BY EMILY HARRIS
PHOTO COURTESY OF CHIEF STATE
Vancouver-based band Chief State is celebrating the release of their newest EP, Tough Love. The EP features singles “Deciduous,” “Reprise,” and “Biding Time,” each of them with tens of thousands of streams. Each single has its own design artwork that later influenced the EP cover itself. Lead singer Fraser Simpson was able to discuss the process of creating the EP alongside his four fellow bandmates with us.
Hey guys! Congratulations on the release of your sophomore EP, Tough Love. What was it like to get back into the studio following the release of your debut EP, Nothing More Than This, in 2018?
Fraser: “It was amazing, we had been working on these songs for a while and scheduling issues meant that it was a while until we were able to get into the studio again. So, when we finally did, it was not only great to be back getting our ideas down properly but also a big relief after so long away!”
How have you managed to create a cohesive sound while working as a quintet?
F: “Our songwriting formula has stayed much the same and I think that has helped us dial in our sound. Usually myself or Nik will have a mostly fleshed out song with or without lyrics and then everyone else will adjust their parts and add some flare. This way the core of the song remains much the same and not convoluted with too many ideas. For some bands it works to jam out something altogether from scratch but we prefer to not have too many cooks in the kitchen at the initial structuring part of a song.”
As you’ve been featured on three of Spotify’s self-made playlists, how does it feel to be able to reach such a diverse punk audience?
F: “It's fantastic, we're really grateful to reach so many new ears. The hardest part of being in a band is getting heard by an audience that's into your style of music. We've had some decent luck with the Spotify curators, so long may that continue!”
As your songs are filled with powerful guitar riffs and strong drums, how do you find a balance between these sonically-packed songs and meaningful lyrics?
F: “I'm not sure that it's something we're ever that conscious of to be honest. We definitely don't have a set of rules that we abide by, the balance just seems right to us. We write what we think sounds cool and thankfully it seems to work out!”
Where did the idea of a broken heart in an American Traditional overlay come from for the artwork of Tough Love?
F: “We initially had the idea of the album artwork being like a tattoo flash sheet. So, we had a local artist named Chelsea at Ride Fast Tattoos in Vancouver draw up some ideas for us. Each of the seven songs had its own design, you can see some of these on the artwork for the singles ‘Deciduous,’ ‘Reprise,’ and ‘Biding Time.’ The last song on the album was originally called ‘Tough Love,’ and so that's where the design originated. When we saw the flash sheet style design we decided there was a little too much going on so we scrapped that idea, the heart design really caught our eye though so we ran with that and decided to name the EP Tough Love too!”
What made you release “Deciduous” as the first single from this EP?
F: “Our main reason was to do with the time of year. We knew we would be able to get the first single out in the fall/winter and as Deciduous is all about seasonal depression and has references throughout about the shedding of leaves, we decided it would be fitting to release that song first.”
Can you talk us through the decision process for the ordering of the songs on the EP? Did you always know you wanted to end Tough Love with “Peace of Mind?”
PHOTO COURTESY OF CHIEF STATE
F: “We thought first that Peace Of Mind might be a good way to start the EP, but when we heard Try Hard back for the first time it really made much more sense to start with that one. POM has a heavy outro and we thought it would be great to finish the EP on a high so that's what we did. It's always tricky trying to decide on the ordering, we played around with the songs a few different ways, in the end we felt this order had the best flow.”
What was the filming process like for your most recent music video? What made you create an Anchorman-tribute for the single “Biding Time?”
F: “We've always done quite serious videos and we really wanted to show our fun side. Nik had recently watched the movie and thought it would be funny to make a tribute. The filming process was pretty tragic to be honest. None of us knew what we were doing and we did the whole thing DIY. We borrowed a camera, tripod, and green screen, put together a loose script/plot and just had fun with it! It was a funny day, we were all a little out of it for those final shots, I think some people might be able to tell! Editing was just as much of a nightmare, I had a lot of late nights teaching myself how to put together green screen footage. In the end, it definitely looks a little hokey and low budget but that's what we were going for. Overall, we're really pleased with how it came out!”
After quarantine, can we expect the songs from Tough Love to be featured on the setlist when you tour?
F: “Definitely, I think we'll be playing at least five of them along with a couple of old ones. Fingers crossed this pandemic passes in the coming months and we can get out on the road again soon!”