Ahead of their national tour in December and their slot at the Big Day Out, I get some time with Aaron from The Getaway Plan to speak about their new record 'Requiem', and the split which inevitably caused it.

Hey mate how’s it going? How are you feeling now that Requiem is now out?

Yeah it’s very exciting; we’ve been waiting a while to get it out.

Why did you decide to stream Requiem online the day before it’s release?

Just so whoever was keeping an eye on things could get a sneak peak.

It seems to be well received thus far; many people have been hyped on your Facebook page for a long time.

I haven’t seen anything negative thus far so that’s awesome (laughs).

That’s always a good sign. Why did The Getaway Plan ventured to Canada to record the album?

That’s where our producer was based. We put out a call through a whole heap of producers and Dave [Bottrill], to our surprise, answered the call so we went over there. Last time we went to Florida and it’s always good to get away from everything back home to do a recording. Being able to go over there and work for him was awesome, it worked out for the best.

How was it over there? What did you miss about recording with The Getaway Plan?

It was awesome man. Obviously during the break up we sorted out some things and we also went and did our own different musical thing, so it was good to come back with Getaway and we work pretty well together; we’re all pretty much on the same wave length when it comes to writing and recording. It’s pretty easy for us, it’s just like we’re hanging out like a group of friends, and it was fun man.

Was the band’s break of benefit?

Yeah for sure, at first it was obviously upsetting but now when we look back we have resolved everything and realized that it was for the best; it was a blessing in disguise really. Coming back, nothing has been better; our friendship, the way the music is being written.

Was the album a long time coming? Or did you just decide to start jamming again and see what happened?

It was a while in the works. We obviously got back together to do a couple of shows and they went really well. Before that period we were already hanging out as friends again and the idea of a tour came about and we though if we were going to do a tour, we may as well do a record. As soon as we started jamming it was all back to how it was pretty much, everything just flowed.

Are there any songs in the album that tell the story of the break up and the re-gathering? Any songs that stick for you?

‘Coming Home’ is pretty much about Getaway Plan getting back together, so that’s always a good one when we’re jamming. My favourite is ‘Heart Stone’ it’s a pretty epic song and it’s the direction we’re heading in.

How would you differ Requiem from Other Voices, Other Rooms?

It’s obviously a bigger sounding record; it’s got more of a worldwide sound. In my opinion I think the beginning of the record has hints of ‘Other Voices, Other Rooms’ in there and some old stuff and then the middle has your radio-friendly commercial rock songs and towards the end it gets a bit dark and heavy and shows the way were leading towards and what we can actually do.

Any influential changes within the break?

Not really, I don’t think it’s too far away from ‘Other Voices, Other rooms’; it’s more a progression. Of course it’s not going to be the same style record two years down the track. This time around we wanted to do as much as we could; we had so many extra musicians and programming and stuff like that. They all had ideas that they showed us and we alter them and we got people over there that we had people that we showed and let them have free reign on it. It turned out awesome.

You have a National tour with Break Even and Gatherer coming up soon, how are you feeling about it? I’ve heard a few shows have sold out already.

We’re excited man, it’s going to be a celebration for us. We’ve been close friends with Break Even and Gatherer for years so it’s going to be good to have friends on the tour. It’s a mixed bill so it’s going to be cool. It will be great to be playing all new stuff, pretty much.

You were announced as a Big Day Out act this year. How do you see it going? Do you prefer festivals or club shows?

Festivals are awesome dude, especially the Big Day Out being such a big festival. It will be good to tour as a big family and hang out and party and see all the bands that we want to see as well. The crowds are always huge so I love that. Your own tour is sick too, just two totally different vibes.

It’s going to be a huge year for you guys I reckon.

Yeah it should be, it’s looking good so far.

Do you like new fans to have an education on your older records? Or would you like them to take ‘Requiem’ as a fresh start?

It wouldn’t really bother me; if they’re new listeners they will se the record for what it is when if you listen to the older records a lot of people seem to compare them. I think it’s a record that may take a lot of people a while to get, but once you do we’re pretty proud of it- it’s a pretty solid record. So whether you’re a new or old listener we’re thinking and hoping that it’s going to branch out and get as many people as it can.