WIRED is Basement’s first album in eight years. The result of a band who knows exactly who they are, WIRED pushes Basement’s signature sound to new landscapes, while still retaining their essence. WIRED understandably received an incredibly positive reception, both from critics and long-time fans.
Upon the album’s release, I caught up with guitarists Alex Henery and Ronan Crix via Zoom from a hotel room, jet-lagged and running on adrenaline.
At this point, they were fresh off performing in LA on their album release day. “It was this cinematic, crazy, movie-life kind of time. It was in a car park with train tracks in the background, and there was a rooftop, and everyone was trying to get in- yeah, it’s been really fun.” Crix says.
After eight years away from the studio, there’s one question on everyone’s mind: why now? Basement has been actively touring for the last few years, having made two recent trips to Australia. So what kept them away from the studio for so long, and what eventually drew them back? “There’s a few factors, I guess”, Crix begins. “We had all come to a place where we were ready to be in a band again… at some point, we were just having very honest conversations with each other. I know Alex and Andrew were tossing back and forth a few demos. I think we were all just ready to have the conversation again… We always said if we wanted to do the band again, it had to be with new music.”
“We came together, and the songs just naturally started flowing,” Henery adds, “…we did a bunch of demo sessions across the UK and America, and each time we did it, more songs started coming out. When that happens, it’s usually a good sign.”
The concept for this album was born in 2022, with ideas being floated around in group chats which eventually turned into demos, until they were considering doing an EP. As they started the recording process, new songs kept flowing out until they realised they had more than enough for a full-length album.
Feeling like they still had a lot to offer, Basement were determined not to become a legacy band right now, and listening to WIRED, it’s very clearly a Basement record, but there’s a very clear maturity as well as a refreshed sound. “We were intent on not recreating anything we’ve done before,” Crix says. “This felt like a new era. Our relationships with each other were different, and we wanted that to be presented appropriately in the music we wrote.”
That sound was thanks to producer John Congleton. “He has a very unique vision, he has his own workflow, and from that you get your own unique, tailored sound from him,” Crix explains. “… we wanted it to be something new, something fresh, but it’s still a Basement record- it’s just elevated.”
The desire to work with Congleton came about from Crix hearing a Mannequin Pussy song which Congestion produced. “It sounded like a band in a room, but so distorted and crazy. When I saw John Congleton, I was like, ‘Oh, of course!’”
In terms of influencing the sound of the record, Henery says that there was a key ‘British’ sound that started to take form naturally as Fisher recorded the vocals. “It’s not a Britpop record, but I think you can hear some of those influences. We grew up listening when the indie scene was really a big thing in the early 2000s, and there are elements of that.”
During studio sessions, Crix reveals that the track “Head Alight” just wasn’t coming together in a way that they’d hoped or envisioned. This was a real key moment in the recording process where Congleton shone. “John came in and stripped everything down and was like, ‘What do you guys feel about that?’, and we thought maybe we try to build the song up again around that- like, maybe we don’t play guitar on this part, or you stop playing here. It took a really long time to get it to where it is, and it sounds completely different from where it started. It was really gratifying to hear that process.”
But while some tracks might have presented a bigger challenge than others, Henery says nothing really felt ‘hard’ about the making of WIRED. “It was just a joy to collaborate with John and the rest of the band and just work it out.”
Nevertheless, navigating five band members with varying ideas, tastes and personalities is never an easy task, especially when they were also actively trying to push themselves creatively and step out of their comfort zone. Even so, Basement managed to remain on the same page for most of the process, no matter how difficult it might have been to get there. “Everyone was pretty incredible when it came to that, because it allowed us to create this eclectic sound and try different things because everyone was willing,” Henery says. “This is the most successful we’ve ever attempted that; it feels the most cohesive we’ve been as a group, and we’ve matured in that way. Maybe taking time off was our biggest learning curve.”
WIRED is out now – grab a copy HERE
Header photo credit: Adam Powell
