Welcome to the third installment featuring winners of the Lights and Line album writing contest. This week, we’re chatting with Justin Gagen of We Walk the Earth, whose The Ice Storm took home a prize for top album. Born of personal tragedy, the album has a haunting quality, with distorted guitars and fuzzy vocals that sound as if they’re crossing into our world from across the ether. Curious to learn more about the project, I recently reached out to Justin…

I know that We Walk the Earth is a project that stemmed from a great loss. Is that something you’re comfortable talking about?

The whole project was born when my partner died in March of 2020. She had been ill for a few years so we were expecting it, but it came as a shock nevertheless. It happened just as lockdown was beginning which was strangely helpful. I didn’t particularly want to talk to anyone about it, I just wanted to process it.

Ami, my partner, had also been my main musical collaborator. We formed Phasechange Recordings in 1999 to release work by our band, Redzone, and made a dozen or so albums together, so her death left me musically bereft as well. At that stage I decided to start We Walk The Earth and use it as a means to ensure I practiced guitar, and to help me deal with everything. I’d never done a solo record either, though I’ve been on a few with bands.

It began as a genre-project; I thought maybe alt-country/blues might be fun. I think it has moved beyond that now, though I retained the constraints I initially chose in terms of instrumentation; guitars, bass, drums, piano, organ, mellotron; those kind of things. I have played it before, but I really got into slide guitar on this album. It’s can be so mournful, I love it.

I’m sorry for your loss, and I can only imagine how heart-wrenching that must have been. Was there a therapeutic element to writing and recording the album?

Actually, I already had two albums nearly finished. Right from the start, when I needed to vent emotionally, or had a strong memory or feeling I needed to process, I wrote a song about it. I wrote nearly 30, and had chosen 20 of them for two albums. Then I saw the album writing club, and decided to try it. This was partly because I was procrastinating on recording the vocals, and partly because I had lots of half-formed ideas I’d been playing with.

Overall, I think We Walk The Earth is a three album project. The Ice Storm has jumped the queue.

How did you find out about the album writing club?

In a word, Twitter. I’ve been following Mike and the label from the off, and was a subscriber prior to this. I’m a big fan of the way they do things, and can’t express how happy I am to now be a part of it. Another Lights and Lines artist, Grim17, is mastering the album right now. The single is finished, and he’s done a great job.

Did the club offer support or inspiration in any way?

There was a strong community feel, and everyone was really supportive and helpful. This was one of the best things about the contest, and I’ve definitely made new friends through doing it.

I was ok on the inspiration part, but knowing everyone was working away, making things, really spurred me on.

What kinds of challenges did you face as you tried to complete the album in the space of a single month? How did you overcome them?

I’m actually pretty organised, and I love a project, so I approached it with a strict schedule. I decided early on to try for an album and spent the first two weeks writing. I knew I had to get a song done every day, which included the lyrics, most of the instrumentation and recording (that’s how I tend to write anyway, in the DAW, so to speak). I also began leaving myself a note each night with an idea for the next day.

There were some strategies employed to help the process along; a couple of tunes are instrumentals, thus no lyrics or vocals required. Another is just a piano, a guitar and two vocals, thus relatively easy to mix.

Week three was for vocals, and week four for fixing-and-mixing. By the end of it I had my ten songs, and I’d managed to have most of the weekends off – I found that very helpful actually, because I was keen to get going again on Monday. Overall, it was a really enjoyable process and I’m pretty pleased with the end result, or I wouldn’t have submitted it.

What’s your usual approach to recording when you’re not trying to complete an album in a month?

Much slower! I fiddle with things a lot, particularly during mixing, which I could do forever without a deadline. I spent two years mixing a track once. Never again!

I like this new model, and may try and repeat it.

I love your use of horns on the album. There’s a sax part in the lead single, “I Am Hollow,” that gives the song a uniquely chaotic mourning feel. Is that you playing? 

I absolutely CANNOT play sax 🙂

That is a very talented musician named Sam Duffy, who was kind enough to have a blast over my tune. The thing about really good musicians is, they can just show up and they bring their chops. It was a pleasure to record her, and fast!

Are there any other musicians on the album, or is it all you?

Other than the horns, it’s all me.

I used Logic drummers (mostly Mason, for those who know 😉 because it was recorded in my living room in a month! Usually I’d have them follow the bass part to give it a more organic feel, which works pretty well.

I am looking to use acoustic drums for the next one.

Any plans to play The Ice Storm live any time soon?

I am putting together a live band at the moment, because I REALLY want to gig the songs. Sam will certainly be involved, and I’m looking at drummers right now. I may need a second guitar player, because there’s a ton of slide on there! It’s a work in progress…

What’s on the horizon?

The main thing right now is the single, ‘I Am Hollow,’ which will be out on Lights and Lines on September 2^nd, and then the album will follow in November. Getting a live show together, and finishing the next album for a 2023 release.

I also have an experimental/drone project, ‘The Life/Death Binary’ which will be releasing a new album soon.

Finally, Ami made two solo albums (as ‘Kassia Flux’) which were released on Linear Obsessional in 2018 and 2019. They were due to release a third, but sadly ceased trading during covid. That record will be coming out as soon as I can organise it.

Basically, music, music and more music. It’s a dream really.

I did not see myself in this position two years ago, and it has taught me that I have to be relentless and just keep going, because things can get better.

Thanks for taking the time to talk to me, Justin!

My pleasure Marc.

Thank you.