Ravens Brain

Present yourself to the readers

NAUT is a 5-piece Post-Punk/Goth Rock band from Bristol, UK. We’ve been going as a group for a little over a year now, although the guitarist and I have been writing on and off together for a year or two before we did anything with it as a band.
We’ve all been involved in musical projects before, although all in different scenes, from Black Metal, to Punk, to Classical. What we have in common is that music is the main focus in life for us.
Our guitarist and new drummer are in Funeral Throne, a black metal band who have been going for 10 years or so and our bass player has been is several goth bands over the years, the first ‘proper’ one was called Solemn Novena where he was the vocalist. Our keyboard player has a background in classical music and has been in various ensembles where flute is her main instrument. I have been in various projects over the years but nothing too exciting.

Who composes ?...How does it work in the band ?

When it comes to writing, I’m always coming up with new riffs, song ideas and sometimes whole tracks, our guitarist does the same. We try to get together as often as possible to work on these pieces the two of us have and fashion them into whole songs as a group, even more so now we are working on the new album.
For us music such an important part of life that you find yourself kind of writing all the time, lyrics on the way to work, a new lead for a track whilst sat on the sofa watching a film, its kind of always going on in the background, the more you write and experiment, the more chances of coming across that killer part that makes a track.

Who writes the texts ?..What are they talking about ?..How does inspiration come ?

I write the lyrics for the most part, with the odd part coming from our guitarist. Exploring the self and the world we inhabit to the fullest is a recurring call, otherworldly exploration, removing self imposed limits and realising your Will are all themes that are important to us. Change is brought about by action and we are all only here for a short time, so it is up to us to have the experiences we want in life and make them happen. In that sense the songs are a call to arms and a ritual, part of the process of getting us to where we want to be, in more senses than one. Hopefully those who listen will have the same feelings.
The inspiration for specific lines and songs tend to come from the trails of life and in a sense the songs become rituals to move past these challenges and achieve what we will.
On a more technical level there are a few lyricists I take particular inspiration from, either in they way they deliver words and create rhythms and melodies, the soul poured into them, or the depth behind their choice of words. Peter Murphy, Jim Morrison and Andrew Eldritch are some of the foremost of those, although there are plenty of others.

Why the name NAUT ?

The name came about as we all feel that any creative endeavour is an exploration of ideas and the self. ‘Naut’ is a suffix in English used to form nouns meaning a voyager, farer, or tripper, the notion of travel and exploration of the self seemed a natural fit as a result. We also have a preference for one-word band names, so that was that.

What are your personal musical tastes and your influences ?

We are all fans of 70s & 80s goth and post-punk, so bands like Bauhaus, Siouxsie & the Banshees, Killing Joke etc. but we also are all really into classic rock and metal like Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Motorhead, Blue Oyster Cult and so on. The result is gothy/post-punk riffs but with an intensity of rock and metal that is sometimes lacking from post-punk bands, especially currently.
As for why we play what we play, it is just what felt right. There wasn’t a conscious effort to write a type of music, in fact we try not to do that, we don’t want to write music that becomes a tick-box exercise, just write what serves the song and us as a group. We play what comes naturally when we get together and that is largely informed by the common ground we all have musically.
We have bit of a mix of influences, which I think is one of our strengths, we aren’t too bound to one sound as a result.

In studio, what was the atmosphere for the EP RAISE THE LIGHTS ?...etc.…

‘Raise the Lights’ is our debut release, it’s a 5 track EP of raw, post-punk energy from start to finish. It’s something we are all immensely proud of. The studio where we recorded was above our practice space and it was bloody freezing! On the first day I think I was probably the coldest I’ve ever been. In some ways the rundown, cold and damp setting helped ignite a fire in us, it made every success feel like more of a triumph and kept us focused.
The guy who recorded us, Jamie Elton was also an integral part of the process. Not only did he do a fantastic job capturing ‘our sound’ and mixing the record he also pushed us to make each performance the best it could be. A real pleasure to work with.
Overall there was a sense of real camaraderie and each part completed was celebrated. It’s been by far my favourite recording experience to date, despite the cold!

How does it work for the great design of the CD ? and why this title ?

Symbolism is incredibly important for us, in both visual arts and music, each symbol guides the viewer, suggesting ideas and emotions through the associations we have with different visual cues. If the songs are a call to arms and a ritual, then the artwork is the sigil, the pictorial manifestation of the ideas within the songs. In this case, the cover contains many references to both the lyrics and the overall themes of the EP.
It was a fairly tricky process to get something that also looked aesthetically pleasing and had the right feel so that it sits with the feel of the music, but I think we got there in the end. One of the advantages of having two band members with art & design backgrounds is that we could take the art into our own hands and try numerous ideas without worrying about budget and the difficulties of communicating ideas to a third party.
Including elements that were relevant to each of the songs was crucial. The references to the Tower card in tarot is in both the lyrics and the artwork for example, the disintegrating comet and the figures holding up the frame like Atlas and the globe are all tied into the different themes of the songs. Another element to look at is the eclipse photograph that makes up the central image. It is of the 1994 eclipse, which also features in the video for ‘Disintegration’, and hints at light returning from momentary darkness caused by forces beyond our control, a theme found in ‘Disintegration’. The significance of the year is known only to me I suspect, but it was chosen for a reason.
A key idea for me when it comes to music, lyrics and art, is that everything is there for a reason, there are no mistakes and no neutral ground. I feel any creative endeavour ends up being an exploration of the person who created it. Ideas, feelings and experiences that are otherwise out of reach come to the fore quite easily when the creative process in underway. To the audience however, it is not only a window into the creator, it is also a mirror, much like when you look through a window you see yourself reflected back at you as well as gazing into the world beyond. So even if you didn’t consciously chose something for its meaning, your audience will give it one, so you may as well give thought to each element to make sure it says what you want it to and everything is aligned.

How was the shooting of the clip DISINTEGRATION ? and why this choice ?

The video was really fun to shoot actually. We had a budget of £0 to record it on and no equipment of any sorts. We managed to borrow a DSLR from our guitarists work for a day and I had some space in my living room, some light bulbs and tinfoil to act as lighting and a large black curtain to serve as a backdrop. Considering we had no time, equipment or budget we had to be creative with it, but these constraints I think helped bring out ideas that wouldn’t have surfaced otherwise. Constraints are incredibly useful for forcing creative solutions and ideas out of you.
We basically compiled a list of imagery that suited the lyrics and just shot a bunch of scenes and images that might be useful. I then had a week to edit all this footage and align the imagery to the right parts of the song, along with trawling through out-off-copyright films to enhance what we have.
The overall idea was to create something shifting and ethereal looking with a mix of images and symbols that support the song and its meaning and I think we achieved this goal. It took 70 hours of work in that week but it was worth it. The dreamlike, otherworldly quality of the video combined with the tight cuts to the beat make for something that fits the song and really enhanced the messages of the lyrics.

Did you find a label ? If yes, how do you made the research ?

Since it was our first record and we were trying to get our name out into the world, we decided to release the EP ourselves under the name ‘Shattered Spire Records’, the name being a reference to one of the lyrics from the EP.
We had a few conversations with labels and some offers but we felt that all in all we could give the EP more attention and a better push, and that ultimately relating it ourselves was the best choice. So far I think this was the right choice and we have had a great response to the EP so far, both from press and our audience.

With Management and booking, how do you work ? And with whom ?

At present we do everything ourselves when it comes to both management and bookings. We tend to be quite proactive, looking for venues, promoters and events that would be suitable for us and going out there and making contacts. Its a lot of work to organise everything and research the scene in different cities around the UK and beyond but so far we have had some good results. We also put on our own shows in Bristol and are looking at doing the same elsewhere, if there isn’t anything suitable already, make it yourself!

do you expect from the future ?

Next for us is finishing writing the album, we are over half way there so really want to get that done so we can start adding new songs into our live set. We also have some really exciting gigs ahead towards the end of the year, playing new audiences and breaking new ground, that’s the next step for us.

What's your motto ?

We don’t really have a motto per se, but words that sum up our approach would be “change is wrought by action, and NOW IS THE TIME!”

Website to remember

We have our own website here: https://www.naut-band.com which has some interesting info on it as well as links to our music and videos amongst other things.
Other things to look at would be our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/NAUTUK/ and our Bandcamp page: https://nautuk.bandcamp.com/

What would you like to say to the readers ?

Keep supporting the bands you love! Without a foundation of people who are passionate about their scene, there would be no scene. They are the fans, the support bands, the DIY venues, the things that give it character and keep it vibrant.