CHRIS KILMORE of INCUBUS: It’s A Group Thing
An interview by Bridget Herlihy.
This year is set to mark a poignant milestone, not to mention being creatively productive, for Incubus. During the last quarter of 2023 Incubus returned to the studio to undertake a significant project that had been put on hold for three years; the re-recording of their seminal album Morning View. The multi-platinum album, the band’s fourth, boasts tracks ‘Wish You Were Here’, ‘Are You In?’ and ‘Just A Phase’. Initially intended as a way two mark the twentieth anniversary of the album, the band decided to do something less conventional, and the long-awaited Morning View XXIII is scheduled for release on May 8.
The LA-based alternative rock band have been busy in the studio recording, writing new music and preparing for not one, but two, upcoming tours that will see them play across three countries between April and August.
Much to the delight of Kiwi fans, the first two dates see the beloved quintet play Christchurch and Auckland in double-headline shows with fellow 90s rock icons Live. The last time Incubus visited Aotearoa was in 2018, in support of their eighth studio album ‘8’. This time, fans are in for a treat with a career-spanning performance that promises to include fan favourites, and perhaps something new.
On a balmy spring Thursday evening in LA, days away from heading to the land of the long white cloud, Incubus DJ Chris Kilmore sat down for a chat via Zoom about what the band’s latest endeavours, creative processes, how their sound has evolved over the last two decades, and what Kiwi fans can expect from their two shows next week…
It doesn’t feel like it has been six years since you were last here!
For us, we have ‘BC’ and ‘AC’, right? BC – before covid, and AC – after covid! [laughs] It feels like everything before covid is ancient, its like it might have never happened!
Your forthcoming tours span 26 dates across three countries, is that right?
I try not to keep track of the total number, because 26 isn’t bad, but sometimes it might be 126, and I’m like ‘arrrrgghhhhh’!
I can imagine it would be a somewhat overwhelming prospect. NZ has always had a great affinity and love for Incubus, spanning right back to the late 90s. Something that undoubtedly warms the hearts of your fans here is that you play shows in both the North and South Islands, which can be a rarity with international acts touring here.
Yeah, we love Christchurch! It’s a nice little groovy town. I remember being there last time. That was the first time after the big earthquake and, you know, its tough to see anyone go through something like that. But it’s really nice that we are still able to come down and play music, especially in times of crisis. I’m a strong believer that people need that entertainment, and music heals, and it’s good for your soul. I’m stoked to see Christchurch coming back and being what it is today; its just great to come back!
You have just gotten home from rehearsal; how long have they been going as you build up for the tours?
We usually rehearse two to three weeks before the tour. I think we have been rehearsing the set for this tour for two weeks now. But we have been writing new music for a new record, and re-recording Morning View since October. So our routine is Monday through Friday in the rehearsal studio working. So we just switch gears from new music to rehearsing for the show.
Morning View XXIII is coming out on May 8th in NZ. What was it like going through the process of re-recording the album more than two decades after it was first released?
Yeah…it was completely different. [laughs] When we released the few tracks that we have so far there were a lot of fans saying ‘it doesn’t sound like the original’ and ‘its not as good’, and things like that. Some of them like it better, but you don’t really hear those voices. You always hear the negative ones more, or so it is for me. But, you know, its not going to sound the same. I think in a weird way sonically it sounds way bigger; it’s fresh and new.
And the recording process was cool, because we had already done a live stream where we played the record front-to-back. We went to the Morning View house, and we set up there like we were back in the day, and we recorded the record from front-to-back. So we had to go through a process of rehearsing it, and that’s where all of the tricky little nuances came back. I’m listening to the record and, you know there are certain scratches on it where I’m like ‘oh, that’s what I did’? Because live for 20 years I haven’t been doing it that way [laughs] Its similar, but not the same way. So, I personally went back and learned the record verbatim, and then decided, okay, well this is how I’m doing it live and it kind of sounds cooler, so I’m going to do it this way instead of the old way. And I had to learn the old way first, and that was really tricky. That was going back over 20 years in time and figuring out how my brain worked! [laughs]
Is it possible to go back to those earlier recording and isolate your tracks to listen back to, or are you listening to the album as a whole, and trying zero in on what you were doing?
Both, actually. I would listen to the album as a whole, and then if I didn’t understand a certain scratch, I could solo out just my parts and then listen to it. A lot of times I was just in my head thinking ‘how did I do that’? Because techniques change over the years, and with scratching its… hard to describe. When you hear it coming out of the speakers, it isn’t always what your hands are doing, if that makes sense. The rhythm of it, you might be moving your hand in a motion that makes a three sound, but you only hear two coming out of the speakers, so it’s a weird thing. It’s not just hitting a note and a note plays, or strumming a guitar and the guitar plays. There’s some though process in it, and so when I would hear some of the scratching I had totally forgotten how to do it. I had to go back and figure out what the sound was, how fast was I moving the record, that’s all technical stuff.
Anyway, I would sit there and I would be kind of amazed that I actually did that, and I was like ‘wow. That’s kind of incredible’, because if we were to write this record today, without me hearing this, I would never had done anything like that. So you have this revelation of ‘wow, that was me back then’, almost like a snapshot – like a high school yearbook kind of thing. And that’s not me now; that’s some other guy [laughs]
Referring back to what you said earlier about some fans lamenting that the re-recorded tracks don’t sound like the original versions, in my mind it raises the question of why would you want to recreate the same album exactly as it was recorded the first time? That would seem to be a pointless exercise.
Right. I totally agree with that. And we have to deal with that every time we put a new record out, because people are expecting it to sound just like the last one, or their favourite record or their favourite song. And I have always been of the philosophy of like ‘if that’s your favourite song, then go buy that record or keep listening to it… but this is different; it’s not the same’. They can’t all be your favourite favourite song; they are all going to sit with you different places at different times.
You know, after listening to that song for three weeks you might feel different about it. Or you might go through an event in your life that makes you feel different about certain songs. We all have songs that get us through hard times, you know? So when anyone asks me ‘what is your favourite song’ or ‘what is your favourite record’, I’m like that’s kind of impossible to answer because it’s always changing. It’s a moving target.
I wholeheartedly agree.
But if you want to hear the old stuff and you want it to sound exactly like the old stuff, that is there for you to listen to. This new recording is like an updated version of how we have been playing it live, and it’s really cool and it sounds HUGE. When you listen to older music it sounds a lot thinner, and the sonic quality of it is different than what it is today. And this record is huge. If you put it in your car and you turn it up to 11 it’s loud and cranky. [laughs]
In addition to Morning View XXIII, you mentioned earlier that you are also recording some new material as well?
Yeah. We have an arena tour coming up in the States, and that’s when we’ll be playing Morning View, the whole front-to-back record, on that tour. We had done that at the Hollywood Bowl and that went down really well. We had tried to do a world tour behind Morning View with that concept, but covid interrupted that. So the world got shut down and there was no touring, so this is like picking up that idea, but when [the album] is 23 years old instead of when its 20. Well, it would be 24 now! [laughs] The record is not out yet, so we’re not doing that until the [northern hemisphere] summer, but in the meantime we have a lot of free time, and we’re together writing music. Our goal is to have a record done by the end of the year.
In terms of watching your sonic evolution over the last twenty-three odd years, and having to re-learn things you were doing then and re-record them and put a new spin on it, your job is by no means boring, or at any risk of becoming boring!
No, the job is not boring at all. And the best part of it is that we’re all friends in the band. The five of us are really good friends, even Nicole [Row], our new bass player who has just come in, she has just come and fit right in like she was always there. It’s really nice, and it’s the best job in the world, because we get to travel the world and see new things and interact with different cultures, different countries and people from all walks of life, and we get to do what we get to do at the same time. So when people ask ‘what’s your dream job’, I think I’m in it and I’m really fortunate. I really enjoy it and hopefully I can keep doing it for another 20 years!
I was reading over some online fan reviews of your shows, and I came across one from 2019 that said ‘may God and the universe allow this band to continue for another 20 years’. There are so many comments where people find your live performances so awe inspiring and invigorating. How great that you get to do that with good friends, and have such a positive impact!
Right!? It’s a group thing. If the fans weren’t there saying those things we wouldn’t be able to do it either, so it is a big group experience, and that’s one of the best parts. When we are up there on stage, yeah, we are up there doing our thing, but the energy is all of us together in the room.
Have you found that your audiences are also evolving in that your fans are more diverse in terms of generations?
We do. A lot of the audience have been with us for most or all or most of our career. Our older fans have families now; they have kids, and their kids are getting to the age where they come to concerts, and their kids are coming. So there are times where we will have multiple generations of a family at the show. You can see them; there will be grandma, mom and daughter. [laughs] It’s great! As I’m older as well it’s something I notice looking into the audience. When I was younger I would never have any attention to all of that. I was just like ‘we are all rocking and we’re the same age and its great’ [laughs]
As we age we develop different appreciations for what has evolved.
It’s like a relationship; the longer you are in it the more you understand, and the deeper you have feelings for it.
So, finally – what can fans expect to see and hear during your shows in the Antipodes?
For touring overseas, to go that far, you have to get all the venues lined up that are open, and all of the flights and all of the personnel have to be there, so you know, it’s a big deal. I think for you guys we are just going to play a mixture of everything. It’s not like we can come back there every year, you know? So we’re not going to confine you to one record! [laughs] We will play a bunch of everything. We are stoked to be down there!
Incubus are performing two shows alongside LIVE in New Zealand this April – one night in Christchurch on the 2nd April and one night in Auckland on the 4th April. Tickets for both shows are still available via Goodvibes Promotions, but get in QUICK as these will sell out!
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