Tunnel Visions- The Long Road to Releasing ‘Clear Skies’

Upon discovering a new song or album, one is quick to seek out the atmospheric and tonal qualities of said music and automatically pin it to a season. Whilst a specifically bright guitar sound is capable of taking the listener to a sun-drenched dreamscape, a particularly bleak set of notes or a reverb-heavy mix is capable of bringing on the cold melancholia of winter. The subconscious mind decides on which emotion the given piece of music evokes in themselves- hostility, nostalgia, grief, euphoria- and affiliates it with a climate, or a time of year. Songs that provoke feelings of positivity are most commonly associated with the days of summer, those that are affiliated with gloom and dimness are naturally given over to the rain and cold of the autumn and winter months.

Then there are those that lie on the outer spectrum of this equation; music that transcends hapiness, sadness, darkness and sunshine altogether, feeding the light into the dark and conceiving a chiaroscuro of individual noise and tone. 

Brighton's Tunnel Visions are a band that sit comfortably in this outside category. Formerly playing under the moniker Pedestrian, the then-Plymouth three piece made a decision to relocate to the South-East and latched onto its vibrant music scene, accumulating their remaining four members.'Clear Skies' introduces the listener to Tunnel Visions' distinctive take on dark-psychedelia-meets-surf-rock. The debut EP runs like a spaghetti-western soundtrack on a bad-trip, depicting a ferverous desert landscape with storm clouds rolling over the horizon. If Tunnel Visions' migration to the seafront has had any influence on their sonic direction, then it has brought forth a hazy mystique to their musicality rather than the sun-tinged, slaphappy sounds that may be associated with a coastal re-location. The echo-drenched surf-tones of the debut effort encapsulates the hostility and enigma of sixties beach-rockers Dick Dale and The Lively Ones, cold and desolate yet steeped in vehement summertime heat. A contemporary stoner-come-desert rock influence is subtle yet prevalent throughout this body of work, coming to surface on leading single 'Lazy Eyes''s thunderous introduction, achieving a sound which is akin to something off of a Yawning Man record.

 The vast and effect-laden style of Tunnel Visions' music can be credited to their now-seven-member-heavy line-up, allowing for a vast sonic-template unattainable to most acts, which includes two drummers, three guitarists and added percussion and keys, necessary for the rich percussion and tonal quality of their work both in-studio and live. Nonetheless, 'Clear Skies' demonstrates Tunnel Visions' ability to make room within their songs; tracks The Sun (Through Summer) and Goodnight see Tunnel Visions mellowing out on their regular sound, swapping out vintage fuzz for acoustic melodies and synth arrangements.

I spoke with Tunnel Visions to discuss the writing and recording process of 'Clear Skies', preparation for the forthcoming debut album 'Foggy Moon' and more.

(DH)- How and where did Tunnel Visions form?

(TV)- 'Andrew started the band in 2014 with his sister Naomi and our guitarist Elliot (originally on drums) under the name Pedestrian, but the musical direction of the band changed pretty drastically between 2016 and 2018, which led to us calling in more and more of our talented friends until we grew into the seven-piece we are today. We all crossed paths in our hometown Plymouth, where every member was involved in the DIY scene in some way or another. We've kept pretty true to our roots in that sense!' 

- You released your debut EP, Clear Skies, last month, following debut single and EP track 'Lazy Eyes'. Why was 'Lazy Eyes' chosen as the Ep's lead single?

- ''Lazy Eyes' has always been the centrepiece of the EP, even though that's technically The Son, as it signals a big shift in tone and speed, which is reminiscent of some of our tracks from the upcoming album Foggy Moon. It's the most fast-paced and intense track so we felt it set the tone nicely for our current and future musical output.'

- As a seven-piece, there is clearly a lot of room within your music for sonic exploration. What was the general songwriting process like for 'Clear Skies'? Does it come as a team effort or is there a sole member responsible for composing songs?

- 'Andrew has always been at the helm in terms of songwriting, it's his baby. The rest of the band comes more into play later on in the gigging and rehearsal stages, where things get gradually tweaked and tightened up. Having a big live band has let Andrew be more creative in the studio, knowing that it'll be replicable in a live setting, which is extremely important to us.'

- How and where was the EP recorded?

- 'Clear Skies was recorded gradually using a very loving but messy DIY approach. The drums were recorded in Cameron's old student flat about four years ago, using a couple of cheap mics, The Death of Pop's interface, and plenty of duct tape. The rest was pieced together over time, with dribs and drabs in living rooms but the bulk of it was captured by Andrew in his bedroom with an old AKG condenser.'

- The songs of Clear Skies incorporate a number of styles, a melting pot of surf, dark psych and desert rock. One can recognise everything from Doorsy synth lines to Arctic Monkeys Humbug era guitar and vocal effects. Who and what were you listening to as a band that may have fed through onto the EP?

- 'Thank you! We're glad that's come through well. As a group, our taste is pretty eclectic, so plenty of different genres and bands had an influence on the EP's production over time. The biggest ones would be bands like Pixies, The Fall, King Crimson, and even Daft Punk. As Clear Skies was developed over such a long period of time, our favourite styles developed alongside it, so hopefully it comes through as a well-rounded piece of music.' 

- The production is equally vital to the shape and mood of Clear Skies. Any records that may have influenced the mixing process of the EP?

- 'Ty Segall's 2017 self-titled album, Dark Punk's Random Access Memories', and Tame Impala's Currents would be up there in our 'holy grail of production' list, but it's certainly difficult to imitate anything of such high quality. Some of the King Gizzard and Oh Sees records were used as reference points throughout, but most of it just came down to trying to serve the individual songs as best as possible.'

- Aside from your 2019 single 'You Could Easily Have Me', Clear Skies is the first taste of Tunnel Visions. In your opinion, is your latest body of work a close representation of your live sound?

- 'For the time being, yes. We have a plethora of unreleased music written, and it's hard to know where it all fits in together thus far, so I think we're just gonna see what songs are the most fun to play live and go from there. The You Could Easily Have Me cover is still something we'd love to do live again.'

- The EP art is particularly interesting- who designed this and how do the songs of the EP tie in with this particular visual?

- 'Thank you! So the original image is a self-portrait taken by Laurence Underwood, one of our drummers. As the music is conceptual, there was always a 'main character' in mind, but it was hard to know what the person looked like. Laur's pictures just seemed to really fit unexpectedly, so Andrew edited it and turned it into the final cover art. It'll make a lot more sense when Foggy Moon comes out too, both conceptually and in terms of artwork.'

- Now that Clear Skies is complete and out there for the world to hear, what's next for Tunnel Visions?

- 'There's plenty of music in the works at the moment, but we're still trying to figure out what will come out first, and what fits together. Whether it's a string of singles, an EP, or a mini-EP, it's likely we'll be putting out something to bridge the gap between Clear Skies and its full-length big sister Foggy Moon. The band has technically been going for eight or none years now, so there's so much material to pull from that was forgotten about or put away temporarily. We've branched out to a lot of different styles in our unreleased material, so you can expect something new and different with every release.'

- And finally, when can fans expect to see Tunnel Visions live?

- 'We'll be supporting the great KIEFF on 8th of August at The Hope and Ruin, Brighton, then heading back to The Victoria in Dalston for another headline show on the 18th of August.'

Listen to Clear Skies on all major music platforms now.