Shazam Meets…Madina Lake & Kasiuss
On a balmy UK summer evening in August, Chords in Pool played host to a staggering line up of heavy alternative tock, with Chicago boys Madina Lake and rapidly emerging home-grown Leeds lads Kasiuss.
Luckily, we managed to catch up for a chat with both bands. Madina Lake drummer Dan Torelli told us about gigging, album artwork and the issues surrounding playing as a 3 piece after bassist Matthew Leone was serious injured whilst breaking up a domestic dispute on the streets of Chicago. We also spoke to Biz from Kasiuss about a new video they are releasing and how they feel about playing at upcoming behemoth rock festival Leeds/Reading.
Shazam Meets…Madina Lake:
You’re currently playing a few dates in the UK – how is it going?
Awesome! It’s been really fun. We kicked off with Sonisphere Festival then did some Barfly gigs so we went from massive shows to small shows but in general we are so glad to be here.
Do you feel it is important to keep busy?
Since Matthew was injured it has been important to us to keep going and not be depressed about it, we prefer to take positive action as opposed to sitting around being bummed out.
You must miss his presence a lot though?
We miss him tonnes, in every regard. Especially playing Sonisphere without him, it was a big stage to play as just a 3 piece. Matthew generally takes up every inch of a stage so not having him there was weird. We are actually playing to bass tracks that Matthew recorded literally a week before we came over here, he was well enough to get up and lay them down so it’s kind of like having him here in some ways.
Your released your last album ‘Attics To Eden’ in 2009. What was the recording process like?
It was awesome, but it was a labour of love – the producer David Bendeth was really rough on us! It was totally different to the first record which was a total breeze to record, every millisecond was checked over but ultimately I think it made us better musicians and the end result was great.
An artist called Lynden Saint Victor did the amazing artwork for the album – how did that partnership come about?
It was crazy actually, a friend of ours bought some of his work and we saw it and thought it was incredible. So Nathan called him up and it turns out he likes our band; they talked for a while and it turned out he had lyrics he has always wanted to make into a song. So we traded him a song with his lyrics for the original piece of art you see on the cover. No money changed hands at all.
So where is the song these days?
He has it, it probably won’t ever be released – it’s just something personal for him to keep; though I hear he uses it in his shows when he exhibits his art.
What is next for the band?
It’s early days, we have a new EP coming out called ‘The Dresden Codex’ first and then we have five or six new songs we’re working on. But currently we are pretty happy where we are, we just want to concentrate on Matthew getting well.
How does playing in the UK differ to playing shows in the USA?
Not to sound like I’m kissing ass but the UK is the most passionate country for music. The crowds are always so into it, whether they love it and start a mosh pit or hate it and throw bottles of piss at you, it is always that extreme in the UK. That said we have been overwhelmed by the levels of kindness and support since coming over here this time without Matthew. Everyone has been amazing.
Ok so if you could write any song from history and have it as your own what would you choose?
Off the top of my head Nine Inch Nails ‘Great Below’ – all the guys in the band really like that track.
Attics To Eden is currently available on iTunes.
Shazam Meets…Kasiuss:
How is the tour going?
Biz: So far it’s amazing we were at Total Rock Radio station today and we have met loads of new people its cracking.
Tonight you are playing Poole, looking forward to it?
Yeah, I’ve never been to Poole before so it should be a good one, it’s an interesting venue and the pre-sale of tickets has been amazing so it promises to be a great show and seeing as this is the last leg of the Madina Lake dates I think I’ll be celebrating afterwards too!
You currently have a self titled 5 track EP out, and have made a video for one of the tracks. How was that experience?
The song we chose to make a video for is Wonders Prevail, it’s a great track…I like all the tracks on the EP but I think this one probably best represents every aspect of the band that exists, it captures everything. The song Wonders Prevail is about realising who you are and not letting anyone get in the way of that.
What is the best gig you guys have ever played?
We recently won the Future Sound competition to open the Festival Republic Stage at Leeds and Reading Festival and to get that slot we had to play in a showcase, I think that is my favourite show to date. It was a sell-out crowd and people were singing along with the lyrics, it was amazing. Playing Leeds and Reading will most definitely be a highlight to come, ever since we started out in music it has been the pinnacle of what we wanted to achieve. These are exciting times!
So what is next on the roadmap for Kasiuss?
We are going to promote the EP, which is self released and has already started to really take off. Also hopefully go out play a tonne more shows and pick up a load of new fans. We also want to keep enjoying what we do, that’s the main thing!
Kasiuss’ debut ‘EP 2010′ is currently available on iTunes.
