The summer sun sets on an uncertain and confusing year for many, but with more time at home comes a musical revolution worth purchasing a ticket to. Stuck inside with big plans, Mighty Tortuga gets ready to release their second EP The Gloom, and gives us a taste with their first single, “Reverie.”
The band, formed in 2018, has been through several lineup changes and unexpected setbacks, but has kept the ship in gear and rolling towards a brighter day when new music still excites and they can get back to the live stage. The boys in Mighty Tortuga have been busy getting all sorts of new things polished and clean for their fans. Accompanying the first single off the new record is a shiny new music video showcasing just what the boys have been working hard on.
“Reverie” radiates nostalgic feelings of the days when summer ends, but it doesn’t disappoint to provide those bitter-sweet ripplings of new changes. Upon first listening, my mind wandered to a place filled with friends and good times, but soon brought me to self-contemplation and daydreaming. A reverie truly explodes through the speakers from all directions. In this new world we’ve fallen into there are chances to take big steps because “we’ve left the world behind us… but every step forward makes us who we are now.” During a year when summer just felt different, this song slides in to save the day. Mighty Tortuga has a formula for success in their hands and they’re excited to share with you.
Unlike their first release Letting Go, the band looked outwards for help. The Gloom, produced by Dominic Nastasi, who recently worked on A Will Away’s EP Soup, features a more stripped-down sound than past releases. In speaking with band members, the excitement for this new sound was at a high level. Keeping the same formula musically, but handing off the recording reigns let the band focus more on the songs as a whole, rather than dealing with the stressors of producing your own material. The difference shows and highlights the band’s talents making the listener anxious for more.
Intentionally, The Gloom is a darker sounding record both lyrically and sonically. Filled with more ambient sounds and heavier, faster grooves, this collection of songs has made for a uniquely new Mighty Tortuga release. The EP opens a door to the band’s inner workings serving as a reflection of where the group was while recording. “Since our guitarist/back-up vocalist left mid- way through the making of the record (partly due to the pursual of a new project and wanting to take on more vocal duties), Matt Carlson, vocals/guitar in A Will Away, stepped up to help us sing the back-up vocals and finish writing the songs.” New hand on deck, Dom Nastasi, with additional engineering from Jay Maas, mixed with a fresh focus sans auto-tune and drum samples making it a truly raw record. Wrapping it up, Nate Hussey, lead singer of All Get Out, mastered the record.
Take a look at what the guys had to say about their recording process and dealing with new challenges as this crazy year gets longer and longer.
Littleroot Collective: How long did the record take start to finish?
Mighty Tortuga: We started to rehearse the demos on January 1st. We had just played a show for New Years and were excited to get the ball rolling for the new stuff. Unfortunately, COVID decided that this was going to be an all year process instead. This past Monday we got the masters back and couldn’t be more excited to roll it all out! So, all in all, it took about 8 months total.
LRC: How did the sudden leaving of some band members help or hurt the record?
MT: When our guitarist and back-up vocalist left, it was definitely a turning point for the record and the band. We decided to re-write the vocals entirely. Thankfully, Matt from A Will Away stepped in to help us, in addition to singing all the back-up parts on the record. Ultimately, it was a blessing in disguise for us.
LRC: What are you guys most excited about to share with your listeners?
MT: We are certainly most excited about the new vibe and sound we have been cultivating. It can be quite jarring demoing and being excited about new material, but not being able to share it for so long.
LRC: Any new hurdles or changes to your recording process?
MT: The ultimate hurdle was our lineup change the same week the pandemic really took hold. It put a halt on the recording process for a while.
LRC: You mentioned a more stripped-down sound. What got you guys to that mind set when heading into the studio?
MT: Our first record we produced, recorded, and mixed in house. That allowed us to use tools such as the Kemper guitar profiler, Roland V drums and SSD4 drum software that were readily available to us. However, for this record we purposefully wanted to get an organic sound with no drum samples from a computer or guitar emulations and take a step back from the processed digital sounds. All the sounds on the record are straight audio from the microphones; completely unedited.
LRC: What makes this record different from your last releases and how do you think it’s taking your music in a different direction?
MT: This record ends up being different than the rest mostly due to us pushing ourselves sonically into uncharted territory (for us). We went with the all organic vibe as previously mentioned, but also decided to not to use vocal tuning. This record is a true showcase of our talent as musicians and we are most proud of this record for that main reason. Ultimately though, getting to collaborate with some of our industry heroes on the writing and production allowed us to make this record something unlike any of our previous releases.
LRC: What was it like working with other top professionals in the scene?
MT: Really awesome! We got connected with Dominic Nastasi through mutual friends once we were looking for someone to mix the record. Our original plan was to have him mix, then record drums with Jay Maas. However, Dom decided to help us produce the entire record from pre-production to mixing and everything in between. He was able to make a lot of tough calls which helped push us to make a better record. Then when the lineup change came along, he was able to step in and save the record, having Matt step in and help us out.
LRC: How are you guys dealing with the new Covid world as a band?
MT: We try to stay positive and keep our spirits healthy while focusing on the good things. We initially threw a digital live stream “Couch” festival and actually just launched a website for a new collective we co-founded called “Littleroot Collective.” The collective is essentially an independent music support group for bands and fans alike. It is a safe space and community-based platform that features a community run blog in addition to the exclusive pressings of lathe cut records and cassettes for bands that are involved. That has been our COVID passion project the past few months and we are really excited to have this all in one space for people to come together and build up their local music scene. Other than that, gearing up for this record release has been very exciting as well!
LRC: Any last words for your listeners? When do you think you’ll be back on stage and playing for your fans?
MT: We will be hosting and playing the “Littleroot Summer Sound Off” festival via Instagram Live on September 12th. The fest goes hand in hand with the launch of the Littleroot Collective, and features an amazing lineup of local bands! But as for real life, we hope sooner than later to be out playing shows! However, the earth still needs to heal. We hope to see you all very soon. Thank you for listening!
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