HOLOGRAPH – who’s new around the block

 HOLOGRAPH – who’s new around the block 

Article by Luke Beckwith  

Interview by Damon Miles 

 

Every now and then the local scene receives a fun little surprise. Now, that surprise can come in all shapes and sizes – the coronavirus, a few of our favourite bands ceasing to be, and sometimes the births of new ones. That brings me to the topic at hand - who’s new around the block. 

I’m sure you’ve already read the title and know this is all about Holograph, so I’ll skip the formalities. They have two chilling releases that make me near uncomfortable, but in a weirdly good way. The tracks, namely Hollow Mountain and From Within are paving their own way in ambience and feel – all I can say is that I have yet to hear anything I could confuse it for. What really sets it apart for me is the absolute attention to detail in terms of production. Not to blow steam up anyone's... but the recording and mixing is nothing short of precise, crystal clear and vibey to say the least. It’s a difficult thing to get a great sounding master while maintaining the looseness and nuances of a great performance – and these guys hit the sweet spot. 

That’s enough from me, Damon had a few words with the band – but first! A stylish photo provided by Now Now Just Now! 

 I’d like to start off by just asking what brought you all together into this ‘super group’ of sorts, with all of you coming from a background of highly respectable South African bands, what sparked the match for this band? 

It was purely circumstantial that we formed this band. Due to the lockdown and Warren, Des &NBN Ines living together, this was most likely always going to happen in some shape or form. Warren had been writing material from about late 2019 and by the time lockdown rolled around in the second quarter of 2020, there were quite a few songs they worked and collaborated on. Calvin was invited to join on a whim, the tracks needed some solid bass flourishes and he was just the person. After initially tracking the first two singles on drums, Warren decided to focus on other elements of the music, thus needing a new drummer, and that's where Bergen came in.

As I mentioned, I find your sound to be haunting yet timeless in quality, would you agree?How would you describe the sound? And did it come naturally or was it an intentional decision to create something like this? 

Our sound does have a certain dread to it, like the pit in your stomach. This sound came quite naturally, there wasn’t much thought to it, only an emotional response.

Remember those singles I was talking about? Well there's a third one out now! It's called Microscopic Beings and the anticipation for this one was anything but. This song somehow reminds me of times that never happened. Weird, right? Nothing about this song is ordinary, from creative use of stereo imaging to the magnificent and luculent bass tone. This one is definitely playlist ready! LINK BELOW

Now back to Damon!

You’ve described the music video for ‘From Within’ to be an interrogation of inner peace. How would you expand on this? Aesthetic/Lyrical choices?

It is more an interrogation into the loss of control. Who we blame and how we respond. In the music video we play into several visual or conceptual forms of control, - the Vagabond is the epitome of losing self-control and making peace with it, bearing the burden. The Clay Woman is in control of her surroundings, molding it and nurturing it. The King represents the sense of losing control through others, a loss that is not in your power. The Noble Horseman represents the control of your inner beast. When we get to the end of the song, we show how others may influence your control - the Vagabond entices the Clay Women to lose control by lending his pick-axe to smash all her pots, the Horseman entices gaining control by lending the King fire to burn down his own kingdom.

There seems to be a strong aesthetic choice across not only the two music videos but also the band art. How would describe the aesthetic of the band and how it correlates with the sound and perhaps the name “Holograph”.

Probably much like other bands, we figure things out as we go along and see what sort of influences come at us at the time of creation. So far, we’ve been pretty inspired by aesthetics that are both tangible and dreamy, working with a lot of grainy textures and RGB separation, to give that sense of modern yet dated, technology yet analog...you get the vibe. For these first two singles we chose to go with something that is somewhat dear to our heart, namely the sculptures and formations represented in Greek mythology. We love how they have expressions of either hollow-ness or remorse. It somehow fits well into what we had to say. For the music videos, we love working in momentous natural spaces.

Any stories from the video shoots? What was the experience like?

So many stories! The digging scene in ‘From Within’ was meant to feature a donkey rather than Koba the dog.Due to a last minute cancellation, we had to adapt and found Koba at a biker bar in the Karoo sitting with her owner, Jannis. After a few drinks with Jannis we convinced him to let us use her in the video. She was really well-trained and a blessing in disguise. The last scene of the video was improvised on her behalf We also had to carry about 60kgs of pots up to Red Hill Dam, a 40 minute walk. For the last scene, our dear Paul made the golden throne from an old garden chair in our backyard. And finally Desmond had a month of riding lessons to tackle the majestic scenes he did. Some inside info for ‘Hollow Mountain’, it was shot at double-time and slowed back down. Warren having to ‘rap’ his lyrics at double the speed was pretty wild.

Although they are the new kids around the block, each respective musician carries mountains of experience. Julia Robert, Runaway Nuns, Dangerfields... starting to ring a bell? So rest assured, these guys have some serious blood under their belts. Now, let's see what else the band had to say so you can close your laptop and give them a spin! 

 “Hollow Mountain” is a lyrical debut for Warren, what can you say about the meaning behind these lyrics? What was the recording process like?

The recording session for ‘Hollow Mountain’ was during the same time as ‘From Within’, tracked at The Fresh Meat Studios. We had done quite a few vocal takes for the song at the studio but actually ended up going with the demo take sung through an SM57. There was something special about that raw take. The lyrics are about living up to expectations while feeling empty inside.

What does the future hold for ‘Holograph’? Shows/releases, etc.

Right now we’re just working on our studio releases. With live shows out of the question for what seems like another year, we’re not in a rush to get onto any stages.

Finally, if each member could just mention something they regard as their greatest talent/skill outside of the band?

Ines is an excellent DIY hairdresser.

Bergen always gets the water to concentrate balance in a glass of Oros really pretty good

Warren has an orange belt in Karate

Desmond can tie a knot with one hand

Calvin is ranked 78th in SA for Rocket League

Well there it is, a peak into the minds of the creators of Holograph. Go stream them now and maybe in a future article Bergen will share the secret behind the perfect Oros... 

Cheers and love!

Luke and Damon from Dystopia :)

https://www.nownowjustnow.com/holograph

https://www.facebook.com/holographband

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACWT3MF4wOk&ab_channel=HolographBand

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qy8OjSfPoVA&t=5s

https://open.spotify.com/album/10bzybdsKC6xMu9bh8B9dl?si=QtqzdN_jRO-gV2vWoK1FZg