Often as bands grow and mature they can find it difficult to balance the sound that they became known and loved for with a new progressive sound that has developed over the years. Apes are no strangers to this conundrum, having just recently spent a period in the recording studio working away on an upcoming full length album.
“We’re not worrying about what this sounds like, instead we’re writing to please ourselves and whatever comes out naturally,” explained frontman Ben Dowd.
During the recording process this time, the band has taken a somewhat different approach to previous sessions by writing tracks whilst in the studio, and also by having all of the band members involved in the writing process. Ben said the new approach has been “really exciting, because you never know what you’re going to come out of there with”.
With the new all-inclusive writing process, Ben also feels like Apes are now finally “keyed in on what Apes is, and we’re writing the first Apes music rather than trying to sound like bands we admire.” Apes’ recently released single ‘Dimensions’ is a perfect representation of this new direction, as they try to “tap into a new sound but keep the qualities that people already know us for.”
Outside of studio time, Apes have just wrapped up a tour supporting The Darkness which proved to be both a very educational experience as well as a wonderful warm-up for their own national headline tour. “We didn’t really know what to expect form those guys, but their work ethic as well as how above and beyond they got for fans was just insane. I honestly didn’t expect to be able to take so much away from this tour as I did, and can’t say enough about those guys and their touring crew,” said Ben.
For Ben personally, he was taken aside by Darkness frontman Justin Hawkins for a one-on-one teaching session: “He sat down with me for 20 minutes and at not one stage did it ever feel fake. Those guys just genuinely care, which is awesome because they didn’t have to do that at all. I learned so much and definitely plan on using it in the future.”
With their own national tour coming up, the band enjoyed and appreciated the opportunity to tour with The Darkness as it proved to be the perfect way to shake off any rust that formed since they last performed in January. “You get really nervous getting back into the swing of things, so it probably takes a show or two. The tour with The Darkness was really great and our confidence is really high now going into our own shows,” Ben said excitedly.
Nov 27. Beach Road Hotel, 71 Beach Road, Bondi. FREE. Info: facebook.com/apeshq
