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X Marks The Spot With DAN MARAZITA From XCALIBRE · HEAVY Music Interviews

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Hey Dan from excalab here here to plug the new
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: single dead to Me.
• 0:06
  Speaker 2: You are indeed my friend. Thanks for joining us today.
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: Always a pleasure, Chris, pleasure.
• 0:13
  Speaker 3: I think you've sold this stuff a bit short too,
• 0:15
  Speaker 3: Like you're celebrating the new.
• 0:17
  Speaker 2: Album as well, aren't you. The deluxe version comes out.
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: We've got some sneaky little secret tracks in there that
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: we're going to release. I'm pretty excited about that one.
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: No, so we'll start off on the album, I guess.
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: So you are released in the deluxe.
• 0:30
  Speaker 3: Version of your debut album X on Friday, July the third.
• 0:34
  Speaker 3: So how the excitement levels made? Like do you get
• 0:36
  Speaker 3: just as punk to drop the deluxe version of an
• 0:38
  Speaker 3: album that you've already got excited about release and once before?
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's the next level from the album. It's the
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: de lux. So yeah, I think there's a couple of
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: songs on there we are excited about that bring different
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: flavors to the album, so we're keen to get that
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: out to people's ears. Well.
• 0:56
  Speaker 3: And the deluxe version contains four additional songs made, so
• 1:00
  Speaker 3: I want to run it through them individually and you can.
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: Tell us a bit more about them musically and why
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: they are on the deluxe album.
• 1:05
  Speaker 3: So we'll start with Denimy, which is a single that
• 1:07
  Speaker 3: you are releasing on Friday.
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: Yes to Me is quite a quite personal song, John,
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: to sort of tell you what the song is about.
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: I mean the song the song dead to Me, it's
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: it's about finding yourself again when you've lost your voice
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: for so long, I think. So it explores love, trust, control,
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: becoming entangled that leaves you sort of questioning reality in
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: a way. So yeah, it's about being trapped for so
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: long and and being silenced, and it's yeah, it's a
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: pretty pretty intense song. It's got some beauty in it,
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: it's got some aggressiveness in it, but it's not about
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: it's a positive, it's not a negative. It's not about
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: it's not about revenge. It's more about freedom in a way.
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: So you can look at it in many different types.
• 2:11
  Speaker 3: One thing I really liked about it, brother, It's like
• 2:12
  Speaker 3: I read the press release i've and it talks about
• 2:14
  Speaker 3: how it's about. It's a personal song and it's about
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  Speaker 3: all the things you just think about, and my mind
• 2:19
  Speaker 3: instantly went towards being a ballad and something soft. But
• 2:22
  Speaker 3: then the song came on it's actually quite a tough,
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  Speaker 3: aggressive song for something that's so personal.
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's like I said, it's not about hate, it's
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: about freedom. It's about letting go of the chains and
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: being free when you've been trapped in silence for so long,
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: and a lot of people would have had that in
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: their life.
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: Yeah. And then you've got a song called Calling You Out.
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: Yes, Calling you Out. Yeah, well that one we did
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: a video for. So calling you Out is just it's
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: a fun sort of dig it at the industry, I think,
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: you know. So we've been some ups and downs, so
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: that was a quite fun one to do, Calling you Out.
• 3:01
  Speaker 3: You've got an acoustic version of the song Scars on
• 3:04
  Speaker 3: there as well.
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah, Scars was a big one that was about
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: what's happening in the world today. I was moving so
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: fast and and you know, technology and things like that.
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: We thought we'll strip that back again and give that
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: another layer. So that acoustic version is is one to
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: really listen to because it's you know, you hear the
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: words a little bit better tells the story the storyline
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: within it stripped back.
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: Nice.
• 3:31
  Speaker 3: And then you've got a live version of Gravity, Yes, yeah, that.
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: One is also a stripped back acoustic version of gravity.
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: So yeah, we're sort of dimming it back with the
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: deluxe album and a peeling the onion layers, as they say,
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: so just getting different versions of those songs. That some
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: of the songs are so hard and aggressive, we just
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: want to have a different feel to them and you know,
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: appeal to that that different genre of that acoustic world.
• 4:02
  Speaker 3: I guess, yeah, that's not leads me to an next
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  Speaker 3: quession of it too. But there's a lot of people
• 4:06
  Speaker 3: out there that aren't fans of the deluxe album, and
• 4:09
  Speaker 3: they think, if a band's got those songs, why don't
• 4:11
  Speaker 3: they just release.
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: Them the first time around?
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: You know.
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  Speaker 3: Like but from an artist point of view, like what
• 4:16
  Speaker 3: what's the benefit of doing a deluxe album with new
• 4:19
  Speaker 3: songs on it?
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: I think that, well, it's having more content as you go. Yeah,
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  Speaker 1: I guess that's one thing, but having a different it's
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: a different feel like you've got you've got when you
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: go through an album. It's like a rollercoaster. It's like
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: a you know, you've got a feeling when you're sitting
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: there in the background, and the deluxe album is different
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: than the normal album. So because you have those stripped
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: back songs and it's a different energy altogether. So I
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: think having that and having it having a titled deluxe,
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: you know, especially for the stripped back songs, you get
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: a different energy and a different vibe from it all.
• 4:57
  Speaker 3: And there's also a slight change in the album covers too,
• 5:00
  Speaker 3: Like the deluxe version is even more sinister looking than
• 5:03
  Speaker 3: the original man like, but right through those little changes
• 5:05
  Speaker 3: and how it came up with.
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: Them, and that's the ying yan to it, you know,
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  Speaker 1: So it's throwing them off. You've got that sort of
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: dark edge, but then you listen to the album and
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: you're like it, you know, it's actually got those acoustic
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: songs in there. But yeah, we like changing the album
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  Speaker 1: up up, you know, just throwing people out a little bit.
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  Speaker 1: But you've still got that element of that excalib a
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: sort of look towards towards all the logos. But yeah,
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: we like throwing it out there a little bit.
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 5:34
  Speaker 3: The original version came out in January of this year,
• 5:37
  Speaker 3: Row and it was your debut album. So did you
• 5:39
  Speaker 3: have many expectations releasing it the day like were they met?
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: I haven't really thought about it, actually, you know, we
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: do all the work. We're in the studio, they're like
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: our little babies. We can see them in there, and
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: then they're born and it's you've got that exciting sort
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: of feeling. But and then you're onto the next one.
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: You're in the studio writing again. So then you're talking
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: to Timo and you're like, Okay, what's the plan here?
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: So yeah, we didn't really have any expectations going into it,
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: but getting them out, you know, at the point where
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: it is now, it's exciting and you just want to
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: get it, get it out as soon as possible and
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: get some feedback and you know, see what people feel
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: about it. But there's still your babies at the end
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: of the day, you know, so you're going to love
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: them no matter what.
• 6:23
  Speaker 3: At there your debut album with that ray, Like, what
• 6:25
  Speaker 3: what sort of lessons do you think you learn from
• 6:27
  Speaker 3: doing your first album that you're going to take into
• 6:29
  Speaker 3: your flad.
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: I think listens, you'll learn you learn lessons every time
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: you're in the studio, but you know, just listening to
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: your gut, not you know, not going with what you
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: think that's in you know, going with what you feel
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: that you know the sun deserves. When you're writing it,
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: but again not not procrastinating too much on it and
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: not sitting with it too long. You know, sometimes your
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: first idea is the best idea and you're always going
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: to go back to that. You might we'll change it,
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: but you know, so I think, yeah, you do learn
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: a lot. And then working with other people in the studio,
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: you know, that's giving them creative, creative juices too, and
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: just bouncing off people. So yeah, you learn a lot
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: through different but we've got the same routine. You know,
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: we've done for it quite a long time in the studio,
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: the same producers and you know, we work with the
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: same guys, so it's always fun.
• 7:28
  Speaker 3: Yeah, Colin excellent recorded over in La at matt Sorem studio. B.
• 7:32
  Speaker 2: So how is that experience made? What's the lasting effect
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: is that left on you?
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: Well, Mattie is awesome, So you know, having that opportunity
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: to go in and see his studio and sell the
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: photos in the wall, and hear his stories and and
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: use his snare drums that he was playing with at
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: Wembley and things like that, you know, it's just it's surreal.
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: But working with those with those people, you know, you
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: see a different level of professalism and things like that.
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: So yeah, that was fantastic people coming in and out
• 8:06
  Speaker 1: to that. You know that that your work. We work
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: with with Corral from p o D and DJ Lethal
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: and working with that crew, it's just next level without
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: So I'm really grateful for doing that. And you know
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: we've got friends there for life. You know, we made
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: music together, and yeah, that's I'm very, very grateful for that.
• 8:27
  Speaker 3: And you mentioned Marcus from Pod and DJ Lethal they
• 8:30
  Speaker 3: were on the album of course as collaborators. So that
• 8:34
  Speaker 3: is going from Australia going over to the States and
• 8:36
  Speaker 3: recording somebody like that's Storm the studio. Like what sort
• 8:39
  Speaker 3: of things do you take away from having people like
• 8:42
  Speaker 3: that around you for that period?
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: Again, just working with musicians that you sort of grew
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: up listening to and you know they're human, they love
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: music like you, you know, so yeah, you take away just
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: the way they work in a sense too. People their
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: different styles of writing and recording, so picking up little
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: things here and there, but I think the human sort
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: of element that's the biggest thing for me, you know,
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: because you think they're jal Ethal. You know, he's done
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: House of Pain, he's done that those big things, but
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: then when you get into the room with him, it's
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: like you're on a different level. We're on a music
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  Speaker 1: level with them, not like celebrity level, you know what
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  Speaker 1: I mean. So I think that's a big thing for me.
• 9:25
  Speaker 2: And how are you going to top it on the
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: album number two?
• 9:27
  Speaker 3: Bro?
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: Are you going to get on that one?
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: Yeah, we'll see, we'll see. We're talking to a few
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: different We're always in the studio dabbling with things. So
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: we love writing and we're looking forward to, you know,
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: getting back in and getting some new material out there. Yeah.
• 9:42
  Speaker 3: Do you remember the first time you heard one of
• 9:44
  Speaker 3: your songs on the radio?
• 9:45
  Speaker 2: Bro? And what song was it? Where were you?
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: I think it was Gravity? Triple M had played Gravity. Well,
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: the first time they played it, they stuffed up and
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: they played Super Jesus Gravity and they're like, hey, that's
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: the wrong song. So yeah, that was actually a funny story,
• 10:05
  Speaker 1: and I can't mind it because they pre recorded it.
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: So yeah, then the second time around hearing it is like, yes,
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: you know, that's so yeah, that was a that was
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: a great achievement, especially at station like Triple M.
• 10:19
  Speaker 2: That's a great story, bude. You've got our people sit
• 10:21
  Speaker 2: there listening out for a God.
• 10:22
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm sure that don't sound like that exactly.
• 10:28
  Speaker 2: If you've got any any shows coming up.
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: In shows, we're just we're going to take a little
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: break and like I said, we're just doing some sun
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: writing at the moment and getting in and yeah, what
• 10:41
  Speaker 1: what else we come up with?
• 10:43
  Speaker 2: Well, thanks for your time, brother.
• 10:44
  Speaker 3: That the last version of X is out July the
• 10:47
  Speaker 3: third as is a single Dad for me. You can
• 10:49
  Speaker 3: get all more through X Music, So better life brother,
• 10:53
  Speaker 3: and hopefully you stee up in Bridging.
• 10:54
  Speaker 1: Then thanks Chris. Now we'll definitely head up that way
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: soon