As Tone Deaf reported earlier this year, Northlane and In Hearts Wake, two of Australia’s biggest heavy music exports, are joining forces for a co-headline tour kicking off this June.
They’ll be hitting the road with their friends in Hands Like Houses and Ocean Grove for what’s sure to be one of the most talked-about heavy tours of the year, but the stage isn’t all they’ll be sharing. In secret, the guys have taken their friendship to the next level by collaborating on a surprise three-track EP with the help of acclaimed American producer, Will Putney.
Chatting to vocalists Jake Taylor (In Hearts Wake) and Marcus Bridge (Northlane), we discovered the joint project’s roots go further back than we imagined.
“We’ve always been in touch as friends both on and off the road and we’ve always respected each other for the music that we’ve created so it was just a ‘hey, one day, let’s do it’ and the timing was right this year.” It’s clear their history is a cherished one as Jake recalls the moment the idea was conceived at a barbecue held by the bands during their 2015 North American tour.
Equinox, both the title of the upcoming tour and EP, is more than a fitting term for the collaboration. “It’s the coming together of two equal forces; day and night, in astrological and astronomical terms so I guess, I mean to me, it very much feels like Northlane is… I’m not going to say that they’re the night and we’re the day but they’re much more galactic, and we feel much more earthy. You put those two things together and you’ve got a bit of a harmonious integration of two forces” explains Taylor.
So how do 10 very different musicians from two very different bands work together on such an ambitious venture and produce work that is mutually agreed upon? Well, in this scenario, the process was quite a natural one. In fact, Marcus speaks quite fondly of just letting the creative juices flow. “It wasn’t so much like we picked songs that we put aside to put forward for this project. We both wrote the skeletons of some songs and from there, everyone just started chucking their pieces on it. I think both bands are well represented in the songs in different ways.”
With each band member adding their own influence to the tracks, creative differences would surely create conflict but from Jake’s positive reflection, it appears that was hardly an issue. “We’re all very different. It’s a mixed bag. Everyone knows what a finished product is. They know what it takes for it to get home, to bring it round; people just have different ways of getting it there, how they produce things and different ways of going about it so you’ve got to kind of just sit back and let someone just do what they do.
“Northlane obviously produce amazing tracks and albums and you know that they can bring anything home so it’s just sitting back and having that trust to watch how they do it and vice versa. It’s a good learning curve for us creative people.”
This artistic trust is clearly demonstrated when he notes that Northlane guitarist, Jonathon Deiley has developed quite a reputation for perfectionism, but it’s a creative process that clearly works well for both him and his craft and is certainly respected by his friends, as Jake went on to explain “I got to witness Jon’s methodical and detailed approach to how he wants things done, but I believe in his genius so it’s nice to just let him do what he does.
“I’ve heard he sits in a corner and says “nah, you’re not going to hear anything ‘til it’s at a place where I need it to be”. I’ve heard that a couple times, it’s no secret, but he’s a genius. I shouldn’t tell him, shouldn’t even get this in an interview – don’t want to tell him he’s a genius, he’ll get a big head but he’s good at doing what he does, let’s just say that.”
[include_post id=”475651”]It’s universally acknowledged that both bands have reached great heights with their music. Northlane’s latest release, Node, debuted at #1 on the ARIA chart while In Hearts Wake landed at #2 with Skydancer and they were rewarded with ARIA nominations for Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Album, with Northlane only just beating In Hearts Wake to take home the award.
While they may have perfected their individual sound, Marcus assures us we certainly shouldn’t have any expectations for this collaborative record. “I feel like we were able to experiment a bit more being a project for both bands than we would if we were pigeonholing either a Northlane sound or an In Hearts Wake sound.”
The beauty of embarking on such an experimental project is the lack of stress surrounding it. “It’s a lot less pressure – it’s not an album, it’s not your number one thing, so we got to have a little bit more fun with it and having Will Putney come out to Australia and record this made it a whole lot more comfortable and almost like a bit of a holiday.”
The EP was released yesterday via UNFD and their June tour will feature sets from each band as well as a set featuring all 10 musicians performing Equinox in its entirety. No repeat collaborative performance is planned to ever take place so this is one unique moment in Australian music that should not be missed.
NORTHLANE & IN HEARTS WAKE NATIONAL TOUR DATES
Friday, 10th June 2016
Metro City, Perth
Saturday, 11th June 2016
Thebarton, Adelaide
Sunday, 12th June 2016
Festival Hall, Melbourne
Friday, 17th June 2016
The Tivoli, Brisbane
Saturday, 18th June 2016
Luna Park, Sydney
