Interview with Shortwave Dahlia
Tuesday, March 11th, 2008I had a chance to toss some questions to the band, about the new album and their newest member, and here are their replies!
1: Now that you’re heading into your second full album, has your sound changed or evolved since the last album, Illuminated?
Jack: It’s evolved a lot! The process is much different to the point that it’s almost impossible for me to equate the two. Illuminated was an educational experience for me as much as it was an artistic endeavor. I was learning how to utilize the studio, but I wasn’t really trying to stretch myself as a songwriter so I hear it now and think about things I could have done better. In this process, I can actually say “Why don’t we do this instead?” It’s nice to have people to bounce ideas off of.
Mark: Because everyone in the group has the chance to contribute to the songwriting process, the sound cannot help but have changed as we have added more people. I think that the great thing about this particular group of people is that we all liked the sound of Shortwave Dahlia before we joined. No one is trying to strike off on a tangent, instead it is more a matter of developing what we had as a starting point.
2: You’ve added a fourth person to your band, Dana Liebchen. How has her addition modified the Shortwave Dahlia sound?
Jack: It’s allowed us to do more of the instrumentation live, which has improved things. Also, with Dana on board it’s nice to be able to focus on an instrument at times, personally. I’m no Freddie Mercury.
Ethan: There is definitely a new dynamic working with Dana. We are all impressed by her abilities and proud to include her as one of her own. So far, her influence has been subtle, as I believe she is still trying not to change things too much. But, I also believe that her role will grow the more comfortable she gets working together with us. “Paramour” is so far the most obvious Dana-influenced song, as her voice carries it to a level we could not have without her.
