PREMIERE: Telurian Defy Convention and Classification with 'Realign'
Genre classifications are funny things. They can be rigid, and they can be very fluid, depending on the band. Some bands stick strictly within the boundaries of their genre, and some stretch those boundaries, almost to breaking point. Some cross genres at will, some switch up on a ten-cent piece.In the case of Newcastle’s relatively new Telurian, it’s very much a case of denying and defying classification. And doing so with a knowing smile on their collective face.As their brand new single, ‘Realign’, will attest, their sound is undeniably heavy and intense, but remains difficult to put into a nice, convenient box. You cannot tie it up with string and a pretty bow and present it as the cool new (enter X genre title here) thing. There is more to it than that.The lack of a pigeonhole may render them a touch more difficult to market, but they take this in their stride.If you were forced at gunpoint to lump them into a genre, ‘deathcore’ may possibly be it. But that’s kind of like forcing a circular peg into an oval-shaped hole, it doesn’t quite fit perfectly. Their sound certainly possesses elements of that style, and more open-minded aficionados of the sub-genre will certainly find much to enjoy here. But they also seamlessly blend other influences such as Gojira, thall (Humanity’s Last Breath, Vildhjarta, Aaru etc), djent and maybe even post-metal into the melting pot, lending their sound a far more eclectic mix.And that, my friends, is exactly and precisely how they like it.'Progressive deathcore'? Maybe.You definitely have a unique approach to deathcore, if it indeed can even be classified as deathcore. I can hear other influences; How did that unique approach come about and how would you describe your sound to the uninitiated?We definitely don’t fit neatly into the deathcore bucket, but that's also the idea. We really like to merge flavours from our influences and try to innovate, and create the songs we hear within ourselves.Our approach involves improvising together at the start of every rehearsal, which gets documented and used later on. All of our songs come from that space, and are sometimes complete straight away or refined over time as we try and find what flows best or conveys a particular feel.As individuals, we have pretty diverse influences and backgrounds in music, and with this approach they all seem to bubble up and meld together.The music ultimately falls into the heavier realms because of the tones and instruments we are using, but we don't only play heavy. The features that define us being groove, speed, intensity, tension, and release.We really try to leave every option open when writing a new track, and make every attempt to break old habits and create something new. We don't aim to sound like anyone when we play, it just so happens that people want to categorise us among their favourite bands. Each member of the band is bringing a whole range of influences to the table.
Lochie on drums is inspired by Meshuggah, Karnivool and Tesseract. Liam on guitar brings a lot of Gojira, classic, and post-metal influence. Brentan's vocal style finds itself in the realms of deathcore, and Erik on bass has a background in classical clarinet and EDM.
At the centre of our focus is the aim to not make music trying to sound like something, but letting it stand on its own. Luckily for our audience, it works.Do you think that left-of-centre sound might make you hard to market, or do you not care about such things?We’re big believers in making music that is authentic to us first and then figuring out the marketing part after. We’ve found having a diverse sound gets us ‘close enough’ to fit on most heavier bills, and so far we’ve been able to win over the audience with every show we’ve played. We've acquired some dedicated followers, some even willing to travel up from Sydney for shows which is something we’re both incredibly thankful for and humbled by.Our general strategy is to just keep playing music. We’ll play what shows we can and put ourselves out there and find the right people along the way.https://www.instagram.com/p/CyIqbEQv5Cf/You hail from Newcastle, how did the band come together, and how did your surroundings affect your sound and approach to songwriting?The band started with Lochie and Liam while they were playing together in Uni. There were some simple chord progressions and structures, but a lot of experimentation in the early days. The initial plan was for Lochie to sing, so they brought in Brentan (now vocals) to play drums for some material they’d written.After an initial EP and a couple of shows, we decided to switch and have Lochie on drums and Brentan on vocals. Liam got an 8 string and we started playing faster and heavier and wrote new material. We played half a dozen shows with no bass player (including two festivals) but still found the sound was lacking. We wrote bass parts for the EP and moved ahead with the plan to have a bass player soon. Lochie had previously played with Erik whilst filling in for his band and when they ran into each other again, Erik was invited to come and jam.
Newcastle is an industrial and working-class city. A lot of the music that comes out of Newcastle is heavy and anti-establishment. It's a great scene to be a part of, the people here live and breathe music. There really isn't much else to do but put on gigs with your mates. We love playing local shows and being a part of the music scene in Newy, both heavy and not.
Does the band name have any deep meaning?Our name comes from the Latin word for Earth ‘Tellus’, with ‘Telurian’ roughly meaning ‘of Earth’ or a synonym for human.It's more a concept about how humanity and nature are intrinsically linked as we are for and from one another, and that there has been a distancing from that in the modern world. There's a lot of noise out there that isn't always beneficial. We attempt to tell the story of that part of all of us.What do you feel are the themes running through your sound, lyrics and imagery?The overall theme of the project is our reflections on what it means to be human in the current world based on our experiences and observations. As people, we are inherently creative, drawn to community, driven by hopes/dreams and fascinated by nature but live in a social and economic context that asks us to suppress our nature and prioritise financial gain, power and status.It’s pretty easy to walk into a pursuit of career/house/money without really thinking about why or what you want from your life. After experiencing this individually, we’ve found those rare moments of being present that can cut through all the distractions and ways we numb ourselves are what ultimately bring us to a better space and alignment within ourselves. Those sorts of experiences of clarity are what we’re seeking to convey with our work.So with our music and live show, we try to create an immersive experience that can pull people in and drown out the other noise of life and sonically emulate the ups, downs and chaos we experience within ourselves.Lyrically, things are a mix of stories that tell an experience of that tension or calling out things we see that contribute to it. We’re personally on a journey of wrestling with this stuff and this project is our way of expressing and exploring that.You have a single coming soon, and then an EP, is the single indicative of the EP’s sound, or are there some surprises in store?We are planning to release a long-form body of work but we’re still working out when the best time will be. Between this single, ‘Realign’, and our previous two-track, ‘Of Earth’, you’ll get a pretty good indication of the sound, but you'll also hear a diverse offering of tone and genre.Mystery is definitely a theme and we don't like to give everything away. So you'll need to follow along as we reveal more.What are your plans, post-release?First up we’ve got a hometown release show, on the 26th of July, with our good friends Russian Novel and Fall From Heaven. After that, we’ll be looking to snag any support slots we can, release a bunch of content to promote the release and get started on recording the next single.https://www.instagram.com/p/C80FzRVCJVz/The band also released a game/website teaser for the single. What's this about all about?The site is a part of a long term goal to give our core audience who want to engage with us a way to do so other than just listening to the music. One expression will be digital easter egg hunts like this site, that will let people hear songs early, get exclusive merch and access to other unique content.We wanted to plant the concept in peoples heads with a simple site based on the artwork for ‘Realign’, and it was super cool hearing from people who had worked it out and got early access to the song.There's so much music now and we don't feel that a post on a social media feed is really worthy of the art that we are providing. Getting our audience off the apps, making them sit still and be engaged in order to receive the song - is just another way we like to present the music. We want you to be undistracted, present, listening. We want you to value music the way it should be valued - not as content to be lost in a feed, but as a unique expression of the times.Any longer term plans and/or goals for the band’s career?Ultimately we want to just keep making music, but our main next goal is to get to know the rest of the heavy scene in Australia; Brisbane and Melbourne are at the top of our list.We also just want to keep making more connections and help our scene grow both locally and in the wider region. We’re so grateful for all the encouragement and support we’ve had from the Newcastle community and the amount of insanely talented bands we have both here and in Australia.It’s a good time to be a fan of heavy music in Australia, and we’re honestly thrilled to be a part of it and can’t wait to see what the next few years have in store.Interview by Rod Whitfield
Telurian is Brentan Nelson (Vocals), Liam Thompson (Guitar), Lochlan Hunt (Drums), Erik Flett (Bass).
'Realign' hits streaming platforms on Sunday, July 7th. Pre-save here
Follow Telurian across all socials here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3aFYbVpPuk
