Forming in 2018, Isolation burst onto the vibrant Brisbane hardcore scene with their progressively sonic 4 track EP ‘War In My Mind’. More recently the band unleashed their new single and music video ‘Mindstate’ ahead of a supporting show with Harms Way in Brisbane so we chatted to frontman Jarryd Gertz about the new track and how the band draw inspiration.
RP: His Jarryd how are you?
JG: I’m good thanks.
RP: How’s it feeling in your camp at the moment?
JG: Everyone is stoked on the release of it so far (new music video mind state), we weren’t expecting it. We had a few minor blow backs, scheduled stuff that we had going on. Having triple j playing it and stuff like that, it was kind of like the main goal fell through like what are we going to do. It was like Friday and we thought we’ll put it out Friday, it worked so much better than we expected. It was probably the better result to go than the original way, national radio play and stuff like that, so we did it on our own terms so it blew up in our face in such a good way.
RP: Awesome I guess as you say it was completely unexpected and sometimes going off track is the best way.
JG: Exactly it’s amazing how sometimes when you go another part and it gives you a better result.
RP: So for the uninitiated of those playing at home, how would you describe your sound?
JG: Our sound is pretty much the hardcore but taken in much more of a I guess, not really in an unique approach but more old school approach with a bit of modern as well. We’re going for things along the lines of like a HM2 sound which is pretty much like skull rattling in terms of guitars tones and things like that. We add ourselves into a black and hardcore category which is the sound we have going on which is atmospheric as well, we’re trying to coin a term for the black and hardcore scene of Brisbane.
RP: I really pick up on that whole down tuned guitar sort of vibe you are going for and it definitely has the atmospheric elements of show. What’s your take on the Australian scene as it stands right now? I mean I know you guys are fairly new to the game from what I’ve read but how do you see the Australian scene going?
JG: The Australian scene is going petty strong at the moment, for the fact there is all these sub genres going on as well. Different hardcore going on at the moment whether it’s your traditional hardcore or melodic hardcore like bands such as For the Fallen Dreams, that’s a bit more melodic hardcore, so you have all these sub genres going on everywhere. It’s really good to see that people are I guess, taking the old school ethics and adding their own element to it. It’s very good and refreshing to hear a traditional sound with an added element of top of it
RP: Absolutely I hope you guys are not insulted but I put you with someone like Alpha Wolf or Justice for the Damned.
JG: Oh wow that’s really good, we really like those bands.
RP: Yeah because they are bringing their own thing and you re bringing your own thing so it’s quite a healthy mix.
JG: Yeah thank you very much, we really appreciate that. We look up to those guys, they are pretty much doing their own thing and we are inspired by that.
RP Yeah it’s really something interesting that they are sort of from what I can tell, they are moving away from the Hatebread, marching around, beating your chest sound – not that there is anything wrong with that – but you are putting your own spin on it.
JG: That’s exactly it. I feel that it comes with music over time, you look at bands such as Slipknot and you look at the Nu Metal movement, the new generation taking on sounds that they grew up with such as Slayer and all the classic metal and basically decided to add this term of Nu metal and it’s just this generation of new metal growing and it’s fantastic. It’s something that is going to continue over time, people adding electronic sounds into hardcore like who would have thought to do that? It works so well [laughs].
RP: That is true, unfortunately the connotation of Nu Metal is they look at bands like Korn or Limp Bizkit and then automatically they embrace it and love it or are completely repulsed by it.
JG: It seems to be that way isn’t it. You either get people who love it or hate it and from my experience it seems to be a lot of the older crowd they love the Nu Metal because it’s what they were growing up with at the time. I basically got into Nu metal through my cousins, they would be playing the latest Slipknot or Korn releases especially Limp Bizkit. I’d be driving around with them and blocking my ears, I was too young to hear this but when I heard it I thought this was bad ass.
RP: This is something to pursue.
KG That’s it, it definitely resonated with me. I’ve always like that element of music, it grabs you in a different way.
RP; Are there anymore plans to release new music? I saw that you guys released an EP last year and obviously you’re letting that sink in with the general public so is there anything you can elaborate on in terms of new music? Are you just taking your time? What’s the story?
JG: We’re getting into the process of writing, so perhaps mid year we have have another EP come out. Maybe it will come out around August or September and if times plays in our favor maybe sooner than that. The point behind “Mind State” was to keep some of the same elements that we had from our release last year which was “War On My Mind”, we use that to cement ourselves in the general Brisbane/QLD scene for music. Just the response from that has been really good and testing the waters with our sound and putting that out as a four track and just seeing how people react to the four songs pretty much heavy but having all different elements. Basically the plan with Mind State is just testing the waters, so now we want to go with a more groovier sound so that ended up coming through in that and it is amazing that people compared it to The Acacia Strain, it’s really good to that heavier element added into it, pretty much the hardcore sound we were going for.
RP: Or there is another band that I’m not sure you’ve heard of from Texas called Kublai Kahn.
JG: [laughs] I’m very aware of them. They are pretty much one of Isolation’s biggest influences.
RP: They are really bad arse! I was lucky enough to meet the lead singer, Matt Honeycutt, in December 2017 when they were on tour here in Australia. Those guys also blew my collective mind, standing in front of that guitar cabinet just absolutely frothing [laughs].
JG: I got an opportunity to see them with a friend in Brisbane, he took me along to the show. I only heard bits and pieces of their music but the moment I went into that venue – I was sick at the time – I thought to myself, ‘I don’t care about this sickness’. I just fully reacted to them, it was amazing how he controlled the crowd as a front man, it was really inspiring.
RP: I guess in time you’re going to take your own cues and make it your own.
JG: Yep that’s for sure.
RP: So if you could have your dream list of people you would want to work with be it big or small, who would be on top of the list in terms of production or fellow musicians? I know we’ve covered some ground with other bands but is there anyone that sticks out in your mind?
JG: At the moment especially within the Australian scene I would like to work with Justice of the Damned. Getting the chance to see them live after not seeing them for about a year and a half, I saw them recently when they co-headlined with Alpha Wolf, I was absolutely blown away. Everything about that band in the period of not seeing them, just seeing them change and grow. Even with the new sound they were going for with their latest single is just wow! I’d like to work with them even if it’s just with the vocalist Bobak Rafiee or just going on an Australia run, that would be unreal.
RP: And it would certainly be a powerful lineup, pardon the pun [laughs]. It would certainly blow off a few doors I reckon.
JG: I can imagine that would be a very heavy tour.
RP: And on the international front is there anyone you would like to work with? Again I know we have already spoken about the big bands but is there anyone that sticks out, even just vocally?
JG: Possibly be out of in terms of vocalists it would be the vocalist from Kublai Kahn Matt Honeycutt. He’s just unreal, even just his lyrical writing and ability is amazing as well. Even if we get to tour with just him or the entire band would be awesome. Another band would be awesome to work with is Varials from the States. Once again another big inspiration when we were writing, “Anything to Numb” is a song I admire the most from this band.
RP: I will have to give that a listen. I know this is probably a really old hat kind of question but where do you draw your inspiration from? Are you the kind of vocalist that draws inspiration from the world around you or books? What’s the general story there?
JG: Pretty much just inspiration from myself and general life. The content that is spoken about in “War On My Mind” was a reflection of everything going on in life at a certain point, I guess it was a make or break time in my life where I was making a lot of changes and isolating yourself from everything that is going on at that point in time. Being able to reflect on the negative points and why are you feeling this way. People that are around you that are like leaches, for example people who take the good from you and give nothing in return. Basically a reflection of a point in time of where I was and it’s like , Ok things going bad and wondering why this is and, yeah I was able to step away with what was going on and you’re able to easily see the good and the bad in your life basically. It’s just a matter of reflecting on that and it was a pretty negative time in my life and it’s good to get into a positive outlet, being able to see that through music is really good. Being able to see other people and relate to other experiences, what they have gone through and they can relate to it through my writing.
RP: I guess you see it with the crowd you re drawing, people are getting right into your music and that in itself has to be pretty powerful.
JG: We did not expect anything like the response that we got fro the Brisbane community. We are pretty much just four guys in a room saying let’s write some heavy stuff. Next thing you know the hype started coming about. People heard about the band before we put it out, it was getting exciting and even the fact that in Brisbane there is, I guess it happens among every scene, every now and then it becomes the same few bands constantly playing so when something new comes along it’s a breath of fresh air for the community and everyone’s getting into it. It’s a new band they get to see, basically we have come in with that attitude, it’s good that it took off the way that it did.
RP: I have been to Brisbane on a number of occasions, what is the general scene like? Is it fairly healthy?
JG: It is pretty healthy at the moment, as most scenes do in Australia it comes and goes but I think it comes down to the fresh acts playing and things like that, that are going around. Pretty much I came from north QLD, Townsville where we had to create our own music scene, it’s really refreshing to be in a place where I don’t have to organize shows. There are people putting on shows and people wanting to come out to shows and that kind of stuff which make life easier. The kind of process of trying to get on stage and trying to influence other people to come out to your shows and even just getting into a band themselves and doing exactly what you’re doing. Brisbane at the moment here is really good, I feel basically more of all ages [shows] are needed in Brisbane. Their the heart, to get it to continue for the general scene is the all ages. It’s healthy for the 18+ and maybe another venue here in Brisbane. Aside from that you have the loyal big goers and people that are out every show.
RP: Nice and i supposed the main one would be the Crowbar wouldn’t it?
JG: Yeah the Crowbar is literally the home of heavy in Brisbane. They still have the Brightside and things like that but I don’t think they host as many shows anymore.
RP: So speaking of tours and wanting to travel, I know I live on the west coast forgive me, will there be any signs of you guys coming over this side of the country?
JG: Well the first part of the year we have ourselves planned out, we’ll go to pretty much every part of the country that we possibly can. Anyone that will have us we’ll be there, it’s just the case of spreading out where we can, there is only so much we can do in our own home town. You really want to make a good go of getting out there, getting into people’s ears and all that kind of jazz. For people to give us their attention you need to do it on a stage, whether that is done by chance or whether it is by word of mouth it’s just you gotta get out of there pretty much and that’s our main plan. We pretty much had that plan of attack when we came out of the gate so it was like let’s play as many shows in Brisbane as we can. In a sense we wore ourselves out when we can sit in 2019 and look at the year we had, we haven’t even been an active band for a whole year, it’s been about a year since around June/July.
RP: So it really has been the proverbial wave in terms of you hitting the crest? That’s amazing.
JG: We kind of knew what we wanted to do from the get go in the band. I myself have been playing in bands for years now. Also the other boys have been in active bands in the past few years too, one of our current members it is his first band and it is good to be able to come in with that knowledge and you know, trial and error for everything in life really and I guess it goes for any band you want to create. I guess if there are other people sitting there that are like going, ‘I’ve tried this but failed’, it’s like go out there and do it again, I promise you it will be better.
RP: It is has be. Fantastic speaking with you this evening, thank you so much for your time, really appreciate it. We hope to see you in Perth at some point, good luck with everything. Hope all your plans come off and you continue to ride that wave of success.
JG: Awesome thank you so much, we appreciate it and hope to see you sometime in Perth.
