‘Positivity Amongst the Darkness’ - Artax’s ‘Rise’

Some bands are rock bands, some bands are synth bands, some groups are pop groups. And some bands are all three. Artax are a duo from Glasgow consisting of Katie Wills on vocals and piano, and Callum Warrender on guitars, synth and production. They might be a duo, but they have a big sound, which is showcased brilliantly on their new EP 'Rise'.

On the eve of that EP's release, Artax put out a re-worked version of their song 'Light of Day' - Quarantine Style. Originally recorded solely by Callum, this one is a fully fledged duo version. Katie joined Callum in Artax in 2019, and it's clear the decision was a great one. Light of Day is full of split-screen fun showing Callum on guitar and keyboards, surrounded by equipment, while Katie wows on vocals. A great a cappella clip of Katie performing this track on their instagram only elevates how great of a vocalist she is. As if to drive the point home of this musical style, clips of Miami Vice are integrated to cement the time-period we're in.

'Rise' begins with the opening synth line to 'Vessel'. Crisp drums kick off and Katie Wills brings in the opening lines with ease, 'A vessel of voices, calling me home, a fire inside me burning alone'. Callum's guitar can be heard awash with the synths, pulsing and leading the track along, too numerous to get the first time around. The production is full and bright. It's in an instrumental break where Warrender shows what he can really do as a guitarist as he takes a solo. The duo dabbles in saxophone, the drums quite likely played on an electronic kit rather than being programmed, the human factor is very much intact.

'Big Talk' begins without wasting any time, Wills bringing the synths in with 'hey, I write a ballad for you, but it's really for me, 'cause I know you don't like them.' The synth is low and arpeggiated, which is augmented by piano and synth percussion. Then a surprise change in mood comes from heavy drums and guitar before jumping back to the synth we heard in the beginning. Katie's voice is powerful, and the arrangement is built around it to service that. Callum's guitar solo is still evidence of that without veering off into the haste and chromatic. If anything, the guitar could be higher in the mix to back up those thundering drums and cymbals.

It could be a gamble to mix in two instrumentals in a six track EP, but I think the gamble pays off. 'Safehouse Surrender' is the first and begins with a club-like synth introduction. When you expect the pace to be much faster, the dub-step tempo kicks in. I'm reminded of Nero's debut album 'Welcome Reality' here with the arpeggiated backing and lead synth on top. Of course, Artax doesn't favour staying in one place too long, the mood is changed when Callum brings in a guitar riff over the top. The synths cut out, a clicky bass guitar giving the bass drum hits more pitch. Warrender expands himself on lead guitar, the whole instrumental a completely worthwhile endeavour.

The tempo is brought down with 'I Am Gone', which is more of a guitar piece than it is a synth one. Katie is back on vocals here, I love the line 'echoes of a past that seem to be so close yet so distant'. The lead synth line that drops in and out reminds me of something you'd hear on the Labyrinth soundtrack - which can only be a good thing. Then there's the first appearance of acoustic guitar which chugs as if it's actually an electric. Katie Wills' voice is excellent both in production and technique, creating a good balance between reaching for the more powerful notes and bringing it back down to Earth. Callum's guitar work is more on par with metal, featuring dual lead, dancing around the fretboard with total ease.

'Castillo's Silence' is the second instrumental, beginning with guitar whilst the drummer keeps time. This track has the feel of being interlude music on a 1980's show like Knight Rider. The pace is steady, with the guitar being the lead instrument here. Much shorter than the rest of the tracks, Castillo's Silence serves as a bridge between I Am Gone and the EP's title track.

'Rise' closes out this great collection of songs with a more forceful beat handled by drums, guitar, synths and a sprinkling of bass. Katie's first words set the tone of Rise, 'this is my last request, release me from this mess.' The focus during the verses is very much Wills' vocal, but during the choruses, the duo go crazy with layers and production. It's like the introduction of this song - on steroids. A great moment is when the band cuts out and is left with Katie singing the chorus over handclaps. That would be great with an audience. It also shines a light on the bassline, which remains in the region of treble. The song finishes with Katie singing the hardest she's sung across this EP, and the band in full headbang mode. Fireworks are set off, the lights illuminate the stage, Callum throws a pick forward and the crowd goes wild.

1. First and foremost, where does the name Artax come from?

Callum: It's the name of Atreyu's horse from The Never Ending Story, the film had quite an impact on me as a kid.

2. Where did the 80's influences come from? Are you open to branching out into wider genres?

Callum: I've always loved the big 80s production sound which is present in most of our music, but we do explore blues, prog, rock, instrumental guitar and some orchestral elements. Katie's input further diversified the sound.

3. Katie, you weren't always a part of Artax, how did the two of you meet and decide to make music together?

Katie: So it was the end of last year, I'm always on the lookout for other music opportunities as well as my own stuff and I'm part of loads of musician wanted groups on Facebook, I can't even remember which one it was but I was just scrolling through one of them one day and came across Callum's post. I was immediately intrigued and sent him a message, we then met up and had a chat and the rest is history!

4. Callum, how did the songwriting evolve on this EP? Were the instrumentals made first by you and then lyrics written by Katie, or was it more collaborative than that?

Callum: Usually I lay out the instrumentals first and hand the song off to Katie for additional ideas and vocals. I trust Katie's ideas and judgement so the collaborative process is very easy.

5. Were the instrumentals here always intended to be that way? Or were vocals played around with them?

Callum: The instrumentals change quite a lot during the recording process i.e. "Big Talk's" original instrumental was written by Katie in a major key and we managed to morph it into an Artax song with the original vibe still intact.

Katie: I would also say that in songs like I Am Gone, there are so many structural and dynamic changes in the song, almost like the structure of a classical piece of music with different sections or "movements" that follow into the next one. There are so many instrumental changes in each section but with the vocal melodies helping to tie or bridge each of these sections/movements together.

6. Katie, your vocals on this material completely blow me away, how long have you been singing? What vocalists influenced you growing up?

Katie: Aww thank you, very kind of you to say! I've been singing for as long as I can remember haha-probably since I was a little girl. I remember sitting in my parent's car when I was younger and singing along to The Bangles and my parents commenting on my singing voice. I grew up singing in church bands and also bands etc in school. I also studied musical theatre and music at college and have been involved with other bands, musical opportunities, collaborations, recording projects etc over the years too so it's all I've really ever done until I picked up piano too. I would say my main vocal inspirations would have to be people like Adele, Stevie Wonder, Freddie Mercury, Chris Cornell, Taylor Momsen, Lzzy Hale, Stevie Nicks, Norah Jones, Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish, Lady Gaga, the lead singer from Thrice etc. A real mixture of people that I have been inspired by and taken inspiration from and moulded them into my own take on all of their voices.

7. Callum, you produced the material on 'Rise'. When did you first take an interest in production?

Callum: I've always been a huge tech nerd and love messing around with old gear. In the late 00s, I saved up for my first sound card so I could record guitar and add drums using samples.

8. 'Light of Day' is an older song, but you decided to remake that and release it on the eve of 'Rise's release, what influenced this decision?

Katie: Callum messaged me one day during lock down and asked me if I wanted to do a pre-recorded performance of Light of Day and honestly, ever since I recorded my parts for it-I COULD NOT get it out of my head, so so catchy, so we've added it to the set and added in a few more wee vocal bits too to spice it up even more.

9. Callum, you're a talented musician! What guitars and synths did you use on the 'Rise' EP?

Callum: Guitars were a Charvel San-Dimas for solos, Fender 72 Re-issue Stratocaster for cleans. Bass was mainly a P-bass special which has both Jazz and P-bass pickups. Synths always usually start around the Roland JV-1080, and layers usually added in softsynths like Sylenth.

10. Katie, is there a central lyrical theme on 'Rise'?

Katie: As soon as I heard the track, I knew it had to be a song that hit people in the gut as soon as they heard it. I immediately knew it had to be a powerful song that spoke of strength but also vulnerability too. The song itself talks about how in life, mental health, issues going on in our life or really anything, can take control of our lives and it can leave us feeling powerless and out of control. I also had the initial idea of it being centred around someone whose life is controlled by their mental health and the voices in their head telling them they aren't ever good enough, everyone else is doing better and living a better life (comparisons), but with an empowering theme of rising up and taking charge of your life, ignoring those voices and doubts and anyone's negative comments. Empowering yourself to take control and finding positivity amongst the darkness.

11. What's your set-up when you play live? Do you still perform as a duo with some of the track on a backing or is it a more stripped down affair?

Callum: We are currently building up our live show; just now we're using Reaper to run the backing tracks with live guitar, synths and vocals. We hope to add more live instruments and move as much off the backing tracks as possible.

12. What does the future hold for Artax? Have you been working on more material?

Katie: At the moment, we are building up our set, as mentioned previously. We're getting rehearsals in and really just polishing and tightening everything up. We're planning to keep writing new songs to add to the set and hopefully release some more music in the future as well as gig and hopefully tour once we can gig/tour again. As also mentioned previously, we are hoping to expand on the live instruments so we've been talking about bringing a drummer in as well as adding in some drum pads which I'll be playing as well as synths whilst Callum shreds his solos. All we can say is, watch this space.

Follow Artax @ArtaxMusic on facebook, and @artaxbandofficial on instagram.