Staring Into The Abyss With BEN PARKER And ALIZON TAHO From CALVA LOUISE

Interview by Kris Peters
Coming together from opposing corners of the planet, Calva Louise
are a band who not only benefit from the wisdom of a diverse
cultural well to draw from, but also from a musical vision and
delivery that far transcends most music in the modern world.
To categorise their music would be doing an injustice to the rich
sonic palate offered up from the talented trio, but if push came to
shove, you would be safe to say theirs is a musical blending of
metal, punk and electronics. But the depth of their music goes much
deeper than that.
Painting an almost cinematic dimension through eclectic and
boisterous bodies of sound, Calva Louise have thrown pretty much
every rule book out the window, instead following their own path
and vision to create a dynamic and powerful sound that is truly
something fresh and unique on the shrinking landscape.
After two early albums - Rhinoceros and Euphoric - it was the 2023
release of the mixtape Over The Threshold that broke Calva Louise
through the barriers and into the ears of a hungry public tired of
the same formulaic music. Such was its impact, Over The Threshold
reached the ears of Pendulum's Gareth McGrillen, who messaged the
band on Instagram, leading to him coming on board to record Calava
Louise's new album Edge Of The Abyss, which is due for release on
July 11.
HEAVY caught up with drummer Ben Parker and bass/vocals Alizon Taho
to find out more about the new album and Calva Louise's musical
journey.
"I guess it's a continuous evolution," Parker replied when we asked
him to tell us about Edge Of The Abyss musically. "Our sound has
been like that from the start, and this is closer to what I think
we've always wanted to do. And every release we've done throughout
the band's timeline has increasingly got closer to that. It's
almost like a bit of a nonstop vision, and it evolves as it goes.
Obviously, this album is still very much in the heavy vein - much
like the last release, like probably even a little bit more so, I
would say."
In the full interview, Ben and Alizon explained the DIY production
process of the album, where each member recorded their parts
remotely, culminating in collaboration with co-producer Mazar in
Italy and Gareth McGrillen from Pendulum for additional production.
They ran through the interesting concept for the album and how it
follows their previous bodies of work.
Talk turned to their eclectic sound and the difficulties of
blending genres together in the creative process, opening track
Tunnel Vision and why it was chosen to introduce Edge Of The Abyss,
working with McGrillen and what he brought to the overall sound and
feel of the album and more.


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