Chilean progressive rock band AISLES dropped their long-awaited fifth album, Beyond Drama, on April 5, 2023, their first long player since 2016’s Hawaii. Recorded in 2021, the new album leaves behind the concept and sound of Hawaii in favour of a more direct and powerful sound influenced by bands like Porcupine Tree, Rush, and Animals As Leaders.
Lead guitarist Germán Vergara explains, “Part of this new creative direction has to do with trying to connect more with the public, more than in ‘Hawaii.’ We wanted to pay a lot of attention to the melodies, something that has been a signature of AISLES’ sound from the beginning of the band.”
XS Noize spoke with Germán Vergara to find out more about the inspiration for Beyond Drama, the evolution of AISLES’ sound, gear, and recording techniques.
What inspired your latest album, Beyond Drama?
The music was the result of our evolution as a band on the one hand and, on the other, the consequence of our experiences. The events and emotions that I experienced personally gave shape to the lyrics.
The social unrest in Chile in October 2019 brought a wave of intolerance and violence in the streets to the point that curfews were implemented. Subway stations were burnt intentionally, and irrationality was everywhere. All this unveiled a feeling of social injustice, and then the pandemic came. Freedom of motion was limited; we had to postpone recording sessions because of the political crisis in Chile and then because of Covid.
Without any doubt, all of that contributed in a way to the sound and mood of the album. That’s why if I had to say what inspired the album, the word is ‘crisis.’ I went through a personal breakup on top of that. Separating from the person I loved after having shared so many years is tough. These are the most personal lyrics that I have ever written. In spite of all the ‘Drama’ behind the process, we all think it’s the most beautiful music we’ve ever written.
Walk us through your mindset as you entered the studio to record the album.
We were very happy to go back to the studio after having toured Europe, the USA and México for the first time with our fourth album Hawaii. We had a very clear idea of the sound that we wanted for this fifth album; we wanted something heavier and more direct in sound and every production decision was made consciously to achieve that.
Who is in AISLES, and which instrument do they play?
Juan Pablo Gaete on keyboards, Daniel Concha on bass, Germán Vergara on guitar and background vocals, except in ‘Thanks to Kafka’ and ‘Needsun,’ where I sing lead, Rodrigo Sepúlveda on guitars, Felipe Candia on drums and Israel Gil as the lead singer. Right now, the band has reduced to being just Juan Pablo, Daniel, and myself, but we’re more connected than ever before.
Where and when did AISLES first get together?
It’s a band that my older brother Luis Vergara his friend Rodrigo Sepúlveda and I formed around 2003. We were all from Santiago, Chile, with the exception of Alejandro Melendez, who was from Brazil.
How did you get started in music?
I remember being just a 10-year-old boy, and my older brother Luis got in the room with a stereo and a cassette and told me, ‘You have to listen to this.’ It was ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ by Queen. I remember that being the moment I decided that I wanted to be a musician. Perhaps a more specific moment was when I got an electric guitar as a birthday present when I turned 14 years old.
Did your sound evolve naturally, or did you deliberately push it in a certain direction?
I think that from ‘The Yearning’ (2005) until ‘Hawaii’ (2016), our sound evolved naturally, but probably when we wrote music for ‘Beyond Drama’ (2023), there was more thought put into which direction we should take.
Let’s talk gear for a moment. Which guitars, amps, and pedals are you currently using and why?
The one that I play the most and that has been with me for more than two decades is my JS 1000 Ibanez. For the production of ‘Beyond Drama,’ I decided to experiment with an 8-string guitar, and I bought a custom-made ABASI that I’m in love with right now. I also used, to a lesser degree, a Gibson ES 335 that I recently sold.
Now I’m using a Kemper Profiler, and I cloned my old Mesa Boogie Amp. But with the Kemper, I have everything I need. I can use a VOX AC30 in one song, a HIWATT in another one, or my own old Mesa Boogie.
Are there any special recording techniques you use in the studio?
I don’t know if it’s really special, but I do two types of doubling. I re-record the parts with a different guitar and sound, and I also re-amp the clean signal (that I always record) and use another sound processor like Kemper or Neural DSP to add more character to the sound. I also layer a lot of guitars, and sometimes they’re confused with keyboard sounds.
What is your definition of tone? And has your tone changed over time?
I like my lead sound to be smooth and powerful. It may sound like a contradiction, but I think it’s not. Of course, my tone has changed; I use more distortion than 15 years ago. I’ve also learned a lot about production and put that into my sound.
How do you keep your sound consistent on stage?
Kemper is actually the key here. It’s easy to carry, and I work throughout rehearsals to make the whole performance levelled in sounds.
What inspires your writing? Do you draw inspiration from poems, music, or other media?
I’m mostly inspired by films and books, even more than by music. The true inspiration for ‘Beyond Drama’ was experience and personal events.
What can you share about your writing process?
For ‘Beyond Drama’, we worked more individually in compositions with the exception of ‘Surrender’ and ‘The Plague’, which were more collective. We also worked on many songs in pairs; I wrote ‘Thanks to Kafka’ and ‘Megalomania’ with Felipe Candia and with’ Surrender’ and ‘Needsun’ with Juan Pablo Gaete.
Which artists, in your opinion, are killing it right now?
I love the music that Leprous is making. Haken is doing some really cool music too, and they are amazing live. Opeth always delivers a great record, and Steven Wilson, as a solo artist, doesn’t seem to have boundaries.
What can your fans look forward to over the next six months? Music videos? Live gigs?
We had some lineup changes, so while we start rehearsals with the new guys, we will release a lot of music. It’s gonna be a busy year. At the moment, we’re super excited to be finally releasing ‘Beyond Drama’ in April!
We are also recording a suite for a science fiction book called ‘Bahamut,’ by Chilean writer Francisco Ortega. It is quite a challenge to be able to grasp the feeling in the novel and translate that feeling into music. We hope to release that instrumental song in May.
In 2023, we will also release an EP with versions of songs by the legendary Chilean band Los Jaivas. We hope we can make some collaborations with other artists while we complete our lineup. It’s been a very challenging but beautiful exercise to reinvent these classic songs we love and filter them through our approach to music.
By the end of the year, we think we can release a couple of singles we’ve been working on with the new lineup. It’s going to be a very active year for us, so I suggest everyone check out our official site and social media at aislesproject.
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