This past week, I was able to reach out to the band Dim to talk about their great new record, From Dark To Light We’ll See that we premiered last week. In this interview, I asked the band about the circumstances that led to this album title, what each band member brings creatively into Dim with their unique artist influences, their process for songwriting, and upcoming merchandise plans to support the new record.
Thank you for connecting with me today. Tell me a little bit about how your new album called From Dark To Light We’ll See from your band, dim, came together. What stood out most from these recording sessions?
We ended up writing the album during the Spring of 2020. Nick and Charlie actually live with their close friend Jeremy Nichols. Jeremy’s home is the base of Space Jockey Sound Studio. We ended up going over to record some demos at the house and when we got into about the 6th song or so, Jeremy suggested we treat things as a full album. We booked the studio out every weekend from October – December.
What stood out most to us was that we had all hands on deck – fully producing the album with Jeremy. We sought after each sound for each instrument and really took our time to make it exactly how we wanted it. Every song has a different tone, whether it be the bass, guitar, or the drums. After all the instruments were recorded, Matt went in and added all the extra midi sauce (atmosphere sounds, intros/endings to songs, all the way down to the bits of piano you hear scattered around the album). These extra bits we feel really brought the cohesion we were looking for in the album – we feel it really elevated each song. It was an amazing process to fully produce the record alongside Jeremy.
What do you feel each of you brings creatively into this band?
We all have similar yet different tastes in the music we listen to. We feel because of the diversity of our music palette – dim is a true unique and original sound. You hear things that remind you of some of your favorite bands but you can’t quite put your finger on who we believe we sound like “us.” Ben and Nick have a total of 16 years of playing in bands together and this creates a deep connection when it comes to writing. We tend to create a very open writing environment, and some song structures are written by Nick, or Charlie, or even Matt. We all have our own details we hone in on.
Can you describe how the four of you do most of your songwriting?
To expand on the previous question, we create a very open writing environment. It’s more of a jam setting – feeding off each other, all bringing progressions to the table, and really enabling a flow state to come into play. We don’t ever try and sound like anyone…we write what ends up channeling through us naturally. I would say all of us are very emotionally charged by what we write. We really have to feel the music to allow our sound to truly come out. There isn’t a lead writer or anyone who calls the shots – it’s usually a complete “in the moment” band effort.
The pandemic has been tough for the music industry and bands in general. What did each of you learn about yourselves as people and musicians during this difficult period of time, and how did you keep the momentum going to record this album?
This album probably would have never happened if the pandemic never hit. We all completely pushed through any fear that may have come up. We tend to live by the statement “Your Mentality is Your Reality” and we made the most of last year and this album has been the outcome.
The live performance is a powerful tool for bands to gain a connection with their fans and expand their audience. How would you describe your live shows and what are you most looking forward to on getting back on tour?
Well honestly, we are about to play our first show as dim on July 30th at the Masquerade <Artist edit: Which we can’t believe has already sold out!>. So, we can’t say too much about dim’s live shows just yet! From what our close friends have told us from watching our rehearsals, we sound very much like our album; which has been a huge compliment. What we are looking forward to most about touring would be: friends, community, traveling, and the connection you make with others all over. There’s no better feeling than getting to perform your art for tons of people.
I understand you have plans to release the vinyl record of this album in September, correct? What other unique merchandise items should your fans check out?
We will definitely have vinyl for this album, which as of now, is slated to land in our hands in September. We’ve hand made some super badass limited CD’s with custom packaging which will be exclusive to our show on July 30th. Our designs we feel are unique as they’ve been created by designers we really have connected with Doug Hicks from Black Cat Merch, Nick Ferran, and Andrew Tamlyn of Formless and Forming. We’ve had a new merch drop that is related to each single that has come out as well! We’re hoping to bring some more custom and unique items to our merch store as we grow.
What are some artists, both past and present, that each of you admire and look to for inspiration in your own music?
There are a handful of artists we absolutely love and are inspired by. For Ben, Jordan Burns from Strung Out and George Rebelo of Hot Water Music have had a tremendous impact on his style of playing. The sole reason for why and how he plays can really come down to those two individuals; they both are true original sounding drummers that each bring something that he had never heard before. Why Ben uses little textures and splash cymbals is because of George. For Nick, Adam Hann from The 1975 is someone that really inspires him by the way he plays his leads and articulates his notes. For Charlie, Johnny Marr from The Smiths is who he pulls lots of influence from. He grew up listening to them and Johnny’s playing is something that really rubbed off on Charlie. For Matt, it would be a few different vocalists. Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy, Sonny Moore of From First to Last, and Jonny Craig of Dance Gavin Dance and Emarosa, are who really impacted Matt while he focused on singing in high school. We feel you find hints of all of their styles within the way Matt delivers his vocals.
Thanks again for joining me for this interview today! If you were to give a “quick pitch” to someone new to your band, what would you tell them to convince them to check out dim?
Imagine a band that pulls sounds from LANY + Jimmy Eat World + Thrice + sprinkles of Explosion in the Sky and then we feel that’s a pretty close description of our sound. True emotional alternative rock; music that makes you feel something again.