Photo courtesy of Devil Met Contention
Sometimes approaching a song from a different angle can make all the difference. Milwaukee singer-songwriter Ehson Rad realized recently that a new approach was warranted for his band Devil Met Contention’s next release.
Instead of rushing to “write something as quick and concisely as possible,” he decided to take his time making the song the best it could be. It’s evident on the band’s latest EP, Wait, the first of a planned trio of EPs.
“I always thought kind of early on after our first full-length album, Fuel The Lights, that maybe the genre was getting in the way of my songwriting and maybe the band's too,” says Rad. “There was a little less enthusiasm as kind of country-esque numbers were being written. I didn't feel enthusiastic about the new songs that were coming out. So, I took a step back and started listening to music I wouldn't have before.”
“I’ve never been into hip-hop, but Childish Gambino, Tyler, the Creator, and Anderson Paak all really put so much into the production value of their work, and it really opened me up to the possibilities of what could be incorporated into a rock album or EP.”
To further achieve this, the band decided to record entirely in-house for the first time, with guitarist David Schuyler acting as sound engineer.
“We sort of made the pact that we’ll write our own stuff and record our own stuff and kind of learn along the way and not rush,” says Rad. “So instead of writing songs, performing them and getting in the studio straight away, we decided to just take a whole year, and do our best and make something interesting, and not be afraid to experiment.”
Turning the pantry in Schuyler’s kitchen into their own makeshift recording space reinforced that mindset.
“It created this atmosphere of experimentation and openness that allowed us to try new things when it came to recording and push farther than just a tight four piece band’s performance into something that maybe served the song a little better and that the listener could find more interesting,” says Rad. “Something I’m really happy with was the way we were able to push David’s guitar sound into something bigger and more complex than it’s ever been.”
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The songs on the EP are about making choices and finding new possibilities and coming to terms with the consequences of those choices. For example, the title track is about the “uncertainty and the inner battle you find with yourself when confronted with some new possibility.”
Says Rad, “It’s about deciding whether you should go forward or wait.”
The EP’s final song “New York” pushes onward, finding its narrator coming to grips in what’s to come and “realizing that it’s positive.”
Devil Met Contention will live stream for Rock the Green, 7 p.m. Thursday, May 21.
