actually this record is a co-production with Joe, just as our albums with Matt were… I'm not sure how it's been construed otherwise? We are very hands on with our music and while we trust the producers we work with we have ultimate control over the compositions and end results. The reason we worked with Joe was largely because of his work with other bands in the past including some of those you mentioned such as The Melvins, but also Enslaved, Tomahawk, Tool, Queens Of The Stone Age, etc. Joe seemed to have a knack for capturing the energy and depth of heavy bands and a desire to go beyond the basics of typical rock recordings. In addition he seemed really interested in working on our music which is another important component when we choose someone to work with.

 

It had been three years between studio albums… after constant touring was it hard for you to get motivated to get back into the writing and recording mode?

 

Oh, it wasn't hard to get motivated to write, it was just hard to find the time and to come together on the songs, at least from the outset. The writing process takes more time and effort with each album and this one was no exception in that regard!

 

Let’s talk a little about life on the road… Going right back to the bands first ever live shows, can you remember the hardest time you had as an opening act?

 

Oh, one of the best and worst opening slots we’ve had was a one off opening for Cradle Of Filth and Usurper in 1999. The audience hated us, probably more than any other audience i can think of. The entire front row turned their backs to us while we played, which for us just added extra incentive to inflict aural violence upon them. I think there were about 2,000 people there and we managed to sell one T-shirt and two CDs - all of which I’m pretty sure were to one guy.

 

 

 

 

Oh wow man, now that’s what you call a tough crowd… On a more positive note, next year we will see Isis touring Australia as part of the Soundwave Festival Bill alongside bands like Faith No More, Alexisonfire, Clutch and Jane’s Addiction to name a few, will you be putting time aside to check out any of the other bands throughout the festival?

 

It’s hard for me to enjoy bands in festival settings sometimes, but at the very least i plan on catching a bit of Faith No More, Baroness, Meshuggah, Clutch, and Anvil.

 

Mate, the Australian fans are dying to know, will you guys be doing your own shows while you’re here or will this be strictly a festival tour?

 

We are definitely planning on doing a handful of headlining shows while we're down there and are working on solidifying those at the moment.

 

That’s fantastic news! Aaron, are you a fan of playing on the larger festival bills or would you much prefer the smaller more intimate venues, no doubt both have their advantages!

 

I would say I prefer the small venue setting almost every time. We’ve had some great experiences playing festivals and opening for bands in bigger settings, but for the most part intimate contact with the audience is always preferable.

 

I can understand that but there’s no doubt that when you’re playing on the large festival bills such as Soundwave, it can be a fantastic way to expose the band to a lot of people who may have never heard you before … for those punters attending Soundwave that plan on checking out Isis… in a few words how would you describe the band live and what can the Australian audiences expect when you hit the stage?

 

I think at our best Isis is a representation of what it means to be alive and all the joy and suffering that goes along with a life consciously and fully lived. We are in a simplistic sense a rock band, but we also strive to create a fully immersive and atmospheric presence and shared space when performing music live. This isn't always achieved and can prove difficult in the festival setting so I encourage anyone who wants to experience our music to the fullest extent to attend one of the headlining shows....

 

Over the years you have had the pleasure of sharing the stage with many great bands. Who has given you the best advice whilst on the road and what was it?

 

I can't think of any specific advice, but i would say bands like The Melvins and Neurosis who have consistently done things their way with little to no compromise have set a great example and helped to navigate the difficult terrain of touring and releasing records.

 

Do you guys have any plans to record any of the Australian shows for a possible future Dvd / Cd release?

 

Not at the moment, but it's certainly not out of the question.

 

Okay Aaron… we have hit the part of the interview where our readers get to find out more about the real you… Growing up, did you always envision yourself as someone who would have a career in music or were your goals different?

 

I never had career goals as such, but my plan from as early as i can remember consisted of combining my dual love of music and visual art into some sort of fulltime pursuit. I never really questioned following this path, i just poured myself into both realms without hesitation. Fortunately for me the things that i love to do and a considerable amount of luck have provided me with the sustenance required to live life at a highly satisfactory level. I would have ultimately pursued both no matter my life circumstances, but it's certainly amazing to be able to be able to do both fulltime.