Originally formed in 2015 as Black Atlas, the Hertfordshire-based quartet – born anew as Erronaut – are thrilled to announce the official worldwide release of their debut album, The Space Inbetween, this summer on London Doom Collective.
Consisting of vocalist/guitarist, Mikey Ward; fellow guitar slinger, Peter Hunt; bassist Simon Wilson, and drummer Sam Gates (whose arrival sparked this new iteration of the band) Erronaut’s singular sound has continued to evolve at every turn. Drawing inspiration from the iconic 70s rock of Black Sabbath and Pink Floyd, the 90s grunge of Soundgarden, and stoner metal of modern torchbearers Lowrider and Fu Manchu, the band seek to conquer new frontiers.
We thought it about time we found out what makes Erronaut tick, so we asked them to share four records that are huge influences on their music and the making of The Space Inbetween.
SLEEP – ‘The Botanist’ (from The Sciences)
As the bass player for Erronaut, I can say our album The Space Inbetween was influenced by Sleep’s song ‘The Botanist’. The way they craft their riffs in that track inspired us to add rich, textured layers to our own music. You can hear this throughout the album where we aimed for the same kind of complexity and depth in our sound. Plus, my bass lines on our album draw from Al Cisneros’ style. I used a Rickenbacker bass on most of the album and had his tone in mind as a reference point. The similarities between ‘The Botanist’ and the album as a whole, and our music show how much that song shaped Erronaut’s sound. Simon Wilson
PINK FLOYD – ‘Dogs’ & ‘Sheep’ (from Animals)
When I first joined the band, I had mentioned to the rest of the guys that I was a huge Pink Floyd fan and Simon Wilson’s first question was which album [was my favourite]? To which I answered, Animals.
There are a lot of elements from Pink Floyd that we have drawn from for our album The Space Inbetween, from effects to the feel of certain sections. One track in particular that comes to mind: ‘Beyond Sleep II The Subconscious Decompression’ where we really take the listeners on a journey with a song that’s similar in length and feel to that of ‘Dogs’ or ‘Sheep’.
When I wrote the drum parts for the songs, I took a lot of inspiration from Nick Mason’s style of playing – understated and exactly what is required to make the song work. I wanted the drums to sit in the mix, and not at the forefront which is the norm in a lot of rock music; this gave us all an opportunity to showcase what we are capable of as a band.” Sam Gates
ELDER – ‘Catastasis’ (from Innate Passage)
When we went into writing material for The Space Inbetween we wanted to make a conscious effort to add more textures and layers to songs. Instead of always relying on a big riff, we wanted to have dynamics and the guitars really woven into the tracks.
This was something outside my comfort zone so I was listening to lots of bands that do this. Elder had just released Innate Passage and I had this on repeat, especially the track ‘Catastasis’. I love how they blend such a variety of layers outlining the main theme of the song or the chord progressions. It really helped me push myself to try new things to elevate sections in some of our songs such as ‘Per Contra’ or ‘Beyond Sleep’.
Elder do a great job at utilising tones and effects, which again carried over into The Space Inbetween as we put a lot of thought into each song and its sections and how we wanted them to sound. Peter Hunt
SOUNDGARDEN – Superunknown
As a band we tend to write the songs first, and I then go away with the tracks and come back with vocal ideas and adjustments to the songs to help with the vocals.
There is pretty much one album I use as a yardstick for vocals and that is Superunknown by Soundgarden. It is one of the very few albums that is pretty much perfect. The song-writing and production need no explanation really. Vocally, Chris Cornell is, without a doubt, one of the greatest vocalists of his generation – able to switch from misery to anger in an instant, he is the best at this in my opinion.
I tried to use Superunknown as a reference source for the vocals on The Space Inbetween. It helped me find the right points to go for it or sit in the pocket; when to ease off the gas and just let the song do the work. Mikey Ward
The Space Inbetween is released via London Doom Collective on 30 August 2024 and can be pre-ordered, here.
