Page 24 - Black Velvet Issue 101

BV101 the fallen state_BV101 pg24 11/06/2019 22:26 Page 3

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with extended periods of time spent away that’s from the heart, it can be a bit daunting they put out a full-length at the start of their
from family and friends, does not bode well knowing that you’re going to tell everyone career, over the course of the next three
for an individual’s mental health. As we know about something that’s personal to you. I years the band decided to stick to releasing
all too well, even the most successful musi- was trying to say I need to be braver with my EP’s (five of them in total, excluding tour edi-
cians suffer for the sake of their art. lyric writing. I want to say things as they are, tions). This decision helped give them time
A recent survey of independent musi- be a bit more straightforward with the lyrics to develop their sound. It was the heartfelt
cians outlined that key triggers of their anx- so that people can understand them, rather ‘Nova’, from 2017’s ‘The View From Ruin’ EP
iety and depression were fear of failure, than maybe hiding behind shiny that captured many people’s attention, in-
financial instability, pressure to succeed, metaphors.” cluding that of a certain Chris Robertson,
loneliness and being evaluated by others. In the past, when it came to songwriting, who many of you will know as the frontman
Listening to ‘A Deadset Endeavour’, it’s clear the band used to think more about the style of Black Stone Cherry. Chris had fallen in
that the members of The Fallen State can re- of song they wanted to create, they would love with the song while The Fallen State
late to some, if not all, of that list. say, ‘let’s write a pop song’ or, ‘let’s write a were touring with Black Stone Cherry, and it
“To be honest, I think, all those aspects heavy song’. Nowadays, they are more fo- wasn’t long before Chris lent his vocals to
are just part of being a musician, and being cused on what they want to say in the song. the track, alongside Ben’s. As a single,
a creative person. You’re always going to be We ask Ben whether this has altered how ‘Nova’ climbed up the iTunes chart and re-
second guessing everything you say and they collaborate with each other when work- ceived airplay on rock radio. It is their
everything you do,” says Ben. The frontman ing on new material. “Yeah,” Ben responds. biggest hit to date. The video for the original
goes on to tell us how honesty helps the “Where we were before is, we’d always start version of the song currently has over 1.9

band retain a healthy mindset. “We tell each with music. We’d write a heavy riff or some- million views.
other when we’re feeling low. We try and be thing that was catchy, then we’d say what we We ask whether any of the feedback they
really honest with each other, it helps that were saying based on that. But now the received from the EPs helped to shape how
we’re really close friends, as well as a band. music is really broken down, stripped down they approached the album musically. “Prob-
You know, we hang out anyway. We rehearse and it’s just vocals and melodies. If the vocal ably not, to be honest,” answers Ben. “We
three or four times a week, we’re all together is implying a tone that is more heavy, more always try and write what we want to write.
so we can make sure we’re all good and if punky or more poppy, then that’s what Our writing process has no real effect from
anyone is feeling low then we pick each comes through with the music.” EP to EP. We don’t say, ‘oh, people like this,
other up. It helps a lot having the friendship Ben tells us that they have found this so we’ll write this again,’ or ‘people didn’t
between us, we know we can talk to each way of working has actually helped speed up like this, so we won’t do that’. We try and
other. I think that’s probably one of the the writing process. “As a band, everyone write the songs as a band, regardless of
things that we have that some other bands knows where we are with the song; we’re not what everyone else was thinking. If everyone
don’t have, the fact that we are so close. Get- trying to say to each other, ‘oh, hold on, this loves it, great. If they don’t like it that’s cool
ting inside your own head, it’s so… it can be is meant to be catchier than this,’ or ‘this is as well, because it’s what we wanted to write,
devastating, as you’ve seen with a lot of mu- meant to be harder than this.’ I think it makes so it was on our terms.”
sicians these days.” us write better songs, because we’re not just Finally on the cusp of breaking into the
there trying to write the next hit or write the UK mainstream from the interest garnered
here is a song titled ‘Paradox’ on the next heavy song. In terms of being creative, from ‘Nova’, The Fallen State looked set to
Talbum, which features the line ‘I need if you’re locking yourself into this, ‘I have to take things to the next level, their break-
a little more courage to write down these be pop’, or, ‘it has to be catchy, there’s got through seemed almost complete. Unfortu-
songs’. We are intrigued to find out what to be hooks’, you’re suddenly closing the nately, despite being in touching distance,
makes Ben more anxious - writing the door on so many things.” mainstream success didn’t follow. The frus-
songs, or putting them out to the world. “I tration of that can be heard throughout ‘A
think it’s probably the fact that you know that t was in 2014 when The Fallen State re- Deadset Endeavour’.
everyone’s going to hear it. When you’re Ileased their first (self-titled) EP. Con-
being really honest and you’re writing stuff cerned that they would be easily forgotten if
THE FALLEN STATE