{"id":21,"date":"2018-11-03T15:58:00","date_gmt":"2018-11-03T15:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/box5722.temp.domains\/~audioor1\/bastion-exclusive-interview\/"},"modified":"2018-12-09T01:05:17","modified_gmt":"2018-12-09T01:05:17","slug":"bastion-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/audioordeal.co.uk\/bastion-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Bastion Exclusive Interview"},"content":{"rendered":"
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When it comes to electronic music, everyone has their inspirations. I have been fortunate enough to get hold of <\/span>Bastion<\/a>, one of the projects which played a key role in my discovery of electronic music, when I saw them perform many years ago. It could be argued that this site itself would not exist had I not been present at that gig. So it was with great delight, that I found some new music released by them, leading me to get in touch for a chat about their production style. They give some awesome advice which will really benefit other producers so definitely check the interview below!<\/span>
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If you are into dark textures and atmospheres underlying energetic funky beats then I highly advise you follow their Soundcloud<\/a> and Facebook<\/a> page as there is some great stuff teased for the future! In addition, Bastion have decided to coincide a brand new release with the publishing of this feature, you can check it out here!<\/a><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

How would you describe your music?<\/b><\/h3>\n
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Cameron: <\/b>Bold. Anthemic. Melody-driven.
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\nSam: <\/b>Definitely melody-driven, also very intense, sometimes dark. A sort of heavy-metal infused, punk-funk trance.
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\nCameron:<\/b> It\u2019s still got a strong reliance on conventional song structure and ideas, but its got its more dramatic moments too. For us, it’s not just about having a good tune – that\u2019s crucial to have, but for every catchy moment we love to throw something unexpected in there as well.<\/span>
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Can you give us a brief history of the project?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

 <\/b>Sam: <\/b>Cam and I met in 2010, we were part of another band with two other members. Eventually, we split from the others and started our own project as Bastion. Shortly after the split, we played a bunch of shows in Edinburgh and across the UK. Over the years, we\u2019ve changed our name a couple of times, and the last live show we played was in 2014 at Bathfest. There have also been lots of little breaks in between – a result of university, work and life.
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\nCameron: <\/b>In the early days, there was definitely a lot of juggling about when it came to figuring out what we were trying to achieve, and our identity as a duo. I think we both feel that in the last couple of years, the vision has really solidified. Now its something that feels super strong as an identity. We have a lot of lyrical songs in the pipeline that I think altogether manage to create a really compelling character. They\u2019re still managing to speak from the heart too.
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\nSam:<\/b> More recently, we\u2019ve also been churning out a lot more instrumental music with the goal of eventually being able to put a show together to perform. That\u2019s really what brought us both together in the first place, the fun of live performance. As much as we like making music, the live show is what its always been about.
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What\u2019s your background in making music?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

 <\/b>Sam: <\/b>My background is probably simpler in the sense that I just happened to have Garageband on my home computer when I was growing up. Whenever I\u2019d get angry or sad, I\u2019d end up yelling into it. Also, I spent some time trying to recreate a lot of video game soundtracks by ear. Some of the games were really obscure, like Seiken Densetsu – which was kind of like a Final Fantasy rip-off. So all of that eventually evolved into me making these little 8-bit melodic things based upon feeling angry. I gradually picked up some production knowledge along the way, but I would say I\u2019m still a lot more adept at writing little skeleton ideas rather than fully formed beasts.
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\nCam: <\/b>I started on piano from an early age, moved onto production at school and around age 15 I decided that music production was what I wanted to do. Shortly afterwards, I met Sam through the band and got really inspired by his little creations, so that\u2019s how we started. Following that, I went through college and university doing production, I\u2019ve done some bits and pieces since then, learned a lot along the way and now here we are.
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Who are your inspirations and what can we learn from them?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

 <\/b>Sam: <\/b>My inspirations are constantly changing. I like hearing new music that makes me think \u2018what the hell is that, what is going on there\u2019, and then trying to figure it out. I guess one thing to be learnt from that is, for me at least, the most inspirational artists are just people who are set on making their own sound without trying to stick to any specific structure or style.
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\nCam: <\/b>Totally, I think we try not to compete with other artists when it comes to making music, and stick to making what we love. Trent Reznor from NIN is probably up there for me, not because of any of his music or any particular thing he\u2019s done but just in the way he goes about orchestrating his vision. He\u2019s unashamedly making what he wants whilst paying attention to both the big picture and all the details. He\u2019s also managed to release a lot of music over his career, which means as a fan you can just go into a tunnel absorbing it for hours – I love that. I reckon those are the two most important things I take away from his work.<\/span>
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Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n


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\nBastion sent Audio Ordeal an exclusive mix to coincide with the article release, featuring some of their current inspirations. I’ve included it below!<\/span>
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