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Victoria @ TND: I'd love to know more about the story of you guys becoming a live band. Hammok the band started releasing music at an unfortunate time when people couldn’t tour, and even though you've been playing live for years as childhood friends, this record was very much informed by the live experience as a serious, touring band. How has transitioning into a more traditional, this-is-what-a-band-is-supposed-to-be role changed your perspective on music?
Tobias Osland: We didn't start as live performers. I feel like most of what’s been going on in my head was like, “Can my voice handle doing this stuff night after night? Is this song possible? Can this happen? This music we're writing — is it too technical? Is it going to move people?” Then, after playing shows, those questions morphed into becoming the whole point of our music: moving people, meeting people, and creating live energy. Having conversations eye-to-eye: it’s a classic hardcore thing, but that's what makes it real. That experience was super inspiring for the new album, which I don't think was the case for the first one. It’s kind of meta, but our first album was just about the need to have a first album. This one, however, is very focused, and it's rhythmic in a way that hopefully makes people move. And so far it has!
As opposed to more traditional hardcore and punk records, the songs that you've provided are quite long, and they go multiple directions. I really liked “Tap Water” because it starts off with this indie rock feel, and then it abruptly stops before starting again as a punk track. When it comes to writing a song and delicately blending these genres together, how have you pulled in all these elements to make a song?
TO: “Tap Water” is very much a result of listening to new music all the time. I’m pretty much waking up every day finding something new and being inspired by pretty much everything that I hear at all times. But I also try to be careful; instead of hearing something and thinking, “Oh, I'm going do that thing that I just heard for my song as well!” I’m trying to take the concept of that instead. For “Tap Water,” I remember hearing a Militarie Gun song and going, “Oof, I love the vibe of this song!” Breaking it down to its concept, it’s like this Arctic Monkeys AM song with a tempo and mood that’s full of character. I’ve gotten obsessed with not exactly copying but writing in the concept of what's inspiring you.
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