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Team Sleep.
 "Well I think it's kind of obvious why the record took so long to put together," states Zach Hill, drummer for Team Sleep, whose fans have been waiting quite a while (five years, in fact) for the band to finally release their self-titled debut album.
Mind you, once you take into consideration the fact that not one member of the band doesn't have their fingers in other musical pies - let alone that the record contains more guest appearances than a television show, and that we're not exactly talking material with just three chords and a drum beat here - you'll perhaps begin to understand.
"I guess the album came about so slowly because a lot of the songs were kind of spawned in one day or so, but it's had to be put together so many different ways some people added parts of their own while out on other tours or in other people's houses and things like that. And there have been a few occasions where it's been everybody but one person has been there to do something and then it's time for them to come along and put down their part of the song and they haven't even heard it yet. So it's been pretty random the way it's been thrown together, but I think that's what makes it work, what makes it so progressive and different. It's all pretty natural really: just some people coming together to play some music and to experiment." The result is something unlike anything this writer's heard in a long while: mixing drum loops and electronic sounds with so many layers of guitars and other instruments that you're soon lost in a song you're not quite sure why you love so much.
Of course, having a big name such as Deftones' Chino Moreno heading the band means you'll get a lot of attention despite the fact your band is brand new. But this is a knife that can cut both ways, with critics and fans instantly trying to compare Team Sleep with Deftones - something that you'll soon discover is impossible to do. "Being a new band on the live scene, I don't think that many people are coming out who aren't familiar with Deftones. And that comes from being new, and if your singer comes from a successful band, then obviously that's going to attract those specific fans. So, with the album only just out, right now we're playing to a lot of Deftones fans but it seems the people are sort of aware of what they're coming out to see, or at least aware of the fact they're coming out for something different, and the live shows have been turning out really well. The shows have definitely been really intense and it's definitely really, really loud. But mostly I think it's a lot more energetic than what you would think if you listen to our record. I don't think it would necessarily be what you'd expect if you were going to the show just based on listening the album. It's a lot more intense in both energy and volume than a lot of people have thought we would be."
Thankfully, it seems that unlike critics, the band don't buy into the whole side-project thing. It's evident though our entire interview that, like the rest of his band mates, Hill doesn't take the whole thing too seriously. "I don't feel under the shadow of anybody else in the band. I play music because I want to play music, and we're all in different places in our minds and stuff. I'm into it to make something that's progressive and creative and the other guys are too, so nobody's really feeling oppressed by anything. Maybe it's something that we should be more aware of though, as far as we present ourselves, I don't know. None of us perceives this as a 'side project' though - we definitely feel like a collective more than just a backup band. We're just happy to be playing music, whether it's just in our bedrooms or out in front of people."
Ryan Smith
 | 'Team Sleep' is out now through Warner. |
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