Interview with //orangenoise

//organgenoise are a psychedelic band from Karachi, Pakistan. They released an EP //veracious last year which got them attention from around the world. Last month, they released a full length album A Journey to the Heart of Matter. I spoke to their vocalist/guitarist Talha Wynne about the album, how they got together and also the music scene in Pakistan.

Hi Talha, you recently released an album “A Journey to the Heart of Matter”. Tell us about it?

This album is a collection of songs we’ve been playing since after our first release “//veracious” back in January of 2011. We built up a repertoire of 10 – 12 tracks which we’d shuffle around in live shows. We’ve been trying to record these tracks for the past year working with various techniques and methods trying to get our live sound down on the album. Finally in like August of this year, we found a setup that worked for us and managed to contain that live and loud feel we were going for. This album is completely home made, the mixing, recording and mastering everything.

Where was the album recorded? What was the recording process like?

The album was recorded at our drummer Danials place. We Had the basic “juice” of the track recorded as a one take jam, where the drums, guitar and bass we’re hooked up to a mixer and a take was layed down as the foundation layer of the track. We later overdubbed that layer with synths and vocals and additional shimmer.

How does A Journey to the Heart of Matter compare to your EP veracious?

//veracious was very raw and expressive kind of like how we were when the band started, ‘Journey takes our essence and contains and controls it. This is also a full length album as compared to veracious which was a 5 track EP. Also ‘Journey kind of picks up where //veracious ended.

How was the response you received to //veracious EP?

We were quite overwhelmed with the response that veracious got as it was an amateur effort as far as recording and sound were concerned, there was a lot of trial and error involved. But that EP definitely launched us into the internet and managed to squeeze us in with the rest of the noise makers.

You appeared on the second season of “Uth Records”. Tell us a bit about the experience?

It was like a test in a way, a lot of questions hovered around. Can we adapt to a studio environment that wasn’t our own home? Will we have enough time? Are we disciplined enough technically for studio work? I guess all these questions and more were answered in that episode. It was 3 days of mad fun, we felt like working musicians and it would be really awesome to have that sort of stuff going for you if you’re a band thats always up to something. The whole studio rigged up and ready to go.

You and Danny P were in Look Busy Do Nothing and Danial and Faizan were in Mole. How did you guys meet and form a band together?

There was a gig happening at one of the local venues where Danny P was playing with the Mole boys as well as some other musicians, after jamming out with them we all got to meet up one day after a gig leading to us jamming out some noisey punky jams at Danials place. Needless to say we realised something was going on here.

Do you have any other projects/bands?

Yeah I go solo as Toll Crane experimenting with jazzy/beaty/dancey stuff Danny P goes by Alien Panda Jury mixing atomspheric/ambeint grooves with nasty beats.

//orangenoise is part of a new sound from Pakistan. What other bands from Pakistan should the readers check out?

Basheer & the Pied Pipers, Sikandar ka Mandar, Mole, Mightyhook, Jhumi Experience, Poor Rich Boy, Asfandyar Khan and Lower Sindh! Swing Orchestra to name a few bands that rock the local circuit.

What is next for //orangenoise?

After the album’s release we’re pretty much blank right now, a few videos are in store for the new tracks so i guess that’s something to look forward to.

Final words

Support your local music. Go to live shows and gigs.