Musician Interview With Karl Bagnall of New Fiction
October 4, 2018 — We recently chatted with Karl Bagnall frontman of the band New Fiction about a number of topics. Below is what Karl had to say to us:
Need406: How many tracks did New Fiction have going into the studio to record "Let It Destroy You" and how did the band decide which songs made it onto the album and which ones if any did not?
Karl: We had about 20 going into the studio, but they weren't fully developed songs. As we kind of started solidifying which songs we thought had the most potential, we started polishing the songs off and writing final drafts.
Need406: How did the band decide what the track listing would be for "Let It Destroy You"?
Karl: Unfortunately, the answer to that question is less interesting than I would like it to be. We all just took the songs home and listened to them on repeat and came back with what we each thought was the best track order. Oddly enough they were all pretty close.
Need406: Which song(s) off of "Let It Destroy You" hit home with you the the most emotionally during the recording process and why?
Karl: Honestly all of the songs were pretty intense. It's a really raw and emotional record and I really poured my heart in soul to both the writing and the recording. I would say Nothing Is Beautiful, Novocaine, and Lonely Streets would top the list though.
Need406: How did New Fiction decide on the album title "Let It Destroy You"?
Karl: "Keep what you think will make you happy close to your heart, and find the thing that hurts you the least and let it destroy you" is the chorus in the song "Nothing Is Beautiful" and we really thought that line represented the record best as a whole and encompassed the spirit of it.
Need406: What can you tell us about "Let It Destroy You" that you haven't told anyone else on planet earth?
Karl: Lets see, I got sick halfway through recording and had to take a few days off singing. By the time I felt better we only had like 2 days left so I had to do like 2/3rds of the vocals for the record in like 2 days before we left. One day we started at about 10 AM and tracked until 2 AM with almost no breaks. The engineer who was doing the tracking fell asleep when we took a 10 minute break, so our other band members literally sat down on the computer and we kept it rolling straight through the night. We finished at about 10 PM the next day, and had to drive straight back to Denver, so I tracked like 10 AM until 10 PM that day, and then stayed up and drove through the night until 8 AM.
Need406: How involved was the band in the post-production of "Let It Destroy You"?
Karl: The band was 100% involved. We did a lot of the tracking ourselves, and ended up having to do most of the editing too. It was a really long and stressful process. But we enjoyed working with Kyle Black for the mix and Kris Crummett for the master. I designed the album artwork myself, and took the pictures of the flowers you see on the front cover.
Need406: How did the band go about getting songs on streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music?
Karl: Through a distribution company called Tunecore. I've been working with them for a long time.
Need406: How involved was the band in the concept and making of the "Novocaine" music video?
Karl: Again, kind of same with the record, 100% involved. I wrote the concept, hired the actors, told them what to do, built the sets, etc. We are very diy (do it yourself) when it comes to that sort of thing. It was a fun video to make though. It was filmed in a warehouse my dad owns and we were there all day and all night.
Need406: Can we get your take on what Novocaine is about?
Karl: I was in a really hard place in life for a number of reasons when we wrote this record. Novocaine is a song about a person who really got me through a lot of the darkness and hardship... The song "Giving Up" is about a friendship that kind of ended due to apathy and a little drama. It was kind of me being unsure how two people can be super close and then just never speak again. Lets see, what else? "Hold On" is kind of a lesser talked about song. That song is about an earlier hard time in my life that I was sure I would never get through. There were times were I would wish I hadn't woken up each morning, and I was very down. The lyrics in that song are intended to assure the listener that no matter how bleak it looks, it does in fact get better. It discusses accepting your own short comings and the things in the world which you cannot control.
Need406: What other songs off "Let It Destroy You" do you think will be released as singles?
Karl: I think we are intending to make a video for Down and Lonely Streets at some point, but I am honestly not sure.
Need406: With the band being unable to finish its current tour (due to reoccurring van problems) how long will it take New Fiction to plan out a new tour?
Karl: Depends. The van is fixed for now, but we won't let that stop us either way. If we get offered a tour, we will take it. We are stoked to get back out and play.
Need406: Can you describe the New Fiction concert experience to us using five words or less?
Karl: Some fun shit I hope.
Need406: Thank you for your time we wish New Fiction much success!
Karl: Thanks for chatting! We hope to do it again! Good luck with everything on your end too!
New Fiction Discography:
Let It Destroy You (2018)
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