Interview With Evan Latter of 7eventh Sea
Rebecca Marshall had a sit down with the talented Evan Latter (clean vocals & lead guitar) from 7eventh Sea. They finally put aside their retail rivalry and talked about all things new and upcoming, take a look at what they had to say.
*I already know it’s over for us, as we have gone off track already with a guitar tour and now we are talking about Dyson fans*
*I should point out that we are now 10 minutes into the call and not one question has been asked, never pair us together again*
Before we jump straight in with all the band questions, how are you?
I’m all right, I just came back from badminton.
Can you tell our readers 3 things about yourself?
I dabble in badminton, I play guitar in 7eventh Sea and Wide Awake Club and I’m a massive Lord Of The Rings fan *This is where our friendship died*
We are here to talk about the new single “Pressure”. Can you tell us what to expect from this new track?
I think with pressure you are going to hear 7eventh Sea's new sound, I feel like we have evolved over the past year. We have gone into a different tuning so we are a lot lower but I think that’s facilitating me to be singing more. I have a much higher singing voice and it also allows Stee (Lead Vocalist) to come in with the melodic stuff but it’s so much heavier but also poppy and catchy. Expect it to be like *singing choir noises* and *heavy metal noises*
In this single we see you coming out of your shell more and stepping into the clean vocalist role, how are you finding it?
Erm yeah, that was never really the plan for that just to happen for me to be on vocals more. Being a more modern metalcore we like having that pushed vocal, where especially in the choruses you have that high aggressive singing. With Stee doing that and the screaming it was all becoming quite difficult especially stamina-wise it’s a lot to do. How it started was I would start taking on lines from the songs while performing live and then when we started writing it would have a much higher sound which I would have to do. So from there, I took on that role so Stee could just focus on the screaming. It seems loads better as he can be the big screaming dude and I’ll just be over here doing my “La La la’s”
*We veered off track and got on to a Britney Spears cover of Toxic and how Tom (guitarist from 7eventh Sea) should do the dance and wear the red outfit*
What do you hope listeners will take away from the vocal performances and lyrics on this track?
Wow, that is a question! I think it can be relatable in lots of different ways “Pressure” because I originally wrote the chorus of it and it was quite simple really. There was just a lot going on at the time, lots of changes happening and feeling almost overwhelmed a bit, so I kind of wrote about that. Stee then came in with the verses and the heavy stuff so we kind of brought that emotional dark side around it. When you are under pressure and stuff, you start letting people down and making mistakes. It could be so simple as just being at work or just in life in general and emotions. It all just comes together as the pressures of life I feel like that could be quite relatable for everyone. I think with my side of things and Stee’s that’s the sort of message they could take away, a lot of different emotions.
Could you tell us about the inspiration behind the guitar riffs and melodies on this new song?
Oh okay erm, inspiration yeah. We didn’t actually write this song based on a guitar riff I was sitting in my car when I worked in Tesco, back in Tesco days and I had this beat like “pressure, do do do” that kind of melody in my head and I’ve told you before where I would go into the chiller and record these little things on my phone. When I got back from work and on my computer me and Jack (bassist of 7eventh Sea) started working on it so I just did the vocal line first and worked the guitar around it. It wasn’t so complex with all the heavy stuff. First I guess the riffs just came around it. I can’t say it was “purposefully” written, it was more of this sounds good and this riff is cool. I think the breakdown of the guitar bit was very influenced by Brand of Sacrifice, Lorna Shore and bands like that. They are all sort of deathcore bands but they do something called BPM changes so it would start at a certain speed and the next bar is slower but it almost feels heavier because it’s slowing down and in “pressure”, we have like five BMP changes. It’s nuts to play live cause the click in our ears sounds crazy.
How do the guitar parts contribute to the overall mood or theme of ’Pressure’?
In terms of a bit of “music theory” it’s in a minor key and obviously, that produces a much darker tone. I think we are using the Phrygian mode for all music theory people out there. *At this point he lost me as I have no music theory knowledge* It’s got that darker vibe to it for sure. The chorus is just your basic minor but it encapsulates a bit more melody to it, giving it a bit more of a poppy feel.
Were there any specific techniques or gear you used to achieve the desired sound?
In terms of guitar it was just a lot of classic stuff, a lot of chugging, a lot of low-string bongs *I love that we have to make the sounds so I know what he's talking about*. Then just basic melodies to accompany the chorus I guess on guitar. On a more interesting note what I was talking about earlier with the *sings* Pressure, doo, doo, doo that's in the background of the chorus was just my vocal that I chopped up then we pitched that up and down so it sounds like a synth melody in the background it's a vocal rather than being a synth or a guitar. It's just my vocal chopped up and processed to create that melody. There’s an interesting fact about “pressure” for you.
*We went on another tangent for 20 minutes because why not*
Are there any standout moments on the track that you're particularly proud of?
Oh, it's got to be that breakdown. It's my favourite breakdown we have ever done as a band just because we all love it when bands are heavy as hell. We love massive breakdowns and I think “Pressure” is the first one we have done where it has the BPM changes which are something new for us and we have managed to get it locked down live as well. It just feels really good, like really dirty and I love it! It feels so good to play so we are just all there *gives the breakdown metal face of approval we all give at the good parts* You know the face that everyone pulls at a metal gig *Yeah I just said that right above this line* and you know you’ve won. Then I love the chorus because it's nice, big and melodic. It has that poppy feel to it that stands out for me because I’ve never really been part of the main vocals in songs so it's cool having that. I'm in a lot of this single as well so I'm proud of that.
Side note question - “Is it nerve-wracking playing it live because you start it off?”
Honestly, I have to hit play for the click and I just stand there to shake it off like “Here we go” Obviously I’ve been throwing myself about during the set, but now I have to do all my singing. I've got to go low, then high and then the chorus then finally break. Even though it's not a break because it goes heavy then I'm back in it again. I don't get nervous about it but I have to get ready for it because it's a lot for me, especially at the start but I love it.
Seeing as the song is about the pressure of things weighing us down, what would you say is your biggest pressure in the music industry right now?
I think from a band perspective in terms of how we all feel we have overcome finding our sound, what we want to sound like and what we love. I think the main pressure now is honestly how much everything costs to push these songs and get everything mixed and mastered the way we like it to be. Then it's getting it out there and giving it the best chance to do as well as it could. There's got to be the financial pressure in terms of the band and dealing with what we do. We want to put everything we have into it because we are proud of this stuff and we want as many people as possible to hear it.
Finally, tell us all the important dates we should look out for and what’s next for you guys.
I’m the worst person to ask this question to but let me check
15th September - Pressure single release
18th October - Headlining Derby Alt Fest
We are looking to hopefully release something else just before Christmas and early next year thinking about doing a weekender but I can't give you any set-in-stone dates. Keep a lookout on our socials and Spotify for everything.
You can check out our review for the new single here.
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/7eventhSea
Interview - Rebecca Marshall
