Underpass
The unyielding & unwavering odyssey of Underpass; press photo courtesy of the artists.
A couple years back in 2014 we introduced you to Olympia, Washington’s Underpass with their brutal album Assimilation that tackled the enormity & complexity of issues that pertain to identity, naturalization, definitions of homeland, and more. Now they return with the potent emotive album Red Reflection available now from No Sun Recordings.
Hot topic trigger buttons get pressed on the charged issue of what constitutes places of belonging on “Home”, right before bringing the reflections on “what you lost” on the heart wrenching, yet utterly beautiful title track “Red Reflection”. Ideas of people without a home, place, or country continues on the song “Another World”, to gazing into the blinding brightness of “Whitest Light”, before the slow burning “Sounds of Closeness” that concerns itself with proximity and purpose. The mood maintains a solemn air that carries through on the funereal “Ashes”, to the regal pep & pop of “Boy Prince”, questions of risings & falling on “How Do You Fall”, right before the band runs back to the safety of the stage wings of “Shadows”. For those that slept on Assimilation, now is your chance to get to know this band without borders a little bit better.
Tell us about the events and inspirations that impacted the making of Red Reflection from Assimilation.
I started working on red reflection when j moved to Olympia WA at the tail end of 2014 after our first US tour. I found my self working on music alone in my room, much like the process of writing of Assimilation, but it felt like I had more time to focus on This record, because when I started writing it I knew it was going to be a full length LP, where as with assimilation I just wrote songs as more of an individual effort, nothing expected of others. In a way I liked that. Red Reflection is deeply personal like most of the music I’ve written. Introspective nightmare landscapes that come from the past you know? Although, the song “Boy Prince” was written in response to the recent atrocities of police killing young black boys. Makes me so sick. My heart is with the family’s of the ones we have lost to police violence. Not to say this is a new sensation that is going on. Started with the first contact of the Natives and Africans. It’s all insane and needs to stop, but sadly it will not.
How do you feel Underpass has evolved as a group?
Olympia, well let’s see there is a great band called CCDust that my friend dilbert and Mary Jane play in. Chris plays In a band TransFX, Adam plays in GAG there are a ton of bands happening there right now. But I moved to San Diego, had to return to the ocean and the sun. Oh there is a great band in SLC called human leather. And our brothers whom we are on tour with Soft Kill. Also good stuff up in Vancouver, mourning coup, human loser, hick stuff like that.
Underpass by the mountainside; press photo.
Give us all the latest dispatches from Olympia and everywhere.
I feel as if we have all found quite a good place with playing with one another for 3 years. Feeling more confident in expressing our feelings and opinions to one another while writing new songs and performing is a great feat. We have spent countless hours with each other in the car too, so we know each other inside and out. And the sounds are always evolving.
What artists and authors and activists and more are inspiring you all lately?
I’ve been listening to a bunch of stuff, muddy, waters, CCR, wipers, crisis, Coltrane, miles Davis a lot, howlin wolf, James brown, little Richard, Alice Coltrane, Lori Goldstein, Kanye, a tribe called red tons of stuff. As far as activists and artists, Gord Hill, Winona Laduke, all the land defenders across North America…
What can we expect next from Underpass?
Well we just started our US tour with soft kill, so more tour, film scores, new LP more music, more touring…
