| |
Features - Interview
 Irepress Conquering uncharted territory Interview by Sean Butze | January 19th, 2007
What do intricate rhythmic patterns, ever-changing tempos, chugging riffs, delicate melodies and a strange obsession with “The Goonies” all have in common? They’re all part of the unique style of Irepress, a rising experimental rock band from Boston, Massachusetts that’s been stirring up the local underground scene over the past few years. Made up of five easy-going, young and talented musicians, Irepress has been a project in development for many years that just recently began making a serious name for itself. Now, with a record label and a new album on the horizon, the band is preparing to emerge from the shadows and prove that they’re an act you’ll never want to miss.
Irepress’s development as a band in past years has been a trying but rewarding journey for the five Bostonians. Originally formed with six members (including two vocalists), Irepress recorded several EPs but struggled to practice or perform when both vocalists left for college in other parts of the country. Nevertheless, the remaining four members trudged on and continued to collaborate and write whenever they could. In 2005, the band self-released Samus Octology, a purely instrumental, highly energized experimental album that stirred up quite a bit of noise in the Boston scene and gave the band a great deal of exposure. 2006 saw vocalist Jarrett Ring re-united with the band, and new songs surfaced at local gigs featuring his keyboard work and occasional shoegaze-style vocals. The band was also signed to Translation Loss Records in December, bringing them into a whole new world of opportunity as musicians. The band is planning a re-release of Samus Octology due out in April of this year, and they have begun recording a new album set for 2008.
Combining a multitude of musical styles and cultural influences, Irepress have developed a sound truly exceeding any concrete classification that must be experienced first-hand to appreciate. Perhaps the greatest aspect of the band’s music is how they build upon typically more somber musical styles such as post-rock and metal yet also incorporate a huge emphasis on rhythm. Their atmosphere is as compelling as Godspeed You! Black Emperor; their riffs as crushing as Meshuggah, yet they bring on an uplifting, true rock n’ roll mood that’s more likely to make you want to dance than cry yourself to sleep or punch someone in the face. We could try to label Irepress in any number of musical subgenres, but even a casual listen to Samus Octology will prove that this band is conquering so much new territory that such an attempt would be foolish and unnecessary.
As they begin to perfect their next album, we take a look atwhat the band has to say about their new sounds and promising future.The band members were kind enough to answer some interview questionsfor us via email. Our questions are listed below, and each is followedby their responses.
SF: Your music clearly draws influence from a wide variety of genres and artists. What do you feel are the strongest influences (bands, genres, etc.) on your music?
Bret (guitar): Our influences are far reaching, yet we all grew up listening to, andenjoying, mostly the same stuff. Personally, I’m a huge Hum fan, butotherwise, we are influenced by anything that sounds good. We keep anopen mind.
Shan (bass): We allshare the love for one similar formula that we seek to develop withinour creation, and that is mixing Beauty (melody) with Brutality.
Sheel (drums): Aside from the music we grew up on and the music we are currently into,I think the strongest influences are drawn from each other. I learnsomething new each practice, writing session, show, etc. from fellowmusicians. An important part of me staying influenced and inspired isexposing myself to different musicians and different writingsituations. We are lucky to have a group of friends (outside of theband as well) that are all great musicians and at any time we can writewith. I am fortunate to play in another band called “The EclecticCollective” which is completely different than Irepress. I definitelydraw some influences from all the musicians in that band as well.
SF: Many of the songs on your latest album, Samus Octology, are very unpredictable, rapidly changing in intensity and tempo, and are often just all over the place (in a good way, of course). How do you go about composing such songs? Does improvisation play a strong role?
Shan: Usually an idea/riff is brought to the table and we build on that.Usually Sheel and I work off each other as a separate entity and lateron mold it into the rest of the music. It usually works both ways.Sometimes the rhythm section will develop the idea and sometimes thestrings will develop it.
Bret: From a technical standpoint, the songs start with one concept andusually end somewhere completely different, we just like to lookforward as opposed to backward when we approach songwriting. There isno improvisation; too much time is spent perfecting tiny notes andprecise drum hits.
Dino (guitar): We start off with an idea or theme or riff that fits the mood that wefeel compliments and appropriately continues the feel of the previoussong... this idea grows and expands in its own way and just as weprogress through the song in length, our grasp of the whole storyevolves while we fish through the sea of possibilities to find the mostsuitable composition, to us at least. Another element that can't beignored is our individual lives and experiences leading up to andresulting from the 'jams.' Certain life events may provoke us to rightextreme heaviness, while others may scare us, or enlighten us to findsounds that inspire and free.
SF: How do you think having Jarrett back in the band is going to shape your upcoming album?
Sheel: In general we are still experimenting with different sounds andinstrumentation. All we can say right now is that the music will remaininstrumental, with the possibility of rare vocals. We have played showswith vocals and without vocals and there is nothing wrong withexperimenting, but overall, we are leaning towards keeping itinstrumental.
Shan: We stillwant to be considered an instrumental band. We want to make it clearthat we brought Jarrett in the band because he had another instrumentto offer to the table and that being keys. It is another added bonus.The keys add another voice to the collage of sound. The vocals arestill a work in progress. We know how bands are categorized by theirsinger, and we just want to make it clear that our music does thetalking and the vocals are just another small layer to the biggerpicture.
SF: How does it feel to finally be signed to a record label? How has it impacted your lives as a band?
Sheel: It feels great to finally have some solid representation for our work.Translation Loss is an awesome label and they seem really excited tohave us on their roster. We wouldn’t have signed with a label that wasnot passionate about getting our music in the hands of as manylisteners as possible. Being signed isn’t one of those things for uslike “Yes! We got signed, now we are all set!” We know we have a lot ofwork to do and are ready to work hard for a label that is going to workhard for us.
Dino: I feel itstrue impact hasn’t hit yet. But i feel that when it does we will all beinspired by the potentials and proximity of our dreams of being able tosurvive in a perpetual state of creativity. It'll hit when we can oneday play in front of a crowd, no matter how small or big, that all knowour music, and the benefits of expelling energy while immersed in it.Nothing beats hearing stories of impacts we've made on peopleexperiencing beautiful things, within nature or during travel times...it’s inspiring and allows us to wonder how many others are 'getting' it.
SF: There has been talk that you’re going to re-release Samus Octology on your new label, Translation Loss. What were the main motivations behind doing so? Will there be any additional features?
Sheel: Yes, Translation Loss will be re-releasing Samus Octology. Re-releasingthis record with Translation Loss will expose the record in greaterways than we could have ever done on our own. All of the artwork willbe revamped by Paul Jeffrey who has done work for Pelican, Mouth of theArchitect, Kayo Dot, G4TV, The Explosion, Buddyhead and more…We talkedabout additional musical features for the record, but at this point itlooks like there will be none. In general, Translation Loss has beenvery cool and understanding about all of our ideas and preferences.
SF: Can you give any insight on your upcoming album? How will it differ from Samus Octology?
Shan: Samus was our process of puberty, in the sense where we wereexperimenting with things, and although we are still experimenting, wehave matured and are capable of controlling and structuring theexperiments in the most tasteful manner.
Sheel: We are still in the midst of writing new material and are testing somesongs out live. We recently did some demos with Stephen Brodsky fromCave-in that came out great. This allowed us to sort of fine tune someparts and give us a better idea of how our experimenting with newsounds are coming along. The new material won’t be released till 2008,which seems like a long time from now but it will give us theopportunity to write more, fine tune what we wrote and eventuallyrecord the material we feel is the best.
Dino: Even with the possible addition of 'vocals', irepress remainsinstrumental, and this next album is far more colorful and instrumentalthan Samus. We've rejoined with a fifth creative force, we're older,and our capabilities have increased.
SF: The band clearly has a strong attachment to Steven Spielberg's "The Goonies." What's the deal with that?
Jarrett (keyboards): When you’re growing up certain things just leave a huge impression onyou. We have all been friends forever and we all have a greatappreciation for the film classics like “Karate Kid,” “Spaceballs,” “Back to the Future,” all the movies that told you to go your own way. We are basically just paying tribute to the parts of our childhood that made us who we are.
SF: As for playing gigs, you typically haven’t strayed far from your home scene in Boston. Does the band have any plans for a larger tour with the release of your next album?
Sheel: For years we were kind of “locked up” in school so we couldn’t focus ongiving Irepress the time it deserves. But from here on out, we arelooking to get on the road as early as next summer. No touring plansare set yet, but hopefully that will change soon. We are talking to ourfriends in Kayo Dot about possibly doing something at the end of nextyear, but nothing is set yet.
For more information on Irepress, check out the following links:
http://myspace.com/irepress
http://irepress.net
http://www.translationloss.com All photographs by Jim Pearse & Sean Butze
|
| 
|
