Music Q&A with Between You & Me
Photo courtesy of Between You & Me
Today, Australian rockers, Between You & Me, released their sophomore album, Armageddon via Hopeless Records! In this Q&A, the band talks about the album, climate change, who they would collaborate with if they could, and more! Between You & Me will be heading out on tour in February. You can get tickets HERE.
Congratulations on the release of Armageddon! What does the album mean to you?
Our sophomore album, Armageddon, is underpinned by a string of setbacks and happenstance. The plan was to record our album in Canada with producer Sam Guaiana, and prior to getting into the studio and following a cancelled US tour, we unfortunately had to return to Australia due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Initially heading into the studio, this album was going to be an extension of our prior recordings and was simply the next step for the band.
Fast forward 10 months of lockdowns, ever evolving plans and a complete halt on being a band, the album had a much larger meaning for the band. Long periods of separation as a band, we ended up all creating some special songs that were a lot more collaborative than previous tracks. The overall feeling for ‘Armageddon’ was that given the long period away from growing our music, this may well be the last ever record we wrote and that we wanted to give it everything we had. What we created, we are incredibly proud of and regardless of how successful it is, we know that it is a special record.
The state of the world changed in March of 2020. How do you feel this time period affected the band’s creative process and making of the album?
Planning to record the album in March 2020, we had like 20-30 solid songs and were pretty ‘ready’ to record them. Having to return to Australia and spend a long period in lockdown/isolation, our creative process was initially affected, but to get ourselves out of the self-pity rut, we got productive. Each of us demoed tracks in our homes and shared ideas with each other. Over half of the songs that eventually made it onto the record were written during this period so the silver lining - without the pandemic, maybe the record wouldn’t have turned out so awesome?
What is your favorite song off Armageddon?
The best part about the album is that each of us have a favourite track. Just like our own musical taste, the tracks are actually quite diverse. ‘Better Days’ was the biggest surprise track for the record. The production on this track took it to another level and I am stoked with how it came together. It’s probably my favourite track on the record.
Your single, “Change”, takes a look at the way world leaders have handled climate change. First of all, thank you for using your platform to address the issue. What is one thing you do personally that you would encourage others to do to help fight climate change?
Frankly, I am not in a position to do anything other than listen and learn from those that study the climate. In my daily life, I consciously make ethical and sustainable decisions about what I do, what I eat and what I wear because I think it’s important. What is so frustrating is that politicians are using the climate as a tool to swing voters across from different sides of the political spectrum. Our planet and our climate future is so strongly influenced by political decisions, so I would say that climate activism plays an important role. Speak up about climate change and educate yourself on the crisis we’re in. As a result of increased public pressure, we are starting to see that big corporations are using their ‘green’ choices as a marketing tool. It is important that we vote in favour of science and remove those in power that value capitalism at all costs.
Who has been your favorite artist or band to see live?
There have been so many for different reasons, but for a left-field choice, Lewis Capaldi. He is insanely talented and loves to have a joke on stage. Just love the way that he doesn’t have a wild stage production, but his shows are so engaging.
If you had a chance to collaborate with a musician, dead or alive, who would it be?
I would love to write some music with Harry Styles, then go and have a beer together.
What is your favorite thing about making music?
The wildest part of writing and recording music is that feeling you get when you have a crowd of people, on the other side of the world, singing the lyrics you wrote back at you. Growing up, I never imagined that I’d ever be in a band that got to travel the world, so just being able to do that by making music is pretty special.
We all have our days where it may not be going as well as we’d like. People deal with their worst days in different ways. What helps you get through the bad days? How do you stay positive?
I guess we all deal with those days in our own unique ways, but for me it’s all just putting things into perspective. I am super lucky in so many aspects of my life and I focus on being grateful for what I do have. Keeping productive is also my coping mechanism, so if I’m feeling down, I set a plan on things I can do.
Thank you for taking the time for this Q&A. Any last words or final message for the readers?
Thank you for taking the time to interview us. We appreciate your interest in our band and what we are doing. For the readers, our album Armageddon is out November 19. This is a special album that means so much to us, so we would appreciate it if you gave it a listen and shared it amongst your friends. Love BYAM x