Newcastle hard rock band Gwailo have spent over three years making their debut album, You Got It, due in November 20. It began as a collection of songs the band wrote individually (the first being Try Me), and by the time they reached the title track, those initial sessions had become part of an album that chronicles the band’s development into their sound.
For Gwailo it was all about getting that live feel on the record, which meant maintaining the dynamics of a live set. The ballads would be slower and the tracks would build up in tempo. Valve amps, speaker cabinets and very minimal studio effects were all used to keep the recorded guitar sound as close as possible to what the band actually play in the studio.
In this FM PRO Quickfire 5 Gwailo talk about the songs that carry their history, what’s the most difficult thing to get in the studio and what the UK and Polish audiences have taught them prior to the You Got It tour.
We don’t just perform our songs. We put on a show.
Q1. You Got It took more than three years to make. What changed most between your first idea for the album and the finished record?
At the start we were just writing individual songs we wanted to get out there. By the time we finally made the decision of “Yes, let’s make an album,” we had already written and recorded several songs we wanted to be on the album.
I think from the first song we wrote, Try Me, to the title track itself, You Got It, this album is a showcase of how good we were when we started out, how much better as a group we have become and where we are going.
From recordings to music videos, our styles, individual talent and live performances, the final outcome, You Got It, is a symbol of our growth as a band.
Q2. You wanted listeners to feel like they were at the front of a Gwailo show. What proved hardest to capture from the live experience?
From the start we wanted our live performances to be, “We don’t just perform our songs. We put on a show.”
Our recorded music has our attitude and experiences behind it. But unless you’re doing a live recording, it’s difficult to capture the live energy and how we interact with our crowd. How we make them laugh and smile in between the emotions our songs can invoke.
So we focused on making our recorded music at least feel like that, ebbing and flowing from slower, calmer ballads to faster-paced, high-energy tracks.
Q3. Kings Of The City salutes your rock influences. Where do you hear Gwailo’s own identity coming through most clearly?
The songs Abyss and You Got It show our attitude to our music really well. Both songs have aspects of believing in what you can do or be and letting nothing stop you. Which is exactly what we’re trying to achieve as a band in the modern music industry.
One Way Up to Heaven is also a good song that represents Gwailo, as it has been worked on at some point in time by the majority of iterations of Gwailo’s line-ups. So I think it has glimmers of all of the band’s history.
Q4. FM PRO TECH | Steve has spoken about taking the album back to rock’s roots. Which recording or equipment choice made the biggest difference to achieving that sound?
Yeah, we always wanted to get that raw energy and live sound. In the studio we were using traditional valve amps and cabinets rather than using plug-ins or digital modelling amps. Also keeping studio effects to a minimum so what you hear on the record is what we play live.
Q5. Having played across the UK and in Poland, what have those audiences taught you that you’ll take into the You Got It tour?
Well, obviously every audience is different. We’ve played in front of classic rockers, metalheads, bikers, families. Hell, we’ve even played a wedding once.
If some of the conversations we’ve had with audience members after our shows are anything to go by, we know we have the ability to change people’s minds on what they enjoy and find entertaining.
The reality is we aren’t gonna be able to win over every single person with our music. But you better damn well believe we’re gonna try. ’Cause whether it’s likely to happen or not, what’s the point in aiming for anything less than the best?