Tech-progsters Tesseract are in a much-needed period of stability having been reunited with their previous singer Dan Tompkins on their well-received 2015 album, Polaris. Their forthcoming, currently unnamed fourth record will be the first time in their 11-year history that the band have had the same singer across two consecutive albums. We spoke to the UK’s premier djentlemen about what we can expect.
What can you tell us about the new album so far?
James Monteith [guitar]: “Like the previous records, virtually all the work has happened in our own home studios. It’s a big mish-mash of internet creating. A lot of it is done remotely and emailed to Acle [lead guitar and producer], he’s the main hub of everything. The recording process is kind of like the writing process; everything keeps getting tweaked until the very end, we’re never really finished until the deadline. To be honest, we should probably be nervous at this stage but this is how it’s been for the last couple of records, so I’m confident it’ll come together.”### Does the new album have a name yet?
James: “It doesn’t yet. There are two working titles but it keeps changing every week. There will be a name very soon because it’s got to be handed in at the end of the year!”
If you had to say how it was sounding so far. how would you describe it?
James: “There’s certainly a nod back to some the heavier eras of Tesseract, to some of the earlier stuff. There’s definitely some heavier riffs and a more high-energy feel. If anything, it’s going back to the more progressive feel of the early records; longer sections of music rather than bite-size songs. Polaris was very song-based whereas everything at the moment is very much pieces of music that are coming together. That’s where we are now but it could change in a month. The one thing we never want to do is repeat ourselves because if it sounds too familiar it’s not interesting to us and if it’s not interesting to us it’s not going to be interesting to anyone else.”
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What’s inspiring the songs this time?
Dan Tompkins [vocals]: “We have entered a new age where ignorance has blossomed into an obtuse society leaving a greater need for perspective. As humans we experience little of what the world has to offer and often isolate ourselves in self-importance, unaware of the billions of complex lives that surround us.”
Amos Williams [bass]: “I find it interesting and a little horrifying that we share so much joy, laughter, pain, terror, and fear, all through modern media. Yet, we pass by each other like ghosts, living on different planes, unaware of passers-by.”
What should we be most excited for with this album?
James: “Like every other Tesseract record, there’s going to be familiarity but there’s also going to be some twists and turns and surprises that no one’s expecting.”
Do you feel you’re in a period of stability? After all, This is the first time in 11 years that the band have had the same singer on two consecutive albums.
James: “At the moment I think we’re the most stable we’ve ever been. With Polaris it all felt very stable and solid but obviously we’ve done an entire album cycle now and we’ve been very happy with how that’s gone. I think we’re very strong as a unit. Also, we’re older now, we’re more experienced and mature. All that combined, it’s got us in a good place. I think we know where we are and what we want to do. We’re confident in each other and the music.”
The new Tesseract album will land next year via Kscope.
