Their latest album “XENO” welcoming Josh Wilbur as producer -
Tatsuya (dr.) talks about the production and how they brought the album to perfection
After the close-to-a-year’s blank, I have been given the honour to fill in the gap!
Yes, it’s one long year since the last post, but let me assure you there’s been A LOT going on, which I’m very glad to tell you about. So, here we go!
As you know, our band Crossfaith has been touring the world every year, not limited to Japan of course, but the event that was the most important and exciting for us in any capacity of 2015, was the release of our very first major album, “XENO”!
Many of you would have heard it by now, and you can probably tell that ‘it. is. THE. ULTIMATE!’ One magnum opus fueled with fervent passion and spirits of the members! I’m glad to be able to tell you the story of how we brought this killer album to perfection.
It was around the time we finished the recording of the previous single track “MADNESS”, that we started to work on the album. From that time already, we were searching for a new producer who would be able to substantiate the sounds and styles we had in mind, in order to make ‘the ultimate album’. And that’s when we set our eyes on Josh Wilbur.
We saw the impeccable list of artists he had worked for, including a number of power-packed rock bands such as Avenged Sevenfold, Lamb Of God or Hatebreed, and also drawn to the way in which he engages himself in producing powerful music that brings the best out of a band, we knew it just had to be him. His experience with his past engineering works in the pops scene for P!nk or Avril Lavigne, along with his widely sophisticated musical sense also convinced us that, with him, as sure as hell, we were totally capable of making music that was both catchy and dramatic, while keeping in the realm of the hardcore music that we were desiring to deliver!
The 4 months up till the recording with Josh started, was spent writing songs while we toured or spent time in our hometowns. And then, for about a month from when we got ourselves a decent amount of songs, we decided to go into the pre-production works, which took place at MORG Studio in Nara Prefecture. That experience had its own amusement, different from what you get from going on tour, and I personally kind of liked the time we spent there (laughs).
The studio [MORG] is a place with a recording studio on the first (ground) floor, and lodging facilities upstairs. As we brought in our own Roland electronic drums to the studio this time, we were allowed the freedom to drum away as we please, 24/7! Being a musician, to be able to play your own instrument whenever you want to, is sheer joy in itself! So, any musicians out there looking for a studio, do check the studio MORG in Nara Prefecture, -a fully-equipped great facility in a great environment!
Anyway, so once we developed a solid base of the tracks via this pre-production process, we all flew to the US where Josh was waiting for us! The destination for the recording was… -Yes! California! The land and home to Red Hot Chili Peppers!! That mere fact was good enough to make my spirit go skyrocketing as RHCP were the ones who made me open my eyes up to music.
The studio itself was located in Downtown. Fortless Studio, where we did the recording, was situated in an industrial area splashed with lots of graffiti; - a memorable place that looked a bit dodgy but was inspiring at the same time.
The first thing we did after landing in the US was to meet Josh. Discussing with him, we decided to get ourselves in the studio for one week to give the tracks some arrangements. So, after exchanging and combining his ideas and our thoughts, we polished up the tracks to the top forms, and finally ventured into the actual recording!
We usually start recording from the drums, but not this time. Josh had his own ways of recording, and with that, the drums were recorded the last. Actually, this method allowed for fine and minor arrangements until the very last minute while the recording proceeded. Although different from our usual recording process, I am happy to say that the new method has brought perfect results, meaning the perfect piece of work.
The bass, the guitar, the vocals, the DJ and then the drums… Every day, an instrument will be played and resonating, and gradually, sounds of each of them were put together, eventually taking form as fine music. It was an extremely exciting process! Also, the recording of the vocals this time was something that probably brought out the fullest of the Koie’s vocal skills, more than any other recording session in the past.
After making it through to the end of the overall recording, and just about when Josh was getting started with the mixing, we were off on a plane to play at the Slam Dunk Festival in the UK. A good 11 hours in the air, and finally arriving in UK, our stage had changed from the midsummer Californian settings to the slightly-chilly crisp air in the UK. As it was a music festival, Teru had the pleasure of DJing on a separate stage. The rest of the members, including myself, of course went and had fun filming his performance with a GoPro camera (laughs).
The show went fabulously, and we had a great time at the after-party, reuniting with close fellow bands and meeting with new friends. This, actually, was the place that Hiro and Koie hung out with Caleb Shomo, the vocalist of the great band Beartooth, for the first time, and who knows, to our delight, that eventually led to our pleasure of welcoming him as the guest vocalist on the track “Ghost In The Mirror" on our album “XENO”!
On our way back to California from the UK, Josh contacted us saying “Guys, we have the first mix of “Xeno” (the track). Come on over to my place to check it!” So after landing, we went straight over to his place. You know this thrill you get when you are climbing a mountain, and you know that you are only a few steps away from the summit where you know this magnificent view awaits you? The excitement on our way to his house was just like that.
So, we all sat down in his studio and played the mixed “Xeno”. The track started, and we listened carefully, eyes closed, drinking in the newly completed track. And by the time the track ended, we were completely, deeply and truly moved! We embraced each other in an ecstasy of joy, enjoying the satisfaction and great sense of accomplishment, also simply overjoyed with the completion of a piece of music all of us worked so hard for. There were even members with tears flooding their eyes! It is a good long 9 years ever since we started the band, but never had we felt such strong emotions, and it was a moving moment that none of us will ever forget for the rest of our lives. Yes, we definitely cannot wait to spread this fantastic “XENO” all around the world!
And this is something fresh from the oven, but we have just officially announced that we will be setting out for a world tour with this new album “XENO”! Though only a subset of the shows have been revealed, I am happy to say that we will be starting the tour from here Japan, in 2016.
We will be playing in a total of around 80 cities and towns around the globe, but we are absolutely flipping out over the fact that we are starting the tour from our home country! We look forward to seeing everyone at our shows!!
Tatsuya
