Dave Pen of South-London collective Archive talked to us about the band’s most ambitious project to date: Axiom, a forty-minute short film and accompanying album set for release on CD, Vinyl, Download, DVD and in Cinemas May 2014. After presenting its world premiere at the 2014 London Sundance Film Festival, they are set to play the whole album/film live at the Roundhouse in London on May 29, 2014 (last tickets available here) at a one-off worldwide exclusive performance.
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Q: How would you describe your sound?
A: Progressive Electro Rock Soundscape
Q: What inspired you to start working on Axiom?
A: We knew we wanted to make a seamless album and something that was very imaginary so to speak. After we had recorded the Greenwich Bell ringers, It just flowed from there really and It was all written and recorded over a short 10 day studio session.
Q: What does the Axiom theme represent and what message does it bring?
A: The theme is basically about control, and trying to escape the all controlling god that control us all in many different ways. it’s a concept album with a brilliant film to go with it, We aren’t trying to send a message really we are just using our imaginations and it s good to get people thinking
Q: How is Axiom different from your previous works?
A: This is the first time we have really had a visual piece that reflects the music we have done, we wanted to make a film like this a while ago but it didn’t happen and we are glad it didn’t now. With Axiom its a step into uncharted water where as we made the music first and then the film came to match the words and music which we had never done before. This makes it a stand alone piece of work and something we feel we would like do again at some point.
Q: Why the title Axiom?
A: Darius and myself were sat on the tour bus discussing the potential album title and I had a load of names and words written down that i’d gathered over the recent months. it actually came from another word we were thinking about and immediately as soon as we saw it were like “ Thats brilliant , what does it mean? “ to then find out it meant something to be accepted as true without controversy it completely fitted with what the theme of the album was about.
Q: What should the public expect from your live Axiom shows?
A: We will be playing some shows alongside the film which is a new experience for us so its gonna be a test for us. as always with Archive the live shows are full of raw energy and Axiom live will sound a lot bigger and fatter than it sounds on record. Playing material live I feel you always have to make it bigger somehow and add new dynamics to make it interesting. It can be boring when live music sounds just like the record.
Q: Are you going to perform old songs as well?
A: Yes of course, we have so many songs that we enjoy playing live so there will be a nice mix of old and new.
Q: Name the 3 albums you would take on a desert island with you
A: Richard Hawley – Lowedges, Pink Floyd – Meddle, British Sea Power – The Decline of British Sea Power
Q: What’s next for Archive?
A: We have a couple of Festivals in the summer and then we will plan the release of our next album of which we are just adding the finishing touches to.
AXIOM Trailer:
