Artificial Language 'Now We Sleep' Interview

Updated: Dec 26, 2019

An interview with Artificial Language regarding ‘Now We Sleep’ which will be released on May 17th 2019

Artificial Language are a sextet from California. They released their debut album ‘The Observer’ on April 28th 2017, which was met with high praise (rightfully so). And now they’re back with their sophomore album: ‘Now We Sleep’.

How did the band form?

Victor and Charlie started writing a new album together. It was originally supposed to be released under Art By Numbers but we decided it deserved its own entity. Then we started getting some of the guys from Charlie’s other band Illudria to fill in the other spots. Shay was a trooper and moved all the way over here from Rhode Island to sing for the band!

The dynamic between you all creates a great unique sound, did this sound form naturally while playing together or did you ‘engineer’ the vibe that you wanted?

We would say it’s pretty natural. While we really do look at everything through a microscope, the general sound and feel is usually something that comes naturally.

The recognizable tone that the band has feels really original, but similarities have been drawn to bands like Haken and Leprous - was this your intention?

It actually wasn’t on purpose. It’s funny cause we never heard of Leprous or Haken until The Observer released, but most of us ended up becoming fans of the bands!

How do you keep your sound consistent through each song?

We think it’s when one or 2 people go off and are doing something a little different there’s usually another member holding down the “original sound” somewhere in there. It’s a fun way to try new stuff while still maintaining that feel.

How long on average does it take you to write a song?

Charlie will usually have the demo written in a week or so. After that, it really depends because every song is different. Some take forever and some are super quick. However we’re usually tweaking stuff all the way up to the recording dates.

When did you start writing ‘Now We Sleep’?

Before The Observer even released. Charlie was a bit tired of how long the whole process was taking to get the first album out, and just needed to get out of that funk. So he started writing a few songs just for fun. Eventually the rest of the band heard the songs and we decided to keep them for the next album.

Was there a clear idea for the album before writing began or did it all develop naturally?

It was pretty natural. Shay had been throwing ideas at us for a while about the concept a while ago and he just molded it into the songs as time went on.

What have been your influences for ‘Now We Sleep’?

There were no particular influences for Now We Sleep, but we’re always usually influenced by what we’re listening to at the time. Bands like The Dear Hunter, The Contortionist, Muse, and BTBAM.

Has the album taken any massive changes along the way, or is it how you expected it to turn out?

The album was actually a lot longer before but we cut out one song and trimmed a lot of the songs.

What’s the writing process like? Has it changed since writing ‘The Observer’?

It’s changed a bit, but not too much. It usually starts with Charlie putting the demos together, then sends it out so the rest of the guys can add their own flare to it!

How did you come up with the narrative for ‘The Observer’?

Victor had the idea for the concept to be about a being that would watch over certain events being played out within the album. Shay came up with those themes and the lyrics behind it, while maintaining the idea of the observer trying to understand humanity along the way.

Is there a narrative or theme for ‘Now We Sleep’? If there is, could you give us a short summary?

The lyrics are about a person who feels unsatisfied with his current lifestyle. The beginning of the album starts with the main character finding an anonymous letter on his doorstep. The writer of the letter introduces himself as a stranger, who has seen the main character in passing at a lake/body of water they both go to escape the worries of their everyday lives. The writer claims they are both very similar and share the same pessimistic views on living. Ultimately, the writer tries to convince the main character that death is the only way to bring peace to their troubled minds, and that he should consider suicide. The main character is hesitant to the idea, but starts writing letters back to the sender (leaving his responses where they both go to escape). The album’s lyrics act as conversations between the two, and towards the end the stranger’s pleas turn into threats.

Is the narrative/theme something you wanted to be clear in the album or is it ‘optional’? Now We Sleep has a more straightforward and personal approach to the concept. If someone gets a different feeling or message from a song that’s OK though. We like how lyrics can be open to interpretation. It’s what makes writing lyrics so satisfying.

What have been the highest and lowest points of producing this album?

Highest points were actually recording the album. We all got to just have a great time now that it was all written and enjoy the tracking process at the studio. Lowest has probably been some of the kinks we've ran into with releasing it.

What is your favourite song on ‘Now We Sleep’?

Our favorite track is Now We Sleep.

If you had to describe your band in three words to a new fan, what would they be?

Heavy rock band.

If all bands were animals, what would Artificial Language be?

More than likely a cat. Or a water bear.

If you have anything else you’d like to add/say, please do:

We appreciate the time you took to write these out. Thanks for the support!

And thanks to you guys for taking this time to shed some light on the album! I for one am excited for it. You can pre-order a digital copy of ‘Now We Sleep’ - (for a criminally low $3.99): https://itunes.apple.com/album/id1458809761?ls=1&app=itune

And if you haven’t checked out 'The Observer', I highly recommend it. Thanks for reading,

- James Carstairs