We are premiering “Black Clouds” today… Can you give us a little background on the song and what it’s about?
Wyatt: Short answer: Depression. Long answer: Having said depression from an early age, and sort of the difference between what that looks like in adulthood vs. as a teenager. For me as an adult, I learned to hide it from the people close to me because it’s exhausting to constantly reassure your loved ones that you’re okay, especially when you don’t really feel like okay, just to give them peace of mind. But as a kid, I was definitely obvious about it. I used to date this girl, and I’d sneak out of her parents’ house at like 3 in the morning and walk home with headphones in. That was one of the only things that felt really good, walking around in the dark with music blaring, feeling like I was completely alone—like I didn’t have a single pair of eyes on me. Something about that felt really safe to me.
This is the first recording with your new singer, Wyatt Oberholzer… How did Wyatt get in the mix and how has it been working out so far?
Dan: Wyatt has been a big part of our band since the beginning of Fixation. He has recorded all of our previous releases and filled in on bass a few times, even joining us as a 5th member for This Is Hardcore. We have always considered him a part of the band, in the studio we always consult his opinions on how the songs come together so he’s even played a hand in shaping our sound. We had no idea he could sing until one day we tried him out at practice and it blew us away. This was the component we were missing all along and we are so excited he agreed to be a part of the band. So far it’s been great we just all have fun hanging out together.
Your full promo releases in a week or so, what can we expect from that?
Wyatt: Aside from this song, there’s a song about dissociating from reality and feeling disconnected from your own life, and there’s a song about kids I grew up with dying of a drug overdose. And there’s also a sick intro you can mosh to, where I mostly make sounds that have no meaning. The music is a slight departure too, the tone is a little bit darker than it used to be, which makes sense knowing what bands these guys draw influence from. But that being said, it’s still a fast hardcore band.
Michael: The music featured on our new promo and what will come in the future has definitely taken a bit of a darker tone. It’s still the fast hardcore band we started out as but now more blended with the styles of 90’s East Bay Hardcore bands we all grew up listening to. We just wanted to write more heartfelt songs and it just ended up fitting so well with Wyatts lyrical style. After 2 solid releases and Wyatt now fronting the band we finally feel like we know how we should be writing music.
What are your plans for 2020 and beyond?
Dan: Right now we’re continuing to rewrite new music with Wyatt’s lyrics, that’s been our biggest priority. We have some shows coming up in March, one in Philly (3/21) with Shark Attack which will be absolutely crazy. Working on putting a weekend together with friends, and then playing Promcore fest in May, which we are really looking forward to. Mainly just hoping that everyone is into the new stuff we’ve been working on, get a new record together, and play more shows! Maybe this is the year we can get to play somewhere out of the country, who knows what the future holds.
