Further Earth

Sun 16th Jan, 2011 in Features

Since forming in early 2010 Perth rockers Further Earth have in every sense hit the ground running. Forming from the ashes from two of Perth’s most promising alternative rock acts these guys have an immense drive and focus, spending the first 12 months of the band’s existence writing and building a solid legion of local fans. Further Earth are now on the brink of releasing their debut EP Kingdom, which front-man Ryan Carson was more than happy to share a few words about.

Although the band has only been together a year, you have all come from previous well-established Perth bands (Rise Apollo and Crysis respectively). Did this past experience help you guys in quickly establishing the direction you wanted to head?

Yeah definitely we really hit the ground running, as soon as we formed Further Earth we were straight into writing, rehearsing and demoing. We knew from the get go that we wanted to work towards the release of an EP and what we wanted to achieve with the band. The natural chemistry we have with each other made it all a very enjoyable process with the songs all coming together with relative ease, there is a lot of good vibes floating around!

I think some of that musical chemistry comes from the fact that three of the guys Chris, Mark and Brent have been playing music together since they were 13 or something ridiculous, and Nathan and I have been playing together for five years now which has helped us to skip that initial teething process that most bands go through. In turn it meant that we could work towards a release almost straight away, which was great!

In terms of musical style both are previous bands were considered prog/alt rock so this time around we wanted to do something different than we had done before, we wanted to have a really strong focus on song writing and melody and we wanted the overall feel to be a bit more rock and roll. In saying that though the EP has a bit of everything in there its a bit of a mash up and something of a crossover EP, it will be able to appeal to fans of all musical tastes.

You tracked your debut EP Kingdom at the famed Sing Sing studios with Aria award winning producer Forrester Savell, an extremely bold statement for a band recording their debut, how did the whole thing come about?

Well it all came about around the time we were looking for the right producer for Kingdom. We sent out some demos to Forrester and we didn’t really expect anything to come from it, then we get this email from him saying that he loved the tracks and wanted to produce it. So next thing you know we are over in Melbourne at Sing Sing studios with one of our favourite producers recording our debut EP. It was all a bit of a surreal experience really! The first day of recording we had Shane Wakker of Bodyjar fame lending us some snares, Paul Kelly and Angus Stone in the back studio collaborating, whilst Forrester Savell was producing, it was all a bit crazy but definitely in a good way!

What was the experience like recording with Forrester who has produced for the likes of Karnivool, Dead Letter Circus and Birds of Tokyo, was it a natural fit for the band?

We went over to Melbourne not really knowing what to expect, but when we settled in Forrester made us feel really comfortable and chilled out. I think that’s the thing with the more successful producers is that they are successful for a reason, they know how to put the band at ease and how to bring out the best in them. When anyone asks me how the recording process was I say that it was the most painless recording I’ve ever done!

Forrester was the perfect fit for this EP definitely, He knew how to craft our own individual sound that is unique to us and bring out the best in what we had to offer. And the fact that he believed in us was really important. We all became great friends through the whole process! At the end of it all we are all really happy with Kingdom and the way it sounds and wouldn’t change a thing about it, that’s always a good sign!

How would you describe the sound of Kingdom to someone who hasn’t heard the band before?

That’s a bit of a tricky one! It’s definitely got an up-lifiting summer vibe to it, it has everything in there from the emotional ballad to the all out rock assault. But one thing remains consistent throughout the whole EP it is extremely melodic, melodic vocals, melodic lead guitars and heaps of grooves. There are big choruses interwoven between grooving verses and a ton of emotional climactic points throughout. The best way of explaining would be for the reader to listen here: www.myspace.com/furtherearth or find us on Facebook.

The band’s put together a promo video and making of documentary to support the release of the Kingdom, where can people head to check it out to get a taste of the new release?

Fierce Euphoria

Part 1/4 of the making of Kingdom series

You’ll be launching the EP with two WA launch shows with a bumper lineup, give us the details and a bit of info on the bands you’re bringing along for the ride.

Yeah the EP launch WA shows are Saturday January 22nd at Amplifier Bar. In support are Chasing The Ninth who have had a slew of big successful headlining shows with the release of their EP that was mixed by Forrester Savell, they are a great band with a huge sound that has a great following and an immense live reputation. Their EP is one of my favourite local releases of last year!

I, Said the Sparrow a fantastic energetic live band that are already building up a good following, they have released a single and are touring nationally in March. They are not to be missed! They Feature ex Dekannen members and Tristan from my previous band Rise Apollo

Frighteners an up and coming band who probably boast the most unique sound in Perth, their combination of Dark/Indie/Rock has won them regular airplay on RTRFM with their single. They are about to embark on a launch of their single on March 18th! Plus the singer is so dedicated, he fell off a roof and was in hospital for three weeks and he is still playing the show in a wheelchair, definitely a worthwhile reason to come down early to show your support!

The second show is on Saturday January 29th at The Prince Of Wales, Bunbury
Dual headlining on the night are Hardcore heavyweights Break Even who are playing as part of their national tour coming off the back of supporting Alexisonfire and touring Europe this is set to be huge!

Also playing on the night are I, Said the sparrow

Are there plans to support Kingdom nationally with a trek to the East Coast in the near future?

Yeah definitely, we plan to virtually live on the road this year touring the country as many times as possible! The first of our national tours begins in the second half of April, which will see Further Earth bring over a great East Coast band to tour WA with a run of big shows and then doing a tour run of the East Coast!

After only one year together, already playing some stellar shows and recording a debut EP, where would Further Earth like to see itself in 12 months time?

In 12 months time Further Earth will most likely have recorded and released a single and will be knee deep in writing and pre producing an album. We also will have completed couple of national tours and be keeping ourselves busy as usual!