Courtesy of Dewar PR, we’re going to be having a slightly different take on the Wreckord Collection this week, as we talk to Tommy Stewart; bassist and vocalist of Atlanta-based doom/sludge trio NEGATIVE WALL. Having formed in 2018 as an amalgamation of members from other bands including BLACKLIGHT MIDNIGHT and BLUDY GYRES, they will be releasing their debut album “Gammagelu”, after only a handful of writing rehearsals mind you, on February 8th through Black Doomba Records. Check out the advance-track "Hybrid Genus Serpentis" via the Bandcamp link below! Here Tommy discusses why it is that he prefers to listen to vinyl and how it helps him as a producer…
“I love talking about my record collection! I have a few years on me so most of the records I have were bought when they came out. So when I say I bought DEEP PURPLE 'Machine Head', I LITERALLY mean the year it came out, and it's the quadrophonic version! I had little interest in anything else so listening was and still IS a very intimately focused experience. I've had many albums on cassette, 8-track, vinyl, and CD, but I still think that vinyl is best because of its presentation. I like that the art and photos are larger for one thing. It's my habit to buy a vinyl, then sit and listen with focus and not while doing something else. I read the lyrics and follow the journey the album takes me on. Sometimes, as I revisit the album, I may follow just one instrument through its own journey. I was quite inspired by English rock and metal. I've tried to figure it out and it looks like about 60% of my life long listening came from a 178 square mile area of mainly England. If you have that in mind when you're listening to albums I'm known for, such as Bludy Gyres' 'Echoes of a Distant Scream', or Negative Wall's 'Gammagelu', you can certainly hear the Crimson and Sabbath influence. There's no doubt that HALLOWS EVE's 'Tales of Terror' was influenced by IRON MAIDEN and MOTORHEAD.
This laser focused listening habit inspired me to develop into the person I am today, who not only plays on albums, but also produces them! Just listening in such an attentive way since I was a wee lad of 6 years old pretty much trained me for recording myself and other artists. It's amusing to watch the bands come in the studio very pumped up, and I try to make it comfortable for them, but as I start mixing, they usually glaze over, begin to sleep here and there, and I even get asked how do I listen to the same passages for hours. I enjoy it!
The artists I have the most records of are BLACK SABBATH, JETHRO TULL, PINK FLOYD. And you thought I'd say METALLICA, I bet. I have those and a variety of metal styles on albums…I do a wide variety of listening. If I'm asked if I own anything embarrassing. Some closet classics I like when I'm all alone? I have a pretty fair collection of 7" singles that are mostly 60's pop and some 50's hits; from THE BEATLES, to NANCY SINATRA, to JERRY LEE LEWIS. In the middle of all that there is a Vertigo copy of "Evil Woman" by Sabbath, but it's all alone in that stack.”
“I love talking about my record collection! I have a few years on me so most of the records I have were bought when they came out. So when I say I bought DEEP PURPLE 'Machine Head', I LITERALLY mean the year it came out, and it's the quadrophonic version! I had little interest in anything else so listening was and still IS a very intimately focused experience. I've had many albums on cassette, 8-track, vinyl, and CD, but I still think that vinyl is best because of its presentation. I like that the art and photos are larger for one thing. It's my habit to buy a vinyl, then sit and listen with focus and not while doing something else. I read the lyrics and follow the journey the album takes me on. Sometimes, as I revisit the album, I may follow just one instrument through its own journey. I was quite inspired by English rock and metal. I've tried to figure it out and it looks like about 60% of my life long listening came from a 178 square mile area of mainly England. If you have that in mind when you're listening to albums I'm known for, such as Bludy Gyres' 'Echoes of a Distant Scream', or Negative Wall's 'Gammagelu', you can certainly hear the Crimson and Sabbath influence. There's no doubt that HALLOWS EVE's 'Tales of Terror' was influenced by IRON MAIDEN and MOTORHEAD.
This laser focused listening habit inspired me to develop into the person I am today, who not only plays on albums, but also produces them! Just listening in such an attentive way since I was a wee lad of 6 years old pretty much trained me for recording myself and other artists. It's amusing to watch the bands come in the studio very pumped up, and I try to make it comfortable for them, but as I start mixing, they usually glaze over, begin to sleep here and there, and I even get asked how do I listen to the same passages for hours. I enjoy it!
The artists I have the most records of are BLACK SABBATH, JETHRO TULL, PINK FLOYD. And you thought I'd say METALLICA, I bet. I have those and a variety of metal styles on albums…I do a wide variety of listening. If I'm asked if I own anything embarrassing. Some closet classics I like when I'm all alone? I have a pretty fair collection of 7" singles that are mostly 60's pop and some 50's hits; from THE BEATLES, to NANCY SINATRA, to JERRY LEE LEWIS. In the middle of all that there is a Vertigo copy of "Evil Woman" by Sabbath, but it's all alone in that stack.”
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