In the space between chaos and clarity, you’ll find the unmistakable sound of Basement. Hailing from Ipswich, England, the band formed in 2009 with a run that saw them release two standout records— the second of which has since become a favourite within the genre—before taking a brief hiatus in 2012. Basement made their return to the stage in 2014, and since then have only grown stronger, dropping two more albums and continuing to dominate stages. Basement are in Australia, with a string of shows leading up to a headline slot at the second edition of New Bloom Festival, and I was lucky enough to catch up with guitarist Alex Henery to talk all things Basement.
Just prior to the release of their second studio album, Colourmeinkindness, Basement announced their hiatus, which was due to a number of the band members studying and wanting to pursue other careers. 2018 saw them take another break, with their official comeback taking place in 2021. Now, with two hiatuses and reunions behind them, Henery reflects on the current dynamic of the band, sharing, “I feel like for us, we have good perspective, you know? We’ve seen all these different eras of the band…the last shows we played in the States were the biggest shows we’ve ever played. We’ve seen it grow over time and I think for us we have a good grasp of what we love about being in the band and what we love about performing and writing and all of that. The core things have always stayed the same, but I think as a group I feel like we’ve never been this like dialled-in on the same page as we are now.”
Between their first two and their last two records, it’s clear that Basement have experienced a natural progression of their sound, which Henery says is due to them maturing personally and having a better understanding of song dynamics. Finding himself revisiting their debut record I Wish I Could Stay Here to re-learn various tracks, Henery shares his thoughts on it almost fifteen years down the track, saying, “I think I noticed the youngness or the wide-eyedness of that first record where you don’t know what you’re doing in some places and I can hear it in my head. I’m hearing things like, ‘oh, why did we do that?’” Fast forward to 2018’s Beside Myself, and Basement were recording in a big LA studio with much more experience under their belt. “Maybe we had found our confidence a bit more, but the two experiences were very, very different… it’s funny to compare the two experiences, but, you know, there’s still the same desire with us as a group just to make the music we love and be together and be creative.” Henery assures.
Henery is a wearer of many hats, offering his guitar skills to not only Basement but also post-hardcore group Fiddlehead, and doing tour photography and videography for hardcore-punk favourites Turnstile. “I’m just always looking for something new and exciting”, Henery muses when asked how he manages to juggle so many commitments, “if I’m on the road with Turnstile, I’ll do like a month’s tour with them, and I’m just creating and focused on bringing their vision to life, however they want to capture their tour experience and the fans. And then at the end of that I’ll be like, ‘oh, it would be nice to play a show!’ So then I’ll go and play a show with Fiddlehead, and then I’ll want to pick up a camera or do some editing. So I think it keeps me creatively active and excited about all of these different ventures. I don’t get burnt out, but the problem is right now I’m having to turn down Turnstile and I just can’t manage all of it at once, but I wish I could.”
With New Bloom Festival just days away, Basement are already on Aussie shores and are pumped to play for our energetic crowds. “We’re going to play a whole mix of stuff from all of the different records, but we’re also trying to incorporate- maybe- some new stuff. We have been playing one new song which has been really fun, but you never know, if things feel good, maybe we’ll throw in another one.” On the topic of new music, Henery goes on to share, “We’re just excited to play new material and we’re going to be recording this year, so we need to get the new songs dialled in.”
When it comes to music festivals in Australia, it’s no secret that times are a little grim. With some of our biggest festivals not going ahead this year for various reasons, a newer festival like New Bloom feels like a reassuring breath of fresh air. Heavy music festivals in general seem to be gaining popularity, with Good Things and Knotfest only getting bigger and better each year, with more impressive lineups as time goes on. When reflecting on the state of heavy music currently, Henery reveals, “When we released Beside Myself, when I look back on it I’m like, ‘man, that couldn’t have been a worse time to release a rock record.’ There just wasn’t a lot of that excitement that there is now. Times have changed so much. I know there was a big conversation with Turnstile’s record and how it was like a response to the pandemic, right? Like we’d been inside and we’d been stuck. And then this record comes out when people were actually allowed outside of their homes, where it was like, ‘oh, I can finally go outside and I can be surrounded by people. And there’s this music that kind of has like a soundtrack to it and it’s like making me want to dance and stage dive.’ I can’t remember who said this to me, but someone said that an extreme historical moment, as COVID was, calls for extreme music…Obviously you’ve had Speed blow up and go crazy and now they’re a worldwide thing, so there’s so many bands that are pioneering their genre and making a way in all these different places and it’s really exciting. So I’m excited to obviously come back. I love Australia, we all love Australia, but I’m kind of intrigued. It’s kind of like, oh, do people still like us? Is it going to be cool?” And with their Aussie shows selling quickly, Basement’s cool-status is firmly cemented.
With their headline shows already underway, there’s still a chance to catch Basement in your city, or come and watch them play alongside Balance and Composure, Drain and more at New Bloom Festival from March 8. For festival info and tickets, click HERE.
