interview with Sons of Alpha Centauri
Yeah, me and Marlon have played together in a couple of bands before 'Sons of Alpha Centauri' called Pariah and Dead Girl in the Water. Marlon left Pariah in 1998 and while we were doing DGITW we decided to form SOAC which was in July 2001.
Stevie B has been on loads of bands in local area and has usually played in hardcore bands. We'd see him in bands like Whisperkill and Koresh when we were still at school. He was someone that me and Marlon wanted to work with since we formed the band and he joined in 2004.
Blake has always been involved in music and worked with Stevie B on the Negative Noise Orchestra. Stevie B recommended that he join SOAC and that he could bring an extra dimension to the band. Blake added the final piece of the band in mid 2004.
How is it that you started playing music? Me and Marlon used to hang around in the music room at school. Marlon actually took music for a class but I just used to hang around with him and push the distortion up on anything I could get ahold of. Eventually little bands would form around the music class and we would all jam. Then we’d hum the riffs / tunes in the lessons through the afternoon.
What are your names? / Who plays what? / How old are you?
Nick Hannon / bass / 30s
Marlon King / guitar / 30s
Stevie B / drums / 40s
Blake / effects / 30s
Have you had other previous members? No. We’ve been fortunate enough to always have the same line up man
Did you make music even when you were young? Marlon has played since he was 5 and was taught by his Dad. I’ve been playing since I was 13. I totally forgot sports once I realised that you could play music into old age but that sports had a limited career.
Where are you from? The Isle of Sheppey. An island off the mainland of the British Isles - it’s quite remote and we like it that way. We’re very fortunate that we can perform and play right next to the beach and by the sea. It helps feeds us mentally and spiritually so that our music is derived from a purely inspired location but one that is central to us and where we’re from.
What year did the band form? It was in a place called Faversham in 2001. Me and Marlon went swimming with our good friend Pete and he was rushing round the water rapids and me and Marlon were like, let’s form our own band. The day we decided to form SOAC we were due to perform with DGITW at the Rainham Oasthouse and it was a terrible show. The guitarist and vocalists were wasted so we were glad we had decided to put together 'Sons of Alpha Centauri'.
What's your style of genre?
Alternative. Experimental. Ambient. Driving. Riff. Rock. We quite the term ‘art-rock’ and ’space rock’. I guess like a lot of band we don’t like having our music profiled but I do understand the need so if you use either of those titles we’ll be cool.
We hate being called ‘post rock’ - damn that is a lame musical tagline.
What inspires you? Space, war and environmental preservation. Essentially the struggle between humanities possibility to embrace the stars and travel beyond our planet and respective satellites but how war seems to be the main preoccupation of the species. It will be intriguing to know if we will ever leave the solar system due to our preoccupation with destroying ourselves. Also, we are collectively interested in how our interaction with natural landscapes and anther-pogenic changes have altered the environment. I am a very keen environmentalist. I work in the field and am keen to interlink that with the artistic and musical delivery of SOAC - plus it interlinks well with the space ideology that I think most of the band relates to principally.
How often and where do you reherse? We play at a place by the sea in Sheerness. We’ve been there since we started and we have a bar built above us which we sometimes use. It’s great to stare out to sea to use for inspiration - it really adds the depth of perception and concept to our music which is so critical.
How have you developed since you started with the music? I think that we have all grown as musicians. Marlon is a grade 8 guitarist with a diploma so he is the highest talent in the band. I write most of the songs with him and I usually bring the main drive and pace of the song. So, I’ll write the main riffs on either guitar or bass and then Marlon will modify and enhance it and add the solos. Sometimes, I write with Steve and Blake and that style is often heavier for more intense with fewer dynamics but it works well to add a heavier denser sound to the sound of SOAC. Steve has really pushed himself to work into the band and is now an essentially driving drummer and percussionist. I think that the musician who has developed the furthest is Blake - his skills when harnessed really give SOAC an exceptional dimension. He hears and add things so subtle and sublime that it makes working and performing with him a sonic pleasure.
Are you looking for a booking agency, and what are your thoughts around that? We have a booking agency for a time - Manus Booking. We don’t really need one though as we play so few shows. We do like playing the Camden Underworld in London though - so when we play we like to play there. We played there in 2014 we did a 75 vinyl pressing ’Camden Underworld’ version. Quite a few the staff and the managers there wanted copies so we have a good rapport with the venue.
What was your first gig like? It was a local show in Sheerness in 2004. The local promoters who put us on had been waiting prospectively for us to play our first gig for a while so gave a headline slot straight away which was cool. We did 45 minutes and the venue was rammed. We added a full laser and accompanying light show to really push everything for our debut performance. I don’t think that we rivalled the amount we put into that show until we started doing the live performance visuals accompaniment with Ben Brown (who is a long term contributor visually and artistically to SOAC) which culminated with our performance with ‘A Storm of Light’ in October 2010.
Have you had to cancel a gig? Yeah, more than I’d like to. Years ago SOAC were a lot more unreliable than they are now but back then, we were severely under the influence.
Where have you played live this year? In 2014 we played with Karma to Burn as is ritual for us and Brant Bjork which was like the second or third time. It’s always cool to play with friends and musicians whom we greatly respect.
Where do you plan to gig the coming year? No gigs on 2015, possibly gigs in 2016 - depending how the second SOAC album is coming along. It’s such a mammoth project and undertaking. At one point the second album felt like dragging a jeep out of a swamp and not knowing if it was even going to start.
What do you think about people downloading music instead of buying records now a days? We are keen that a physical format remains for collectors and audiophiles - it’s nice to ensure that there is a CD and vinyl release where possible but we have mainly been focussing on vinyl over the past 5 years. It has been part of an Karma to Burn and SOAC 7” trilogy and a series of single releases for both Yawning Sons and SOAC. However, when it comes to legal and illegal downloads then people can do as they please - I don’t expect to be paid for music. Supposed ‘artists’ that do or think that they should be paid are still living in the 20th Century and need to acknowledge that anyone can be an artist so someone simply taking the time to listen or appreciate their art should be payment enough.
How do you think the music industry have changed because of this? Yes, but it is power to the people and not the industry.
What do you think of my work? You are clearly passionate about the music and you have my complete respect for everything you are trying to do.
What have been your biggest obstacles? Getting the first album out was our first obstacles - I mean, I say that but we actually got signed straight away after speaking with one label, which was Sound Devastation Records. They were awesome and they poured so much time and money into it and sometimes I wonder what would have happened if we had waited but I’m glad we did go with SD.
What advice would you give other bands or artists? Try and keep the founding and original members. Stay and be friends with the members of your band and work to accommodate change.
How do you get psyched for a gig? Everyone has their rituals.
Do you have any new material recorded for the second album? We have been in pre-production for the second album since late 2007 when the debut came out. We were delayed as some of the tracks written went towards the ‘Yawning Sons - Ceremony to the Sunset’ album which was a huge mash up of new tracks, ideas, jams, existing track foundations from both SOAC and Yawning Man. Then I started focusing on the vinyl series but slowly we started piecing together the mammoth task of the second album. We’ve got some material recorded and though the project never entered development hell at times it felt that trying to escape an event horizon and still does. The record is anticipated and we realise that - but this is a critical record for the band and we must ensure that the delivery matches the time warranted to conceive it.
What are your web sites?
www.facebook.com/sonsofalphacentauri
How can people reach you? Feel free to mail us through the website. I’ll get back to you - the rest of SOAC are highly unlikely to either respond or communicate. They have entrusted me to accurately reflect and portray their views and wishes which I attempt to do. The rest of SOAC are very private and so if you do communicate with SOAC then I can assure you that it’ll be through myself.