“I think… we’ve only had four other songs in the band and we made a conscious effort – especially Chris (Butler, guitars), our main songwriter – to pick the best stuff,” explained Massic frontman Simon Russell-White on the selection process for their debut album Redshift. “Of course with a few things happening over the years like line-up changes, with the group of guys we have now we’ve really flourished on the nine songs that made it onto the album. There is a tenth one but it didn’t make the cut. We just wanted to put out what we thought was the best material which is why it ended up at nine songs, which is kind of a weird number for an album (laughs). There’s a theme there with the title Redshift. It’s pretty out there with a big astronaut on the front and there’s obviously something being said, but of course, we also want people to be drawn to the album but we also have to stick to what we do original wise and be real about it. This is what we do. If you like it, cool, if you don’t well that’s okay too.”
In the modern age of internet and social media and downloads, the actual value of making and printing CD’s seems to be a dying art. It is much easier to release things in the digital format and cut costs but Russell-White argues that the physical, take home copy still has a place in the industry.
“I think so,” he affirmed. “We’re all a bit older in this band and we still buy CD’s but we also do multi-media and if that is done properly can work really well as far as costs go and bands are seeing that. Having a hard copy of your CD I think you have to be realistic with what you can sell it for and be prepared to give it away – especially if it is your debut. I think if you went in thinking we’re gonna print 500 CD’s and then recoup the costs you’re laughing at yourself. When people buy something physical now they are after something more. What we are finding is when people buy a T-Shirt at a gig they find the value in spending an extra $10 and buying a CD because we put them in a bundle. Selling CD’s separate is more by mail but live they prefer both which is interesting.”
To hear more in-depth about Redshift, including what inspired the artwork and how the album relates to the Atom Bomb, as well as the way Massic sees the modern music industry and how to survive in it plus Russell-White’s take on the contentious issue of people at concerts with mobile phones tune in to the audio.
