Nothingland is a rock band who traverse the ethos of heavy harmonic structures, saturated riffs, and odd-meter rhythms.
Based in Ellensburg, Washington their latest E.P. “Chroma” features five tracks that are absolutely genius.
I caught up with guitarist/vocalist Josh Humphrey , bassist vocalist Justin Gibbens and drummer Clay Arango to talk about the music they grew up on, how they started playing together and the writing and recording process that went into making the new E.P.
CMM-What was the first music that really made an impact on you all as kids and what artist or band did you enjoy the most?
Josh– I was totally taken by the 90’s Seattle grunge scene but soon found my way to more indie type bands. Built to Spill and Sunny Day Real Estate were massive for me, as was Superchunk and Pavement.
Justin – It started w/ AC/DC, Priest and Zeppelin, and I quickly gravitated to heavier, faster stuff. The whole Bay area thrash scene became my go-to jams w/ my skateboard buddies back in jr high. I continued listening to heavier, more abrasive, and more eclectic stuff. Then I discovered Primus and all bets were off.
Clay– in high school I got turned onto AC/DC Rush and Metallica, but it quickly morphed into an interest in the mid to late 80s Seattle scene. I definitely tended to gravitate to grittier music with good drummers like Soundgarden, primus and poster children
CMM-When did you all start playing music and writing songs and what eventually led to the formation of the band.
Josh : I’ve been writing songs since I got my first guitar at 13. Punk and indie rock in my teeange years, and then I got into acoustic stuff for a long time. During Covid I realized how much I missed writing heavier, fuzzier guitar rock and starting recording demos in 2021. Then joined up with Justin and Clay and worked out the songs together for live shows.
Justin – I picked up bass in high school (both electric and upright). I have played in all types of bands and played nearly every flavor of music over the years. I have been playing punk-adjacent bands the better part of my adult life, arguably the most satisfying of all genres. Josh and I have played together in a string band together for over a decade, and Clay and I have been playing together in another punk band for over 15 years.
CMM-You recently released an e.p. called “Chroma” last month. What was the writing and recording process like? What gear and instruments did you use during the sessions?
Josh– I come up with demos for the songs, a rough idea of drums and bass. Then we rehearse as a three-piece and the parts come together. Justin adds beautiful, unique melodic basslines in the tastiest spots. Clay adds a heavy, tight well-orchestrated percussion battery with a heavy groove.
For recording, we performed the songs live at gigs for a few months to give them shape, and basically recorded all the tracks ‘live’ in the studio (drums, bass and rhythm guitar). We got most of it first or second take, and then added lead guitar and vocal overdubs.
Our friend Nate has a great studio at his house. He’s running Reaper and has a great collection of mics. It’s pretty minimal though- we like to keep it simple. He recorded and mixed, and our friend Shawn Parke in Portland mastered it for us.
Clay: for the drums, I certainly start with the sketches that Josh provides, but we have a pretty collaborative process for arrangements once we get started. Where anyone suggests different tweaks that will serve the song best.
CMM-If the band could do a score for any film director, who would it be and what would the film be about?
Josh– that’s tough. I would have to say some dark, but zany post-apocalyptic adventure by Wes Anderson.
CMM-What do you all have coming up next? Any new recordings or shows?
Josh-We have some rad shows in the next few months with some bands in and around Central Washington. We’re booking shows for the fall, going to play Seattle area a bit more.
We are also rehearsing the next five new tracks that we plan to record in the fall- super stoked to keep moving forward and we’re adding an additional guitarist as well.
