1. OwenAntoine Lewis.
AS Media.
We mightbe driftingawayfromthe age of PinkFloydandJimi Hendrix,butthatdoesn’tstop
musicianslike AnthonyAthertonandhisbandfrominnovating the genre theyleftbehind.Owen
Lewistalkstohim aboutmusicand hisfuture plansfor“WHITE MOUNTAIN”.
[H]ailingfromRuncorn,UnitedKingdom, WhiteMountain are agroup of five Britishlads
who’ve grownupinthe 90’s duringa massive erafor musicwhichshowsintheirmusicfromheavy
bass to indulgentriffs.Inthismonth’sissuewe are speakingtotheirleadguitaristandvocalist,
AnthonyAthertontogive yousome exclusiveannouncementsandfindoutmore aboutthe band’s
roots.We askedhima plethoraof questionsandsqueezedasmuchdetail aswe possiblycould.
As witheverybandthatcreatesmusic,there are alwaysinspirationswhichhelpthe band
develop astyle,agenre.Anthonysayshe personallywasinspiredbythe likesof IronMaidenwhich
inspiredhismetal side,aswell asThe Beatleswhichinspiredhimtopickupan instrumentandlook
at forminga band.“Well there are tons of people whohave inspiredme tocreate [music].Fromthe
genre that makesupour bandto musicianswhichmade me”.To gaina betterunderstandingof the
musiche listenedtodayto day,and to hopefullygetanideaof the type of musiche creates,we
askedhimwhichartistshe enjoys.He says“I don’treallylookfora specificgenre howeverIreally
enjoymusicwithgreatinstrumentals,especiallyanythingwithheavyriffsincorporated.”Bands
whichcame to mindwere Wu-TangClan,DollyParton,Jimi Hendrix,MilesDavidandBuenaVista
Social Clubwhichmayseemlike awildvarietytosome,howeverwiththe likesof Hendrix,a
revolutionarymusicianatthe time withhispsychedelicmelodies,andBuenaVistaSocial Clubwith
amazingcomposition,we cansee where he iscomingfrom.
Of course a lotof youare readingthisarticle tofindoutwhat the band are up to, andwe can
tell yourightnowyou can’t waitforwhat we are aboutto say,howeverAnthonywarnedushe
‘couldn’treallyspoiltoomuch’.Anthonysays“asa band, we are workingonour firstEP”. This EP
will be a fifteen minutetitanof heavysolos,meaningful lyricsandhard-hittingriffsall bundledup
intothree songs.We askedaboutthe genre,andhe repliedwithanambitiousanswer:“we are
lookingfora PsychedelicRockslashPunksound”.Withthisformulaorrebellioussoundthe band
hopestocreate ‘somethingdifferent’howevertheyare still takinginspirationfromsome of the
nation’sbiggestbands.Anthonysaysthatthey(the band) ‘don’twanttocreate an unoriginal EP
basedon a genre’thatwas createdback inthe 60’s. To findoutmore about his music,we askedhim
aboutwhat he likestodiscussinhis songs, and histhoughtswhile creatingmusicingeneral.Anthony
says“Well youhave to ask yourself –what isgoingon; whataffectsme or the worldaroundme”. As
manyof the great artistshave sculptedstoriesthroughtheirmusicsuchas LedZeppelin,he really
wantsto capture the ideasof presentdaylife,warsandeven“cheesestrings”.Of course we are not
goingto see anysongs(maybe an album) aboutthisdairyproduct,howeverthatgave usan idea
‘withoutspoilingtoomuch’of what’sinstore for usin the future,evenforthe bandsLP.Anthony
says“we lookto reminisce of childhoodandshedtearsoverpast events”whichsoundspromising.
Anthonywasholdingbackon as muchinformationas he could,so we turnedtolookat the
bandscreative processbecause thatreallyshowshow the bandoperatesandcanreflecttotheir
music.To create music,Anthonybelievesthe bestwayandhismethodof creatingmusicisto just
‘pickup andplay’,“if we like somethingasa band,we’ll use it;fromsomethingassmall asa riff,to
evena whole verse”.Anthonyinsistedthatforhim, creatingmusicshouldn’ttake time,songsshould
justcome;“some of the bestsongswere createdinjustfour minutes”.He alsotellsusnotto worry,
because he tellsussometimeshe’s‘upall nightwritinglyrics’andcreatingmusic,“evenif itwakes
the neighboursup”. We askedhimaboutthe bands targetaudience,andhisresponse showsthat
whatthe bandwantsto create ispersonal:“I’ve neverwrittenanythingwiththe intentionof
impressingsomeone else;it’sjust[about] pickingupandinstrumentandseeingwhathappens.And
if someone else getsakickoutof whatyou’re doing,be itlyricallyorinstrumentally,that’s abonus.
But it isn’tessential tome,orthe band.
2. We wantedtoknowwhat else the bandwasdoing,withAnthonytellingus“we are focusing
on the EP rightnow,and while playinglive showsonthe side,it’sbeenawildride sofarand we’re
enjoyingeverybitof it”. White Mountain hasplayedall overthe UK,from CongletontoCarlisle.And
withfifteenyearsof experienceinmusiconhisback,he thinksthatthe band ison the verge of
creatingsomethingoutstanding.We alsoaskedif he wasdoinganythingonthe side,somethinghe
workson alone.Otherthanhisday-to-dayjobasa businessman,he tellsus“rightnow all of my
effortandtime goestowards White Mountain”andensuresusthatthisisn’tjustbecause of the EP.
He feelsthatasa bandtheyare friendsandthey“don’tjusthave an EP”.“We jam togetherpretty
much everyotherdayand have hungout foryears.Sure we have our lives,butmusicispart of our
livessowe try andplayas muchas possible”.
That prettymuch wrappedupour interview withthe WhiteMountain front-runnerAnthony
Atherton.We sure hope to have anotherconversationwithhimagainandwill definitelymake sure
we coverthe bandsupcomingEPreleasedthissummertothe public.Make sure tocheck themout
on Facebook,TwitterandYoutube forupcominglive showsandnew songs,because we can’twaitto
see whatthey’ve got.
![OwenAntoine Lewis.
AS Media.
We mightbe driftingawayfromthe age of PinkFloydandJimi Hendrix,butthatdoesn’tstop
musicianslike AnthonyAthertonandhisbandfrominnovating the genre theyleftbehind.Owen
Lewistalkstohim aboutmusicand hisfuture plansfor“WHITE MOUNTAIN”.
[H]ailingfromRuncorn,UnitedKingdom, WhiteMountain are agroup of five Britishlads
who’ve grownupinthe 90’s duringa massive erafor musicwhichshowsintheirmusicfromheavy
bass to indulgentriffs.Inthismonth’sissuewe are speakingtotheirleadguitaristandvocalist,
AnthonyAthertontogive yousome exclusiveannouncementsandfindoutmore aboutthe band’s
roots.We askedhima plethoraof questionsandsqueezedasmuchdetail aswe possiblycould.
As witheverybandthatcreatesmusic,there are alwaysinspirationswhichhelpthe band
develop astyle,agenre.Anthonysayshe personallywasinspiredbythe likesof IronMaidenwhich
inspiredhismetal side,aswell asThe Beatleswhichinspiredhimtopickupan instrumentandlook
at forminga band.“Well there are tons of people whohave inspiredme tocreate [music].Fromthe
genre that makesupour bandto musicianswhichmade me”.To gaina betterunderstandingof the
musiche listenedtodayto day,and to hopefullygetanideaof the type of musiche creates,we
askedhimwhichartistshe enjoys.He says“I don’treallylookfora specificgenre howeverIreally
enjoymusicwithgreatinstrumentals,especiallyanythingwithheavyriffsincorporated.”Bands
whichcame to mindwere Wu-TangClan,DollyParton,Jimi Hendrix,MilesDavidandBuenaVista
Social Clubwhichmayseemlike awildvarietytosome,howeverwiththe likesof Hendrix,a
revolutionarymusicianatthe time withhispsychedelicmelodies,andBuenaVistaSocial Clubwith
amazingcomposition,we cansee where he iscomingfrom.
Of course a lotof youare readingthisarticle tofindoutwhat the band are up to, andwe can
tell yourightnowyou can’t waitforwhat we are aboutto say,howeverAnthonywarnedushe
‘couldn’treallyspoiltoomuch’.Anthonysays“asa band, we are workingonour firstEP”. This EP
will be a fifteen minutetitanof heavysolos,meaningful lyricsandhard-hittingriffsall bundledup
intothree songs.We askedaboutthe genre,andhe repliedwithanambitiousanswer:“we are
lookingfora PsychedelicRockslashPunksound”.Withthisformulaorrebellioussoundthe band
hopestocreate ‘somethingdifferent’howevertheyare still takinginspirationfromsome of the
nation’sbiggestbands.Anthonysaysthatthey(the band) ‘don’twanttocreate an unoriginal EP
basedon a genre’thatwas createdback inthe 60’s. To findoutmore about his music,we askedhim
aboutwhat he likestodiscussinhis songs, and histhoughtswhile creatingmusicingeneral.Anthony
says“Well youhave to ask yourself –what isgoingon; whataffectsme or the worldaroundme”. As
manyof the great artistshave sculptedstoriesthroughtheirmusicsuchas LedZeppelin,he really
wantsto capture the ideasof presentdaylife,warsandeven“cheesestrings”.Of course we are not
goingto see anysongs(maybe an album) aboutthisdairyproduct,howeverthatgave usan idea
‘withoutspoilingtoomuch’of what’sinstore for usin the future,evenforthe bandsLP.Anthony
says“we lookto reminisce of childhoodandshedtearsoverpast events”whichsoundspromising.
Anthonywasholdingbackon as muchinformationas he could,so we turnedtolookat the
bandscreative processbecause thatreallyshowshow the bandoperatesandcanreflecttotheir
music.To create music,Anthonybelievesthe bestwayandhismethodof creatingmusicisto just
‘pickup andplay’,“if we like somethingasa band,we’ll use it;fromsomethingassmall asa riff,to
evena whole verse”.Anthonyinsistedthatforhim, creatingmusicshouldn’ttake time,songsshould
justcome;“some of the bestsongswere createdinjustfour minutes”.He alsotellsusnotto worry,
because he tellsussometimeshe’s‘upall nightwritinglyrics’andcreatingmusic,“evenif itwakes
the neighboursup”. We askedhimaboutthe bands targetaudience,andhisresponse showsthat
whatthe bandwantsto create ispersonal:“I’ve neverwrittenanythingwiththe intentionof
impressingsomeone else;it’sjust[about] pickingupandinstrumentandseeingwhathappens.And
if someone else getsakickoutof whatyou’re doing,be itlyricallyorinstrumentally,that’s abonus.
But it isn’tessential tome,orthe band.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/article-160127093635/85/Article-Writeup-1-320.jpg)
