Indie outfit The Autumn Isles have gone for a more sombre tone with their upcoming second album, A Bird Called Cognition, if the single, Harvest In The Night, is anything to go by. The single gets launched at The Bird this Saturday, July 12, with support from Davey Craddock And The Spectacles, John Martyr’s Ghost and Dan Durack. We caught up with singer Alex Arpino.
Tell us about Harvest In The Night.
The song set the theme for the new album in a lot of ways, tone wise and lyrically. Harvest In The Night explores thoughts, or more specifically the cycle of thought, action and consequence. I was reading books on cognitive behaviour and meditation at the time. I’m fascinated by the way mental habits determine our outcomes, impacting everything from health, self worth and the general progress we make as people.
The song (and others on the album) acknowledges the passing of your father. Has that been cathartic for you, to invest the emotion of that into your music?
The death of a parent is something everyone faces at some point, some sooner than others. For whatever reason I took quite a while to come to terms with it; for me it came through while I was writing this album. While it’s not expressed literally, the themes and tones have an air of grief and resolution about them. It really was cathartic. It’s a rewarding process, to be able to find that release and use it constructively. It certainly was unexpected.
Is it difficult to then share?
I stand by the material, we are all proud of our efforts. For me getting the songs out there is part of the process, the release, a sense of closure. I believe all good art comes from an honest place. The ability to use the human condition and create something out of the turmoil is the age old task of an artist. It’s a beautiful thing.
What will the album reveal of the Autumn Isles’ development since the last album Kaleidoscopes?
We certainly are stepping into new territory and experimenting more. I think there is more depth lyrically and instrumentally, we also play with more dynamics and songs sprawl out more. There are some darker moments which we haven’t really explored before. Over all I think the album displays our creativity and maturity while showcasing our ability as musicians.
The album is released on August 15, what are the plans from there?
We will be launching our new album A Bird Called Cognition at the Bakery on August 30th. From there we will be heading down south for a regional tour and more local shows. We recently self produced a video for the single Waking Dreams, which was a lot of fun so we intend to make more videos. We have plans for another single release, then looking at some Eastern States shows later in the year.
