Interview: WARM GADGET - RITUALS EP
It's not very often I do a double take with music but with WARM GADGET's 'If only I could' music video, I found myself listening intensely and studying the visuals at least a half dozen times.
This 'Rituals' EP has a brilliant mix of tracks that puts me in mind of a new found NIN or Ministry. Their sound is certainly one I'm glad to have discovered. We spoke to the band about their latest release and their history.
WARM GADGET, the recording trio made up of multi-instrumentalist/ producer Colten Williams, bassist Austin Williams and vocalist/part time instrumentalist Tim Vester has self-released a brand new alternative metal/industrial E.P. entitled Rituals.
The Rituals E.P. showcases five brand new, original songs, as well as remixes by notable electronic artists such as SNOWBEASTS and WITCH EYES. This E.P., which features the band's signature blend of industrial and alternative metal, was released in digital format exclusively to the WARM GADGET Bandcamp page.
For fans of Helmet, Dillinger Escape Plan, Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, Faith No More, and Deadsy.
This new release, 'Rituals' is filled with the band's brand of hard-hitting songs, electronic beats, synth melodies, un-melodic synth chaos and hook-laden, crushing guitars. It also showcases the longing, bleak, dismal yet aggressive lyrics and deliveries that the band has perfected. Colten Williams has topped everything off in the studio by producing an album that sounds crisp, heavy, and intense. The Rituals E.P. also marks the band’s return to writing & recording together after a 3-year hiatus, showing that they have violently shaken the dust and cobwebs off and have come out swinging.
Interview
Q. For those unfamiliar with your band, how would you describe your music, what your live shows are like, and where the name Warm Gadget came from?
Colten: Musically it’s a meld of heavy industrial-ish beats, synths, heavy vocals, and sludgy guitars. Live shows are always morphing but we try our best to sound as close to the records as possible with clips of horror films we’ve scored over the years playing behind us. As far as the name goes I can’t really remember where it came from. I think I just needed a name for the project and I thought it was fitting.
Tim: Our music is a hot pot of sludge that blends bits of everything we have loved (art, music, cinema..etc.) with a generous serving of exactly who we are.
Q. How has your sound and style as a band changed since your 2014 album "Brides" and what changes would you say you are most proud of?
Colten: During the time of Brides we were playing shows with a drummer so we thought we should record those songs the way we were playing them live. We added a lot of electronics and synths later during mixing whereas this record is more like how we started out. Just programming a hybrid of electronic drums and acoustic drum samples. Our sound has gotten a bit more electronic and synth heavy. This record is by far the closest to sounding the way we intended this band to sound in the beginning. I’m pretty happy with how close we were able to get the sound we were going for.
Tim: I think there is more experimentation now- more electronic elements and I feel that we have each, individually become more skilled at our roles in this pairing. I am personally blown away at the levels Colten has reached in the realm of production. I am proud of the sound of this album, and I give him 99.8% credit for that (with minimal suggestions from myself.)
Q. Can you please explain the imagery and story behind the music video for "If Only I Could" and how/if it relates to the other tracks on the Ep overall?
Tim: If Only I Could is, in the visual aspect, telling a blatant tale of love, fear, loss, triumph, letting go and holding on. Finding ourselves, our people and our place in love and life.
The imagery bounces back and forth between all of these, as to never allow the viewer to become comfortable, complacent, content or held hostage by any of them for too long. In a way- it is life: condensed. The things we get mired in, and the things that eventually pass in our lives. The emotions and experiences portrayed are fleeting- just as life can be fleeting.
From a story-telling aspect, every one of these songs shares a common bond of all of the previously mentioned experiences- as those are the “Rituals” that we go through as humans. Every single one of us… all the way back to pre-dawn times, presumably.
Colten: What Tim said!
Q. Tell us about the history of the band. Where did it all start, and what inspired you to start making music?
Colten: Warm Gadget started out as a studio project. I was really wanting to experiment in the realm of Industrial types of heavy music fusing it with horror film score type sounds. Tim and I knew each other from playing shows together in other bands and we had always wanted to work on something together and this seemed to be the perfect project to tackle. Once he started writing to the demos it was clear that we were going more in the direction of actual song structures instead of scoring cues. We definitely realized we had chemistry when it came to song writing.
Tim: It all started in Colten’s head and blossomed outward like some kind of infectious pollen.
Making music had a natural attraction, and it seemed like something I had to do. For me. A way to get things out… a therapy, of sorts.
Q. Which bands have you shared the stage with and which bands would you love to play alongside in the future?
Colten: Tricky, Shabazz Palaces, Fishbone were really great artists/bands to play with. These days I would love to play with HEALTH, Youth Code or Stolen Babies to name a few. I feel our sound and vibe would be a great fit with those bands these days.
Tim: We have individually shared the stage with a myriad of artists… from The U.K. Subs to Powerman 5000. (Still very bummed about a weather cancellation for an opening slot with High On Fire…)
In the future, I would love to play with ANY interesting, unique artists.
If I could timewarp artists ala’ Bill & Ted, I would grab 90’s Ministry, 80’s - Mid 90’s Butthole Surfers, 70’s Bowie, Early 80’s DEVO and The Stooges.
Q. What artists are you listening to most right now?
Colten: I’ve been listening to Disco 4 by HEALTH quite a bit these days. The new Youth Code album is really great. I’ve also been listening to Greg Puciato’s album Child Soldier: Creator of God A LOT. Love that album.
Tim: I’m listening to my previously mentioned timewarp/kidnap list, Alice Donut, The Plasmatics and lot of 80’s New Wave and Pop as well.
Q. What life lessons has being in music taught you over the years, and what would you change about the scene if you could?
Colten: There’s so many life lessons to be learned if you write/produce and play music as long as we have so I couldn’t really list them without a few pages. As far as what I would change if I could would be to eliminate the popularity contest aspect of what music has turned into because of social media. It’s just one big popularity and numbers contest which is really sad. Some of the best artists out there today aren’t even talked about or even heard because they don’t have the social media numbers. It’s ridiculous.
Tim: Make the music you want to make, even if it isn’t going to pave out a golden road in front of you. Give all you can give and expect nothing in return. Enjoy creating and enjoy performing or move along to something else. Scenes are scenes. They are ever evolving. I would like to see heavier music getting more attention, but otherwise, the changing flow of a scene is fine by me. The grass is only seemingly greener until you get there, and your boots tear it apart.
Q. Anything you'd like to say to your fans?
Colten: Thanks for listening and supporting! We have a lot more music and accompanying videos in the works so keep looking for us. There’s a lot more stuff coming.
Tim: As always, thank you for the support, thank you for sharing and thanks for getting on this ride with us. Be sure to thank the people here at ELEKTRO VOX for bringing you cool artists to check out and go tell all of your friends!
Thank you both for your time!
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