KILL CITY: No Limits

By Prog Sphere on January 29, 2021

Ecuador-based rockers Kill City have recently launched their full-length debut album entitled ‘Last Man Standing.’ About their mission, the creative process behind the album and more, the group tells us in the interview below.

Define the mission of Kill City.

We all love music, for us it is a pleasure to compose, produce and perform music and we try to express that passion through our songs. No strings attached , no limits, no preconceptions… We do what makes us happy. Hopefully people and fans will enjoy and make the whole experience even more fun for us.

Tell me about the creative process that informed your recent album “Last Man Standing” and the themes it captures.

Well we actually call it the “Killcitation”. One of the members will always bring some idea to the band, we try it out, dissect it, rebuild it from the ground up and out goes a song. It’s chaotic sometimes, but fun and very satisfying. The lyrics usually go at the end, thus the album doesn’t have an specific theme to it.

What is the message you are trying to give with “Last Man Standing”?

The song “Last Man Standing”, as well as most of our songs, can be interpreted in several ways. For us, it is about an individual fighting for his ideals and for what he loves, even though the world might be working against him.

The cover of the album it’s actually a hand painted artwork by one of the best local artist, called Jose Luis Choez. It was his interpretation of our idea.

That’s why he painted this Samurai… Samurais followed a code. He is standing there, after the battle, injured and the city is burning in the background. Maybe he won, maybe he lost, but he fought and in the end he is the last man standing for his ideals.

How did you document the music while it was being formulated?

We usually come with a basic idea, retouch it, and every time we do a live recording, very rough one mike mono recording, until we define the final structure of the song.

Is the dynamic flow of the pieces carefully architected?

Yes. We listen to each version carefully and always pay attention to the “flow” of the song. Does it fella energetic enough ? Is it slowing down at some point ? Sometimes it is too energetic, it needs a pause. Is it getting boring at anytime ? We always ask ourselves all this questions with each and every song, and try to find solutions.

Describe the approach to recording the album.

After the structure and the flow of the song is approved , we pay a lot of attention to the tempo. So at some point we start playing the song live, with a click. So many bands dont pay much attention to the tempo, but it is something very very critical, it adds so much to a song and it is not hard to do. You just have to find the right tempo, the one that feels great through out the whole song. 2 beats up or down can make a song feel slow or rushed.

How long “Last Man Standing” was in the making?

The composition process took about 6 months. The recording was done in 3 sessions, 3 to 4 songs each session, and each one lasted about 3 weeks.

Which bands or artists influenced your work on the release?

We all have our different influences, generally speaking it’s always some form of metal and even some latin music too. I’d say a lot of 80s rock, Def Leppard, Journey, Stryper, Judas, Accept.

What is your view on technology in music?

It gives freedom to the artists. The kind of recording you can do now, was unthinkable 20 years ago, unless you had a record label willing to pay for an expensive studio.

On the other hand, we do miss the album experience… In which you had to pay for a physical CD or Cassete or Vynil and you listened to the album as whole. That’s gone. Maybe it was better in the old times, maybe not.

Do you see your music as serving a purpose beyond music?

I think music is a form of art and art’s purpose in general is to provoke some kind of emotional response in the person exposed to that art… Happiness, anger, sadness, melancholy…

What are your plans for the future?

We are planning to release a second album this 2021. Further than that is hard to plan anything, but hopefully we will soon be able to tour and play our music live.

Follow Kill City on Facebook.