I’ve been playing the music of Anathema for a while and I’ve enjoyed and found it interesting how they’ve evolved their sound over their career. Always looking to push boundaries and their new album, Distant Satellites came out last month. It gave me a chance to speak to guitarist and singer Vincent Cavanagh, one of the founding members.
Vincent Cavanagh
It was such a pleasure to speak to someone who is at ease with where he is in life and still passionate with what he’s doing. We covered a lot, including their influences, their sound, how it can’t be easily categorised and how the evolution of their sound is connected to the changes and growth they’ve experienced internally. We also spoke about the music industry and the difficulties facing young bands, especially with regard to how their music can be categorised amongst all of the eras of music behind us.
One of the issues I talk about on my show is how we are able to move on in life and pursue our passions. Vincent gave great examples from his own experiences and those of his brother and fellow band member Daniel, about how putting in time every day into what you enjoy will bear fruit. How much you get out of life is really about how much you put in.
Anathema
Anathema have been at the forefront of the UK rock/metal movement for many years. They began their journey as pioneers of melodic heavy music, influencing a myriad of bands to follow them, before outgrowing all genres and limitations as they explored new territory and new ways to express feeling through sound.
Formed in Liverpool in 1990, the band’s sound, and musical vision has continually evolved over the ensuing years while always remaining true to their original goal of creating forward thinking, meaningful, passionate and honest music. The band consists of brothers Vincent, Daniel and Jamie Cavanagh, alongside childhood friends John Douglas and his sister Lee, who is an incredible singer in her own right.
As I mentioned on the show, they are touring in December and here are the dates:
September
18- Limelight, Belfast
19- Button Factory, Dublin
21- Glasgow, ABC 2
22- Newcastle, Academy 2
23- Manchester, Academy 3
25- Wolverhampton, Slade Rooms
26- London, Koko
27- Bristol, Thekla
28- Southampton, Talking Heads
I really enjoyed our conversation and there was so much I wanted to include that it took up the whole show. I played a variety of their songs throughout the conversations, particularly ones that were mentioned, but also they paint a picture of the transitions in their sound. You can hear it all again here:
And you can hear the interview on its own via my Soundcloud link here:
Here is the Anathema playlist for 8th July 2014 (Albums in brackets)
1. Lovelorn Rhapsody (Serenades – 1993)
2. Angels Walk Among Us (We’re Here Because We’re Here – 2010)
3. Presence (We’re Here Because We’re Here – 2010)
4. Crestfallen (The Crestfallen EP – 1992)
5. Inner Silence (Alternative 4 – 1998)
6. A Fine Day To Exit (A Fine Day To Exit – 2001)
7. One Last Goodbye (Judgement – 1999)
8. Distant Satellites (Distant Satellites – 2014)
9. Lightening Song (Weather Systems – 2012)
10. The Lost Song Part 2 (Distant Satellites – 2014)
