Long Distance Calling Speak To Stereoboard About Their Forthcoming Album 'The Flood Inside'
Friday, 22 February 2013
Written by Ben Bland
Stereoboard spoke to Long Distance Calling guitarist Florian Füntmann about the band’s new album, their recruitment of a full-time vocalist and touring plans...
Well the most obvious question I suppose, to start off with, is why you guys have decided to make the switch towards having a full-time vocalist ahead of your new album. What was the thought process behind that?
We never really felt as an only instrumental band. We were just a rock band without a singer. In fact, when we started the band we were actually looking for a singer but no one was found to fit in so we decided to start without vocals. When the idea came in mind to work with Marsen he was the one everyone in this band felt comfortable with. We knew him before and he fits in perfectly. We wanted a singer who is not only a singer but able to play other instruments as well and to use his voice as an instrument to be put on top of our sound. We simply felt that it was about time to make a little change for LDC. We´ve always been a band which has developed with every release and this time we developed a bit more than before.
Do you feel that, especially with your penchant for having guest singers, getting a vocalist was perhaps something that was always going to happen at some point?
We always said: If we find someone who fits in we will not deny him. I'm very happy that we have the chance now to open a new chapter for LDC.
How did you go about recruiting Marsen as your singer, and similarly do you decide who to ask in as guest vocalists on your records?
We know Marsen for some years. We have been friends with his former band Fear My Thoughts and already toured with him when his band Pigeon Toe was supporting LDC in fall 2011. There was a nice mood on that tour so that was a big part of the decision-making process for us.
When we decide to ask a singer to do some guest vocals for us it has to be someone we really like or has something special. It always takes a long time until we all agree on someone because everyone in this band has different preferences but it always worked out well so far.
I haven’t heard the new record yet. How do you see it as a progression from previous material?
I think it’s like a mixture between the last two albums plus some new elements. The melancholic atmosphere is bit like that of "Avoid the Light" and the heaviness is more like out self-titled release from a couple of years ago. This time we were able to unite all of these elements better than before and managed to add some sounds and styles we had never played before. Beside that I think we managed to improve as songwriters which makes the album more diverse and exciting.
Was the writing process for this record different as a result of you deciding to embrace vocals more?
Not at all! The funny thing is that it always has been easier for us to write the vocal songs than the instrumental stuff so this time the process of songwriting was really fun and fulfilling.
What is the meaning of the album title, 'The Flood Inside'?
The title is no real concept. It´s more of a picture to sum up the broad spectrum of emotions, flowing through every one of us day by day, in all its varieties.
You’re doing a massive tour soon with the likes of Solstafir and Sahg, which is quite a diverse bill. Would you say that is quite representative of your taste and your desire not to be pigeonholed as solely a post-rock/metal band?
Absolutely! We wanted to present an interesting and different line up for this tour that was not expected. Having three post-rock bands on one bill would have perhaps been a bit too boring. As a result we decided we might as well do something different.
People often have a tendency to look at all instrumental rock music as if it’s the same but there is obviously a huge difference between, for example, you guys and 65daysofstatic or you and Russian Circles. Do you think that Long Distance Calling has suffered at all from this tendency in the past?
No, I don´t think so. I think we have managed to create our own personal style within the last years and people know that. We have never seen ourselves as a typical post rock band, just something akin to an atmospheric rock band. The way our songs sound, makes us different to other bands in this genre. I don’t know any other band in the genre with classical guitar solos like ours, for example.
Where do you see the development of Long Distance Calling taking you over the next couple of years?
That’s a tough question. I think we will still do what we want to just like we did before. Also I think our songwriting skills and technical abilities will improve from release to release. Of course we will be a multi-platinum band soon... just kidding. As long as people still like what we do and our shows are getting bigger everything is fine as far as we are concerned.
Thanks very much for your time. Hope to see you on tour in March!
Thank you for your interest.
'The Flood Inside' is out via Superball Records on Monday 4th March. Be sure to keep up to date with the band on Stereoboard with an album review coming next week.
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Well the most obvious question I suppose, to start off with, is why you guys have decided to make the switch towards having a full-time vocalist ahead of your new album. What was the thought process behind that?
