Interview: Pretty Archie Chats About Their New Album "Wherever You Are Tonight"

What inspired the theme or concept behind this album?

This collection of songs, written over the past couple of years, represents a bit of every genre we draw from. We chose the various tracks to reflect this diversity.

Were there any particular events or emotions that shaped the songwriting?

The songwriting as a whole has been shaped throughout our lives drawing from personal stories and events, “the trad tune” was inspired by a time in my life where I found myself working more than I should have been and neglecting the fun things in life that in turn made me a fun person to be around. The richer I got the less connected I was to my friends and family simply because of time spent at work. Ultimately realizing there needs to be a balance and you can’t work your life away is what inspired the writing on that song.

Were there any challenges you faced during the recording process?

We recorded this entire record live, without any overdubs or tracking. The process was incredibly rewarding, yet also very challenging. The rehearsals leading up to the recording were long and thorough, and everyone wanted to give it their all when we finally hit record. Overall, we’re thrilled with the result and happy we pushed through the challenges.

Which track was the most fun to create, and why?

"Good Stuff" was particularly fun to create and record because we wanted to go for a fun sounding rough and rowdy recording and to get there you need to be having fun and, in the moment... so we allowed ourselves to let loose and have some fun on that track

Did any collaborations influence the sound or direction of this project?

We spent a lot of time setting up the recording space, positioning was key as we were all in the same room. playing to the band instead of a click track or a backing track gave us some extra energy and excitement so the process was much different than we were used to. We added an acoustic drone to our recording and to our set that sounds almost like a single note or a chord on an accordion. The instrument used is called a Shruti box and it’s helped us add a layer to our music that can be played live and acoustically.

How do you feel this album represents your evolution as a band?

We are happy with the direction this recording is sending us in. It’s more folk driven with attention on the songwriting as opposed to more hook or chorus driven music we’ve released in the past. As time goes on, we are able to create music that we love and are good at... and aren’t as necessarily concerned as much about making music that we think other people will like!

Do you have any music videos planned for the album? What can you share about them?

We have a few videos created that we hope will amplify the nostalgic feeling of some of the songs, pictures throughout the years and memories over the music are more the angle we are taking this time over the traditional “music video” route

If you could describe this album in three words, what would they be?

If I could describe it in 3 words it would be Raw honest and vulnerable

Is there a specific moment during the album’s creation that you’ll always remember?

We recorded the title track in a single take. it was near the end of the night, and we decided to get set up for the next morning, we wanted to start the new day with “wherever you are tonight” as we felt pretty exhausted after a full recording session. We got the tone set on the guitar and said let’s just run it once and see what happens. The take we got that night very sincere and extremely vulnerable, you can almost sense the uncertainty when the harmonica jumps in like “are we recording this or just doing a test run”.. the result was one that we felt was a great representation of the emotion behind the song.

Do you have a tour booked or is one being booked to promote the album?

We are working on a fall and spring touring plan for the record and will be showcasing it at our various summer dates we have coming up.

Anything Else That You'd Like the Fans to Know.

During the recording process we lost a loved one ... a fellow musician that inspired the song “the last ceilidh” when a family member was diagnosed with cancer and given a couple weeks to go be home with their family… the average person would rest and stay out of trouble … well in this case our buddy decided to throw one big final party or “ceilidh” as we call them. They got together and played one last concert with their band, said goodbye to a lifetime of friends and danced with his wife and daughters one final time. Something worth writing a song about.