Interview: Underdark
When people ask, I always say we’re a heavy band; and if they ask more questions, I tell them it’s noisy, screaming, and horrible – in a good way!
Jody Dunstan spent almost as much time chatting to bands at ArcTanGent 24 as he did listening to their music. Having enjoyed their “ferocious and fantastic” set earlier in the day, Jody caught up with Underdark‘s searing vocalist Abi Vasquez and discussed their unique niche sound, sympathetic political song-writing, and the the success of recent album Managed Decline.
E&D: Hi, I really enjoyed your set earlier.
Abi: Thank you very much.
E&D: It’s the first time I’ve seen you guys. I’ve heard a fair bit, but it’s the first time live. How’s your year been?
Abi: Pretty fucking good. It’s been better than, you know, it’s pretty niche music.
E&D: Sure, sure.
Abi: And even within that, we’re pretty, you know, pretty fancy and melodic. So, you get like, we’re a little bit too soft for the Black Metallers and then a little bit too Black Metal for everyone else. But we seem to have hit a sweet spot with the last album and this year has just been incredible. We’ve been so lucky. Yeah, it’s staggering actually.
E&D: So Managed Decline was fantastic last year, wasn’t it?
Abi: It was.
E&D: I enjoyed that album. Do you think that’s kind of pushed you on a bit? How has the reaction been?
Abi: Definitely, the reaction’s been incredible. I mean, obviously, signing with Church Road [Records] really helps.
E&D: Yeah, yeah.
Abi: They’re the rising stars, so it’s a great opportunity to grow with them. I mean, without sounding like a business wanker, the album is just a huge step up for us musically, and people are feeling that. We sent it to a lot of blogs and stuff who were sort of into the first album, but this one was like, “Oh yeah, we like this one now.” So it felt really good. You know, we’ve arrived now.
E&D: So, what’s your process like when you put together music? There’s a lot going on!
Abi: Yeah, there is a lot. Our guitarists Ollie and Adam handle the bulk of writing the music. Unfortunately, I can’t really speak to the process for them. A lot of work is done remotely. They’ll send guitar tracks to our drummer, and he’ll work out bits for them. Then we’ll come together and practice some. For my part, that album required a lot of research and going to interviews and stuff as well. The story I was telling sort of affects my dad’s side of the family a bit more because he’s from a mining town.
E&D: Okay.
Abi: Well, I mean, I am as well. It was his uncle who I spoke to, and then a bunch of people he pointed me to, because the concept was about the long-term effects of the mines closing and Thatcherism and all of that. So I wanted to get a lot of first-hand accounts of what it’s like currently to be living in one of those old industrial towns that’s been left behind by society – so I could bring something authentic to the sense.
E&D: That’s an amazing story. Is that something that gives you a lot of inspiration? I guess it must be quite frustrating to see how those stories are, it must be quite upsetting?
Abi: It’s heart-breaking really. A lot of the time it overlaps with my day job of working in social care. You hear some shit, but when you’re face to face with someone and they’re saying, “This is my story, this is what happened,” it really disarms you every time. It was a very difficult process to do that and then to make it into a narrative for the album as well. It felt difficult to do that in a way that did justice to the pain that people went through without coming across as exploitative.
E&D: So, you’re telling their story with sympathy?
Abi: Yeah.
E&D: You’ve used a lot of political themes, like anti-fascist stuff. Have you gotten any shit for that?
Abi: Not since I’ve been in the band, but a couple of the lads had some run-ins when we were starting out. I think people didn’t really know what we were about. Then they’d see an anti-fascist sticker on something and might not know what it meant, and then it started a bit of shit. But it never got to a fight or anything. Maybe we’ve been lucky with that, or maybe it’s just good timing.
E&D: I was thinking with the current political climate, it’s probably not a great time to be in that. . . Well, it’s a great time because people need to hear the message, but. . .
Abi: Yeah, I think we’ve been quite lucky in terms of avoiding trouble. It’s not that we’d duck it if we thought it was necessary. We’d stand on principle, but it just hasn’t found us.
E&D: Let’s hope it stays that way.
Abi: Fingers crossed, because I talk a big game, and I can’t actually fight.
E&D: So, you’ve worked with Joe Clayton. How was that experience?
Abi: That was really good. He’s very thorough. There are parts where you feel like the fucking worst vocalist in the world because you get through your take, and he’s like, “Can we just do that again?” Thanks, Joe! But yeah, he really dragged the best out of all of us.
E&D: He seems to have a knack for doing that. It sounds incredible, to be honest.
Abi: Yeah, it’s another one of those things where the stars aligned for us. It’s been a really good few years to be in the band.
E&D: Do you feel like sometimes you need a little nudge in the right direction?
Abi: Yeah, there were some bits where I was trying to sing – I’m not sure if you’ve ever heard me try to sing, but it’s a bad idea. All my talent for harsh vocals has come at the expense of not being able to sing like a normal person. Joe came up with the idea of doing the big-room mic thing – where I stand at the other end of the room to my mic. That’s how we got that slightly echoey, almost screamo vocal sound, which adds a really eerie distance to it.
E&D: So you see yourselves as a black metal band. How does that sit with you?
Abi: I mean, if the shoe fits. A lot of the time, genres are best used loosely. There are bands who are like, “Yeah, we are a black metal band,” and they stick to the formula of octaves, dissonant tremolos, blast beats – that’s their thing, and that’s cool. But we’ve always been pretty expansive in terms of what we want to sound like. We pull from all over the map in terms of influences, so it makes sense that we’re not genre-less but difficult to define. There’s post-rock, screamo, all sorts. We’re a pretty broad church, and I like that we play with different styles.
E&D: I hope there’s less of the gatekeeping now that’s been in metal historically. People are a bit more open-minded – like, you’re a heavy band, and that’s that. No need to pigeonhole into a genre.
Abi: I like that. When people ask, I always say we’re a heavy band; and if they ask more questions, I tell them it’s noisy, screaming, and horrible – in a good way!
E&D: Anyone you want to give a shout-out to? Anyone we should be checking out?
Abi: Well, I’ve got to give a shout-out to Pleiades because they’re good friends of ours. I’m really excited to see Anta: they’re on the last day, which is Saturday – I haven’t lost track of time yet. Also excited for Frail Body as well.
E&D: So good, so good. It’s going to be my first time seeing them.
Abi: Me too, yeah.
E&D: Tomorrow is Glassing, then Frail Body, which is going to be intense.
Abi: I’ll probably be missing a few teeth by the time that’s over!
E&D: And do you have any local bands of the year or friends you want to give a shout-out to?
Abi: Yeah, I want to shout out Hidden Mothers. They’re good friends of ours. Also, Wallowing, Grief Ritual, and Atomck – they are my best friends as bands. We’re warming up to Pleaides as well. We played a gig with them last weekend, and I’m looking forward to maybe putting something together with them in the future.
E&D: Thanks, great to meet you Abi.
