1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
We are a three piece instrumental post-metal band who blend elements of post-rock, black metal, sludge and ambient in a filmscore inspired way.
2.You got your first full length coming out towards the end of February and also have released a few singles, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical style that you went for on these recordings?
Mountainscape was formed to explore a love of all post-music genres and write music without there being any boundaries. A key element which helped shape the songs is that they are written with live looping in mind.
3.So far all of the music has been instrumental, are you open to adding vocals on future releases?
Myself and Ethan play in a number of bands which include vocals (Aklash, Third Horizon, Asira, Cairiss, Khazad Dum) so although I wouldn't completely rule out us ever adding vocals, at this moment in time we're very happy with Mountainscape being purely instrumental.
4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Mountainscape'?
One meaning reading into the name would be that large parts of the ambient layering involved in our music are in essence soundscapes mixed with weaving between lighter and darker sections. Always steadily heading for the peak in a mountainous way. Hence 'Mountainscape'. We had a long list of possible names when starting and this is the one we felt was strongest. The fact that James loves exploring (the Lake/Peak Districts in our home country and going on multiple trips to New Zealand) I'm sure also helped steer us towards it.
5.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the album cover?
I came across the stunning photography on deviant art when looking for images to accompany the album. After contacting the artist Stanislav Malykh he kindly agreed to let us use some of his photos.
6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
The first show we did in London still holds a special place for me. It was at The Black Heart in Camden, (who are currently crowd funding for help to stay open - so, if anyone reading this has anything to donate, it's all for a good cause!), appearing on a roster of relatively unknown acts on a night intended to introduce people to new post-metal bands. Even though it was a tiny underground gig it was still one of the best organised events I've ever played, hats off to Kunal at Chaos Theory. We opened up for Tides from Nebula at the Camden Underworld which was pretty cool as their music is absolutely excellent. Also opening for The Moth Gatherer at 229 The Venue in London was a brilliant show supporting another brilliant band.
I would describe our performance as hypnotic and focused, there's lots of live looping going on....
7.The album is going to be released on 'Trepanation Recordings', how did you get in contact with this label?
I contacted Trepanation Recordings via email when searching for a home for 'Acceptance'. Thankfully myself and Dan from Trepanation hit it off and he really enjoyed the album.
8.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of post metal?
Honestly we're very much at the start of our journey. Response has been great so far for the few that have heard of us. We have put a lot of time into the album release campaign with the hope to engage more fans and get them on board with our musical journey.
9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
I can see us continuing down the post-atmospheric metal direction we've just started down. There's bits written for the next album that are in the same vein as this one. I'll see where the songwriting takes me.
10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Russian Circles had a huge influence on us, myself James and Ethan were blown away by them performing at Heaven in London before we'd formed Mountainscape. The direction of creating songs that involve live looping with a three piece band came from watching those guys. Also Jakob from New Zealand influenced our sound a lot, another huge sounding three piece.
Currently I'm listening to lots of Olhava, Hammock, Violet Cold, Sarin and sleepmakeswaves, amongst many others!
11.What are some of your non musical interests?
Video games! I'm about to delve back in Ghost of Tsushima having recently finished Assassin's Creed Valhalla. James is an outdoors person and loves cycling and hiking.
12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Thank you for interviewing us. Thanks very much to anyone interested in my band enough to read this, I hope you enjoy 'Acceptance'.
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