One of the most promising new bands in the contemporary Metal scene, Ascend the Helix are multifaceted musicians. Following his studies in music at the esteemed UCSD, Ascend the Helixโs frontman Adam Smiarowski started a new solo project and focused on songwriting, building an impressive skill set as he did so. He gradually created more intricate soundscapes.
The explosive lead single from Metal geniuses Ascend the Helix is titled โWake.โ Ascend the Helixโs debut album, โSpiral of Reflection,โ which will feature several releases, will begin with the song โWake,โ which was recorded in their home studios. Check out the exclusive interview below:
1. Can you tell us a bit about where you come from and how it all got started?
Ascend the helix: I grew up in Pasadena, CA.ย My mother plays piano and sings so there was always music in my house when I was young.ย I started with piano at age 6.ย Moved on to clarinet around 9 years old.ย Didnโt truly fall in love with creating music until I picked up the guitar at 18.
2. Did you have any formal training or are you self-taught?
Ascend the helix: ย I studied music at UCSD. ย The focus was music technology so I wasnโt getting any formal guitar lessons. Some of my friends in the dorms would show me things here and there.ย Other than that I taught myself by learning Jimi Hendrix and blues songs.ย Then moving into metal as well as a lot of folk fingerpicking tunes.
3. Who were your first and strongest musical influences and why the name โAscend the helix Lโ?
Ascend the helix: ย Hendrix was my first idol on guitar.ย I would study every note he played and try to emulate him.ย Tool, Pantera, Deftones and Meshuggah are also huge influences towards my writing and sound.ย I also listen quite a bit to less heavy music like Steely Dan, Men at Work and Elliott Smith. Ascend the Helix is basically a metaphor for striving towards a higher consciousness.ย To be our best selves. As humans there is always a battle between good and bad.ย Music can be a vehicle for evolution. It can help bring us into the present moment. Enjoy the truth of the vibrations.
4. What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?
Ascend the helix: Well itโs heavy music that is mostly focused on rhythms.ย I like to mix odd and even time signatures. So you can usually count the guitar riffs in odd time and an even cymbal pulse.ย This lets you hear the music in different ways but still have a nice groove. Vocally we tried to go with screams but mixing in melody and harmonies a bit more in the choruses.ย I guess I would call it progressive or groove metal.ย
5. Do you feel that your music is giving you back just as much fulfillment as the amount of work you are putting into it or are you expecting something more, or different in the future?
Ascend the helix: Yes we get quite a bit of joy and fulfillment from it.ย Each song is my little baby as we write it.ย I like seeing it evolve from one little riff that I recorded on a voice memo on my phone into a full fledged song.ย Some songs on the album came from little riffs that I had lying around for 6 years or more.ย Just need that spark of inspiration from one.ย I hope other people will get the same enjoyment listening to it that we had creating it.
6. Could you describe your creative processes? How do usually start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song? Do you usually start with a tune, a beat, or a narrative in your head? And do you collaborate with others in this process?
Ascend the helix: Sometimes itโs from a rhythm pattern. Iโll take it and play with it in different ways and different groupings. Other times Iโve taken a scale that Iโm not all that familiar with and see what I can create from it.ย This is good because it can get your brain out of the familiar patterns itโs used to on the guitar.ย We have a couple songs on the upcoming album that use the whole tone scale for example.ย After I have guitar lines in place Iโll start adding drums to see how it sounds.ย Usually playing a lot with the snare as far as backbeat vs riff accents.ย Or a song like โSpiral of Reflectionโ the snare drum hits every 3rd beat throughout the entire song.ย We then go onto vocals and plan out where they will fall with midi.ย I leave it to the vocalists to write their lyrics.ย Then Iโll go back and add or subtract anything I feel needs changed based on the vocals.
7. What has been the most difficult thing youโve had to endure in your life or music career so far?
Ascend the helix: One of the hardest things in my life has been my battle with Ulcerative Colitis.ย Thanks to the herb Qing Dai I have that under control.ย If you are out there with UC please research Qing Dai and give it a try. As for music, I try to just enjoy it.ย Sometimes Iโve found myself getting stressed on a song idea as itโs just not working out the way I thought in my head.ย I feel itโs best to just move on at that point.ย After a few attempts, if itโs not flowing naturally, it just wasnโt meant to be.ย I think our best songs have all been written relatively easily.
8. On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?
Ascend the helix: I think Iโm at that moment right now.ย Since I first picked up the guitar at 18 Iโve wanted to write my own music.ย Seeing it finally come together as I planned it is a great feeling.ย Looking forward to our full album release on July 14th.
9. With social media having a heavy impact on our lives and the music business in general, how do you handle criticism, haters, and/or naysayers in general? Is it something you pay attention to, or simply ignore?
Ascend the helix: Since we are brand new on the scene, we havenโt gotten popular enough yet for the haters.ย Most likely I will choose to ignore them. No one has forced them to listen to our music. They are free to go find music they enjoy and I hope they do.
10. Creative work in a studio or home environment, or interaction with a live audience? Which of these two options excites you most, and why?
Ascend the helix: They are all great.ย I tend to deal with a lot of anxiety playing live so I prefer the studio and songwriting process. Although, itโs hard to beat the feeling after playing a live show when the crowd really loved it.
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