Living in Shadows, the UK-based progressive rock band, has forged a distinct path with their unique blend of progressive rock, jazz, and 90s grunge. Their latest album, Neon Burning, released in June 2024, explores themes of endings and new beginnings; from confronting challenges to embracing the unknown, the album offers a musical journey that reflects the complexities of life. In this interview, we sit down with the band to discuss the inspiration behind Neon Burning, the creative process, and how their eclectic mix of influences, from classic prog to jazz, has shaped their distinctive sound. Join us as we dive into the heart of their music and explore the stories behind the tracks.
Living in Shadows’ album Neon Burning explores themes of endings and new opportunities. How did the concept for the album come together, and how do these themes resonate with your personal experiences?
As the songs were starting to come together we realised the link between them. It wasn’t a conscious decision, the concept formed naturally.
Personally, reflecting back on situations in life, brings to mind how a particular experience began and how it ended or evolved. Like a survival instinct as to how to make sense of it all. Some of the songs are directly linked to our personal experiences like “Leaving Light”’” which highlights our time during Covid lockdown. As musicians not being able to perform, it was a shock, pretty scary. Our financial income disappeared and all we had left was our music and each other. Some of the songs are total fiction, coming from our imagination like “Silently Dancing.” An escape to the unknown.
The first single, “Cast Away,” encourages listeners to take risks and embrace challenges. What was the inspiration behind that song, and why did you choose it as the album’s lead single?
If you could travel back 5 years, what would you say to yourself? You’d find the answer for most people would be to just go for it! Fear and anxiety prohibits most individuals chance to develop, learn and explore. ‘Cast Away’ is the little voice that says “go on, do it!”
We chose it to be the lead single because of the positive message it puts out, and musically it’s a good representation of the album – strong melodies with intricate instrumentation. And a load of time signature changes!
Neon Burning blends progressive rock, jazz, and elements of 90s grunge. How do you balance such diverse influences to create a sound that feels cohesive and uniquely your own?
Afters years of making and listening to music, we’ve gradually gathered an eclectic mix of ingredients that ends up creating this sound. Our music reflects every single note we’ve listened to and been inspired by. When we have an idea and we’re developing it, the melody has to be strong, direct. This is coming from our progressive pop influences, The Beatles, Kate Bush, Tears For Fears to name a few. The more “Progressive” elements of our music – time signatures, mood changes etc come from the classic prog bands – Jethro Tull, Yes, King Crimson etc. The jazz side of things comes through the harmony, chord progressions and a general sound e.g. cleaner guitar tones, piano/Fender Rhodes. Clarity, diction and improvisation are a major factor in the vocals; inspired by great jazz singers like Carmen McRae, Nancy Wilson and Blossom Dearie.
In Neon Burning, tracks like “Who Are You?” confront narcissism. How do you approach writing about such complex themes through music, and what do you hope listeners take away from these songs?
Initially ‘Who Are You’ was inspired after watching a tv show called “The One”. The concept of the show was used as a vehicle to get the idea of the song off the ground, it helped give it a kick start. From there we could draw on our own experience of narcissists. Hopefully it will make people mindful of how common it is to be coerced, they’re not alone if it happened to them and they can walk away from it. It or that person, no longer controls them.
“Silently Dancing” invites listeners to reconnect with nature. Can you talk more about how that track captures the mood of a moonlit ritual, both lyrically and sonically?
You’ve got to engage with that long lost imagination from childhood. Iconic films that we loved as children that unlocked our imagination to new worlds like ‘Labyrinth’ and ‘The Never Ending Story’ gave us the building blocks with ‘Silently Dancing’. Lyrically it’s about a magical hidden garden that comes alive at night with mythical creatures. Every night, they perform an ancient ritual that can’t be viewed by just anyone. Only a select few are summoned and have the ability to enjoy this spectacle. Maybe I was channeling my inner Jon Anderson!
The melody had to have this hypnotic sound that fully pulls you away from all “real life” distractions. It’s a pretty relentless stream of constant melody and lyrics. Like the pied piper, it doesn’t stop, just keeps weaving and drawing in the listener to this world. It was important that it had a nocturnal feel to it. It’s amazing what the imagination can conjure up when we’re out of the cold light of day.
The majority of the song is based around the bass line. Trying to portray that low midnight kind of vibe but with the uplifting climax in the middle.
Your music is described as having an “English edge.” How do you think the UK music scene has shaped your sound, and how does it influence your writing and production?
It’s what we most identify with. As said earlier, it’s a product of every piece of music we’ve listened to. Our music doesn’t draw directly on blues and r n b styles, it is more influenced by British artists/bands like Tull, Kate Bush, XTC etc.
We’re not really inspired by the current U.K. music scene per se, more the history of contemporary English music. Singing in a non American accent is an example of this. I actually make an effort to let my Geordie accent come through!
Zoe, as Parliamentary Jazz Vocalist of the Year in 2019, you’ve had a prominent career in jazz. How has your jazz background influenced the development of Living in Shadows and Neon Burning?
Jazz has helped me sound like myself. Not to imitate anyone else, just to dig deep and develop my own sound, my own voice, my own songs. Jazz is about improvisation where the player composes their solo or their part of the tune literally as it’s happening. There is nothing more personal and genuine than a person improvising. It’s very exposing but builds a self belief and before you know it, a different personal sound, unique to them. I’ve found since creating and developing Living In Shadows, I have the confidence now to give myself free rein with my song writing and vocal delivery, just purely composing the music and the lyrics that are in me and expressing it using my voice, my instrument.
Andy, you’re known as a multi-instrumentalist. How do you decide which instruments best serve the vision for each track on Neon Burning?
The majority of the music was composed on guitar or bass initially. Sketches of ideas would be put down in Pro Tools where I would start to build the track around them. The instrumentation generally comes together fairly naturally but I probably spent more time on the keys. I tend to decide if it’s a piano, Rhodes or Hammond song as a starting point and then come up with a basic arrangement. From there I may add some kind of synth pad to add texture. This is the bit that can take the longest – trying to find the sound I have in my head. Although I’m fairly proficient on a few instruments I certainly wouldn’t call myself a synth specialist!
Sometimes parts get switched to different instruments, as was the case with the track ‘Neon Burning’. What ended up being the opening Rhodes part was originally on guitar. I’m not sure why I thought of switching it but when I did the whole thing fell into place.
The production of Neon Burning is said to evoke the spirit of 70s/80s rock and pop. What aspects of that era’s music do you feel most connected to, and how did you incorporate that into your own sound?
It was what resonated with us the most. One of the big ingredients again. It was an era when artists had the support from record labels and the industry to flourish. It was fairly self indulgent, fuelled by big egos but to create something new, you need an ego to believe that it will work.
It’s not as heavy metal influenced. Not a prog metal thing, more of a 70’s flavour. Although the classic prog bands had their ‘heavy’ moments, it wasn’t always based around “the riff”. For example the guitar sound. It’s not a high gain metal guitar sound, it’s coming from a similar place as Steve Howe’s cleaner approach.
Some of the keyboard textures, aside from the Hammond and Rhodes, are more from an 80’s aesthetic. Less melotron and moog, more Prophet V and Jupiter 8. There’s definitely an 80’s pop influence in the vocal melodies.
The production took on another level with having Chris Sharkey on board. He really brought the sound into the 21st century with his signature studio techniques.
You’ve been praised for your ability to merge progressive jazz-rock aesthetics with alternative rock. Was this blend intentional from the start, or did it evolve naturally as you worked on the album?
Totally natural! It’s definitely been an evolution from the start. Gradually becoming more confident, more self assured to experiment and see what happens. Our debut album was more jazz in flavour and although there were signs of prog and alt rock we were still keen to keep it within our familiar jazz zone! Particularly with the use of double bass and jazz drum sounds.
When we started working on the songs for Neon Burning, they naturally dictated the instruments and sounds we needed which leaned more towards a rock approach. Although jazz is still in our DNA.
The feel of the vocals evolved too. Becoming edgier than the jazzier sounding debut. The lyrics and subject matter of the songs depicted more fantasy, a more Jon Anderson-esque style. This wasn’t preconceived, it was just what happened as we put the music together.
What challenges did you face while creating Neon Burning, both musically and conceptually, and how did you overcome them?
The songs came together really easily. We didn’t allow ourselves to get too precious about specific details within a song; we let it flow naturally. The songs kind of wrote themselves. We knew Chris was going to be producing it and he had free rein to put his stamp on it also, which probably relieved some of the pressure we may have put on ourselves.
The biggest challenge was turning this from a studio project into a live band. First off, we had to find the right people. Who did we feel had the right fit and were up for the challenge of learning some pretty complex music. Finding those people and then a great deal of rehearsal time has really focused the bands identity.
You’ve described the album as an experience-driven map for facing challenges. Can you talk about how the tracks, as a whole, create a journey for the listener?
It’s a journey from every conceivable angle. Like having the guts to just go for it, following your heart and taking a leap into the unknown. The early dawn, the start of a new day, a metaphor for the start of a new chapter in life. The turmoil of addiction, starting as a bit of fun that quickly unravels. Coping with things that life throws at you, like a pandemic!
Living a life through a story book, being engrossed in a fictional world. The end of a love affair. These are the general themes throughout the album.
Now that Neon Burning has been out for some time, what has the response been like from fans and critics? Has anything surprised you about how people are connecting with the album?
It’s been great! We’re really happy with the response. We’ve been getting some fantastic feedback from the music press. It’s been surprising how people have found this more accessible to listen to than we realised! Finding the melodies and the hooks catchy, singing along with the lyrics too. A lot of people have said how much they were able to identify with what ‘Neon Burning’ is about. There’s no greater compliment.
Looking ahead, what’s next for Living in Shadows? Are there any plans for future releases or live performances that fans should look forward to?
Definitely live performances. We have one scheduled for Thursday 1st May at The Globe in Newcastle. We hope to embark on the festival scene and we’re in talks with gig promoters so it’s all going in the right direction. Some work to be done to get this music out there on stage but it’s starting to take shape.
We’ve already been writing songs for our next release which we’re very excited about, especially now that we’re composing as a five piece band. That will be the next focus. Get this new music out there too.
Stream/download Neon Burning from Bandcamp. Follow Living in Shadows on Facebook and Instagram.
