And So I Watch You From Afar

ASIWYFA Myspace Page (Click Here)

ASIWYFA Facebook Page (Click Here)

ASIWYFA Twitter Page (Click Here)

Known for their unrelenting tours that has seen them play over 300 gigs since the start of 2009, Belfasts And So I Watch You From Afar (ASIWYFA to their fans) dont know how to take a break. From appearances at SXSW, Eurosonic, Electric Picnic, Novarock, Canadian Music Fest, Popkomm, Pukkelpop, Sonisphere, to tour dates in Europe, North America, Russia and a support slot for rock supergroup Them Crooked Vultures, the instrumental band have been on the road playing music non-stop since the release of their fan-stirring debut self-titled album.

In between, the band were nominated for a Choice Music Prize for Irish Album Of The Year and XFMs New Music Album Of The Year, released The Letters EP in February 2010 and a stop-gap tour single Straight Through The Sun in November 2010.

GANGS

Its a small wonder then, that the band actually managed to record their highly-charged second album Gangs at all with that punishing schedule. It was recorded on weekdays between festival appearances over the summer of 2010 during July and August in Start Together Studios, Belfast with producer Rocky OReilly and the help of a young technician by the name of Lee McMahon.

A matter of weeks before they entered the studio, the band scrapped 22 songs they had written after the release of their self-titled debut. We spent the last year and a half writing but we essentially did this album in eight weeks, Guitarist Rory Friers says of the decision. We suddenly took this notion that we didnt like any of the songs. This was four weeks before we went into the studio. We had demoed the whole thing and had it all mapped out. We took bits and pieces that we liked but we wrote a whole new set of songs. Its worked out.

As a result, Gangs is the bands most cohesive record, a 44 minute, eight song unyielding document of the bands last two years playing together told through ironclad guitar riffs and colossal yet increasingly subtle rhythms. We had a far broader experience of things, says Rory. We really wanted to try and get it on the record, which sounds weird because were an instrumental band, but there are songs on there that we specifically wrote to try and capture the vibe of new and meaningful things that weve all experienced.

Its a celebratory record, one which fittingly culminates in a samba outro on the albums final song Lifeproof which layers up many takes of percussion played by the band in the studio until a carnival atmosphere is created, whistles and all.

The heart of Gangs is a section entitled Homes: Ghost Parlor KA-6 to Samara to Belfast which spans tracks six and seven. Its a near 10 minute epic which taps into the emotions of returning to familiar places and visiting new ones for the very first time. Its a cheesy thought but we wanted to capture our journey through touring: seeing so many different things, unexpected happenings, sudden changes and then a homecoming, Rory explains. The end of that tune sums up the relief and elation of coming back into Belfast and getting to see our friends and family again.

Its a sentiment echoed by the title of the record - Gangs. In the same vein, everything weve done, places weve played all, people weve met, all circulate around these pockets of people, pockets of scenes and pockets of culture. These gangs of people who emanate from everywhere. Its that DIY / The Clash / Black Flag sort of thing that our band is like a gang sometimes.

TRACKLISTING1 BEAUTIFULUNIVERSEMASTERCHAMPION2 Gang (starting never stopping)3 Search:Party:Animal4 7 Billion People all Alive at Once5 Think:Breathe:DestroyHomes6 Ghost Parlor KA -6 to...7 ...Samara to Belfast8 Lifeproof

( Homes couples together tracks 6 and 7)

THE BANDGUITAR - Rory FriersGUITAR - Tony WrightBASS - Johnny AdgerDRUMS - Chris Wee