Kynan Groundwater & Braden Groundwater - Diamond Construct ‘Finally Starting to see the Rewards’

I spoke with Kynan Groundwater and Braden Groundwater as they are currently on tour with Thornhill for the nation-wide Coven Tour, to discuss the rise of Diamond Construct and what it has taken to be able to make it as a stand-out act in a somewhat increasingly popular scene, what we can expect from their forthcoming album and plans for the future.
Your debut self titled album is being released next week, what direction have you guys taken with this record and what can fans expect?
With this album, we have taken more of a straight forward, heavy approach but still keeping to our roots with the melody. Fans can expect some things that they have heard before but also a lot of new stuff around the sound which is a lot more groove orientated. We have really focused on trying to make sure every song has a hook which works with the song.
How was the recording process?
It was quite a lengthy recording process, we first started it all in April 2018. We wanted to do everything in our own studio in our hometown so that we weren’t under time constraints of a producer or a studio that we were paying for. Brayden Groundwater (guitarist) produced the entire record. We did it all in-between working and other commitments so it all took a really long time.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRa2dAOvNks&w=640&h=360]
You guys have already released a hand full of songs from the album such and ‘Night Terrors’ and ‘Submerged’, what kind of reaction have you gotten from fans with these songs?
Fans have responded really well when we play these songs in a live setting, people are already starting to know the words to these songs which is really cool, we’ve been quite blown away as we have never really had this kind of response before. Especially with the older fans know that we have improved a lot and that has been expressed to us time and time again.
I had the pleasure of catching you guys at the Melbourne show of Thornhill’s Coven Tour recently, how has that tour been thus far?
It has probably been the best tour we have done so far. We have had a few minor setbacks in our sets with technical difficulties, but nothing major. We have been blown away with how many people get down early to watch us play and buy merchandise. We have been able to connect really well with the crowds, gaining new fans along the way. We really started connecting with crowds this way on the Justice For The Damned and Alpha Wolf co-headline tour late last year and has seemed to progress further from that. This is our ninth tour so by now we seem to be pretty used to the whole touring routine and have grown to quite enjoy it.
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Diamond Construct are also supporting Born Of Osiris and Chelsea Grin on their co-headline tour across Australia later this year. You seem to be getting to the stage now where you are playing at big venues with big bands, does that feel pretty surreal?
Absolutely, It feels like a lot of work has gone into it all and now we are finally starting to see the rewards. We have been a band for five years and have always struggled to represent ourselves and now for the past eighteen months the shows we have been playing have been getting bigger and bigger which we love, we collectively feel as if we all perform better with the pressure of a bigger crowd.
Has signing to Greyscale Records had anything to do with your fan base growing at a faster rate?
Yes, signing to Greyscale Records was the next big stepping stone in making it out of the local scene and being recognised through Australia. All credit to Ash Hull and Josh Merriel from Greyscale, they have pushed us as hard as they can and they do so much work for us behind the scenes, their work ethic is just insane. We have all worked hard together to create a bigger image for Diamond Construct by pursuing bigger tours and shows.
What else can fans of Diamond Construct expect in the not too distant future?
Nothing is set in stone just yet, there is a discussion of a headline tour happening once we release our album but that's all at this point. There is big plans for next year but I can't talk about that just yet. We are always writing music and doing demos here and there but I think the focus will be a headline tour and then we will have to wait and see what happens after that.
Interview by Adam Rice @adamrice1994
Diamond Construct's debut self-titled album is out May 17th via Greyscale Records.
Pre-Order right here
Diamond Construct – Diamond Construct tracklisting
1. Animus
2. Dreamcatcher
3. Paradox
4. Submerged
5. Night Terrors
6. Say It To My Face
7. Morphine Eyes
8. Hypno
9. Hailstorm
10. Wildfire
11. Attitude
12. Gloom
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3h3w9SGH9wk&w=853&h=480]