Manchester Orchestra caught fans by surprise when they announced their sixth studio album The Million Masks of God. The announcement seemingly came out of nowhere, but for the band, it was the product of a long journey.
Listen to your favorite Alternative music now on RADIO.COM.
Andy Hull and Robert McDowell of Manchester Orchestra recently joined RADIO.COM’s Ryan Arnold for a conversation about their new record The Million Masks of God and shared the fascinating origins of the album.
“The birthplace of these batches of songs as an album was Asheville,” McDowell said. They spent considerable time in North Carolina and recorded at a studio called Echo Mountain down the street from where they were staying.
After spending a few weeks in Asheville, their story picks up the pace rather quickly. “We brought it back to the studio we’re sitting in in Atlanta,” McDowell said. “Then we went to New York, Los Angeles for two different studios there.” Hull added, “And then it was mixed in London.”
The Million Masks of God is truly an international record as it was mixed overseas. The songs were written and recorded all over the United States, something that goes against the conventional wisdom of a band hunkering down in a studio to churn out an album. While it may be uncomfortable for some groups, it wasn’t for Manchester Orchestra. “We loved that,” Hull said.
“We first started it on our last record, really being comfortable with taking the hard drive to other studios and having other people put their influence on it. For us, both being parents, something like vocals is a super intimate process that we’ve had to work together on perfecting.”
“We really need zero distractions for something like that, so we leave home.” Hull added
The experience of being in different locations served Manchester Orchestra well while they made The Million Masks of God. “That was a big lesson we kept learning over and over, and are still learning and enforcing now, is just get out of your own space and give yourself time to reflect on something,” Hull says. “You can hear things differently in different environments and you can perform differently in different environments. We enjoy that.”
Hull and McDowell also touched on an experience that taught them an inspiring lesson, producing Paris Jackson’s debut album Wilted.
Her album came after they finished their album The Million Masks of God as they used lessons from that experience while producing Jackson’s record. “That was one of the strangest, quickest turnarounds of an album I’ve ever [seen],” Hull said. “From when we started working with her to release date, like when it actually came out to everyone, was two and a half months. It was insane.” McDowell added.
“She has a very cool, awesome, little sister vibe and is hilarious, but she knew what she wanted.” Hull said. “It was pretty inspiring to be around somebody who had a vision and went and did it and didn’t need anybody telling her to do it.”
LISTEN NOW on the RADIO.COM App
Follow RADIO.COM
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram