There is some truth to be said before entering this piece on Montreal/Toronto-based band Astral Gates: it has been hard to keep up with these dudes during these last few months. A successful show last November with a full house at Petit Campus, three singles out, a new show this upcoming 15th of April, another single out on the 21st of this month and a summer festival waiting for them. Dan D’Urbano, Esteban Falcone, Domenico Carbone, Dave Traina and JJ Guarascio seem not to know when to slow down, and this write-up was long due.
They’re building their own space in the city’s music scene (and beyond) and in their fans’ hearts and ears, finding their way into your favourite playlist and radio station. With all of this in mind, we asked them some questions separately about their sound, new singles, their future and personal views on their creative process, changes, stage experiences and the band’s future.
When Daybreak and You Do came out, I thought the band was putting its hands into new uncharted territories in what was looking like a quest for experimentation and evolution of their sound, and I wasn’t totally wrong. “We allowed a wider variety of influences to seep into our sound,” Esteban told us, one of the founding members of the band together with Dan. “We had a pretty clear vision of Astral Gates at the outset, which helped make our sound distinct and “well branded,” but it also meant that some ideas that fell outside of that brand never got to see the light. I think we’ve since expanded the Astral Gates sound to be more inclusive, featuring elements from Brit Rock to Alternative to more ballad-y tunes, as opposed to being strictly Blues Rock. I think it reflects our growth and evolution as people too, which is cool to see.”
Indeed, the last releases mark quite a shift from the classic soulful rock mentioned almost three years ago while interviewing the then-Bano. Nowadays, the band proudly shows its intention to shake the fans’ perception by showcasing its naked and raw rock soul with well-crafted, different rockin’ material. “Compared to the last two EPs, we’ve expanded beyond the traditional blues rock,” Dan explained. “We like to experiment and don’t feel that we need to put ourselves in any particular box. Speaking for myself, I come from a pop writing background, and so does Evan, but as songwriters, we are always looking for ways to experiment with sound. All to say: there is a good diversity on the next two albums”.
I have always appreciated artists constantly in movement, ready to step out of their comfort zone but also not afraid to tune in to the different sound waves and frequencies of their inspiration, a band not frightened by its creativity and different inputs coming also from within. Domenico extended on this while talking about one of their latest releases – “To us ‘Daybreak’ represents the start of a success path of our collective and collaborative workflow and process, specifically in terms of how we write, arrange, record, and produce our music. I don’t think it’s a huge turning point in terms of the band’s musical direction because I think we have other similarly hard-hitting rock songs… but I guess you’ll have to be patient and wait for the other tunes to see what directions we will start to explore”.
“Since expanding to the full band, we’ve rejigged our creative workflow quite a bit. It’s still in flux and hopefully will always be as we keep pushing our personal creative boundaries, but we’ve settled into a pretty efficient groove,” says Esteban about the new direction of the band’s creative process and workflow “I’d say the biggest change is that there are more “hand offs” of the recorded elements than before, but I think that back and forth really siphons the songs down to their best possible versions. The other guys are starting to bring new song writing ideas to the table too.”
Dave explains how the band’s strengths concurrently highlighted other elements of the band’s vision “Our biggest strength lies in our ability to create a diverse range of sounds. That separates us from a lot of other bands. Our vision for Astral Gates is to create over a canvas that is wide open for experimentation. The 5 of us cover a lot of ground stylistically, and we don’t allow many barriers to stop where we can go with our writing.” And getting a bit deeper into the music, Dave continued with an insight on You Do “The heart of this band beats to rock & blues music. With our single ‘YOU DO’, we wanted to go someplace a little nastier and open the door to a heavier sound. How heavy can we go but still give something to people that they can move and groove to? This song doesn’t define our sound, but it gives us a little more range on a record and during our show. Some of the material we have coming will stretch that range in unexpected ways.”
When I listened to their latest release, It Ain’t Over, I felt I was almost strategically brought back into the band’s signature sound, through a wonderful bass line, into that great groove magic: like a roller coaster ride, up and down into rock and soul. But always up until a certain extent. What comes out from these latest tracks, door to new albums, is indeed something that, while directing to what seems almost new courses, still mirrors the band’s musical imprint.
These new frequencies, which I wouldn’t call an evolution or a change but more like a further extension of the Astral Gates’s sound, are echoed on stage where synergy and electric bumps are palpable. But also joy and pure expression, showing the band’s growth as a unicum and its passion. “These past couple of months as a band have been an exciting time,” JJ perfectly summarized the band’s last year Quebec tour and the work on the new releases – “We have made progress in finalizing our next album, playing some shows here in the province of Quebec, all of this while having a fun time as a band!”
“I feel like every opportunity we get to play live is an opportunity to grow and evolve as a band which is extremely important, especially in the earlier stages,” Domenico said about what experiencing the stage entails for the band and why every live experience becomes so important in the overall structure of the ensemble – “So when we play on stage it allows us to see how we work under pressure and to measure the results of the work we put into our rehearsal and preparation. It also allows us to develop stronger stage presence and communication habits through in-the-moment signals and cues. With every show, there are valuable takeaways and lessons we learn, and as a result, we grow stronger and tighter as a collective unit.”
One of the biggest endeavours in every artistic expression is building and consolidating a collective vision, especially when working together as a unicum and as single artists; that is why a strong connection is important. “For Astral Gates, our friendship and working relationship is built upon a foundation: the music,” Dave explains about the band’s special bond. “We all feel deeply connected to the music. We feel that there is something special here and with that mutual passion holds us together very tightly. While we set very few boundaries during writing, still we are almost always totally aligned. But, being in a band, like any serious relationship, can easily bring out the worst in you and does. But In Astral Gates, the brotherly love for one another is strong”.
With a new show coming up at Piranha Bar on April 15 with two other bands, Vilivant and Late Night Trouble, and a new single out shortly after, I am just wondering what will come next…
“We are a crew of songwriters, so for us, it all comes down to releasing more music and promoting our music beyond Montréal,” concludes Dan. “Hopefully, we’ll land some placements along the way and win some new fans!” JJ adds, “I think our goal as a collective is to write the best music that we possibly can. As a band we are very blessed to have such a great group of guys and a strong bond, everyone does their part, and we are all thriving toward the same goal which is to work hard. Be ourselves, and to rock out and enjoy these moments and the ones to come in the future”.
To get more info about the band and tour dates: astralgates.com
Francesca Sacerdoti
Photo – Ally Pazano
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