The man behind Newcastle’s Spinlight studio, Rhys Zacher is today launching his latest release, Anxiety. We caught up with Rhys yesterday to ask him a few questions about the recording.
NL: The release is called Anxiety. Why?
RHYS: Anxiety seems to be a word we hear being used more and more regularly, and I think that is a good thing. It means we are being more open and honest about the way we feel and not just bottling everything up. I think everyone suffers from anxiety in some way or another and some more than others. I myself have had a few notable anxiety attacks in my life and anyone who has been there will tell you it’s not a fun experience. This record is based around a lot of subjects that can easily be a cause of anxiety, through depression, relationships and world issues to name a few.
NL:The recording feels layered and it feels like you’ve really thought about the sounds you want to capture. Can’t you tell us about the recording process?
RHYS: This is where running a recording studio has its perks. I usually start by laying down a simple guitar and vocal track and begin building my songs from there. I will usually start with drums, it’s one of my favourite parts of the process as I am naturally a drummer at heart! This record in particular I wanted to move away from having acoustic guitar as a main sound and use more electric guitar and keyboard sounds. I tend to get carried away and layer my songs quite heavily. Once I get in the creative zone, it’s hard to stop! There are a few songs on the album I tried to keep simple with a less is more attitude. Some of my favourite songs are simplest and barest, think death cab for cutie “I will follow you into the dark”, I love the simplicity of the one guitar and vocal.
NL:Tell us more about Spinlight studio, and what you’re up to over there.
RHYS: Spinlight Studio is my full-time job, and for that I feel very lucky to be doing something I love and being able to run my own business. I work with loads of bands from Newcastle and sometimes even get the odd band who travels a long way just to come work with me! A lot of producers get boxed into a particular style they are good at, I’ve been working hard to work with all genres and produce results everyone is proud of. From acoustic artist through to full blown hardcore bands, I love working with everyone.
NL:The guitar solo absolutely rips in Melodies, how many overdubs in that bad boy? nd can you tell us more about your approach to recording guitars in general.
RHYS: Agreed! I wish I could claim that solo as mine… But I actually called in my good mate Matt Purcell to come lay down the goods on that one. When I wrote this song I could just imagine a ripping solo over that section but I knew I couldn’t pull off what I was hearing in my head. I let Purcell do his thing and would pipe up as I heard things that stood out to me, in no time at all we had a solo we were loving!
NL:Is there a chance we’ll be able to hear these songs played live?
RHYS: Currently, I haven’t planned any live gigs, but I am hoping to get back out on the scene and play some shows soon, whether they be as a stripped back solo act or if I can pull some band mates together for a few shows.
