Just in time for the re-release of their late 2015 Chicago second full length ‘10100II00101‘ on Hell Comes Homes label on August 5th, we’re pleased to give you our newest interview with Chicago based sludgy metal experimentalists SCIENTIST, featuring Eric Plonka of avant-garde jazz metallers YAKUZA, Mathew Milligan of MAKING GHOSTS, as well as Patrick Auclair and Justin Cape of TAKEN BY THE SUN. Serving a perfect treat for fans of MASTODON and NEUROSIS, SCIENTIST draw heavily on their local tradition of experimental metal and “10100II00101” is all just staggeringly well done, stretching the original genre a lot, creating a different experience with some help from their special guests, PALE HORSEMEN’s Andre Almarez, Anthony Cwan of WITHOUT WAVES and James Clayton Bowman. It takes many listens to fully appreciate its full craft value. Listen for yourself and read our full interview below.
Hey there guys! So, it’s finally here. How does it feel to have this new re-release out again?
It feels great and we’re really excited! We originally released it at the end of 2015 so they have it released again in 2016 is great! And we’ve been super lucky to work with the hell comes home Records who have been awesome and have been treating us so great!
What’s new, both in terms of the production and packaging?
The production of it Remains the Same but the packing is different in that it’s a double vinyl with new artwork.
How did you team up with Hell Comes Home for this release?
Joel from Hell comes home records contacted us through our Bandcamp and he wanted to release our first album on vinyl and I couldn’t believe it! I thought it was just some whack-job! Turns out he’s not! he’s the nicest guy and again,we are really lucky to be working with him.
Can you detail some of the challenges you faced when embarking on the release process? Given the specific digital times with loads of music, streaming services and free media flooding listeners around the world, is it a struggle to organize a traditional record release?
I’d have to say yes, a lot of bands aren’t even doing any kind of CD or vinyls anymore just because of the work that’s involved with putting it out. We are analog type of guys so we’d rather put something out physical that people can actually hold in their hands and enjoy. Records are like boobs, they look great on computer but I’d rather hold one in my hand…
Ok, so let’s dive a bit deeper into the record. Composing-wise, is the dynamic flow of your impressive creative works carefully architected? How do you go about building your songs structures and deciding whether or not to accept certain ideas?
I have to say it’s different every time, every song, most of the time I’ll bring something down to the guys at practice, will learn it and then we’ll start tearing it apart or adding other stuff. Other times we’ll just start writing a song right then and there. We’re still getting used to each other’s Styles so it’s a give-and-take type of thing.
What was the recording procedure like?
The recording procedure is pretty easy because Sanford is a friend of ours and we just kind of sat around drinking beer and eating ham and did what we had to do. Sanford pretty laid-back like that and but he has a lot of great ideas also. If it sucks oh, he’ll tell you.
What role did your respected guests play in the process?
With the exception of Stavros and James, I wrote some lyrics sent it to the guys and they did the rest. Like, the melody lines etc.they added stuff it turned out great. We did rehearsals with andre from pale horseman but Anthony did his stuff at home and sent it to us.
How satisfied were you with the final product?
I have to say we’re pretty satisfied but if we had to do it all over again I think we would have released half the amount of songs we were released.
How do you feel you have evolved over the years?
Well, this band started out as a two piece with just me on guitar and Justin on drums. And now we have for full-time members and four part-time members so the evolution process is insane with this band!
What have been the most challenging aspects of running SCIENTIST?
It’s always challenging running a band, schedules, work Stuff etc. But by far the most challenging aspect of it so far has been booking out-of-town shows. If people haven’t heard of you, it seems they want nothing to do with you and tend to book the bands they know. It’s really frustrating.
Musically, do you guys have a specific direction in mind when thinking about your next steps? Do you feel the urge to invent new sonic structures, or does it all float for you in certain direction organically?
No, we’ve never really sat down and decided that we wanted to go in One Direction or any other direction for that matter. I think mainly we just want to create music that we want to listen to. As far as Sonic structures go yes, we do feel the need to create those.
Ok, so what are your plans for the rest of the year? When will we be able to catch you guys live in Europe?
We would go to Europe tomorrow if we could, hopefully we can get over there in 2017. As for the rest of the year, we’re writing a new record and playing as often as we can out of town.
What other projects are you working on?
Justin our drummer is in a country band called THE DANCE BULLIES. Matt our bass player is in a band called MAKING GHOSTS.
Both are great bands and you should definitely check them out. I have a doom metal project that I’m starting with some guys from other bands but we haven’t really started yet it’s mostly on paper.
Ok, thanks so much for your time and insightful answers. Feel free to wrap it up with your final words and take care! Cheers from Warsaw!
Thank YOU so much, hope to get to Warsaw as soon as possible!
