AUTOPILOT

PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHARL FOURIE
WEBSITE: http://www.autopilot.co.za
COUNTRY: South Africa STYLE: Alternative / Rock

YOU HAVE BEEN BUSY RECORDING YOUR DEBUT ALBUM “A BROKEN WORD” AT THEO CROUS’S STUDIO IN BELLVILLE, CAPE TOWN. CAN YOU GIVE US A PROGRESS REPORT AND WHEN ARE YOU PLANNING TO RELEASE THE ALBUM?

We first started in the studio on 1 November 2008, after a couple of months of pre-production. We have really put a lot of effort into this album, thus the long process. The album is currently in the mixing process, where after it will be mastered. We are thus hoping to release the album by the latest end of June 2009. There are still some logistics in terms of distribution, etc that need to be finalised.

HOW DID YOU DECIDE ON THE ALBUM TITLE, AND HOW DOES IT FIT WITH THE SONGS AND “THEME” OF THE ALBUM?

We had played around with a couple of ideas for the album name but none of them seemed to fit the feel of the songs. The majority of the songs on the album deal with relationship issues and thus the title ‘A Broken Word’ is quite apt. The title is also taken from a line of the song ‘Surrender’ that will be on the album. ‘A Broken Word’ is ambiguous as it also refers to past experiences we have all had in our lives.

ARE ALL THE SONGS NEW OR DID YOU GUYS USE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE A FEW OLD SONGS AND REWRITE THEM IN A WAY THAT THEY SOUND THE WAY YOU’VE ALWAYS WANTED THEM TO SOUND?

There were a couple of old songs that we had that never made it onto the ‘Beautiful’ EP that we have reworked for this album. We have given them a different vibe and obviously with Brigette’s vocals they have taken on a whole new form. The majority of the songs on the album have all been written since Brigette joined Autopilot.

EXCEPT FOR THE CHANGE OF VOCALISTS, HOW HAS YOUR SOUND CHANGED SINCE THE RELEASE OF THE EP “BEAUTIFUL”?

‘A Broken Word’ is a true reflection of the real Autopilot. All the songs on the album were written together in our rehearsal room. We were very constricted with the ‘Beautiful’ EP, especially with the drumming, because of our previous producer’s visions. We felt that the previous EP was very 1 dimensional, whereas ‘A Broken Word’ ranges from very slow, ballad-type songs to harder, faster tracks.

HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO DECIDE THINGS LIKE WHAT GUITAR SOUND YOU WANTED AND HOW THE DRUMS WOULD SOUND, BECAUSE I KNOW MUSICIANS ARE ALWAYS PERFECTIONISTS WHEN IT COMES TO THAT SORT OF THING?

The drums at Theo’s studio seem to be permanently set and miked-up. We obviously spent some time on tuning them and testing the kit. We are lucky that the kit is naturally fat sounding and we didn’t have to spend that much time on the sound. Obviously each individual piece of the kit is sorted in the mix.

We spent a good few hours on the sound for the rhythm guitars and are really happy with the sound. We finally got a guitar sound with some balls – but not too over the top. The lead and melody guitar sound took about 3 days of recording to get right. We would settle on a sound, but then when getting back into the studio the next day, decided it wasn’t good enough. We then fiddled some more and re-recorded those tracks. We are happy to say that we finally got the sound we were looking for.

WHEN WRITING AN ALBUM EVERYONE IN A BAND USUALLY HAS ALLOT OF IDEAS. ARE THERE ANY SONGS THAT WON’T MAKE THE ALBUM THAT YOU PLAN ON “REVISITING” IN THE FUTURE?

We have 13 potential songs for ‘A Broken Word’. Initially, the plan was to have all 13 on the album, but the option is there for us to leave 1 or 2 tracks off the album should we feel that they don’t live up to our expectations. If this is the case we may revisit the ‘left-off’ tracks for future recordings or B-side online releases.

DO YOU GUYS HAVE AN IDEA WHAT THE FIRST SINGLE OF THE ALBUM WILL BE, AND ARE YOU AIMING TO GET IT PLAYED ON RADIO AND EVEN SUPPORT IT WITH A MUSIC VIDEO?

There are 2 songs that could be the possible first single. These are ‘Open Your Eyes’ and ‘Bipolar’. We are not too sure yet which one it will be but are definitely seeing both of these songs on national radio and both being supported by a music video.

MANY BANDS REVAMP THEIR “IMAGE” FOR EVERY EP OR ALBUM THAT THEY RELEASE, HAVE YOU CONSIDERED SOMETHING LIKE THAT FOR THE RELEASE OF YOUR DEBUT ALBUM, AND IN YOUR OPINION IS A BAND’S IMAGE JUST AS IMPORTANT AS THE MUSIC?

We have definitely revamped the look of the band for this album. We have been working with designer friend, Demelza, who has created a perfect image for the band and this has been incorporated into the album sleeve photo shoot. It will hopefully be carried through to Autopilot’s live performance’s as well.

A band’s image is definitely important. The visual image of a band should be just as striking as the sound. People like to be able to relate a ‘look’ with a ‘sound’.

NOW THAT YOU GUYS WILL HAVE A WHOLE NEW BUNCH OF SONGS TO PERFORM, HOW DO YOU PLAN TO BALANCE YOUR SET LIST BETWEEN THE NEW AND THE OLD SONGS, AND ARE THERE A FEW SONGS THAT YOU ARE SAYING FAREWELL TO FOR A WHILE?

A lot of the ’new’ songs on the album have already been a part of our set for the last while now. But we will definitely be dropping some of the older ones as well as adding some new ones in.

IS AUTOPILOT PLANNING ANY SHOWS OUTSIDE OF CAPE TOWN IN THE NEAR FUTURE?

We have been invited to play the Plett Garden Party and the Grahamstown Festival in July 2009 with the biggest bands in the country. Depending on the completion of the album, we are considering revolving a national tour around these 2 events.

SEARCHING THE INTERNET I SEE THAT THERE ARE A FEW BANDS NAMED AUTOPILOT OUT THERE. AREN’T YOU CONCERNED THAT YOU HAVE TO CHANGE THE NAME OF THE BAND AT SOME STAGE?

Unfortunately this is often the case with many bands. It’s not really a concern for us, but if it gets to the point where it must be done, so be it.

HAVING TAKEN PART IN A BATTLE OF THE BANDS TYPE TV SHOW, DO YOU THINK THAT THERE IS MORE THAT THE BIG WIGS AT THE SABC COULD DO TO HELP PROMOTE LOCAL MUSIC?

Oh definitely! For starters, instead of playing overseas videos of artists between movies, they should make more of an effort to introduce more local artists. However, it is inspiring to see that there are a lot more shows these days that feature interviews and videos of local artists.

ANY LAST COMMENTS / ADVICE OR PEOPLE YOU WOULD LIKE TO THANK?

Autopilot would first of all like to thank you for the opportunity to do this interview and help spread the word for our new album ‘A Broken Word’! We would also like to thank our sponsors, especially Jagermeister, who have been awesome to us over the last year or so. Also thanks to Demelza, Murray and Byron for all their continued efforts. And to the general public; keep supporting South African music! Peace!