Interview With Karnivool’s Drew Goddard

TuneLab: You’ve got a new album coming out in the U.S. in February. How did the recording process for ‘Sound Awake’ differ from your previous releases?

Drew Goddard: Sound Awake was the first album that was written with a full band, with each member throwing their bits and pieces into the pot. The process involved a lot of jamming and experimenting together in a room and then filtering it into a cohesive structure, a balance between spontaneity and calculated composition. We wanted it to sound a lot more raw and real, so we did a lot of live tracking, and lots of room miking so the sounds could breathe a little more.

TL: What would you say is the hardest part of recording not just ‘Sound Awake’, but albums in general?

DG: There’s no rights and wrong, so it becomes a matter of making decisions and finding your gauge of what is good and knowing when to stop. This always the hardest part for me, keeping your eyes on the prize and continuing to move without getting bogged down in the fine detail, and dragging myself away from the ping pong table, which I should add is a great way to settle disputes!

TL: What did the Forrester Savell bring to the production of the album that might not have been there before?

DG: We worked with Forrester on our previous record, Themata. There was 4 years between drinks so we had both gone our own ways for a while and arrived back with a similar attitude of creating something multi dimensional where you could you get inside and look around from different angles. He really took the project by the horns and in my opinion made it happen on a sonic level.

TL: Was it difficult finding a label to release ‘Sound Awake’ in the U.S.?

DG: We had some interest over here from Sony Australia but we were very keen to keep it independent over here as we’d done all the hard yards ourselves. We were however keen on signing internationally.. There is a certain individual at Sony Australia who was instrumental in making it happen, I think his excitement and belief in the band really rubbed off on the folk at RED/SIN (Sony Independent Network) over in the States and they signed us up fairly quickly, not to mention they just seemed to get where the band was coming from. We had also thrown some pebbles in the US pond at the end of 2007 with a pretty extensive tour, so there was an awareness of the band to a certain degree. All the work to get to that position was not exactly easy but actually finding a label wasn’t really tricky at all. I think it was just one of those occasions where everything just aligned. Still early days of course, but we’re excited and confident about the position we’re in.

TL: “Set Fire to the Hive” and “All I Know” have been released so far as singles. Are those two tracks that you knew early on would be singles?

DG: Yeah we always had those two in mind as single releases. Set Fire to the Hive was meant to be a bit of a slap in the face/call to arms and I think All I Know shows another side of the band. But singles are just supposed to be teasers for the album, and I think our albums are just teasers for the live show.

TL: You begin your first tour of the U.S. in three years in March. What do you look forward to the most about returning to the states?

DG: We love traveling to new places, meeting new people and playing to fresh ears. There’s roughly 300 million people in the states and the touring circuit is monstrous compared to what’s going on in Australia, but it’s that challenge that really appeals to us. Bring on the road trip!

TL: Karnivool has received great reviews from the press here, but you haven’t really developed the following that you have in Australia yet. Do you plan to tour the states more to help build a fan base here?

DG: We’ve just booked in a tour in March-April along with Dallas band Fair To Midland. We’re visiting a lot of new territories we haven’t been to before and visiting places that I’ve been wanting to get to for ages like Chicago, Boston, New Orleans and San Fran. Good times ahoy.

TL: What would be you’re ideal tour?

DG: The tour we are doing at the moment in Australia, The Big Day Out is a touring festival that travels around the major centres of Australia and NZ.. Mastodon, Mars Volta, Muse and plethora of other bands are on it and it has been amazing. The shows have been incredible, as too the music, people and parties! Apart from this, we’re just looking forward to jumping in a tour bus/van and just working new territories on our own.. If a support comes up that’s too good to refuse.. awesome!

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Karnivool’s latest release ‘Sound Awake‘ will be released on February 16th in the United States. A supporting tour beings on March 23rd. Dates are available on MySpace.