Interview with Slyde

I recently reviewed Back Again, the new EP from progressive rockers Slyde, describing it as “… a soundscape of soaring melodies that draws the listener in right from the start…” and saying that “…if you’re a fan of prog rock then you definitely need to check this out”

I was therefore delighted when the band agreed to be interviewed for All About The Rock !

 

All About The Rock: Hi guys – first of all, a huge thank you for agreeing to this interview and giving our UK readers a chance to learn some more about Slyde !

Nathan Da Silva:  Thank you for having us 🙂

AATR:  The new EP, Back Again, is due out on the 17th February, and the initial reviews seem to be really positive.  Are you happy with what people are saying?  How are you guys feeling now that we’re getting closer to the official release date?

ND:  We are very pleased with the feedback of the EP thus far.  We’ve always believed that our music is more geared towards European listeners.  A lot of the musical influences I draw from are European (more on that later).  All in all, we are very excited when reading what people have to say about what we’re doing.  We are anxious to get this one out – we have a second EP, which we are wrapping up post production with this week!  

AATR:  Would you mind giving our readers a history of Slyde?  Could you tell us a little about each member of the band?

ND:  We’ve been a band since 2009, but our musical and lyrical visions really solidifed around 2011, when Brendan Soares (drums/vocals) joined the band.  Sarah Westbrook (keyboards) and I (lead vocals/guitar) have been in Slyde since the beginning, and before Brendan, we had a revolving door of drummers.  We released two demos in 2009 and 2010, but these two efforts are really not definitive of what we currently are (although it’s fun to listen back, for us, and for listeners/fans to see where we started).  “Feed The Machine”, our 2011 release, was the beginning of this social and environmental consciousness that drives the lyrical content within our music.  We all feel very strongly about what we’re singing about, in hopes that the listeners feel something by it as well.  In a world where popular music is dominated by songs with superficial lyrics and love stories (which, respectfully, have their place in the industry), we want to do something different from that.  “Feed The Machine” was followed by “New World Sympathy” in 2012, which built upon what FtM did.  Slyde played about 150 shows in Eastern Canada up to late-2013, when our longtime bassist Nicholas Favretto decided to leave the band.  This triggered a hiatus for Slyde, and in 2016, we recruited Alberto Campuzano (who used to play in Annihilator, and currently plays in Warmachine, among other bands).  Al essentially revived the band, and we decided to rework a lot of previously unused material (as well as some new tunes) to eventually create what you hear on Back Again (as well as the upcoming second half to Back Again).

AATR: What is the writing and recording process for Slyde?  Do you guys prefer the experience of playing live, or the recording / studio side of things?

ND:  I consider myself to be the composer of the band moreso than a songwriter.  I come up with all the arrangements for the instruments, present it to the bandmates, and it evolves from there, as the others put their own personal flavour to it.  The tunes pretty much come out the way they were before hacking it out together as a group, but much more musical (thanks to working with some incredible musicians).  Lyrics are often co-wrote together once the instrumental side is done.  We take great pride on playing and touring often (and still do).  We feel that we are definitely a live band with lots of energy onstage.  We are trying to focus a lot more on online presence and promotion these days, and as a result, we really do miss the road and performing live.  All in good time!!

AATR: How would you describe the attitude / vision of the band?

ND:  We want to play fun music for people who dig it.  And rock out onstage.  Very hard.   

AATR: Do you guys have any major influences, or bands that you would describe yourself as being big fans of?

ND:  I am personally very eclectic with my influences, so it’s difficult for me to pinpoint them.  However, the musical “vision” for Slyde has always been to bring together the high energy hard rock and metal vibes with a pop sensibility – that way, fans of both hard rock/metal and pop music can appreciate something about it.  I am also a huge fan of 80s and 90s video game music – which, coincidently, very much resembles the melodic and energetic qualities of metal music.  I really love the concept of counterpoint in music composition, and counterpoint is extremely inherent in early video game music, due to the audio limitations of using monophonic synth waves.  I also love melodic European metal – Scar Symmetry’s Holographic Universe is one of my all time favourite albums.   

AATR: What’s next for Slyde?  Do you have any plans for a tour?  I’d love to see you guys play live, so I’m hoping you make it to the UK sometime in the near(ish) future!

ND:  Ultimately that is the short term goal:  to get ourselves overseas to the UK and mainland Europe for some shows/a tour.  We are slowly building a presence/awareness for us in Europe, in hopes to continue building a team that can help us get there.  

AATR: Finally, is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?

ND:  If you like high energy rock music, please check us out; buy, stream, share and steal our music and spread the word if you dig it.  Pre-order our upcoming EP on our bandcamp site (http://slyde.bandcamp.com).

AATR: Many thanks for your time today !