Kerretta Drummer H. Walker about the New Album, "Angelm"

Kerretta have their new album, "Angelm" ready to be released on Friday, October 18th, 2024. Drummer H. Walker agreed to an interview, and I asked him everything I wanted to know about this milestone record. We also talked about the band's creative process, their influences, and New Zealand.

Anne: Hi! Thanks for taking the time to do this interview! How are you doing right now?

H. Walker: Hi Anne! I'm doing great, thank you. Thanks for taking the time to chat.

Anne: Congrats on your new record, "Angelm". It's so great to finally listen to your fourth studio album! What inspired you to write these eight songs?

H. Walker: Thank you! It had been a while for us to be able to get to a stage to write new music. We live in different parts of the world, so some things needed to line up first. We began with an idea/concept this time and began to write from that. Usually, we would harvest ideas whilst rehearsing, but this time, we wanted it to be more like a story with segments.

Anne: Many of your songs tell stories through sound rather than words. What's the narrative of "Angelm"?

H. Walker: The genesis of the idea was to have eight parts loosely based on the eight continental plates. There is a new one scientists believe they have discovered.

"We started writing the songs when people were separated from each other"

H. Walker: When we began writing, it was during the time of lockdowns and when people were separated from each other. So, people were living in this existence of separation. We had this concept of fragmentation but a natural draw to some form of coalescence.

We thought it would be a fun idea to apply this to something tangible that would form ideas for the record based around the Earth's continents/plates.

There is scientific evidence suggesting there are now eight continents with the addition of Te Riu-a-Māui, or globally more commonly referred to as Zealandia. So, we had sketches with ideas that came from these continental plates. We applied the idea of using notes, rhythmic structures or even sounds from each of them.

We didn't apply any strict rules, but as if you had fleeting moments of sound or sonic whilst canvassing the globe over each of the plates. We would get ideas from these and write and organically let them have an interesting journey or guide to write.

Anne: Your music is complex, with intricate rhythms and dynamic shifts. How do you approach songwriting as a band? Is it a collaborative process, or does someone take the lead?

H. Walker: It sometimes changes depending on the track. Often, we'll start with something rhythmic as a base, and that isn't strictly drums. It could be a guitar or bass rhythmic pattern or effect arrangement made from effects. This, in turn, leads to something more melody-based, and then we work forward from there.

Anne: The songs on "Angelm" evoke a sense of space and transcendence once again—following the tradition of "Vilayer" from 2009 and "Saansilo" from 2011. Did you intentionally design them with this specific atmosphere in mind, or did they naturally evolve like this while playing?

"'Angelm' has a healthy amount of spontaneity"

H. Walker: "Angelm" was a mix of intention with a healthy amount of spontaneity. We storied the album out so there would be healthy dynamics over the course of each track and then again over the record. There was a lot of writing on paper to map out each track into parts with certain ideas, atmospheres, or moods so the songs would feel right in a linear direction.

Dynamics play an important part in what we do, so we try to make sure the mountains are high, the valleys are low, and the journey between the two is stimulating.

Anne: Touring is a big part of being a band, and you've played in many countries, sharing stages with all sorts of artists. Do you have a favourite city or location to perform? If yes, which one is it, and which band would you pick to play with again at this venue?

H. Walker: Such a loaded question that we could run into trouble! We love playing in Aotearoa/New Zealand, of course. There isn't a country we haven't enjoyed, and they all have things that make them memorable. And, of course, it's always the people who make it this way. I can't emphasize this enough. It's always humbling for us that people in faraway places create space and opportunity for us to perform. Of course, though, you want us to lock in countries! So here goes: Poland, you have great sound; Germany, you have well-designed transport arrangements that make it easier for bands to perform and an awesome music community; smaller populated countries such as Slovakia and Slovenia have always been generous with stories; France, always has great hospitality. I've probably offended someone by not mentioning many, but they are all great.

Anne: The album artwork for your releases is always striking and mysterious. How important is the visual aspect to your music, and do you work closely with the artists who create your cover art?

"We have a secret band member!"

H. Walker: Thank you! Our secret member is our designer, Michael Chalberg, and we've always been lucky to have him create visual art for us. He comes up with these great ideas and is additionally able to integrate our concepts into a visual format.

Anne: You've been part of the post-music scene for quite a while now, playing your role and inspiring upcoming new bands. What would you say has changed since you first started—positively and negatively, for you as a band and in general?

H. Walker: The positive part is that the artist-to-audience relationship can be more direct. By this, I mean that as an audience, you're able to access music more easily as long as you have web access. It's decentralized from the older gate-keeping corporate label institutions where they held so many keys. One could say there are different gatekeepers now, and they'd be correct, but there are now some different avenues I think that artists can bypass and audiences, in return, can support directly. The things that are the same, though, are live music brings people together. We're always around the merch desk, ready to answer a question or sign a t-shirt.

Anne: The production quality of "Angelm" is outstanding. Each instrument can clearly be defined and always feels present when it's time to. Would you like to tell me a bit about your recording process? Where did you record the album, and how did you achieve that distinct sound?

"We used a lot of 80s-based equipment"

H. Walker: Thank you! It has taken us a long time. We recorded it between Auckland and London, UK. Our last studio LP, Pirohia, was recorded in a large drum room, and this time, the rooms we opted for were a little smaller and a little tighter in sound for the most part. If we wanted a larger room sound with extravagant reverb, we'd open the live room doors and mic the stairwells to increase the reverb. When it came to recording any multitrack material, we like to use the studio as a tool, so we included a lot of outboard equipment, such as tape delays and odd 80s-based modulation equipment. Dave (the guitarist)would overdub a guitar, for example, and I'd be messing with the tape. We would use alternate guitar tunings sometimes, and additionally, we brought some guests in as well to add. "Pan Ultima", for example, has recordings from Antarctica, which our friend brought back, or we'd have additional percussion to give it a more otherworldly feel.

Dave mixed 'Angelm' in a studio situated on a giant lightship on the River Thames in London.

Anne: Do you have a favourite song on "Angelm"?

H. Walker: They were all equal parts hard work and enjoyable to create, so, my favourites change daily.

Anne: You just released the video for the song "Eyes In The Bull Temple". Do you want to tell me what this piece is about?

H. Walker: The single version is much shorter than the LP version. I mentioned before that we would draw out the track on paper and write what we wanted to achieve in each section of the song. I won't go too much into the 'meaning' of any track, as the listener's own interpretation is just as valid as the intention it was made. But to tell you how the single version was created: The verses, for example, we really wanted a bass line that would have a punk-esque style pace but have the notes wander around so they didn't feel too rooted in only a few places. We would have very basic drums to juxtapose against these notes, and then when the choruses would kick in, the guitars, and vocals would land rhythmically in places which would seem out of place with the previous bass. We had vocals laid by two friends, and we wanted to have a mix of football-style chants, celebratory cheers and timbres that could be heard in a setting such as a ritual.

Anne: Your songs have a lot of dynamic range, shifting from quiet, introspective moments to intense, powerful sections. Is this a reflection of how life is?

"We wanted our songs to sound exciting"

H. Walker: For some, yes. For others, maybe not so much. We wanted the extremes to be there because we wanted it to be exciting for us to make and to listen to. And we were lucky to be able to share that with others, too—from spaces alone to a storm on the senses. Days can often be routine or numbing. We aim to defy that by energizing the head and body.

Anne: As a listener, you just can't help yourself. As soon as you start listening to Kerretta and immerse yourself in a song, you embark on a journey, taking you to imaginative places. Has this always been your goal? To invite people to forget their everyday lives for a few moments and travel to a world where things like time and money don't matter?

H. Walker: Yes! Pretty much exactly that! A choice of either a soundtrack to life or a life within a soundtrack.

Anne: I read about Kraftwerk and Kyuss—are there other musical projects that inspired you to develop your signature sound?

H. Walker: So many! We grew up with a lot of guitar music from the 90s, so to name some that are recognized as an initial reference point, anything from Fugazi to The Jesus Lizard, Soundgarden. Artists like Lee Scratch Perry, John Coltrane, Wendy Carlos, Ennio Morricone, Nina Simone, Nancy Sinatra, and hearing a lot of Polynesian percussion all had techniques or ways to work instruments we enjoyed.

Anne: You're from Auckland, New Zealand. How would you describe the music scene in your hometown?

"The community in Auckland is quite supportive"

H. Walker: Compared to most cities, it's probably quite small, but the community is pretty supportive. I think there is a lot more mixing of people in different groups and different genres than in other countries. So it's not unusual to be in three or four bands and all of them being in a different genre. I can say it's becoming a location on a lot of touring circuits for smaller independent artists, which wasn't previously an option. So, there is less of a feeling of isolation than there was even five to ten years ago. If you're touring Australia and you have a few days off, there is no reason not to visit.

Anne: If there was one thing in the world you could change. What would it be and why?

H. Walker: That we were kinder. Most of the answers to other issues could begin here.

Kerretta – "Eyes In the Bull Temple"

Kerretta – "Oceania"