Interview: Dreamwheel
With each release we want to do something fresh and start from a different angle.
Dreamwheel are a new band who consist of Evan Linger and Julia Gaeta and the duo who have featured in a multitude of varied heavy bands such as Skeletonwitch, Cultist, Restless Ghosts and Madrigal now turn their focus and talents onto a more dark pop/shoegaze sound with Dreamwheel. The pair’s debut EP Redeemer has just been released and Gavin Brown caught up with Evan Linger to hear all about it, Dreamwheel and their love of shoegaze.
E&D: Your brilliant first EP Redeemer has just been released. How has the reaction to the EP been so far?
Evan: Thanks! The reaction has been odd. Like not bad ’odd’. More like, I think a lot of people have no idea why people with metal/punk backgrounds are playing pop/shoegaze music. I think there is some misconception that artists from heavier bands are one trick ponies. When we demoed the first Dreamwheel songs, I had a few record labels say essentially ‘stay in your lane, this won’t sell’. Luckily, Greg at Nefarious, saw our vision and realised it is its complete own thing and has nothing to do with any other art Julia and I have previously created.
E&D: Did you feel any pressure with this EP being it is the band’s first proper release?
Evan: Absolutely not. This project is and was started just for the love of the music we both have. If you’re sitting down to write your first release and there is ‘pressure’ then you’ve already pursued it for the wrong reason. A new musical venture is, to me at least, pressure free compared to a pre-existing project with expectations and time lines and monetary motivations. It took us over year just to write the pool of songs that ended up being the Redeemer EP. Refining the music and making great songs is the endgame for us.
E&D: What were the biggest inspirations on the sound of Redeemer?
Evan: We are just going for a vibe not a defined musical sound. There is, under all the static of daily life, this kinda vein of melancholy and sadness and sometimes rare glimmers of hope that maybe only art can fully express. We wanted to tap into that and give the listener the ‘feels’. When we are writing, we know when that moment happens and all the elements come together into something bigger than the sum of its parts. Now, more than ever, every things has become cheap and fast. Pictures, words and opinions are coming at us at light speed from everyone, every direction and screen. Music, and art in general, is one of last places where it takes more time to consume and explore the meanings and feelings behind it all.
E&D: What subjects do the songs on Redeemer deal with?
Evan: Loss and sorrow. More importantly, becoming your own saviour in those hard times.
E&D: How has the band’s sound developed since your demos ‘Wild Days’ and ‘Chain Of Fear’?
Evan: We have a lot of songs, like 40. Those two were some of the early ones that came together fully and ended up becoming our demo tape. The Redeemer songs were also developed in that same time period so they all play together nicely. The things coming together for an LP have a different vibe going on than those earlier songs. With each release we want to do something fresh and start from a different angle.
E&D: Have you got plans for a full-length album in the near future?
Evan: Of course. We are working on that right now and have almost a full LP’s worth of music in various stages of completion. We will get into a studio sometime this year to start recording it.
E&D: Did you choose the name in relation to your ethereal music?
Evan: Totally. The music is like a fever dream of emotions and we wanted to represent that with a fitting name.
E&D: You both came up in metal/punk scenes in bands like Skeletonwitch and Restless Ghosts. Was making the music of Dreamwheel a refreshing to what you have down in the past?
Evan: For me it is refreshing. Heavier music is a great conduit for some raw emotions but it lacks some of the poise that it takes to represent other ones. Working on a project that is less one dimensional is always something I wanted to do.
E&D: Who are your biggest influences as a guitarist?
Evan: I probably wear it on my sleeve with Dreamwheel, but obviously I’m a huge Johnny Marr guy. His arrangements for guitars and the way they play around with each other is gold and I really impart, or try to, the same on my songwriting and playing. Also his work on soundtracks and solo stuff is great.
E&D: With the big shoegaze influence in the music of Dreamwheel, what are your favourite shoegaze bands and albums?
Evan: Like I said, we’re not going for a defined musical genre or sound but the emotions and stuff that get written into the music and lyrics do kinda put us on that ‘Shoegaze’ map. Shoegaze always has this melancholy undertone that kinda hits a sweet spot between like your totally depressive stuff (like black metal) and your classic sad rock song like ‘Under My Thumb’ by the Stones. I really love the Dragging a Dead Deer LP from Grouper. Its like totally hitting on this emotional vibe and staying with it from the first note to the last.
E&D: What was your introduction to shoegaze?
Evan: I worked in a record store for years in my 20’s and of course had that moment where someone much more musically informed than me pulls the ‘’oh you haven’t heard Slowdive before!?’’.
E&D: What have your favourite albums this year been?
Evan: I really liked that Agriculture self-titled LP and a new LP called Vapauden tasavalta by a Finnish noise rock group, Teksti-TV 666.
E&D: What have been the best live shows you have seen this year?
Evan: I live completely in the woods so, none.
E&D: What are the live plans for Dreamwheel going into the new year?
Evan: We want to finally take Dreamwheel on the road this year. We are hoping to do some touring in the EU and have been gearing up to make that logistically possible.
E&D: What have been your highlights with the band this year?
Evan: This EP was years in the making so it is just a really good feeling to finally get it out there and have a first real release associated with the band. We did so much sending demos, flying around Europe to studios, scrutinising mixes and ideas etc. to get this EP done. Being on the other side of that feels good and the intrinsic value of being able to step back and see it, as a whole, feels great.
E&D: What are the rest of Dreamwheel’s plans for 2024?
Evan: Playing some shows and getting this LP recorded. We’re excited to push this project further in 2024.
