Alex Wilson – sleepmakeswaves

If you’re paying close attention, you’ll be well aware of the growing love the world has for Sydney post-rockers sleepmakeswaves; and rightly so! Formed in 2006, the band have been on a musical journey that has seen them tour around the world, with some amazing local and international bands, and composing music that is otherwordly. The band will soon be embarking on their massive tour ‘Traced in Constellations’ tour with The Contortionist and Tangled Thoughts of Leaving.

Metal Obsession had the honour of asking bassist Alex Wilson about all things sleepmakeswaves, firstly about their upcoming Australian tour. On board with the band are US post rock counterparts The Contortionist and Tangled Thoughts of Leaving all the way from Perth. Dumbsaint, Mowgli, Stranger Things Have Happened and Majora are all set to play alongside the headliners in various cities. “The support acts are opening up for the whole bill in Wollongong, Adelaide and Newcastle respectively. We’re very happy with the line-ups for this tour.” he agrees. “It’s pretty straightforward with The Contortionist – we just agrred with them that we’d tour in each others countries together and found a way to make it happen. It’s not that uncommon in the touring world and it has the added bonus.

The two bands together really do make for a good evening of music and there’s no doubt that the upcoming shows are promising to be an absolutely beautiful experience. “Beyond the fact that they’re great dudes and monster players, it’s a good fit because we occupy quite different parts of the progressive rock world. there’s common ground but also enough light and shade between us to keep things interesting. ” Thinking back to some of his favourite memories from the tour, Alex continues, “America is an incredible place to play live music. I remember playing NYC’s Gramercy Theatre to a packed house and the time we all got drunk in Houston with Patrick Roach, aka Randy from Trailer Park Boys.”

If you’ve seen sleepmakeswaves before, you’ll know that their shows have the most beautiful yet intense atmosphere. Their music translates so perfectly into a live setting. “Thank you! Well, when we started out, we just wrote songs and figured out the best way to pull them off live. It wasn’t always easy” Alex confesses, “but we learnt what works and in what setting. By the time we got around to writing Love of Cartography, we were a bit more road-hardened. At the time, sleepmakeswaves felt like it was all about the feelings that come from the stage and so we focused our approach on capturing that. Energy, crackle, momentum. In the future, I think we want to strike a finer balance between the old approach and the new approach.”

On asking what the band aims to bring to their live shows, Alex replies, “We’re trying to be real on stage. There’s no doubt that we’re also intentionally trying to put on a big rock performance and melt faces. But I don’t think there would be any true weight in the live show if it wasn’t backed up by the emotions that we’re channeling.” Well said lad. I’ve always felt that about sleepmakeswaves – they’re music comes from a genuine place and even without any vocals, they bring so much meaning to their music. “All the songs have their own character that bring something up for me. Sometimes it’s joyous, other times it’s quite difficult. Part of the trick of playing the shows is riding some of the energy of those feelings without getting derailed by them.”

Daniel Oreskovic joined the band earlier this year after long-time guitarist Jonathan “Kid” Khor left. “We definitely threw him in the deep end” Alex said when I asked how the transition was, introducing Dan to the ways of sleepmakeswaves, ” after only two shows in Australia, he was on a six-week bus tour of the USA. It was all pretty new for him and not always easy. It’s a demanding band to be a part of. He’s totally killing it though. Complete weapon of a guitarist, lovely dude and simply hilarious.”

But of course, with this being the final run and farewell of ‘Love of Cartography’, Alex said some things about new music. ” We’re not looking to revolutionize our sound but, just refine it. Be the best damn sleepmakeswaves we can be. Based on what’s written so far, I’d say the album is going to be a bit darker than the last. We want to keep the energy of the last record, for sure – but try to make the experience of the album be even more unified and cinematic.” The kind of music that this band creates is certainly intricate, techincal yet flows like melted butter on stage. So I picked Alex’s brain a little further about the writing process and how they go about making such astounding pieces – whether they go about it spontaneously or with a general idea in mind. “We’ve been inspired a fair bit recently by Arctic and Antartic landscapes, stories and sounds. So that might end up being a theme for the record. It’s a combination of both approaches though  – we’re never short on ideas when we play together but the trick is fitting them all together in the right way which takes some thinking and alone time. ”

Especially over the past few years, sleepmakeswaves have become one of Australia’s most loved bands. They’ve done some massive tours in Europe and the USA, but at the end of the day, they are some of the most down-to-earth people and I asked Alex what it felt like, this dream coming true. “ It is incredible. I think we’re used to the lifestyle now because we’ve been doing it for a few years. ” As he continued, I realized myself, why I love this band so much and respect them to no end, “We don’t lose sight of how amazing it is to be able to travel, see the world and do it playing music. After completing this tour, next up will be writing and recording the new album.” Winning.

What’s his favourite thing about being a part of the band? ” It’s the fact that people around the world care about what we do – it is always humbling.”

Don’t forget to buy yourself a ticket and go to one of these shows.

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