Nottingham group a-tota-so have carved out a solid fanbase for themselves the last few years as a hardworking, math-rock band, however, they recently got a lot less mathy. When Covid-19 hit and lockdowns continued alongside lack of support for the music industry, the band decided to mix things up a bit whilst keeping themselves busy working on their second album Lights Out – due for release on 11 March this year.
Having typically stuck to purely instrumental music before, they decided to embark on a collaborative project whereby they enlisted an array of their vocalist friends from the UK and Irish music scene to put a fresh spin on their music and create something new. Each of the eight tracks features a different vocalist from the likes of Damien Sayell (The St Pierre Snake Invasion, Mclusky), Ashley Tubb (Sugar Horse), Jake O’Driscoll (God Alone) and Ellie Godwin (No Violet).
Guitarist Marty Toner comments, “The album deals with a variety of themes including depression, anxiety, feeling lost and the general state of the world we are currently living in – while providing hope that we can carry on with the things that we all love and enjoy in the future.”
The video similarly breaks new ground as it is the first time the band has ventured into animated territory and an apocalyptic one at that. Surrounded by 5G towers, drones, dilapidated Amazon warehouses, the band mission to find a better reality as well as making it on time to play an outdoor music festival.
Director of the video, Phil Fornby, describes the process and inspiration for the video in more detail:
The song seems to yearn for an escape from the stresses and pressures of life. No doubt inspired by the last few dismal years in the UK. This was a great opportunity to let off a bit of steam and have a laugh doing it. Essentially the premise is about escapism, finding the thing that brings you joy and striving towards it. It’s a dig at the relentless forces of social and mainstream media, consumerism, capitalism, politics and all the noise that leaks into our subconscious. It’s about community and friendship and finding your place in the world.
The main character in the film is the van. ‘The Provider’ will be familiar to many on the DIY circuit having been in ownership of several bands over the years. I myself spent a cold winter tour covering many miles in its rusty enclave. The Provider has since retired from the gig scene, living out its final days as a mobile library in Africa.
The film is a collage of thousands of tour photos and various images from undisclosed sources. We tried to put as much of the character of the band in as we could, it’s a celebration of a band’s life on the road.
