The Vantages, who last year made the music industry and fans alike giddy with their eponymous EP, are heading towards their second EP release. Thursday, we got a sneak peek of the package to be released later this year with the single Darker.
“Darker is a fast-paced, pounding banger inspired by Japanese indie. A 2-step beat and a surf vibe in front of a tsunami,” says the band’s vocalist and primus motor, Tim Mikkola, describing the end result.
After The Vantages’ trusted mixer Mauri Syrjälä (Suomenlinnan Studio), the whole thing was finalized at Abbey Road Studios in London, operated by Stefan Brown.
“Stefan is a funny and talented guy, I went to say hello to him at Abbey Road when I was in London at the end of the year. It restored my faith in mastering, we will continue to work closely together in the future,” Mikkola continues.
The highly visual band will also release a music video for the song Darker, which is a joint creation of Tim Mikkola and Kari Westerlund, who made the band’s previous Dramatique video, for example. The video was mainly shot in the premises of a restaurant that was under renovation.
“This was one of those ‘viva la process’ type progs, where you let the cat drop and trust that it will land on its paws. Kari and I, as fans of Wong Kar-Wai, first set out to chase the ‘Fallen Angels’ aesthetic, but on the cutting table we ended up preferring the sizzle instead of melancholic cinema”, says Tim.
The Vantages are:
Anton Froloff, rhythm guitar and keyboards
Henri Schröter, drums
Tim Mikkola, vocals
Mikko Janatuinen, lead guitar
Aleksi Larkovuo, bass