Anchors to Shore: On Lost at Sea's New Single "Collider" and Their Journey to Their Upcoming Album 'Motion Sickness'
Sometimes the most painful and uneasiest memories to digest make the best material to write or make the best ideas of. Most of the time, unless we ask, we as listeners will never know the full story of an act that came to be or what an album's true story is. This is why even as a journalist, I thank the universe that our artform exists still at some capacity. Though times change, music journalism has adapted to continue to tell these stories about the art form and the artists that make it.
We get to share the stories about artists that no one else will get to hear unless you happen to know these gifted artists in person. Texas-based emo/pop-punk/post-hardcore band Lost at Sea is one of those bands that has a very interesting name on paper, but when you brush away part of the beauty, there lies a history of pain and turmoil of the real world that has manifested in what would be the band that you see today.
Hardened and affected by their past, this would also result in them telling part of their story on their new single, "Collider" and on their upcoming album Motion Sickness via Revival Recordings and produced by Ace Enders (The Early November) and Nik Bruzzese (Man Overboard). The band is here to share the rest of that journey with us. Lost At Sea will share more about their single, how the band came to be, and what's next on the horizon for this talented act.
How did Lost At Sea get Started? The concept itself is very interesting.
We’ve been a band for about 5 ½ years now. We were all more or less done with school and dealing with the weird things life throws at you once you’re in the "real world." Growing apart from friends, loved ones passing, feeling left behind in life, you know. Music was our way of making sense of those things. I think that is what ended up bringing us together to what would become Lost At Sea. That feeling of turmoil is also the inspiration for the name.
What are your musical influences? How do you translate that into your music?
Our influences are kind of all over the board and vary pretty widely, depending on which of us you ask. From the Foo Fighters to the Rolling Stones to Bruno Mars to Wilco to stuff in our genre. I’m not sure if we consciously translate any of our influences, but I suppose little pieces find their way in.
What was the recording process like for "Collider"? I know for last year everything for artists was a bit different, even in terms of how everyone would write and record things.
So we actually recorded the whole album Motion Sickness in the fall of 2019. I guess our timing was lucky because trying to be in the studio in 2020 would have been a whole other level of stress. The recording aspect is different for everyone, but for us, we like to rip songs apart to their core and build them back up into what we see as the best versions of themselves. "Collider" was the first song off of Motion Sickness that we recorded and it set the pace for the whole record. Hearing the song slowly come together was probably the first time we realized we were making something really special.
What is "Collider" about? Can we dig a little deeper on that front?
Lost At Sea ‘Motion Sickness’ Album Art
Our drummer had a nightmare once where he was talking on the phone with his girlfriend as she got into a car crash. He could hear it all happen as she got hit. She was half a state away & he couldn't do anything but scream into the phone asking if she was okay. The dream ended as he was getting in his car to drive to find her. The heart of the song is in the second verse, it’s about being present and always telling the people you love how much you care.
This is sort of a nerdy question and I try not to ask it because of how I feel when I ask it, haha. What kind of instruments do you play? How did you come to find what you liked playing?
We’re definitely a band of gear nerds. We could go on about all the different ones we play but here’s our current setup:
Aaron: A beat-up Telecaster Deluxe with P90s & a Nash T-52, and lately I’ve been playing a Ceriatone 2202 into a 212 Marshall cab. I’ve pared back my pedalboard from a bunch of Strymon stuff to basically just a TS9 & a Walrus Audio Voyager. For vocals, I use a Sennheiser e945.
Carlos: I play a Gretsch Brooklyn Kit, Meinl Byzance for hats/crashes & a 24” Zildjian K light ride. Vic Firth X55B sticks, and a Q Drum Co. copper snare.
Phil: 1964 Fender P Bass & a custom Gibson Grabber, through a Fender Bassman 300 head, and an Ampeg 810 cab. For pedals, I run a Darkglass Alpha/Omega, a Sans Amp clone, and a Malekko Bassmaster.
How did last year change you as a musician? Everyone processed that time differently. How did you put that into your music?
It was definitely a challenging time. It felt like so many people were using the time to create and explore new avenues. I found it particularly difficult to write because so much inspiration comes from actually living life and processing it. But it’s forced me to come up with different ways to grapple with the writing process.
Being that you guys are so new, is there ever a point that it feels daunting to put out music at a time when so many other artists are trying to do the same thing? I only ask this because some bands take this as a competition while others do not so much, as an outsider looking in, it often gets very cliquey at times when we all should be helping each other out. Especially in our scene, when the music I cover from all acts across all genres is still pretty niche in some areas.
We’ve been a band for about 5 years and we’ve always tried to be a cheerleader for other bands in our scene and ones we’ve shared the stage with. There’s no sense in looking at it as competition. All you can do is write & release the best music you can. Besides, it’s way more fun when other bands are friends.
Can we brag on our friends here? We love these bands: Odd Folks, Ottoman Turks, Throttlebody, So Soon The Truth, Neoromantics, Lilac Kings, When the Clock Strikes, Goodfella, TGTG
What are your plans for this year?
We’re really excited for our new LP, Motion Sickness to come out on April 30. After that, we’re hoping touring can come back soon. We’re itching to get back out on the road.
Listen to Lost At Sea’s newest single “Collider” down below!