Interview with The Abstraction

I first got into music volunteering at a recording studio in Leamington Spa, recording bands, manning rehearsal spaces and teaching guitar to young students. From there, I was inspired for my love of metal music to start creating my own music, forming a small, local band and gigging in the local bars and pubs. If I wasn’t doing music now, I’d likely be doing something with art. I was the co owner of an alternative clothing and jewellery retailer for a few years, where I designed the t shirts, so I’d likely be in that industry, I think!

I mean, spare time is few and far between nowadays. I work 2 jobs and have 3 children, so my hands are well and truly full! However, I make time every day to either work out at home or go to the gym. Keeping fit and having that me time to have that mindfulness is really important to me. I wouldn’t say my hobbies and pass times influence my music, but my past experiences with life events and mental health carve the way for some of the themes we write about. I’ve certainly got a wealth of stories and experiences most people wouldn’t even believe. And also, the kids are a huge influence. My new single ‘Son’ released in 22/01/24, is around fatherhood, which hits really close to home for me and, I’m sure, will be relatable to a lot of people.

This project started in summer 2023, so it’s really fresh and new! I’ve had a hiatus from the band and music life since late 2015, so it felt like the right time to get back on the horse and create some material that’s completely my own!

I am now located in Rotherham, UK. I was previously located in Warwickshire, so the music scene up here is very different incredibly quiet, in fact. But there isn’t anything particular about the location that has influenced my music, but more the experiences I have had here.

I chose the name The Abstraction because of the definition of the word ‘Abstraction’ meaning ‘the quality of dealing with ideas over events’. This really forms the ideas around the EP ‘Project I’ and what I’m trying to achieve, broadening my experiences into ideas that really hit home with the audience. That’s what I am working towards with every song.

In this band. I’ve not had any shows as of yet. However, in a previous band, my favourite show was supporting one of my favourite bands of all time, Defeater. A really great experience, and being able to introduce friends of mine to the band they also loved was such a great feeling. 

My favourite venue to play at from memory would be The Kasbah, Coventry UK. In my previous band Rise Of Athena, we played our first sold out, headline show, and it was such a great show. I’d love to play there again and revisit the experience. The venue I would like to play is The Bridge Inn, Rotherham UK. Some really close friends of mine own the venue/work at the venue and they strive to keep the local live music scene alive, hosting gigs every weekend, paying the bands, providing accommodation and all shows are free entry. It would be great to be a part of that and supporting the local scene!

That is a really hard question. But the first band would be Unprocessed. they just released their album …And Everything In Between, and it’s so good it literally gave me goosebumps. It’s been on repeat ever since! The second band would be Polaris. I’m a big fan of them, and I think in terms of style it would be a really great match up. And, a band that’s no longer together, LetLive. Another one of my favourite band of all time, and it would have been an absolute honour. And again, that unique style would have been a great pairing for a show.

I think the key for any band really, well, this has always been key for me. Have the facility to track your demos at home, on the road, in the practise room, anywhere outside of your studio time. It really gives you the opportunity to hear things back and take the time to digest and be more creative than just jamming together in a room somewhere. This has always been a part of my writing workflow and, even though this is common practise now, it really does make a huge difference in the process.

Advice to my younger self would be, start learning to play guitar and drums a lot earlier, and don’t take that 8 year hiatus! Not only would I be more proficient in my craft, I’d have been happier staying creative in these times!

In regards to me and this project, get yourself in gear and start. It took me some time to get this project going, umming and ahing whether to do it, when to do it. I should have done this much sooner.

My release ‘Son’ means the most to me. It’s the featured vocalist’s (SIME of Italian metal band SEVENSENT)perspective on fatherhood, and it really pulled on my heart strings. It’s an absolute ode to my children and will be held very dear to me forever.

Well, Phoenix, the debut single from The Abstraction, is the only one that has been released so far, that came out on 02/12/23, so it’s still very early days for favourites. All I will say is, there’s some really special stuff coming over the next few months with some exciting features from artists, so we will see what the favourites are following that!

The creative process for me always starts with a melody. It will usually come to me at an inopportune moment, and I’ll end up humming it out of tune on a voice note for later. I’ll then get to my work station at home and listen to cord that idea, and start building around that until it all eventually comes together. It then will be send off to SIME to add the vocals and finally to Tom Gittins of Monochrome Productions to mix and master!

Again, my life experiences are a real driving factor to my inspiration and I try and write music themed to the concept, and SIME try’s to achieve the same to make the feel of the song match the emotion of the lyrics.

I think overall, life is full of experiences, and we all have our trials and tribulations, peaks and troughs. But sharing it with the world might connect with one or two people and they will know they aren’t alone with those feelings. It sounds very cliche, but that’s what I try and achieve. If they connect with just a few people, then I’ve done what I set out to do. 

Haha. Well, this is a big part of why I’m currently working alone. I can create something that’s unapologetically me and have full control over the sound I create. And it’s going well so far. The time will come where I form a full band, so I will cross that bridge when I come to it!

The immediate future, my second single ‘Son’ will be available on all streaming platforms on 22/01/24. Another single will be very shortly following, and the plan is to have the EP, ‘Project I’ wrapped up by summer, with a release show to be announced.

Following that, I’d really like to form a full band and properly tour my music, and hopefully go on to create an album of work following this EP.