Where We Sleep
In this interview, we speak with Where We Sleep about The Arsonist, a deeply personal album exploring change, vulnerability, frustration, and resilience through a compelling blend of dark electronica, post-punk, and alternative rock.
1. The Arsonist is described as a deeply personal record centered on growth, vulnerability, and transformation. What were the key experiences or emotions that inspired the album, and how did they shape its narrative?
The album has been in the works for some time. I’m not the most prolific writer. So, it has encompassed various relationships (of different types) and experiences. It covers a rootlessness and a restlessness that I have felt for almost all of my life and a drive to change and keep moving. And, in the last few years certainly, there is a backdrop of a darkening and divided world, where we just don’t seem to understand each other. Progress, in so many contexts, seems to have halted and that’s frustrating. People cling to what they know, rather than embracing inevitable change and point their anger in the wrong direction. The Arsonist is an identity that I’ve felt brewing inside of me, born of that frustration, that as I feel in my personal life, we maybe need to burn everything down and start again. (Figuratively, of course – I am not advocating for violence). Though, this is obviously impossible at this point.
2. After your work with BLiNDNESS, you created Where We Sleep as a new artistic outlet. What did this project allow you to express that felt different from your previous musical endeavors?
Partly, it meant that I could embrace my inner control freak. I can have complete creative control. Which can be exhausting sometimes. But also, it meant that I’m not restrained by genre, instrumentation or anything else. I can experiment as much as I like and do things in my own time.
3. The album blends dark electronica, post-punk textures, alternative rock, and pop sensibilities into a distinctive sound. How do you approach balancing these influences while maintaining a cohesive identity for Where We Sleep?
Honestly, I’m very much led by what I’m feeling. But a lot of the sound and general energy of songs will be a culmination, not just of what I’m listening to or going through at the time, but of the influences throughout my whole life. I don’t know how much conscious thought I put into staying within the confines of a specific sound.
4. You performed, recorded, and produced the entire album yourself before bringing in Guy Fixsen for mixing and mastering. What were the biggest creative challenges and rewards of taking on so many roles during the recording process?
I do a lot as I go. Writing and producing is the fun part where you can really be creative. But, it’s exhausting doing everything. I’m slowly coming to the realisation that I can’t do everything at once – there is a point where you have to accept that you need to focus on one thing at a time. So, when I’m recording, that’s really what I’m focusing on and that part can be frustrating. (I’m sure I’m not the only musician who gets everything right until I press the record button and suddenly I can’t sing or play.) And it’s the same with practicing to play live, which is mostly what I’ve been focusing on this year, which hasn’t left as much time as I’d like for writing.
5. Songs such as “Broken Bones,” “Outside,” and “Changes” explore themes of heartbreak, connection, accountability, and self-discovery. Is there a particular track on the album that feels especially meaningful to you, and why?
This is a really hard question because all of my songs are really personal. So, it’s really difficult to choose one. I think I will probably go with Broken Bones. It is a dark song that came out of a dark place but somehow I think there is strength in the vulnerability.
6. Your music often explores the darker corners of consciousness while still carrying a sense of resilience and catharsis. What do you hope listeners take away from The Arsonist after experiencing it from beginning to end?
I hope that people don’t only hear the darkness. There is light in there too. But also, anger, sadness, frustration, all of those emotions are still part of the process. And I hope that people hear the inspiration to move forward and leave behind what isn’t working for them. But mostly, people always find different interpretations of songs – depending on their experiences, where they are now, what mood they’re in and I hope that this can be the soundtrack to something for them – a day, a train trip, a night with headphones on, an experience, whatever it is.