Bandcamp page
Present yourself to the readers
We are FINGERPRINTS, hailing form Montreal, Quebec Canada. Formerly a trio, members were Steven Gibb, Nikos Monastiriotis, and Liam Killen.
Who composes ?...How does it work in the band ?
Each of us compose hot off the floor, normally. Ideas are discussed prior to turning on, sometimes. A lot of the energy came from just playing together and discovering new sounds. How far we can push an idea, without talking too much about the process. It often worked for us. Riffs got thrown around, put through a blender and fuzz than shot back across the floor. We were writing more on the feeling not by charts.
Who writes the texts ?..What are they talking about ?..How does inspiration come ?
I write all the lyrics and name the songs. But it all starts with a melody and a few words. Ideas come naturally through repetition."Tribes" is a loosely based concept album about travelling between parallel universe, escaping law. Crime, being a victim and ultimately death. Throughout the album I'm reflecting on all the ways these issues have influenced my life, in small or enormous ways.
Why the name THE FINGERPRINTS ?
Nikos named the band when he was experimenting with magic mushrooms on the hill in the middle of the city. He told me he was seeing FINGERPRINTS everywhere. The name just stuck after that.
What's your best live memory ? And why ?
Night before Halloween, playing a small club in Montreal and after the first song our fog machine broke, wouldn't turn off. The on switch remained engaged and the venue was FULL of smoke. It was hilarious, and it looked incredible. Was super intense! I pulled the plug on our machine throughout the third song but at this point it really didn't matter. I still laugh about it! Great effect.
In studio, what was the ambiance for the album TRIBES ?...etc.…
The initial tracking for TRIBES was the three of us playing hot off the floor, getting a good drum take. Our studio at the time was an incredibly tall small box, with one wall full of windows. Top to bottom. It was November when we had started tracking, so the air is cold but you can have the windows open and feel some fresh air. Full of giant spiders.
A lot of the recording was done in a handful of sessions, with us taking our time. I have a bunch of gear so no one was looking at the clock watching bills add up. It was about capturing a good take, and how to know when youve got it. So trying to stay positive and encouraging was part of it.
I would record all of the guitars/vox/synth by myself until i was satisfied with it. Not a lot of re takes. And mixing this album was a lot of fun, as a lot of the songs had different elements. I mixed throughout the late Winter and early spring with a handful of revisions. It was important not to sit on the record for too long, because I can begin to lose the energy, persistence.
How does it work for the design of the CD ? and why this title ?
A good friend of ours Marina Corsillo designed the artwork. She also did our previous EP TARANTULA. We just like her work. we would commission her to create something for us after hearing the album, and let her channel something she pulled from her brain. Super creative. She would deliver 4 or five examples and choose and work with her ideas to get a cover.
We've had three releases. And have always named them after a song on the album, just seemed to always fit. I was tossing around a few longer titles with Nikos and they were super wordy, long exaggerated ideas. He cut me down, told me to call it TRIBES. It's the closing track of the album, and felt it just suited the sound of the entire album.
What would you like to say to the readers ?
The FINGERPRINTS are dead. Nikos declared he wanted out of the band this spring before the album was finished mixing. Everyone was going into different direction, rightfully. We absolutely understood the situation and we haven't spoken much since to be honest. I was never able to afford to press the album, even to cassette.
