Italy's Upon This Dawning has just gotten signed to Arteru Recording's, has a new vocalist, new single, and new album all under their belts. Guitarist and vocalist Matteo Botticini or "Teo" discusses all of this and much more!
1. First off, please introduce yourself and what you do in the band.
Teo: I'm Teo, I'm the guitarist and I sing.
2. Dani Nelli replaced Giani Molinari, how do you go about finding a new member that you know clicks with the band and meshes well with your music?
Teo: The first time I met Dani I had this feeling like I've known him since forever, he's one of the greatest people I've ever met and it's crazy how we got so close real fast. He's one of my best friends now and everybody in the band loves him, so that's the main reason why we decided to have him in the band. We actually didn't know how these new songs would've came out with Dani's voice, we just tried to change our sound, we made it darker and heavier to get the best from his voice, and we found a good combination actually. We're very proud of how these new songs sound.
3. Do you think Dani Nelli has adjusted to being a part of band and his style as being a vocalist has accompanied what the band is all about? How have the fans adjusted to the change?
Teo: Like I said we changed our sound to get the best from Dani's voice and I personally think that this new sound is more mature and it's definitely a good change for us. I feel like this band has grown up and that we took the right way. We just released a new single called "OBEY" and it seems like most of our fans are digging this change a lot.
4. Upon This Dawning, where does a name like that come from and does it have a particular meaning or representation for the band?
Teo: When we first started UTD, we all came from other different bands, and this was like a fresh new start for everybody, that's why we picked the name Upon This Dawning, like a dawn of a brand new day, a new beginning to start doing what we love the best way we can.
5. Why did you want Artery Recordings to be where you call home record label-wise? What have they brought to the table for you guys?
Teo: We decided to switch to Artery for so many reasons, we felt like the guys in Artery really dig our new sound and they really believe in this band. We're glad to have such a great team to work with
6. Can you tell us how this album differs from the previous ones? What can we expect and what is the message behind it?
Teo: Well obviously "We Are All Sinners" sounds pretty different from "To Keep Us Safe" because of the vocal change, we've also put more orchestral stuff to create that dark atmosphere we wanted. Also we tried to do something different with a couple songs, idk what our fans are gonna think about em, i guess we'll find that out soon. The message behind "We Are All Sinners" is basically a way to say that everyone has his skeletons in the closet, but there's no shame in that. Being yourself without caring about what other people think and thinking with your own head. It's definitely a brand new Upon This Dawning sound, but we love the way it came out.
7. What was the recording process like this time around? Was there anything different that happened or was it the same old studio thing?
Teo: Personally talking it was a totally different experience for me, cause i always used to write & record shitty pre-production with the rest of the guys at home and when all the pre-pros were done we went to record everything in the studio. This time instead it's been way different, since Dani has his own studio. We basically locked ourself in the studio and we started writing and recording in the same time song by song. That way It was more comfortable, everything went very smooth and chill, it was a great experience.
8. Could you describe your song writing process? What comes first –the music or the lyrics?
Teo: Well that's very funny cause basically it all comes out from Dani's mouth. Haha He literally starts singing a guitar riff with his voice and then he reproduces that riff on the guitar, and then we record everything. I love the way he works and he inspires me a lot. Once we're done with the instrumental parts we write the lyrics and track vocals.
9. Are there any surprises or collaborations on the album?
Teo: No, there's no featuring acts in this new record. Dani and i tried to switch a lot our vocal parts to make everything sound different. He's also gonna do some clean vocals in a few songs.
10. You've released a lyric video for "Obey" what's the story behind the song and will there be an official video to follow?
Teo: Obey's concept is the same concept we decided to have for the whole record, we're gonna make an official video soon but not for Obey. It'll be another song.
11. Aside from "Obey" possibly being a favorite, do you have any other favorites on the album right now?Teo: I don't know if I can tell you the titles of the other tracks yet, but i can say that all the songs definitely worth a listen hehe.
12. What’s the touring cycle going to be like for “We Are All Sinners”?
Teo: We'll be headlining the Artery Foundation Across The Nation tour in the States in April, and the new record's gonna come out in the meantime. We really can't wait to go back on tour.
15. What accomplishments are you most proud of as a band?
Teo: It makes me really proud that, despite all the shit that happened, we haven't lost our focus and we're still working hard to do what we love.
16. Describe your relationship with your fans in one word?
Teo: True.
17. Finally, anything you’d like to tell your fans, friends, and family?
Teo: Thank you so much for the big support, we love you all! We Are All Sinners' coming out on April 29th, make sure to grab a copy ;) Peace.
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