In anticipation of their sophomore album, Lost 3mbers, set to release on November 29th, Dutch art rock trio My Arrival are offering listeners a deep continuation of what they began with their debut, Satur9 & Indigo. My Arrival explore themes of personal loss, resilience, and the enduring glimmers of hope amidst turmoil. With Lost 3mbers, they have embraced a textured sound that underscores a story of isolation and discovery, following the journey of a scientist on a distant planet as he confronts echoes of his past life on Earth. In this interview, the band delves into the themes, inspirations, and collaborative process that shaped Lost 3mbers, as well as the challenges they faced in crafting their most ambitious work to date.
What themes and emotions inspired the creation of your sophomore album, “Lost 3mbers”?
We wrote Lost 3mbers on the themes of frustration, unresolved emotions and hope. It was meant as a continuation of where we started with our debut album Satur9 & Indigo, where the frustration in that story was about how Earth was lost, with it now being the frustration of stuck in a lonely and unfamiliar place, far away from home.
How does Lost 3mbers build upon the sound and concepts introduced in your debut album, Satur9 & Indigo?
Very naturally. You may notice that some tracks have more pronounced guitars and bass, whereas others are more synth-heavy, for lack of a better term. The process that we went through while writing and recording the album was not so much a conscious endeavor, bar perhaps the songs “Cast Away” and ”Lost 3mbers”, which were born out of ideas we threw into the group and discussed before writing.
Can you share the story behind the album title Lost 3mbers? What does it signify for the band?
The story of Lost 3mbers is the story of a scientist, who on Satur9 & Indigo discovered a signal coming from Kepler 186-F, an exoplanet far away from Earth. He’s been on Kepler 186-F for a while now, investigating his surroundings and gathering intelligence for mankind back home. His broadcasts to Earth do not get a reply though, giving him worries. While investigating the planet further, he stumbles across an enigmatic machine. He hooks it up to his ship’s computer to analyze it further, allowing him to hear voices occasionally, eventually recognizing it as the voice of the woman he left behind on Earth.
We had wanted to continue the story we started on Satur9 & Indigo, feeling it wasn’t done just yet. It implied there was always more and it feels good to explore this story further, beyond Lost 3mbers.
What was the collaborative process like for writing the lyrics and music for this new album?
The music is always written first, with lyrics coming in later. Richard does have some lyrics written down in his notebook, but these are subject to changes if necessary to the music that Ben writes.
How did you balance the haunting melodies and atmospheric elements with the powerful lyrical themes on Lost 3mbers?
We would take the songs and place them in the order we felt benefitted the mood on this album, while having something of a storyboard on the side where the lyrics would convey what emotion we felt was applicable to the songs. This worked really well for Satur9 & Indigo so we kept that for Lost 3mbers too.
What can listeners expect from the song “Starfall,” which is featured on the Progotronics compilation?
“Starfall” is a slow burner, a haunting piece of music with a mournful vocal on top. It’s a moment of realization, of dealing with the negative emotions while understanding the one you love is not looking at the same sky as you.
How has the band’s sound evolved since its formation in 2018?
In terms of our sound, we don’t think we changed a lot but in terms of our arrangements and mixes the sound evolved into a slightly harsher version of what we began in 2018. We are regularly inspired by both old and new music while incorporating our ideas into new songs. Because of that, we think that our sound evolution has been subtle so far. We’ll just have to see how this continues in the future.
What challenges did you face while creating this album, and how did you overcome them?
Writers block, to a certain extent caused by the pandemic but also by family circumstances in a lesser extent. With the pandemic this primarily meant we needed to be careful while working in Fred’s studio, but also taking stock of what we had already written and taking time to let our creative process regain its strength. The delay to the release of Lost 3mbers is a price we gladly pay when looking at the finished product and feeling immense pride like we did when we released our debut album.
Can you discuss any particular songs on “Lost 3mbers” that stand out to you personally?
Although we love all the songs on this record, the ones that stand out the most to us are “Alone”, “Starfall”, “Lost 3mbers”, Castaway” and “Your Voice”.
What role did Richard de Geest play in shaping the lyrical content of the album?
Richard writes the story as well as all the lyrics. With both albums, he wrote a storyboard of what he felt would serve as the story, while dividing that among the songs we had lined up and then writing lyrics and vocal lines to suit the music.
How do you see the current state of progressive rock influencing your music and the genre as a whole?
Progressive rock is a great current of music, allowing many styles to be combined into often unique compositions. It’s been around since the late ’60s and, to our humble opinion, hasn’t lost its touch. Listening to it, along with modern pop music as well as from the ’80s, allows us to remain inspired for the music we set out to create.
What are your expectations for the reception of Lost 3mbers once it’s released?
Despite the fact we’ve been away for a little over four years, we’re confident that Lost 3mbers will get a great reception like we did when we released our debut album.
Do you have any plans for live performances or tours following the album release?
We would love to perform our music on stage live for our fans, but unfortunately logistically speaking, it’s not possible for us at the moment to recreate this on stage with only the three of us. But never say never…
Looking ahead, what are your aspirations for My Arrival in the coming years?
Other than writing more music and finishing the story we set to create, performing live and meeting old and new fans. For now, our focus is on building our discography.
Lost 3mbers is out on November 29th; pre-order from Bandcamp here. Follow My Arrival on Facebook and Instagram.
