Ascent

Ascent

in English/Manchester/Manchester|English/Uk/Uk 1189 views

Ascent

When did the project begin? and How did you meet yourselves?

The band started in 2010, with Danny (Guitars) Andy (Keyboards) and Tom (Drums) coming together and playing material that Danny had written. Chris (Myself, Bass) joined the following year as we were already acquainted, and we soon began gigging as an instrumental outfit. Arya (Vocals) joined in 2012, as we knew him through some mutual friends, and this has been the line up since then.

What song of yours is the one you like the most?

A Place Unbound, off our latest release, Prelusion.

How do you write your music?

The songwriting process will vary, many of the basic ideas and structures are usually brought forward in their infant form, and then fleshed out in the band room. Equally, a lot of the material has also been written based on simply jamming together as a group and deciding on ideas/motifs that we all feel positive about at the time and then expanding on those. We are lucky in that we are always able to discuss our Individual ideas when it comes to the direction in which the material takes, whether we wish to go in a technical, progressive direction, or if we might wish to strip down what is there and focus on more simple forms of songwriting. Playing music of this nature, its important to take your time with it since it is so layered and intricate, one thing we always do is take the time to make sure the songs are as good as they can possibly be.

What influences do you have?

As a band, the influences are fairly obvious when listening to the material; 70’s progressive rock, modern progressive metal, tech-metal etc. On an individual level however, we are all influenced by much more than that. Between us we have a fairly broad palette of musical influences, from Jazz Fusion like Mahavishnu Orchestra or Snarky Puppy to Ambient Electronica acts such as Boards of Canada or Aphex Twin. Part of the challenge is trying to consolidate these eclectic influences into a cohesive direction for the band.

musicsoundrocks2 - copiaWhat´s the best experience you have had with your project?

We organised a launch gig for the release of our latest EP, Prelusion. We had some friends of ours play too, and the turnout was incredible, we didn’t know so many people liked our band!

What plans do you have this year?

We’ve only done a handful of gigs this year, most of our time was spent preparing the release of our EP. Now that thats done, we have been spending our time writing new material, which is exciting to say the least! As mentioned, we take our time, so outside of the occasional gig, we will be working at our own pace on new songs.

Mention something you don´t like about your project.

I suppose it would be being pigeonholed in a certain genre. People hear loud guitars and heavy drums and instantly label us a metal band. I don’t think we would deny that we are one, but there is much more to our sound than the basic “Heavy Metal” tag, but I suppose at the end of the day thats what those kind of labels are for…

Mention the biggest sacrifice you did for your project.

I can only speak personally, but I missed a Swans gig a few years ago because we were playing the same night….

What band, music project or solist from your city do you like?

The River Versus are fantastic, we’ve gigged with them a few times, they play a strange but wonderful combination of progressive rock and jazz. All great guys, and brilliant musicians! Trojan Horse from Salford, another quirky rock band that have a rare ability to be able to condense progressive music into short, bite-size songs. The Hyena Kill are a very good two-piece, straight up heavy punk band, theres also Ten Foot Wizard who play awesome bluesy stoner rock. Our good friend Alex Chow also has some interesting intrumental acoustic music thats definitely worth checking out. We are blessed in Manchester with a very vibrant, varied music scene.

If your project was a word, what would it be?

– AMAZING


–  Chris, the bass player for Ascent. I am at home listening to Wu Tang Clan.

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