Temples on Mars releases new video
“Gods & Kings explores the idea that there is always something bigger than us.”
London-based progressive rock band, Temples on Mars, have been taking the world by storm in recent months. They have recently released the video for their new single Gods & Kings, taken from their self-titled debut album which released on 6th April via Primordial Records.
I caught up with vocalist James Donaldson and bassist Daz Carikas to talk about the video, their debut album and their upcoming plans.
Congratulations on your debut album released earlier this year. How has the feedback been so far?
The feedback has been very positive so far, we have had some great reviews and international coverage which has really helped put Temples on Mars on the map.
That’s great! And has there been any highlights (e.g, stand out live shows) since the release?
I guess one of the highlights is seeing how the album has opened up new doors for us. We have been going to some really cool music industry events lately and picked up an endorsement here and there. It’s the little things all combining at the right time. As far as live shows, probably the best one this year was at Talking Heads in Southampton, UK in April. Great venue, big sound, good bands!
You’ve said about the album that some of its themes are reasonably dark and serious, including mental health issues. Can you elaborate a bit on this and what you want your listeners to take away from it?
The record explores the cycle of life. The opening sound is a sample of vocalist James Donaldson’s son’s heart beat whilst in the womb. The final track focuses on what happens after death and how those still left behind honour their dead. The middle is basically life! The pressures, the struggles, how you are expected to behave, the psychological manipulation and loneliness of social media. Listeners should take away the message that life is dirty, blurry, and hard – anyone who tells you it isn’t are not really living or is an AI robot. It’s ok to feel frustrated and there will be hardships but in the noise there are moments of happiness and success that will keep coming if you leave yourself open to it. You are here once, take chances, be kind to each other and yourself.
You’ve also recently released the video for the single Gods & Kings taken from the album. What is this song about?
There is something bigger than all of us. It could be your religion, your team, your family, the universe. It doesn’t matter who you are, we are all temporary, and play a miniscule part in the grand scheme of things. The human race has allowed themselves to believe they are all important.
And can you tell me a bit more about the concept of the video?
We wanted to do something a little different and bring the band in gradually as the video progressed and give our dancer Nicole the spot light to express herself. There is a loose connection with the subject matter of the song but mostly we wanted something that looked interesting.
You say that “The name Temples on Mars was inspired by advanced ancient hieroglyphs, which were supposedly created with the assistance of extraterrestrial beings…”. Why did you decide to use this name and are your music in any way inspired by other-wordly life?
The name came to James in the shower where 90% of his good ideas happen. It is just such a relevant topic at the moment with missions to Mars, Elon Musk, and where will humans go next once we kill our own planet? The conspiracy theories were the icing on the cake. There are many facets to the name which is why we love it. Of course our lyrics do explore beings bigger than ourselves.
So, what’s next for you? Any tours coming up? Perhaps a trip to South Africa?
We have some one off UK shows then a UK tour later in the year and a few euro festivals. We are looking at SA for early 2019.
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