Interview | Adam Kerr of As Everything Unfolds on their new album 'Ultraviolet'
"I think we tried to make it feel more like an actual collection of songs that fit while still being weird, which is what we love to do."
Today, the UK breakthrough act, As Everything Unfolds released their highly anticipated second album, 'Ultraviolet’.
Following the success of their 2021 debut album ‘Within Each Lies The Other’, the quintet have earned festival slots across the UK and Europe including Download Festival, Graspop and Rock For People. Most recently they toured alongside Enter Shikari for their run of UK residency shows and have been nominated for ‘Best Breakthrough Live Artist’ at this year’s Heavy Music Awards.
Returning from Impericon Festival, I spoke to Guitarist, Adam Kerr about their explosive new album, ‘Ultraviolet’, what to expect from their upcoming release shows and how they’re building their unique identity as a band.
Lauren Edwards: So how are you doing? How's being back from tour?
Adam Kerr: Upsetting. It's nice to be back, but nothing compares. It was mostly Germany, and then we had Vienna, Prague, and Bologna in Italy.
L: Bologna was your headline show wasn't it?
A: That was great fun. It wasn't a big one it must have been like 100 capacity but it really took me back. There was a little place in High Wycombe called The Phoenix Bar. We used to play it way back in the day and it was really sweet to be in Italy's version of that. It was like a sense of nostalgia to come back to that.
L: Oh, nice! I imagine it was a bit different to playing Impericon festival.
A: Very, very different vibes. I mean, the festival is just crazy. It's just massive and it’s full of friends which is nice.
L: How were the new singles received at the shows?
A: Yeah, really well. It’s all been received really well. Maybe apart from Blossom. Blossom didn't go down the best at Impericon just because it’s a little bit more chill. They liked it and when the heavy bit comes it's nice, but it definitely fits better with Holding Absence than it does with Fit For An Autopsy or Thy Art Is Murder.
L: So far, for a lot of your fans Blossom has been one of their favourites from the Singles.
A: It's been really fun to see which ones people like, and it's never the same. So that feels nice because it doesn't feel like a one-trick pony.
L: What's your favourite?
A: Twilight. Twilight is the best one.
L: So far my favourite is Flip Side.
A: Yes!
L: I'm a sucker for the heavier bit. But the bit I like about Blossom is hearing Charlie's voice come in straight away. It's so good.
A: It's a really nice moment. I remember when we were recording it she was like ‘Oh, God! It's so empty’ and it was so fixated on her and we were like, yeah, but that's your bit to shine. It’s just her and then everybody's out there with a little lighter.
L: Your last album ‘Within Each Lies The Other’ was described as very emotive. How do the themes in ‘Ultraviolet’ develop from that?
A: I think it’s more mature as everyone says. We took more time to really cement an idea, a theme, a broad concept that embodied everything. Something like All I've Ever Known, it’s not like Flip Side, it’s the polar opposite. It's [about] finding that DNA that you can put through the middle so you can have that. I think we tried to make it feel more like an actual collection of songs that fit while still being weird, which is what we love to do.
L: I think what people like about your music is that it’s such a mix, it can play to any mood.
A: That's the human condition isn’t it? You don't wake up every day the same. We definitely write for ourselves and we write what we want and how we feel. Sometimes you feel like Flip Side and sometimes like Blossom. It's nice to be able to change between those and have it all in one place. We were always worried that maybe people wouldn’t connect with it, but A Day To Remember has been doing it for years, and it's fine as long as you don't box yourself in as you go.
L: A lot of people, including yourselves, would say you don’t really sit into a specific genre. Is that intentional? Or more of a natural process?
A: It's kind of both. We never set out to be like ‘We want to do everything’ and we never set out to be so against the grain. We all just like such different types of music I couldn't see it cultivating any other kind of way […] We all like metal, we all like rock music but like so many people we listen to other stuff. We like country, pop music, and rap music. I like classical music. I think we'd get so bored just doing one genre of music forever.
L: Do you have specific influences for this album? Are there any recent bands whose sound you’ve been influenced by?
A: Every now and again we hear a song, and we'll go, ‘Oh, that's super cool we should try something in that kind of realm’ without ripping them off. Ultraviolet with the vinyl scratches at the beginning was like we all love Linkin Park, we all love Limp Bizkit, that's a super cool thing that they do all the time and we were just like that feels right. But I can't say that Linkin Park influenced the whole of the album because then there's Rose Bouquets which you wouldn't put in that same vein or Saint Or Rogue which is just a rock song which doesn't fit in that vibe either.
L: When you sit down to write do you think about those things? What is the process like?
A: I personally like coming in and not listening to any music when I start. I really like to come, put something down in whatever shape or form, and not really worry about if it's good or it's bad. Just go ‘This is what I'm feeling today’. Then John and I would riff backwards and forwards. I always find that if I hear music first thing and I go to write it's just in there whether or not you know it's in there. I like to get my stuff out first, and then kind of go ‘Oh, we could add that flavour’. Then Charlie will come in and she’d sort of go, ‘Oh this one feels cool’ or ‘This one’s got a vibe or that's interesting’.
L: How come you decided to release five singles ahead of the album?
A: We did it that way on the first album and it seemed to work. I think there was definitely some sort of worry that maybe it wouldn't do quite as well. So if you push more of it out and they each get their own little podium maybe it'll be received slightly better.
L: From a listening experience. How do you think that changes how fans perceive the full album when it comes out?
A: I think it depends on what you listen to albums for. If you listen to an album for singles you might go okay, I've already heard quite a few of these. I think, if you listen to albums as an experience I think it'd be very interesting for you to then go: that’s part of the story. I think we kept more of the “cool” stuff reserved. Like Daylight, for example, which I've seen a few people kind of go ‘oh, my God, I didn't see that kind of flavour coming out’ and it’s like another layer instead of just being all the same rock songs.
L: You’re playing a release show next week in your hometown, High Wycombe, how do you think the Acoustic Set is going to go down?
A: I think some of the riffier ones might be interesting. They might be less impactful but something like Blossom will really open up. It’ll be much more intimate, which is something you don’t quite get when everything’s set to 11. We might do some old ones as well.
L: Do you intend on playing the entire album?
A: We want to do the ones that will translate better than just go, here are all the singles. If you're coming to that kind of show, you've probably heard the whole album and you'd be more interested to go this is one of the album tracks I might not hear at a show or at a festival. If you play those types of shows you have to do the big ones. So it will just be nice to see the rest of them in a more delicate kind of way.
L: Do you have a song from ‘Ultraviolet’ that you think is going to be the big “anthem” when you play live?
A: I feel like it's got to be Felt Like Home hasn't it really? You could just have a nice time and just shout the lyrics back. Have a nice dance, hopefully not spill too much of your drink in the crowd, and then it's just nice vibes the whole way through…I say that, but at Impericon festival where the bridges comes in I saw people start opening a pit up, and I was like ‘You're going to be so disappointed in a minute’. I was like it's just not going to happen [laughs].
L: There’s always that one person opening up the pit no matter what the song is.
A: There was a guy at the last one, in Munich. Somebody was opening up the pit and he just stood there like this [crosses his arms across his chest]. He was there in the middle of the circle. I was like you’re going to get really hurt in a second if you don’t open your eyes. I didn't see what happened to him, so I hope he's okay.
L: You have two of your own headline shows in September, one in London and one in Manchester, how are you feeling about that?
A: I'm excited. It will be really good. We're going to bring quite a few bells and whistles and fun trinkets to really make it a big show. We’ve been out on the road and we've seen how the big boys do it. We want to start playing that sort of game so that'll be really fun.
L: That’s super exciting! Your headline shows might be far away, but you’re playing some festivals over the summer and you're going back out to Germany next month?
A: Yeah, we're back with Callejon. It's not even like two weeks. I think it's like 12 days or something.
L: Is it going to be the same set list you’ve played over the last couple of weeks, or are you going to be adding some of the new stuff in?
A: I think it's gonna be…no, I'm not telling you. No, You’ll have to come and see [laughs].
L: You’ve been nominated for the ‘Best Breakthrough Live Artist’ at this year’s Heavy Music Awards. What do you think makes you different to other bands when fans see you live?
A: With modern music production, especially live, there’s a big shift towards backing tracks, stuff that’s done already. It's all pre-programmed and where it has to be. Our thing has always been if we can do it live, we'll do it live. And that might mean that it's slightly rougher around the edges. With John, there’s so many different layers of keys it's impossible. He's not an octopus. But if he can play it, he'll play it as well.
There’s also been a real shift in the industry where modelling amplifiers have got better so people don't really play cabs anymore. I remember I went to a show and I was like I love this band I want to go to the front because I want to be right up there with it. As soon as you get to the front, if you assume that the speakers go just a bit behind you all I got was drums, and a little bit of vocal, and that was it. And I went this is awful.
I want a great experience for everyone. Wherever you're standing in the crowd, especially at the front. I want you to feel the music.
L: If fans were to find you now through ‘Ultraviolet’. What do you want your band and your sound to be known for?
A: Such a big question, I mean, there are five different voices in this band and you’ll get five different answers. I definitely want to be known for being a fun rock and roll band that you just have fun. I want it to be uplifting — a sort of positive tail note — even if you've got something that's quite dark. I'll come back to Flip Side because it's the heaviest; even if that’s where you are headspace wise you can still leave on a positive note. In whatever way that means for you.
L: Is that why you guys chose All I’ve Ever Known as the last song on the album?
A: Yeah. It's great because it leaves it on a nice little positive note at the end of the album. A sweet little something.