The year of possibilities seems to be under way with The Getaway Plan. With their crowdfunding campaign reaching success last year, the funding from their loyal fanbase made it possible to release Dark Horses – which is available today! Lead vocalist, Matthew Wright, was more than excited that the record was being released and this in return made him feel shocked at how fast everything came together, “It feels like just yesterday that we were making this record and then all of a sudden it’s almost unshelved. It’s fucking awesome.”
With new band members, Dan Maio and Mike Maio, Wright felt like the recording process for Dark Horses was something that came together quite naturally. It was clear that there was chemistry found in the musicianship of the band. Through their collaboration, it made him realise how special it was for him to share this experience with the other band members, “It became a four-way sort of free flowing collaborative effort rather than the way it used to be. It would usually be one of us writing a song and bringing it into a room and then nutting it out,” He states. “With this record, there were a lot of ideas that were kind of founded from nothing, with just us playing together in a room and that was new for us; we’ve never been able to do that before.”
It’s easy to care about what other people think and obviously as a musician, you feel pressure to please your fanbase while balancing your values to your own craft. Here, Wright admits that the process for Dark Horses felt more genuine in its approach through the liberation of not caring on the outcomes of the entire record, “We just wanted to let more shit fly and not be perfectionists and try to just capture and write the best songs we could.”
From their previous records Other Voices, Other Rooms and Requiem, Wright was honest about the holes he could pick out from the past catalogue of songs. Here, he learnt that the band worked better through collaboration rather than delegating duties to a single band member. In return, this made Dark Horses a record that was cohesive and well-thought out, “There was a lot of disjointed outlets in our music because we weren’t writing together. Whereas with these songs, they were crafted with all four of us and we were listening to each other as opposed to just focusing on ourselves.” states Wright.
Having new members for their rhythm section, Wright had a clear vision on the recording process and the energy momentum that was needed in the studio. From making Dark Horses, he was able to experience something cathartic and this in return gave him perspective. The sound dynamics that came from the record was a fresh start to their journey as musicians, “Being able to play these songs and hear them sound on the record was really special,” He says. “There’s just been a lot of moments where I’ve lost myself while playing [for this record] with these members. It creates a whole new source of energy in the jam room to feed off and it’s fucking wonderful.”
Working with producer Sam K, Wright explains how much of a game changer it was to be in a studio where the band was able to stay outside their comfort zones for a little while. After being injected with ideas that seemed too far-fetched, eventually the band understood the producer’s vision, “There were so many times in the studio where he would voice an idea and we would all freak the fuck out and then it would turn out to be the best thing in the world,” He says. “Just sitting there and copping it and feeling weird about it for a while was always worth it.”
Although dark and melancholic, Wright shed some light on the inspirational tone from Dark Horsesthat stood apart from their previous records. It was an entity of himself through both lyrics and music, “There’s definitely dark elements that is natural because I have [had] very dark moments in my life. In many ways, I’m kind of explaining and offering myself a beacon of hope.”
After parting ways with their previous record label [UNFD] and band members leaving, taking the route of being independent brought a sense of disbelief in Wright that Dark Horses was even made possible. The things that fell apart for the band became the stepping stones towards success, “It was scary. It still is kind of scary, I still can’t believe we managed to orchestrate the whole thing. I didn’t think we would be able to do it,” Wright explains. “I think losing the members, parting ways with UNFD – all those things happening in such a short amount of time really took us off guard. But all those things turned out to be blessings and that became apparent as soon as we were in the studio together making this record.”
Dark Horses is released today. You can order your copy HERE.
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