Polyachi Interview

Our song writing process is completely unanimous; we are both involved in every step, using our respective strengths to fill out the other’s weaknesses and maximising efficiency by being completely flexible with our ideas and the process each time.  Our approach typically begins with us establishing the lyrical themes we want to explore and whether we are exploring those ideas over the course of an EP or LP.  This gives us the parameters we need to fill out the rest of the composition whilst keeping in mind the subject matter we are driving at to ensure that each layer is dripping with intention and purpose.

The themes we choose to explore change from release to release depending on what is happening in our lives.  For example, when we wrote our first two releases under our new name, EPs titled EVERY LiTTLE BiT HURTS and THE SiCKNESS GETS WORSE, both Des and I were dealing with many layers of heart-wrenching problems in our personal lives, the lyrics and themes mirrored these struggles and served as a means of wrestling with them and leaving them in the past.  Now with our first full length release, THE BLUEBiRD OF NOTHiNGNESS, our thematic focus has shifted to the disturbing state of the world around us and our pent up frustrations with the generation that raised us and left us a mess that will take our entire life times to sort out.  

“Gloves off” has become our new mantra both as a band and as people; we will no longer live quietly to make others more comfortable, we will no longer leave certain topics unaddressed to avoid ruffling feathers.  We spent years compromising and playing by the “rules” to try to stay afloat in a world full of trauma, but all we accomplished was completely losing our true selves, and “Gloves off” is our commitment to never making those same mistakes again.

I have always identified with and written heavy music because I am constantly blown away and outraged by how poorly people treat me and each other.  Having worked in customer service for my entire professional career, I have been abused and condescended to by complete strangers who it is my job to help.  They know that people who are on the clock cannot truly defend themselves or even speak their minds without risking termination, so they unleash all their unhappiness and rage on us; they view us as their slaves, and we are paid to be their hostages.

All of these negative interactions I have witnessed or been a party to that are accepted as “part of the job” or “what you signed up for” create a constant backlog of rage within me, and heavy music has long been the only safe release I have to let some steam off and express how I truly feel.

The realm of metal is also the only place I’ve played music where I can actually play anything I want to on the drums and as long as it’s not detracting or distracting from the music, it is accepted and appreciated.  When I was in Junior High and High School I played drums  in Show Band, Pep Band, Wind Symphony, Jazz Combo, Jazz Band – anything that required a drummer, I was your man – and every band I played in always put limitations on me.  Every creative idea I’d bring to the table was met with immediate resistance and shot down – even in Jazz, a genre where improv is king, I was always told that my ideas did not suit the genre.  Only when writing and playing heavy music am I allowed to be myself and express myself fully, and that is why it will always be the style of music I gravitate to.

We write most of our songs with the intention of performing them live, but we still like to experiment and push our limits, so we usually incorporate at least a couple “Industrial Songs”.  This allows us to exercise our full creative powers and to keep the “O.G.P.”, (original gangster Pagliacci), approach and energy alive and well in this new age of POLYACHi.  There are examples of this type of song on THE SiCKNESS GETS WORSE with the three tracks that close the EP; RORRiM, PiTTER-PATTER and TERMiNAL.  On our upcoming release, THE BLUEBiRD OF NOTHiNGNESS, there are three skit tracks and two full length tracks out of our 17 track record where we expanded upon this approach even further.

There are also two songs that we wrote for THE SiCKNESS GETS WORSE EP that were created as horcruxes for the deepest hurt and rage Des and I have ever felt, UNDER THRESHER and CROWN OF SHiT, and we will not be performing those live either as we do not wish to revisit the head space and emotions of that time in our lives.

The process of taking our recorded works, that include guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, and vocals, to the stage with just Des and I was the most challenging part in the assembly of this new age of POLYACHi; now having a couple shows under our belts and several more scheduled this year, we have it down pat.  We record the guitar and keyboard parts on what we refer to as the “Industrial Track” when we put together our studio recordings.  These tracks, along with the click,  get bounced once we have completed mixing and mastering and we run them through the P.A. system at whatever venue we are playing; both the click and “Industrial Track” run into my in-ear monitors and then I send just the “Industrial Track” to the front of house to be our “guitar player”.  Then all I have to do is stay tight to the click and follow the form of the song, and then Des just has to stay tight to me – they do not wear in-ear monitors live, they prefer playing with the more organic vibes that accompany stage volume.