Rockers Desert Cloud are back with their brilliant new track Under Tons, out now, so we caught up with the group to find out a little bit more about their sound, influences and more.
Desert Clouds are back with new song 'Under Tons'
For those who may be new to your music, how best would you describe your sound?
Our sound is definitely complex, and we like to say that goes from warm and atmospheric to distorted and aggressive. Sometimes enriched with acid dissonances and psychedelic arrangements.
What challenges have you faced in the music industry so far?
For us, that live shows matter more than anything else – the current and hardest challenge is to play gigs where you can really connect to the public. It’s hard to find the right place and right people especially when your music is peculiar and, in that sense, promoters don’t help much, putting your band into the wrong slot most of the times. Our last challenge was recording in a professional studio, it is really hard work and needs patience and a lot of confidence.
How difficult would you say this career path is in terms of making a name for yourself?
So far it’s been very hard and we hope things may change in the future. Sometimes it feels like there’s nobody out there who still wants to listen to music that doesn’t stick to the mainstream – music that digs into emotional fields that need attention, passion and emotional involvement to be enjoyed. But we know there is someone that still wants to be found. Eventually building up a fan base is a connection of factors and we hope that our determination and consistency will prize us one day. We’d love to share our music and our feelings to a wider audience.
How important is it for you to have creative control over the work you produce?
As we mentioned before, recording in a studio is hard work and one of the factors is definitely the producer’s point of view. Our creations are emotional and sometimes it’s hard to detach from them and listen to them from a different perspective. Your writing style builds your identity and when your intention is to share yourself through your songs it’s hard to compromise, but at the same time experimenting is fun and sometimes leads into unpredictable undiscovered fields that surprise and please you. So yes, for us it’s important to have creative control, but it’s great when somebody external can really feel and understand your music and makes those changes that really suit you! We had a few of those experiences, but also a lot of arguments…
Where do you draw influence and inspiration from for your work?
From our innate discomfort towards existence. But also from random experiences you may encounter in life; the universe is immense and gives you a lot of inspiration.
If you could collaborate with anybody going forward, who would you choose and why?
Would be cool to be produced by Steve Albini and see if he could make our sound even more distressing. Playing along with Sonic youth or Dirty Three would be the top! We can’t imagine the peak of psychedelia reachable with all three bands improvising a tune! That’s obviously a fantasy, can’t really compare us to those guys. But dreaming is always allowed!
Tell us a random, funny fact about you that not many people know.
Our first recordings were quite funny. David used to write songs and getting us to play them without knowing them. He was like, “alright guys, got some new stuff” – playing REC and albums coming out with just improvisation! We had no clue what a metronome was, then we had to change our style once getting in serious productions unfortunately.
What should we expect from you in the coming weeks and months?
More singles, which will probably lead into an EP. Our sound is going to get louder with the next releases, so stay tuned for a dive into the distorted lands of Desert Clouds!