October 13, 2021| Dan Hillier |FEATURES
“We want people to join us on the journey, onwards and upwards” – Introducing Codices
It may not be known by everyone, but it’s absolutely no secret that the post and math rock scene is one the most burgeoning and inviting places within UK guitar driven music right now.
Whilst the national scene and genre are often overshadowed by the more popular and approachable sounds within the alternative music echelon, the last five years or so have seen post rock, math rock and their related subgenres swelling in popularity and accessibility. It may be due to the lack of rigid genre regulations within the genre being a tempting force for experimental types, or perhaps the rapid and celebratory success of events such as ArcTanGent, Portals and Bad Pond has spread the sound of the genre far and wide, but regardless, it’s undeniable that recent years have seen a large uptick in bands specialising in genre forming. One such band is the London based Codices.
In the short few years they’ve been active, Codices have already made a strong impression within the scene that birthed them. However, it’s not totally surprising given their eclectic take on the genre. Whilst a responsive hybridisation of the technicality of math rock and the cinematic scope of post rock is what binds their sound together, what makes Codices’ output so engaging is the slew of intricacies hidden in their work. As proven with their initial string of extended plays, within their sound lies a sense of contrastive chemistry that can only come from a band formed of members with varying overlapping tastes. Subtle reminiscences of the haste of hardcore, the dirge of grunge and the wild hedonism of dance swirl and amalgamate in their sound, ultimately throwing back to the wild, carefree and adolescent sound of the genre during it’s 2010 era.
But whilst such as clash of motifs sounds like it could result in an incomprehensible mess, the output of Codices is anything but disordered. Rather, it’s a throughly engaging and personable flurry of experimentalism that’s strikingly accessible, one that’s allowed them to already rub shoulders with the likes of Poly-Math, Mountain Caller, Blanket and more. Yet ultimately, it’s one that’s best articulated with their forthcoming debut LP Vivid.
Releasing October 15th via Beth Shalom Records, Vivid is the full encapsulation of the band’s home-brewed sound and is a record that vibrantly lives up to it’s namesake. Written and recorded as a collective without any external pressures, it’s a record born of playful yet enthusiastic strife that resonates a palpable sense of organic chemistry. Over the course of it’s run time, Vivid twists, pushes, pulls and dives into a slew of stylistics and atmospheres all whilst adhering to an anchoring point that keeps the album coherent and intelligible. But still, it’s an album of elasticity and fluid motion that throughly enjoys both frantic combative riffs alongside moments of evocative emotion and cathartic release in a robust fashion that harkens thoughts of the likes of And So I Watch You From Afar, Alpha Male Tea Party, Town Portal and others that have helped herald the new era of progressive instrumentalism.
With Vivid releasing this Friday, we got in touch with the band to learn more about them.
For those new to Codices, how would you briefly describe the band?
“An amalgamation of noisy riffy, off-kilter rhythms and intricate instrumentation crafted with emotional weight, whether that be sadness, anger or euphoria.”
Musically, what are your main inspirations?
“We come from a variety of backgrounds, mainly revolving around guitar driven rock music, but we’re influenced by everything from classical, jazz, ska, electronic and all things experimental. Michal is our metal-head, Alex strays more into the electronic and dancy vibes, Asher comes from post rock and grunge, and Sam brings the math-rock and hardcore elements. Bands that we all love include And So I Watch You From Afar, Maybeshewill, Mogwai and Brontide.”
You’re releasing your new record Vivid this month via Beth Shalom. How are you feeling about the release?
“Incredibly excited and somewhat relieved. We originally recorded the album in January 2020 with Thomas LeBeau-Morley (Delta Sleep, Olympians) but the release schedule was impacted heavily by the pandemic (amongst other general life things). It feels amazing to have it finally out in the open and we can’t wait to get on the road and play it live!”
You wrote the record collectively as a unit, a process that many artists are beginning to move away from. Did you have any ideas prior to writing together or did it all come together when working together?
“It’s a slower process for sure, but one that has really helped us improve as individuals and write better songs as a collective. We keep tweaking the songs so they’re the best they can be when we cement them on record. We’ll often come into practice and suggest alterations to songs, which can wind up the other band members, but as we write as a collective we want to be constantly pushing ourselves and our music. For our first EP, each song was mostly written by one person, since then pretty much every song is written equally. As a result, the end product is a much more cohesive and well thought out record.”
There’s a real sense of chemistry on the record, was the writing and recording process a natural and organic one?
“Completely. We often start with a singular riff, or string of musical ideas that one member brings to practice. We jam around it and try to fit in other ideas we may have, or stumble across a new alternation, rhythm or section that suddenly clicks and pushes the idea forward eventually developing it into a song. We try to keep the music interesting without throwing too many ideas in at once, to make sure it’s digestible as “songs”. Having recorded with Tom previously, we knew he understood our way of working. We’re simultaneously quite particular but also willing to listen and understand what works and doesn’t work on record.”
There’s a real sense of contrast in Vivid, it feels simultaneously calculated and fluid. Was this intentional?
“I think that’s what we try to bring to all our music, whether on record or live. We want to be able to throw ourselves in with a sense of chaos, energy and emotional weight whilst still being in control and demonstrating restraint where it’s needed. The sound we aim for, the balance between the guitars with the flexibility of the bass and drums, really allows us to sit back and enjoy the moment when we want to. It’s amazing to hear that coming across on record.”
Parts of the record feel a bit subtly nostalgic of the more carefree and excitable math and post rock sound of the 2010’s, a sound popularised by acts such as Brontide, Enemies, And So I Watch You From Afar and to an extent Tubelord. Could you elaborate on that?
“And So I Watch You From Afar are probably one of our collective favourite bands. No one else has managed to capture the raw driving riffs, complex mathy guitar parts and soaring melodies. Sam’s and Alex’s music backgrounds revolve around post-hardcore, alt-rock and early math-indie such as Yourcodenameis:Milo, early Biffy Clyro, and Tubelord and they definitely have an influence on our music, likely the reason we keep our songs shorter than your ‘typical’ post-rock band.”
You’ve already made some substantial waves in the UK post and math rock scene. What’s your thoughts on the scene as a whole?
“The scene is wonderfully supportive and encouraging. We love touring the UK as everyone who comes to our shows is incredibly friendly. We’re privileged to have played ArcTanGent festival and our reception there was mind-blowing, for a small band as ours playing to a packed tent to hundreds of people is definitely the highlight of our journey as a band so far. The scene really seems to be coming into rude health, with smaller festivals and promoters across the UK giving this sort of music a wider platform.”
It feels like the scene has seen quite a bit of a boom in recent years, with a lot more instrumental bands forming and appearing than before. Do you think that’s true and why do think it’s become more popular?
“Everyone in the scene is extremely welcoming and encouraging, so forming a band and being able to express yourself by creating music has never been easier. Bands support other bands. There are so many skilled recording engineers around now, recording at home is becoming easier, and the ability to get your music on streaming platforms (whatever your thoughts on how they pay artists…) for people to be able to access it from around the world is phenomenal. Hopefully it will continue to thrive, but the best way we can all make sure that happens is getting out to local shows, buying merch from bands and supporting the promoters that take the risk by putting on these shows.”
Finally, what do you want people to take away from Vivid?
“We want people to feel invigorated, either pumped up and ready to rock or dance, or emotionally invigorated and embrace the more cinematic elements of the music. We feel there’s something for everyone on this album; we want people to enjoy it with us. We’re incredibly proud to finally get this record out after the years of work that has gone into it, but we want to push ourselves to take the next step up with the next record and we want people to join us on the journey, onwards and upwards.”
