Interview with Aaron Harris of Palms, Isis

Palms is the union of Chino Moreno (Deftones) and three members of the now (sadly) defunct ISIS. Their debut album, recently released on Mike Patton’s Ipecac Recordings, plays like a waking dream, combining lush layers of chiming guitars and a restless rhythm section with Moreno’s unmistakable croon. Rightly considered to be one of the most highly anticipated albums of the summer, the album has just entered the Billboard 200 at Number 55 as the band is preparing to play their first shows as a live band. Tom McKibbin spoke to Palms’ drummer Aaron Harris to discuss the band’s origins, the writing process, recording techniques, and what the future holds for the band.

 

Hey Aaron, thank you for taking the time to answer some questions for us. I’ll jump straight into it…

 

No problem

 

I’ve read an interview in which Chino stated that he was a fan of ISIS, and I assume that this admiration was mutual. How did your paths come to cross?

We’ve been Deftones fans for years. I’ve turned so many people on to Deftones who thought they sounded like something else. They often get lumped into something that they’re not. I’ve always admired their songwriting, the players, and Chino’s voice. He has a sound that’s immediately recognizable. I love his dynamics and knew he’d be great for the music we were writing for Palms. Chino and I bonded over runs and hikes here in LA. We shared a lot of the same interests and would bounce ideas and music we were listening to back and forth. He had asked about Palms and what we were writing. He wanted to hear some. I sent him some demos and he sent one back with a vocal demo over it. It grew from there.

 

So how has the writing process worked on the album? Do you all get together in a room or is it a case of sending ideas back and forth over the internet?

 

We get together in our practice space. It’s very important to us to all be there working off of each other when we write. We record a lot, and demo things. We listen back and make changes. We worked that way in ISIS too.

 

From what I’ve read, the album seems to have been recorded in a somewhat fractured way, with your drums being recorded in one session at a home studio, and the vocals being recorded in a similar fashion. Was this a conscious decision and, if so, do you think it has lent a relaxed feeling to the album?

 

I recorded the drums at my friend Joe Barresi’s studio. We had a lot of fun with it. He had just gotten his 2″ tape machine repaired and he has a lot of really unique mic pres and microphones so we decided to use a lot of stuff that you wouldn’t normally see in a studio. Like Sphere and brown Helios mic pres. It was a lot of fun and we got some great sounds. I recorded the guitars and bass at our rehearsal spot. That was nice because we were able to pick away at it and work on getting cool sounds without being under and strict time restraints. I tracked the vocals at my home studio, and on the road with Deftones. That was really fun tracking vocals in hotel rooms and in backstage rooms. I think it really added to the vibe. I don’t think the record would have been possible if we had to book time at a studio every time we wanted to track. I think me being able to track this record and be flexible was really crucial to it coming together, and of course I was happy to do it and psyched that those guys trusted me play that role.

 

When I listen to the album I sense a great deal of sadness being released. Chino is able to relate a sense of nostalgia with his voice that is really poignant. Do you feel that this album has been a conduit for release for you guys?

 

I think it’s really interesting the way that people hear this record. Some people walk away with a sad and lonely vibe. Others say they feel very happy and relaxed. For instance “Antarctic Handshake” starts off with a very sad and lonely vibe to it. The first time I really listened to what Chino was singing I was crushed. But the song ends on a very hopeful vibe. We really strive to create music that provokes a feeling. To me if you can do that you know that you’ve got something special. It’s also the kind of music we enjoy listening to. Music is really powerful that way.

 

Although the album is quite melodic and relaxed as I mentioned before, there is also a restless, circular energy to the songs that create a sense of being lost in a purgatory (“Shortwave Radio” being the prime example). Do you agree with this interpretation? The end of that song is one of the most palpable, powerful moments I’ve heard on a record for a while.

 

Thanks man. Like I was saying before I think that these songs can bring up a variety of feelings for the listener, and can reflect the mood of the listener. I love when I find a record that can do that. A song that one day makes you feel really good can also on another day make you feel really contemplative. I’m happy to hear that these songs are having an impact on people. To me that’s the biggest compliment.

 

Would you agree that Palms’ songs are about moods and textures? The swathes of reverb and delay on the guitars for example seem to be quite impressionistic?

 

Absolutely. Texture is a good description. I remember when I was mixing this record having a hard time finding where everything fit. I tried going for a big ISIS type sound, but it just wasn’t working. I realized that this record has a lot of texture and vibe to it, and once I figured out how all the pieces fit together it all started to make sense to me sonically.

 

How are you feeling about playing these songs live on your upcoming tour? Is it a daunting prospect having never done it before?

 

Rehearsals have been sounding really great. Chino wasn’t able to play guitar on the record, so having him on guitar live has really added some new elements to the songs. We’re excited to play live!

 

How has the response to the album been? Was it what you expected it to be?

 

It seems to be really good. I’ve seen a lot of really positive feedback and that really makes us happy because we put a lot of work into this and believe in it. There was a certain amount of pressure on this record given the names involved, so we were a little scared of how it would be perceived because we knew that we sounded different than what most people were expecting. That said I don’t think it’s a huge departure from any of our past releases. It’s been really nice to hear that people are enjoying it and making connections with it. I especially like hearing that it’s providing peeps a soundtrack to their summer.

 

Yeah, there’s definitely a summer feel to the album. Is Palms going to become a relatively regular project or is it a one-off for the time being?

 

There will be more for sure. We’ve already started writing some new stuff.

 

Cool. So, after you’ve played the initial US dates do you have any plans to come to the UK or are you taking it one step at a time?

 

We hope to and I think in time we definitely will.

 

Excellent! Thanks for taking the time for this interview Aaron. Any final words?

 

Thank you as well. I appreciate the support and interest. It’s nice to be able to create music and have people be interested, so thanks again.

[Originally published by the Sleeping Shaman, 09/07/2013]
http://www.thesleepingshaman.com/interviews/g-q/palms-tom-interviews-drummer-arron-harris/

Palms - S/T

(Ipecac Records, 2013)

Isis and Deftones have both had an influence of modern rock music in their own ways and to differing degrees. For his part as frontman of Deftones, Chino Moreno was a genuine breath of fresh air during the mid to late 1990s when the band would often get lumped in with the nu-metal acts that they eventually came to transcend. Offering both an ear shattering scream and, more vitally, a smooth, melodic croon that belied the influence of 80s new wave acts like the Cure and Depeche Mode, Moreno has long been one of the more intriguing and daring frontmen in the masculine world of metal. His voice was always pretty core to the Deftones’ scream-core mass appeal – commercially viable enough to grant them chart success and expressive enough to gain them the respect of their musical peers and musos the world over.

 

Perhaps this, along with Moreno’s admiration for Isis, is the link that unites Moreno with three of the original four members of the post-metal innovators, whose own influence on metal, particularly in the underground scene, is also significant. Their partnership may initially come as a bit of a left-field surprise, but it also quickly makes perfect sense, to the point that I could already imagine what Palms would sound like before hearing them based on the proposition alone. In a recent interview with Decibel magazine, bassist Jeff Caxide noted that the material on Palms’ debut album is comprised of the kind of stuff “that I would never have presented to Isis. I don’t want to call this ‘pop music,’ but it’s more in that vein than anything I’ve ever done.” Cue the melodic vocal stylings of Moreno whose work with Deftones and Team Sleep has always put as much emphasis on melody as anything else.

 

Like Baroness’ recent left-turn towards a lighter touch on their polarising double-album Yellow & Green, it’s possible that Palms could divide opinion among fans of Deftones’ and Isis’ heavier work, but this collaboration brings together some of each bands’ finest attributes. “Patagonia” and “Shortwave Radio” are what I imagined and hoped the band would sound like – Isis-like waves of shimmering, chiming guitars paired with Moreno’s damaged, nostalgic voice. Caxide’s bass playing is a particular strength throughout, often drenching his bass parts with delay and reverb that marry with Bryant Clifford’s equally melodic guitar parts to hypnotic effect. Indeed, the extended outro on “Shortwave Radio” is an album highlight, particularly with Moreno’s increasingly desperate cries of “Ascending into heaven/ While staring into Hell/ You’re staring into heaven/ descending into Hell.” It’s one of the album’s heaviest moments, aurally and emotionally.

 

A criticism that could get lumped at the album could be also considered one of its strengths – some may consider the album wishy-washy or samey. It’s true that some of the songs tend to flash over you on the first few listens, and on a six track album that’s worrying. But repeated listens reveal layers of melody and rhythm that slowly creep in to your consciousness. Closing couplet “Tropics” and “Antarctic Handshake” are both perfect examples of this phenomenon; initially they seem to meld into one another and pass over you without event, but they contain some of the densest layers of sound and melody on the entire record and finish it off in suitably dream-like fashion.

 

This is an album that plays like a waking dream – on the one hand it feels restless and trapped in a perpetual cycle of longing and nostalgia, but there’s also a strong sense of serenity and resignation. For fans of Deftones and/or Isis, give Palms a chance and you’ll be in their grip.

[Originally published by the Sleeping Shaman, 20/06/2013]
http://www.thesleepingshaman.com/reviews/album-reviews/p/palms-st-cd-lp-dd-2013/