The Terror Adaptors are a time-traveling group of musicians, which started off as an Industrial Hard-Rock/Synth group in 2007.
Initially a studio-bound project in Perth Western Australia; they slowly evolved into a finely tuned live-band, to great reaction from audiences around the state. They started smashing out a unique live-set of vintage driven, reminiscent songs of old movies, science-fiction / horror tropes and their own take on the mad world we live in. They have demonstrated successfully that they are able to dominate the stage, large and electric, as well as condensed down to acoustic and intimate. Their eclectic style covers many genres, from heavy to soft, rock to country and much more.
In this interview spotlight, I chat with the band about the music, the challenges, the technology and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
Originally I come from the country – in Western Australia. I first lived in a mining town up north where the music scene was very limited to heavy metal and headline acts like Guns and Roses when I was growing up. I didn’t much care for either at the time – mostly because the people who liked that music in that town were thugs or bullies. I sat in my room listening to my parents’ tapes, old classicals, musicals and some vintage rock/pop stuff. Very backward for my age. But the rough environment meant that I retreated inside a lot to read and be left alone.
I eventually moved to a farming town down south called Esperance where a met a group of like-minded teens like myself and I discovered through them: Primus, Faith No More and other cool bands of the time. It inspired me to find my own taste as well, which led me to experiment more with punk, rock and more weirder tastes. Bodyjar, Foo Fighters and even Nine Inch Nails crept into my pallet. My parents were disgusted. They’re music snobs. I think they just wanted me to keep listening to their stuff.
When I moved to the capital city, Perth, I got a job and every week I was buying albums and singles by the armful because the chains were off. Nothing could stop me divulging my tastes.
I think because I had such a weird upbringing, the style of music The Terror Adaptors has is hugely eclectic. I love the huge crunching guitars, but then I was also mixing violins and horns into a song the other day.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?
When I was young, I got invited to watch a band rehearse in Esperance. I knew the guitar player who was a few years older than me and I was immediately enthralled by how cool they looked. Musically I couldn’t tell you what they were like, but they made an impression.
A friend of mine’s older brother was also a big inspiration to me – he was the coolest guy I knew and he was in a band, he could play like a demon! I wanted to be like him when I grew up. He died very suddenly and it made me think that life is too short to sit on your ass doing nothing. So I’m constantly pushing the band and writing.
We’ve had a few successes recently, which really helps me validate that what I’m doing has worth – spurs me on. Before that it was just perseverance and belief in the band, in the music. Knowing that what we have is unique helps as well, I want the world to hear how crazy we can get.
How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?
We’re definitely going down a heavier path these days and that seems to be paying off. People would come see us play and always say, “I thought you’d be heavier”. We didn’t change because of that, but I’ve always held onto this more weighty material because I’ve been waiting for the right band members to want to give it a go. Before we had different people playing in the Terrors that didn’t like those songs – now they’re gone and the new guys love it, so we’re playing it!
I’m also leaning back on my piano background a lot more, bringing the synths back into the music – we used to have a couple of keys players back at the very start and they were amazing. I miss them and the sound they would bring to us.
I thought I could gradually introduce the new material slowly. We’ve always been a band with a prominent sci-fi/horror background – that’s definitely our goal, to bring those songs in and make them really loud. But some people in the band thought the band was something else and kept pushing for a different sound. So I conceded. Some of the songs are really old demos that have been banging around in the background since the start. I wanted to put them in one at a time, but I ended up dropping them all at once when we had a band shuffle and instantly turned us into something else. I guess anyone who listens to our old EP and then this new stuff will be a bit confused by the direction change – that’s my only regret that I was pushed around by previous members to make us into something that we’re not. Now I’m aiming to return us to where I want to be!
Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this oversaturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?
In Perth there are a lot of bands, like a huge amount. The city is quite isolated so all the musical and cultural aspects of the state tend to flock here. Back in the early days you’d say, “I’m in a band” and people would think that’s really cool. Now it’s considered a bit boring or overdone – I get this, “oh yeah, you and everyone else” attitude. The musicians themselves are quite good and supportive, but they have their own struggles. The general public is very apathetic to supporting bands in their own backyard. In Australia there’s a general shunning of WA bands because we’re so far away and people have this misconception that we’re all a bit simple over here. I think the biggest struggle has been overcoming these attitudes.
Technology has definitely helped in sharing our music around the world – while we don’t get a lot of airplay in Australia because of the issues I described earlier – we get heaps in England, The Americas, Europe. It’s amazing.
Another great thing is I can also now just record from home without having to book expensive studios and manage to get the tunes played on radio stations up there with the big bands!
What was the last song you listened to?
I’m revisiting a lot of bands I didn’t spend a lot of time listening to in my youth. At the moment I’m listening to Gish by Smashing Pumpkins – I’m up to the ‘Bury Me’ demo on the Deluxe Edition and it’s blowing me away how amazing they were. I knew they could produce very polished recordings, but this is raw and visceral in delivery.
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
I’m a CD baby, just because of my age. Vinyl would be very cool to get into, but honestly I don’t have the time or the money. MP3’s or streaming is my crutch these days, but there’s nothing like holding the album in your hands while you listen to it. It feels like I’ve got a more rounded experience, more satisfying.
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
We use all three. I’m not sure which one I prefer…I definitely am not a fan of the rates on Spotify and Apple Music. I’ve been quite vocal about that in the past. But everyone leans on Spotify as their first choice. That’s all people want. Our Bandcamp is largely ignored, by us and the public, which is such a shame because that’s the one I think is the best. For example, we’ve had over 20,000 plays on Spotify, but only 2 people have downloaded us off Bandcamp!
Soundcloud is great too, but is often overlooked as well. Although lot of hip hop artists are finding success there, which is great for them. J
Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?
We’re on Twitter and Facebook. Just type in ‘Terror Adaptors’ and you’ll find us! I’m on there almost every day if you want to message me or post to our page. I would love to hear from people, what they think and where they’re from. Non-musically I would love to talk science fiction and horror with anyone too, get people’s thoughts on any era film, TV series or radio/podcast that they think might stump me. But don’t be surprised if there’s a song about it later!
Anything else before we sign off?
Yes! Our double Single – ‘Robot Style’ is coming out soon, accompanied by an absolutely insane video clip that we shot on one of the most elaborate sets ever built in Perth. I can’t wait to show it all to you, tune and keep an eye out for it!
Thanks for reading!
