Job-metal core giants Architects have announced details of a world-exclusive global livestream event, set to take place next December.
perform alongside the Parallax Orchestrathe band will bring their ninth album to the top of the UK charts, For those who want to exist, to life like never before via full front-to-back playback. The legendary Abbey Road Studiosmade famous throughout the world through its association with the Beatleswill serve as the backdrop for this most unique live show.
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The event will premiere via Veeps December 11, 2021, at noon PT/3 p.m. ET and will be available for 48 hours thereafter. Tickets are on sale now here.
The creek marks Architects‘ second live stream event of its kind, following the 2020 performance of the famous Royal Albert Hall in West London. This recording was later pressed in a limited edition vinylwhich quickly sold out during pre-orders.
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In front of Abbey Road Studios event premiere on december 11, architects singer Sam Carter sitting with alternative press to discuss his personal connection to the place, bringing For those who want to exist to life and the unique challenges of playing with a full orchestra…
As a music fan first and foremost, what does Abbey Road mean to you?
It’s such a huge part of music not just in the UK but around the world. Some of the greatest and most important records of all time have been recorded here. It’s such a joy to even be allowed into the building, let alone check in there. It is a very special place; I still can’t believe we were able to create there.
Where does your personal connection to Abbey Road come from? You’re a big Beatles guy – is that where you heard about the studio and its importance in history?
For sure. I think one of the main things that got me so excited about The Beatles was their recording techniques. There was no editing or cutting or anything – they just went into a room and recorded. They were so amazing. There was some kind of magic in there. Part of what’s so special about this place is that magic and vibe. We’ve been to many different studios around the world, and this is one of the only ones where you kind of feel the ghosts of people who were there before you. You stand there, and think about the music and lyrics that have echoed off the walls around you – and they haven’t changed much since the 1960s and 1970s either.
How was it the first time you went there? What impressed you the most? Does it compare to the expectations you had in your head?
In fact, walking into the building is crazy because there are still instruments that those massive bands used in the past. The first time we were there, there were two pianos that the Beatles used on a bunch of their albums. I was sitting next to a drinking beer, and I put the bottle on it without thinking, and someone said to me, “Maybe you should move that, it’s John Lennonit’s the piano you’re sitting on! You walk down the same halls the greats once had, or you climb to the roof where the Beatles sat before recording”Lucy in the sky with diamonds.”
Where did the idea to record come from? For those who want to exist with an orchestra first came? Given the increased prevalence of strings in your music over the past few years, has something as fully realized as this always been on your mind?
We felt that the livestream we did from the Royal Albert Hall [in 2020] was a really special event, so we always kept in mind the idea of redoing something that was beyond normal for our fans. Earlier this year we actually did a Q&A filmed at Abbey Road with Daniel P. Carter from Radio 1, where we talked about the making of the album. When we were done, I was talking to Dan [Searle, drums]and I said, “Imagine if we did the whole album from cover to cover…with an orchestra.”
Dan said he thought it would be a lot of work but something really fun and special. So we started exploring the idea. We managed to get that to happen in the biggest room, in Studio One, which is a room where I think a lot of movie soundtracks have been recorded – the Harry Potter movies, Pirates of the Caribbean. Before we knew it, we were sitting in the middle surrounded by 30 or 40 musicians, all of whom are so much more talented than us, and we’re trying to impress them!
As for composing the actual arrangements, was it more of a collaborative process?
Parallax Orchestra had done a lot of work on the album anyway, so Dan was able to work very closely with them. For songs that didn’t have strings in the first place, that involved figuring out what the arrangements would be together. On others, it involved stripping away the layers of electronics found on studio recordings and replacing them with strings. For others, it was about inventing and creating entirely new things. It was super easy and very fun.
The number of strings on the disc was already very useful, because it meant that we could add more as a starting point. Everything seemed very natural. It was a very comprehensive experience, however. It’s very intense to have so many musicians around you playing at the same time, especially when you then add ventilation on top. [Laughs.] I’ve listened to it a lot since then, and the intensity is there every time.
How difficult was it for you to work with as a singer? It must be very distracting from your own performance…
I had the orchestra in my in-ear mix, but I lowered the levels a bit. I would have liked to focus more on the orchestra, but I had to focus on my own performance at the time. I knew I could enjoy the rest later. It was intimidating too, and it certainly took a few songs to really feel comfortable with so many amazing musicians watching you scream. [Laughs.]
Now that you’ve had the chance to listen to the event, what are the moments that take your breath away?
I find all of this very moving. It’s the combination of these two worlds that I love so much. Not all bands have the opportunity to do what we did at Abbey Road – and not all bands have the balls to try to do it either. So I’m also very proud of that. “Impermanence” and “Goliath” were really special; “demigod” was already a really fun song with the chords that are on the record, so being in the room when it happens was also really amazing. It’s hard to hold back just a few moments, though, because for me, every song has its own magical moments.
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