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Vents is extremely pleased to welcome to our humble pages the best Alternative Rock/Metal band on the scene today, Love Malison; greetings and salutations, gang! Before we begin kicking the proverbial tin can down the dusty road, could you all introduce yourselves to our inquiring readers?
Hey, I’m Ed, I sing lead & play a bit of guitar for the band. I’m Adam Jones and I’m not the guitarist from Tool! I’m a drummer from North Wales that made my way down to London a few years ago. I’m Thamer Shakarchi & I’m on lead guitar. And I’m Spiros Kourakis and I play bass for the band.
Congratulations on the new single Pseudo which just dropped 13th June! Ed, what was the genesis of this rousing tune?
It was the first thing we wrote in a room together, everything had all been kinda written during lockdown on a laptop, based on different ideas until then, so it felt like it had much more of a weight of authenticity as a song by like a “band” in the old school sense. It had this cheeky bounce to it, and I had this name ‘Pseudo’ I’d wanted to name a song for ages, which kinda lead to the sarcy almost rap-metal lyrics, I was gonna change them at one point but it just felt like it totally lost something, so I stuck with ‘em.
Thamer, who was the band’s producer on Pseudo and what did that collaboration look like in the studio?
So our producer is this absolute god, Russ Plowman, I can speak for the band and say we’re really greatful to his attention to detail and his passion when working with us, he really helps our strengths cut through and challenges our weaknesses, making us better players. Usually in the studio we’ll record our parts one by one, Ed sits in with us, trying to get the best and sharing in the moment feedback that helps build the parts. We practice the hell out of our songs so we know exactly what we’re going to play in the studio, that doesn’t stop the occasional gem from being discovered in the moment though. Russ has known Ed since he was a teenager, so that context gives him a lot of insight into how to get the best out of him, but he’s also a drummer, so him and Adam spent a lot of time on crafting and honing the kit sound, while also admiring the natural sound the drums themselves provide (which we’ll get to later)
Spiros, have you been surprised by the nigh unanimous praise that has been heaped on Pseudo from both fans and critics alike?
I guess so. I think I speak for the whole band in saying that this is one of, if not the strongest in our repertoire and also our favourite to perform live. We’re so pleased to hear that the track is being enjoyed as much as we enjoy playing it. It is quite a banger to be fair.
Adam, we totally pick up on some brilliant grunge music callbacks on Pseudo. Oft-times Love Malison is singled out by us in the media as being “Alternative Rock mixed with a healthy dose of Metal,” but is it fair to ask what sort of an influence the grunge music scene from the 1990s
has had on Love Malison?
Well like you mentioned, the mix of alternative rock and metal that you identify in pseudo are two of the building blocks of grunge. The opening riff definitely aims to channel the fuzzy and sludgy simplicity that Nirvana crystallised. But moreover, echoes of early Pearl Jam days can be identified in the guitars. The backbone of drums and bass maintain a series of powerful gestures throughout, which like in grunge, state their presence very clearly, without drawing too much attention to themselves, keeping the rocking chair-like swaying momentum constant.
Ed, the music video for Pseudo strikes such a perfect tone and balance, complimenting and bookending the single perfectly. What all went into producing this brilliant music video and how much of a hand creatively did you and the other members of the band have in driving the
direction of it?
It started a little more high-concept, & it kinda seemed like the video we wanted to make was gonna require a hell of a lot more money than we had in the budget this time, so we figured this track is always the best one live – why not just capture that this? Filmmaker Sam Rockman came on board following our collab on our previous single ‘Cabin Fever’. He got what we were trying to do, and was able to capture the live and candid BTS footage. His camerawork & editing struck that balance between a raw and intense run and gun style, a descendent of the Dogme 95 movement, and also this modern, polished aesthetic.
Thamer, how do you feel about some of the comparisons you all have received to the legendary band Faith No More? And how big of an influence has that group been on you personally?
Pretty humbling to be honest, makes me blush! It’s an honour to be compared to rock titans with a huge fanbase and their body of work deserves serious praise and recognition. Angel Dust in particular is such a pioneering, sonically diverse work that I’d go so far to as to say that any musician could learn something from this album. Funnily enough, we may well be in the process of adapting a certain track as a cover.
Spiros, with the new single heading to the top of the chats with a bullet, can fans look forward to seeing Love Malison on the tour circuit in the coming weeks and months?
I like your optimism! We’re planning to play more elaborately outside of the capital in the near future, we only really came out into the world about 9 months ago, so it’s all still quite new.
Adam, what do you hope fans walk away feeling after giving Pseudo a spin?
I guess I have no specific hope, as long as they can establish some form of connection with the listener. Be it as a cathartic release of energy, an escape from their day to day thoughts and concerns, or something else entirely, I’ll be happy knowing someone gets something from what we’re putting out there.
Ed, how did you all get together as a band? Is there a Secret Origin story you could share with us?
The old origin story, eh? I’d bailed on playing in bands & was acting in plays & stuff, one day I happened upon Thamer who used to sneak into my bands’ shows underage, shout out to the Alleycat on Denmark St by the way, RIP. Anyway, I floated the idea of making a new band as I wasn’t all that happy doing what I was, & this guy who like could not play guitar volunteers himself, for some reason I said yeah let’s do it & then he went & learnt to play in quite a short period & I started writing these songs, got the others on board & got to working out a set. Then Covid happens. Seriously though, like he couldn’t play! I had probably lost any singing ability I’d had by that point too – Covid was bloody awful, but it did kind of force us to hone ourselves as players, I mean what else were we gonna do?
Thamer, with the release of Pseudo, can we all look forward to a forthcoming full-length LP?
I hope so, if its in the cards then absolutely, we just recorded a bunch of songs with Russ, once they’re all done we’ll decide whether an EP or more singles would be the best direction to get ‘em out.
Spiros, where do you see Love Malison three years down the line? Is there any sort of an official game-plan for conquering the music world?
In an ideal world, we’ll be two or so albums deep with a couple of national tours in the bag three years from now. Any upcoming band knows how extremely difficult it is to ‘make it’ though – you can’t be motivated by money or career stability, you’d be better of going & doing a real job, or opening a business in a healthier industry. So rather than thinking about all of that, we’re simply just enjoying the ride and seeing where it takes us.
Adam, you get such a full and robust sound from your drums! What sort of a kit do you use?
Thanks so much, I’m glad you noticed! I believe it fundamentally comes down to the wood, which unlike the more common choices of maple and birch, is actually an African mahogany, known as bubinga. Bubinga is a very dense wood, which therefore generates deep, dark and frankly phat sound, which I loved the first minute I heard them! It was Deftones drummer Abe Cunningham and his work on Diamond Eyes, along with Mastodon drummer Brann Dailor and his work on The Hunter that both played a large part in my decision making back then. I’d never quite heard such a pronounced, full bodied sound before, and I wanted it! I picked up my 4 piece Tama Starclassic Bubinga kit roughly a decade ago.
Final – SILLY! – Question (for all of you!): Favorite movie about the music scene –This Is Spinal Tap or Almost Famous?
Adam: If I had to choose between those two, Spinal Tap is the trailblazing classic. However, particularly noteworthy ‘music films’ for me would include School of Rock, Sound of Metal and Metallica: Some Kind of Monster.
Spiros: got to be Spinal Tap
Thamer: Uh…. spinal tap of course! My custom marshall’s in the future will have an 11 for each setting obviously.
Ed: I’m gonna be contrary & just say none of them beat ‘Bad News’
