inovo Share New Single & Video For ‘Swim Alone’
Come and dive into the ambient, hazy realms of Brisbane alt-prog rockers inovo with the group releasing a brand new single Swim Alone. An atmospheric and immersive outing that meshes grooves with moody textures, inovo’s new track also comes armed today with a visceral accompanying music video, drawing you deeper into the band’s sonic universe ahead of inovo officially launching Swim Alone in their hometown on Friday 31 March at BackDock Arts in Brisbane.
Pulsing with artsy alt-rock and explorative flourishes, Swim Alone firmly displays inovo’s love of unorthodox rhythms, a la Karnivool, Incubus and Tool, along with the colourful, textured storytelling of the likes of Tesseract, Devin Townsend and Thrice. With guitarist Rhys Tyack editing and tracking parts in the band’s studio, Swim Alone also reached its layered and dreamlike present state via James See mixing, and Steve Smart wrangling the levels for mastering. Moody, modern and sonically expansive, Swim Alone’s surreal qualities stem partially from an actual dream experienced by vocalist Declan Nicholls, with roots also flowing from a song devised by the band’s former guitarist. Declan and Karl from the band answer a few questions for Hi Fi Way about the single.
How has the build-up been leading up to the release of the single Swim Alone?
Declan: Long and daunting. We’ve had this song ready for release for such a long time and it was intimidating to release it since we’re so familiar with it that we weren’t even sure that it was good anymore!
Was the process of making your single as challenging as you thought?
Declan: That’s a good question! It was definitely a challenge to distance ourselves from the song enough to be able to collectively agree that the final product sounded good, but the recording process was pretty smooth since we’re a great team.
Sonically, how would you describe your music?
Karl: I like calling what inovo does “Lovecraftian Prog Rock”. There’s this dark and unsettling vibe that collides with the alternative rock and progressive influences that I feel makes our sound a little bit special. Kinda like King Crimson for goths.
Who would you consider to be the biggest influence on your music and why?
Declan: I couldn’t speak for the band collectively since we all love a wide array of sonic flavors. Personally though, my biggest influence in music is probably Porcupine Tree. They were my first introduction to progressive rock and dark music, and have been stuck in the back of my creativity ever since.
Best piece of advice you have been given?
Karl: Keep doing what you do and fly your flag proudly and, eventually, the right people will take notice.
How did the band get together?
Declan: We originally made things official back at uni in roughly 2014. Back then it was Rhys, Jackson and I alongside our old guitarist Jamie. Though we love him, he unfortunately parted ways with us shortly after leaving uni, and a few years ago we picked up Karl as our bass player.
Are you looking to tour more broadly?
Declan: We’re looking to tour, full-stop! We’ve never toured and can’t wait to give it a try. We’ve heard all kinds of stories about what they’re like, some awesome and some scary, and it just seems like a really cool experience we’re all psyched for.
What’s next for inovo?
Declan: Probably just that, touring! We’re already in the process of writing new material and just held an insanely successful Kickstarter in which we were completely smothered in love and generosity from our fans, so the sky really is the limit for us now.
Interview By Rob Lyon
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