AND SO I WATCH YOU FROM AFAR

The day things got crazy with COVID we were in the van about to leave Belfast to play some shows across Ireland. Just as we were due to leave the news came in that venues were closing their doors and gatherings were being banned. It was a scary moment and we were gutted to let a lot of people down. So we’re beyond excited to announce that we’re back out to play GALWAY, CORK, KILKENNY, LIMERICK. It’s a symbolic moment and hopefully one that we can all enjoy together safely. ALL PREVIOUS TICKETS VALID. But there’s more, to see the year out in a fitting way it seemed like a good idea to blow 2021 into the past with a super intimate show at Workmans Club in Dublin. This is going to be insane. Tickets to all shows go on sale this Friday at 9am. BUT Dublin, keep an eye out tomorrow morning early, we’re going to post a little something. Be quick. Shout out to Singular Artists for making this happen. All tickets, as always, at www.ASIWYFA.com

In perhaps one of the more symbiotic fusions of music and 3D worlds, the Belfast post-rockers opted to combine their love of epic film scores with a trippy Unreal Engine creation. The result? The awe-inspiring audiovisual show, ‘Jettison’. While this ambitious A/V set got a trial run via a handful of pre-lockdown shows over the last twelve months of being stuck indoors, this ambitious new 3D project has morphed into a world of its own. 

“I’d just finished composing a soundtrack of a film, And I really loved the alchemy of sound and visuals – that unexpected magic that happens when those two are combined,” And So I Watch You From Afar’s Rory Friers recalls about ‘Jettison’s’ genesis. “My idea was to write this long, flowing EP, and I wanted to find someone that would almost reverse engineer a score into something else – something bigger. A few months later, we discovered Sam.” 

Making a name for himself creating trippy 3D and traditional film-shot visuals for bands, Sam Wiehl has worked with everyone from Mogwai to Forest Swords. The second he heard the beginnings of this ambitious record, he knew that they were onto something special. 

“I was cycling home listening to it on headphones, going ‘Holy shit!’ The strings and everything… it was real hair on the back of your neck type stuff,” recalls Sam. “The first conversations we had were really about why they made the audio, and it was to do with lots of things that are quite conceptual. So I began building these abstract themes about memory and space using game software – Unreal Engine. We didn’t really know what the story was back then, but we started to make up these vignettes. Then the more the band and I discussed, the more things joined up and before we knew it, these levels began growing with the music into this… world.” 

Over time, Friers would start to write to Wiehl’s creations and before long, the initially static project had morphed into its own unique piece of art. “It’s weird, but now ‘Jettison’ feels almost like a place that actually exists,” reflects Friers. “It’s not like watching a film – just a printed journey from A to B – it’s a place that you can kind of visit.” 

Will fans be able to jet off to ‘Jettison’ anytime soon, then? 

“We have the in-person shows in October, but we have discussed there being a playable version online which would be audio soundtracked,” suggests Wiehl. “The past year has certainly kind-of expedited what we want do with ‘Jettison’, and how we use tech going forward. We would have played upwards of 100 shows in these 12 months. It makes you kind of rethink how you can make music connect with people in the absence of that. I don’t want to get too carried away, but I think a lot of fairly exciting stuff will be happening off the back of this.” 

The nature of the project and the pandemic has also made Friers and Wiehl think about how they want people to be able to enjoy live music and art projects in the future. 

“Streams are a great way of accessing these things. I know everyone’s a bit bored of them now, but I still think there’s some merit to them. There’s something kind of democratic about people who can’t physically get to a show, tuning in. I certainly think that not having to pay for some of these things is really good, too. Certain venues, once they’d sold a set amount of tickets to ‘Jettison’ put up the stream for free. There’s something kind of nice there.” 

In a world where musicians are being forced off the road and onto the internet to survive, it’s reassuring to see so many different talents adapt so well to a post-coronavirus society. Though international lockdowns have been oppressive, claustrophobic, and even downright depressing for some, a small silver lining lies in the innovative and creative new projects musicians have had the time to create and serve to an audience that’s hungrier than ever for a taste of live music.

https://www.nme.com/features/gaming-features/virtually-famous-how-musicians-used-gaming-tech-to-adapt-to-a-gig-less-future-2993293

Fresh of our headline set at Stendhal festival in Ireland last weekend, we are delighted to announce our first UK shows back. You know we wouldn't make this a typical tour so are starting at the beginning with a very special one off show in Bristol playing our first two records in full to celebrate 10 years of GANGS. We will then play a make up show in Milton Keynes for our 2020 cancellation before hooking up with Sam Wiehl / Arco String Quartet and switching into Jettison mode for preview shows in Liverpool and Newcastle. After a hot punk rock Saturday night in Swansea, we will finally celebrate the official world premiere of Jettison at The South Bank Center. This is going to be quite the week and we cannot wait to see you all out there. Tickets for all shows are on sale now at all outlets and over at www.asiwyfa.com

Just Announced! And So I Watch You From Afar will be performing at Forever Alone Fest this year in CDMX, June 1. TICKETS

Listen to And So I Watch You From Afar’s track, “Arpanoid”. Free download is available below on EarthQuaker Devices. 
https://www.earthquakerdevices.com/blog-posts/asiwyfa

Tickets available at asiwyfa.com

SEP 16 Shanghai, CN @ Concrete & Grass
SEP 22 Singapore, SG @ EBX Live Space
SEP 27 Tokyo, JP @ Shibuya Stream Hall
SEP 28 Aichi, JP @ Nagoya Jammen
SEP 29 Osaka, JP @ Socore Factory
OCT 04 Sydney, AU @ Manning Bar *
OCT 05 Melbourne, AU @ Max Watt’s *
OCT 06 Brisbane, AU @ The Triffid *
OCT 07 Perth, AU @ Badlands *
* = supporting Sleep Makes Waves

And So I Watch You From Afar have announced tour dates in Australia for the first time in support of sleepmakeswaves 10th Anniversary tour. More information and tickets here: https://asiwyfa.com/
 

And So I Watch You From Afar have announced dates in the UK with Polymath in November.

All 2018 tour dates below

JUL 13 Cheltenham, UK @ 2000 Trees 2018
JUL 21 Galway, IE @ Galway International Arts Festival
JUL 27 Belfast, UK @ Goodbye Mandela
AUG 04 Cork, IE @ Indiependence Music Festival
AUG 08 Edinburgh, UK @ Edinburgh Fringe Festival at Summerhall
AUG 11 Limavady, UK @ Stendhal Festival
AUG 16 Bristol, UK @ Arctangent 2018
NOV 13 Cardiff, UK @ Club Ifor Bach *
NOV 14 Leicester, UK @ The Cookie *
NOV 15 Aldershot, UK @ West End Centre *
NOV 16 Brighton, UK @ The Haunt *
NOV 17 Neunkirchen, DE @ Gloomaar Festival
NOV 18 Hasselt, BE @ Muziekodroom

*With Polymath

And So I Watch You From Afar have announced dates in Japan in 2018.

SEP 27 Tokyo, JP @ Shibuya Stream Hall
SEP 28 Aichi, JP @ Nagoya Jammen
SEP 29 Osaka, JP @ Socore Factory

All dates and ticket here.

When they burst on the scene with their debut self-titled record, And So I Watch You From Afar were a revelation.

Frenetic math-rock influenced punk instrumentals with titles like Set Guitars To Kill, Start A Band and Don’t Waste Time Doing Things You Hate were a wake-up call for the post-rock genre, and the band rode high on their unique sound.

Their fifth album, The Endless Shimmering, boasts some of their most grandiose, powerful riffing yet, so ahead of a summer tour of the UK and Ireland, we caught up with guitarists Rory Friers and Niall Kennedy to find out who their favourite players are, in no particular order…

Full feature by Alex Lynham via Music Radar